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Ware? Martin? Haley? Who was the best pass rusher in Cowboys' history?
By SportsDayDFW.com
It's time to talk about the best players in Dallas Cowboys history. SportsDay's Kevin Sherrington and Barry Horn discusses the top players in franchise history on this week's edition of "Ballzy."
The Morning News recently had its Cowboys beat writers and staff columnists rank the top five players at each position.
Who is the Cowboys' best defensive lineman of all-time?
Barry Horn: Let's go to the other side of the ball to defensive linemen where I think it's going to be a slam dunk. I think No. 1 and No. 2 are close.
Kevin Sherrington: I wouldn't say that. No. 1 is Mr. Cowboy himself, Bob Lilly. Would Bob Lilly be a great defensive tackle today? Probably not. But for his era he was a dominant defensive tackle. Not only for the Cowboys for across the league. Might be the greatest Cowboy ever. No. 2, I voted for Randy White.
Barry Horn: I think it's a slam dunk.
Kevin Sherrington: I think everybody else did as well. I gotta tell you. If I had to do it over again I might go with Harvey Martin.
Barry Horn: Really?
Kevin Sherrington: Well because Harvey Martin was an unbelievable pass rusher. Go back and look at the sacks. Of course, they didn't count sacks. They started in his career. There were years that went by where they didn't count them. He was a tremendous pass rusher. To me, we talk about what's the most important thing? You gotta be able to stop the run. There's no question about that. But you gotta get to the quarterback.
Best pass rusher ever?
Barry Horn: Was [Charles Haley] the best Cowboys pass rusher of all-time?
Kevin Sherrington: I would say pass rushers you'd have to go to Harvey Martin. I think he's the Cowboys' all-time leader in sacks. It comes up here where DeMarcus Ware might be and this is part of the discussion. ... Here's the problem here for DeMarcus Ware...as we move on to our next position at linebacker. DeMarcus Ware was classified as a linebacker. Was he really a linebacker? No. ... DeMarcus is in the 3-4 and is a stand-up defensive end is what he is. There's no question if you're talking about the greatest pass rushers in the Cowboys' history it's him, it's Harvey Martin, it's Charles Haley. Those three guys. But that comes back to the question that we're on the position of linebacker. There were three people who picked DeMarcus Ware at No. 1 for linebacker. I picked Chuck Howley because Tom Landry said, 'I don't believe I ever saw someone play the linebacker position better than Chuck Howley.'
Barry Horn: That's good enough for me.
Kevin Sherrington: That was before DeMarcus Ware's time. But DeMarcus Ware wasn't being asked to do the things that Chuck Howley did. There were times when DeMarcus had to drop back into coverage and do things. I don't think he was very good at that. He was a great pass rusher. There's no question about that. But when we saw him being asked to move back and drop back into coverage he was not as good. I couldn't vote him No. 1 because of that at linebacker. I couldn't vote him No. 2. That was Lee Roy Jordan.
Barry Horn: You're a man of the 60s.
Walls might've been slow, but he was good at getting interceptions
Barry Horn: Who did you have second [in your cornerback rankings behind Mel Renfro]? Did you have [Deion] Sanders second?
Kevin Sherrington: I did not have him second and I kind of feel bad who I picked second.
Barry Horn: Who did you have second? Everson Walls?
Kevin Sherrington: I did.
Barry Horn: Why feel bad about that?
Kevin Sherrington: Everson had a lot of interceptions. It's hard for me to explain that. He might have been the slowest defensive back who ever played in the NFL.
Barry Horn: Then he might have been one of the smartest defensive backs.
Kevin Sherrington: He must have been. The picture of 'The Catch,' he didn't look so great in that one.
Barry Horn: Let me tell you the great thing about Everson Walls on 'The Catch.' He stood there and answered [every question]. Everyone talks about Elvis Andrus and what he did in the series against Toronto. Everson has never run away from questions about the catch. ... The point is he's a stand-up guy.
Kevin Sherrington: He was a stand-up guy. He had an awful lot of interceptions. What was the most he had in one season?
Barry Horn: I think he had 11 in one season.
Kevin Sherrington: That sounds right. That's unbelievable. That's an unbelievable figure to come up with that.
Barry Horn: I think nobody believed that he'd keep intercepting them and they'd go right at him again.
By SportsDayDFW.com
It's time to talk about the best players in Dallas Cowboys history. SportsDay's Kevin Sherrington and Barry Horn discusses the top players in franchise history on this week's edition of "Ballzy."
The Morning News recently had its Cowboys beat writers and staff columnists rank the top five players at each position.
Who is the Cowboys' best defensive lineman of all-time?
Barry Horn: Let's go to the other side of the ball to defensive linemen where I think it's going to be a slam dunk. I think No. 1 and No. 2 are close.
Kevin Sherrington: I wouldn't say that. No. 1 is Mr. Cowboy himself, Bob Lilly. Would Bob Lilly be a great defensive tackle today? Probably not. But for his era he was a dominant defensive tackle. Not only for the Cowboys for across the league. Might be the greatest Cowboy ever. No. 2, I voted for Randy White.
Barry Horn: I think it's a slam dunk.
Kevin Sherrington: I think everybody else did as well. I gotta tell you. If I had to do it over again I might go with Harvey Martin.
Barry Horn: Really?
Kevin Sherrington: Well because Harvey Martin was an unbelievable pass rusher. Go back and look at the sacks. Of course, they didn't count sacks. They started in his career. There were years that went by where they didn't count them. He was a tremendous pass rusher. To me, we talk about what's the most important thing? You gotta be able to stop the run. There's no question about that. But you gotta get to the quarterback.
Best pass rusher ever?
Barry Horn: Was [Charles Haley] the best Cowboys pass rusher of all-time?
Kevin Sherrington: I would say pass rushers you'd have to go to Harvey Martin. I think he's the Cowboys' all-time leader in sacks. It comes up here where DeMarcus Ware might be and this is part of the discussion. ... Here's the problem here for DeMarcus Ware...as we move on to our next position at linebacker. DeMarcus Ware was classified as a linebacker. Was he really a linebacker? No. ... DeMarcus is in the 3-4 and is a stand-up defensive end is what he is. There's no question if you're talking about the greatest pass rushers in the Cowboys' history it's him, it's Harvey Martin, it's Charles Haley. Those three guys. But that comes back to the question that we're on the position of linebacker. There were three people who picked DeMarcus Ware at No. 1 for linebacker. I picked Chuck Howley because Tom Landry said, 'I don't believe I ever saw someone play the linebacker position better than Chuck Howley.'
Barry Horn: That's good enough for me.
Kevin Sherrington: That was before DeMarcus Ware's time. But DeMarcus Ware wasn't being asked to do the things that Chuck Howley did. There were times when DeMarcus had to drop back into coverage and do things. I don't think he was very good at that. He was a great pass rusher. There's no question about that. But when we saw him being asked to move back and drop back into coverage he was not as good. I couldn't vote him No. 1 because of that at linebacker. I couldn't vote him No. 2. That was Lee Roy Jordan.
Barry Horn: You're a man of the 60s.
Walls might've been slow, but he was good at getting interceptions
Barry Horn: Who did you have second [in your cornerback rankings behind Mel Renfro]? Did you have [Deion] Sanders second?
Kevin Sherrington: I did not have him second and I kind of feel bad who I picked second.
Barry Horn: Who did you have second? Everson Walls?
Kevin Sherrington: I did.
Barry Horn: Why feel bad about that?
Kevin Sherrington: Everson had a lot of interceptions. It's hard for me to explain that. He might have been the slowest defensive back who ever played in the NFL.
Barry Horn: Then he might have been one of the smartest defensive backs.
Kevin Sherrington: He must have been. The picture of 'The Catch,' he didn't look so great in that one.
Barry Horn: Let me tell you the great thing about Everson Walls on 'The Catch.' He stood there and answered [every question]. Everyone talks about Elvis Andrus and what he did in the series against Toronto. Everson has never run away from questions about the catch. ... The point is he's a stand-up guy.
Kevin Sherrington: He was a stand-up guy. He had an awful lot of interceptions. What was the most he had in one season?
Barry Horn: I think he had 11 in one season.
Kevin Sherrington: That sounds right. That's unbelievable. That's an unbelievable figure to come up with that.
Barry Horn: I think nobody believed that he'd keep intercepting them and they'd go right at him again.
