All that the Cowboys once were and again aspire to be will be on display Sunday in Seattle.
What the Cowboys were in 1992, the Seahawks became in 2013 — the youngest of champions. The Cowboys get their first glimpse of the best team in football Sunday when they take a 4-1 record and their own Super Bowl aspirations to the home of the defending NFL champions.
Flash back, first, to 1992. Coach Jimmy Johnson tapped into his college roots and, through the draft, molded the Cowboys into the youngest, deepest, fastest, healthiest, most talented team in the NFL.
That was a pre-salary-cap NFL, when youth was still frowned upon in coaching circles. Young players make mistakes that lose games. Veteran players don’t. So given a choice, most coaches preferred age and experience over youth and exuberance.
The 1991 Washington Redskins were champions of both age and the NFL. Joe Gibbs assembled a veteran group with half of his starting lineup 29 years of age or older, including six players in their 30s. The average age of that Washington lineup that captured the Lombardi Trophy was 28.5 years.
The following season, the Cowboys unseated the Redskins with a trifecta of their own — NFC East, NFC and Super Bowl championships — with the youngest team in football. The starting lineup of the 1992 Cowboys was more than two years younger than that of the 1991 Redskins at 26.3 years.
The 1991 Redskins had only one starter under age 25. The Cowboys had six of them. The Redskins had 14 players on their roster over age 30. The Cowboys had only nine of them.
Now flash forward to 2013. Another successful college coach, Pete Carroll, tapped into his campus roots and also built through the draft one of the youngest and best teams in the NFL.
The arrival of the salary cap in 1994 forced all NFL teams to become younger — but not like Carroll’s Seahawks. When Carroll arrived, he inherited a lineup with an average age of 27.5 years. In a span of four years, he overhauled the roster with 49 new players, including 20 draft picks.
By 2013, Carroll had whittled the average age of his lineup down to 25.8, the third youngest in the league, and won the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. The Seahawks also became the youngest champion in NFL history — the first with an average age of its lineup under 26.
Carroll’s quarterback (Russell Wilson) was only 25, and the average age of his offensive line was 25.6. The average of his secondary, the Legion of Boom, was 25.0.
The Seahawks started two players in their 30s a year ago, fullback Michael Robinson and defensive end Chris Clemons. Both are gone now. The Seahawks are the only team in the NFL this season without a single starter in his 30s.
The Seahawks have only three players on their roster in their 30s, the league low: backup quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson), punter (Jon Ryan) and a rotation defensive tackle (Kevin Williams). The average age of the starting lineup this season is 26.3, the third youngest in the NFL.
The youngest lineup in the NFL belongs to the Buffalo Bills at 26.0 years. The youngest lineup in the NFC, surprisingly, belongs to the Cowboys with an average age of 26.2.
But the Cowboys do have some age on the field, with four players in their 30s: quarterback Tony Romo (34), tight end Jason Witten (32), offensive tackle Doug Free (30) and defensive end Jeremy Mincey (30).
The Cowboys began paring age from their roster in 2010, Jason Garrett’s first full season as coach. He inherited a lineup that averaged 28.1 years. Subtracting aging and expensive offensive linemen Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode and Marc Colombo helped lower the average age of the lineup to 26.9 in the span of one season.
A commitment to youth also meant a commitment to keeping draft picks. That youth helped the Cowboys lower their average age of the lineup to 26.8 by 2013 and finally to 26.2 this season. Eight players drafted in the Garrett era are now starting, including NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray.
Now the challenge for the Cowboys is to win with a young team. It’s possible. The team across the sideline Sunday is proof of that.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges.
What the Cowboys were in 1992, the Seahawks became in 2013 — the youngest of champions. The Cowboys get their first glimpse of the best team in football Sunday when they take a 4-1 record and their own Super Bowl aspirations to the home of the defending NFL champions.
Flash back, first, to 1992. Coach Jimmy Johnson tapped into his college roots and, through the draft, molded the Cowboys into the youngest, deepest, fastest, healthiest, most talented team in the NFL.
That was a pre-salary-cap NFL, when youth was still frowned upon in coaching circles. Young players make mistakes that lose games. Veteran players don’t. So given a choice, most coaches preferred age and experience over youth and exuberance.
The 1991 Washington Redskins were champions of both age and the NFL. Joe Gibbs assembled a veteran group with half of his starting lineup 29 years of age or older, including six players in their 30s. The average age of that Washington lineup that captured the Lombardi Trophy was 28.5 years.
The following season, the Cowboys unseated the Redskins with a trifecta of their own — NFC East, NFC and Super Bowl championships — with the youngest team in football. The starting lineup of the 1992 Cowboys was more than two years younger than that of the 1991 Redskins at 26.3 years.
The 1991 Redskins had only one starter under age 25. The Cowboys had six of them. The Redskins had 14 players on their roster over age 30. The Cowboys had only nine of them.
Now flash forward to 2013. Another successful college coach, Pete Carroll, tapped into his campus roots and also built through the draft one of the youngest and best teams in the NFL.
The arrival of the salary cap in 1994 forced all NFL teams to become younger — but not like Carroll’s Seahawks. When Carroll arrived, he inherited a lineup with an average age of 27.5 years. In a span of four years, he overhauled the roster with 49 new players, including 20 draft picks.
By 2013, Carroll had whittled the average age of his lineup down to 25.8, the third youngest in the league, and won the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. The Seahawks also became the youngest champion in NFL history — the first with an average age of its lineup under 26.
Carroll’s quarterback (Russell Wilson) was only 25, and the average age of his offensive line was 25.6. The average of his secondary, the Legion of Boom, was 25.0.
The Seahawks started two players in their 30s a year ago, fullback Michael Robinson and defensive end Chris Clemons. Both are gone now. The Seahawks are the only team in the NFL this season without a single starter in his 30s.
The Seahawks have only three players on their roster in their 30s, the league low: backup quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson), punter (Jon Ryan) and a rotation defensive tackle (Kevin Williams). The average age of the starting lineup this season is 26.3, the third youngest in the NFL.
The youngest lineup in the NFL belongs to the Buffalo Bills at 26.0 years. The youngest lineup in the NFC, surprisingly, belongs to the Cowboys with an average age of 26.2.
But the Cowboys do have some age on the field, with four players in their 30s: quarterback Tony Romo (34), tight end Jason Witten (32), offensive tackle Doug Free (30) and defensive end Jeremy Mincey (30).
The Cowboys began paring age from their roster in 2010, Jason Garrett’s first full season as coach. He inherited a lineup that averaged 28.1 years. Subtracting aging and expensive offensive linemen Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode and Marc Colombo helped lower the average age of the lineup to 26.9 in the span of one season.
A commitment to youth also meant a commitment to keeping draft picks. That youth helped the Cowboys lower their average age of the lineup to 26.8 by 2013 and finally to 26.2 this season. Eight players drafted in the Garrett era are now starting, including NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray.
Now the challenge for the Cowboys is to win with a young team. It’s possible. The team across the sideline Sunday is proof of that.
Listen to Rick Gosselin at 10:50 a.m. Tuesdays on Sportsradio 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket with Norm Hitzges.
