Showing posts with label Classic Cowboys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Classic Cowboys. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2020
Wednesday, July 01, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Friday, May 22, 2020
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Monday, May 18, 2020
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Friday, July 19, 2019
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Tuesday, July 09, 2019
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Monday, June 04, 2018
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
The 1999 Wk 1 Cowboys at Redskins Game Winner
The 1999 season opener featured the game winner to Rocket Ismail in Overtime. You may remember that. But, I was just watching it for the radio show and noticed they ran the exact same play out of 22 personnel in the 1st Quarter and just missed it. In fact, Rocket dropped it after Aikman dropped it right in his hands. 
That may only interest me, but I wanted to post it for you to check out the Xs and Os things I get a kick out of.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Xs and Os: Romo's First Big Moment - August 21, 2004
http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/08/18/sturm-xs-os-thursday-time-machine-trip-august-2004
One thing I love doing here at The Dallas Morning News is found on Thursdays. We cut up the last Cowboys game and talk ball. Sometimes it is tactics and strategies, other times it is marveling at what some great athletes can do in this great sport. Either way, we are implementing video and discussing this game through the lens of 11 on 11 GIFs. It is something that Grantland Rice did not have the technology to pull off. Let's take advantage of what we have to work with.
However, for our very first episode of the year, I had a choice to make. I could either break down a few Chaz Green busts, a Lucky Whitehead return, and a JJ Wilcox issue or I could ignore that opener this morning and take you on a trip to another preseason game you might be interested in. Since I didn't really crowdsource your opinion, you will just have to trust me.
The day is August 21, 2004. The Cowboys are playing preseason game No. 2 of the 2004 season, so keep in mind this was two weeks after Quincy Carter was told goodbye due to his pot issue. The team had just drafted Julius Jones, Jacob Rogers, and Stephen Peterman. They had just won 10 games and lost to Carolina in the 2003 playoffs, and they had a QB depth chart of Vinny Testeverde, Drew Henson, and some kid named Tony Romo.
This is not the 2004 opener. That was the week before when the team was pounded by Houston 18-0. All three of this QBs played and that Romo kid was 3-for-11 for 37 yards and two interceptions and had a QB rating of 1.5, which is about the lowest I have ever seen.
So let's be clear here. This is not Tony Romo's first preseason game. He even played in some games in 2003 that were not considered noteworthy. (I have no video evidence of any of these earlier games. Side note: I collect NFL games going all the way back to the 1960s. I love this stuff. But, I never keep preseason football games, usually. But, now, I wish I had all of these early Romo appearances. So, if you have anything from the 2003 or 2004 Dallas preseason, I am interested in hearing from you.)
But, this one would easily be considered as "the first time anyone suggested Tony Romo might have something." So, recently I watched this game -- in Spanish, since that is the only broadcast that I think has survived -- and wanted to share some details with you.
Now, he would never play in the early parts of the game when the good players are playing. Just like Jameill Showers of modern times, he had poor offensive linemen, receivers who would drop passes, and had to sort of make things up as he was going. But, he entered this game to mop up with 4:43 to go in the fourth quarter and the Raiders leading the game 20-15.
What happened next was a 17-play drive to win the game. It was Tony Romo's first big preseason moment. Let's have a look at the drive:
First significant throw down the sideline to Randal Williams that the WR could not come up with. But, the location is there and the throw looks confident and on point.
This drive featured many fourth downs. Here is one.
4th and 11 from the Oakland 49. Romo steps up to escape former Cowboys great Peppi Zellner and is picked off by some guy named DeJuan Green for Oakland. Game over? Not so fast.
Referee Ed Hochuli is there! Holding on the Raiders away from the play. First down and the rally lives.
Remember all of the former Jets that Bill Parcells brought over? Here is Dedric Ward in the slot making a catch on a slant for 8 yards. He would catch one pass as a Dallas Cowboy for 5 yards in the regular season.
So, now on second and 2, Romo wants to do the Tom Brady quick QB sneak. They didn't quite get there, though, and it is now third down.
So, below, third and 1.
Play-action to the FB out of the backfield. It is Lousaka Polite who would go on to play nine seasons in the NFL. On this occasion, Polite juggled the ball and was ruled out of bounds after coming up with this pass. Then, it was challenged by the Cowboys, but Hochuli was not having it. Incomplete after review.
It moves to fourth and 1.
The Cowboys briefly considered trying to run for it, but as you can see, it is lucky they did not. Another play-action bootleg where Romo is again having to escape an untouched Peppi Zellner and hits Landon Trusty at the marker to move the chains again. He is certainly not getting too much protection to lead this drive.
And perhaps I was merely foreshadowing the sack. You likely don't remember Javier Collins playing tackle for the Cowboys, but he has no answer for Zellner on this drive. Romo is hearing footsteps from every direction and eventually hits the turf which will take us down to about 1:30 to play.
A run cuts it to third and 3, and now we find another short underneath throw to Dedric Ward to move the chains and keep hope alive inside 1:00. If you are curious (why would you be?), the Cowboys do have one timeout left.
On first down, Rashard Lee got 1 yard. On second down, Romo spiked the ball to stop the clock. So here we are on third and 9. Romo drops and finds TE Sean Ryan from Boston College (5th round pick, No. 144) open, but he drops the ball. So now we face the third different fourth down of the drive!
Fourth and 9 from the Oakland 13. 0:23 to go!
It looks like the exact same play as Romo sees Ryan again. This time waits to clear the first window and hits him past the sticks and at the goal-line for a first down to the 1. But, the clock is ticking! Will they use their last timeout?
No!?!?
Romo rushes them to the line. He is telling everyone it is the kill play. Spike the ball. Get set! Don't move before the snap! We are going to spike it!
Just kidding, Raiders. QB sneak touchdown for the win!
Romo really did the "fake spike/ run a real play" trick in one of his first ever NFL appearances. That cracked me up quite a bit.
And if you look carefully, I think you can see his coach cracking a smile, too.
So, there you go. The Cowboys failed on the 2-point conversion, and left Oakland with a 21-20 win in week 2 of the 2004 preseason. And Tony Romo made the last few minutes watchable.
So much so, that I wanted to share them with you this morning -- 12 years later.
Hope that was enjoyable for you. It proves you never know who you are seeing in the 4th Quarter of a preseason game.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Watching Super Bowl 28 - 20 years later
Last year, for the 20th anniversary of the Cowboys 1992 Super Bowl appearance in Pasadena in Jan 1993, I wanted to pop in the DVDs - that I have with the expressed written consent of the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys - and view Super Bowl 27 again. Linked is my running diary of the experience.
Well, we all appeared to have such a great time doing that, so, let's do it again. This week is the 20th anniversary of the Cowboys 1993 Super Bowl appearance in Atlanta in Jan 1994. So, here are the DVDs again, and here is my running diary of Super Bowl 28. Enjoy.
PREGAME:
Offensive starters are introduced and run out of the giant Cowboys helmet. The Cowboys are wearing white and range from Erik Williams sprinting out of the helmet to Michael Irvin just putting his arm in the air and walking out in that Michael Irvin way of his. It ends with Troy Aikman and Jimmy Johnson and the special teams guys tearing out of there like they were covering a very crucial kick.
The Bills of course are trying not to lose their 4th straight Super Bowl. It had almost reached comical proportions over the years from 1990-1993 where each season was great and then ended the same maddening way. Marv Levy looks like he would love to avoid losing yet another one, but in some ways appears aware of how this is likely going to end.
Here is our extremely tricked-up national anthem featuring 7-time grammy award winner Natalie Cole with the some Atlanta choir or other that appears to be pretty pleased to be on the field. There is no way the cynics that just want the anthem to be sung on its normal merits and arrangements enjoyed the license that was taken there.
Now, the coin toss with Eddie Murray, Bill Bates, Jim Jeffcoat, Ken Norton, Kevin Gogan, and Michael Irvin. Buffalo has Jim Kelly, Kent Hull, Andre Reed, Steve Tasker, Mark Kelso, and maybe someone else I missed. And, of course, flipping for us will be 25th anniversary MVP of SB 3, Joe Namath. Captain Bill Bates will call it in the air, he calls tails, and tails it is. He starts screaming that "we want it, we want the ball!" Very excited for a coin flip. Steve Tasker had said they hoped they lose the flip because he can't wait to cover the first kick and get a tackle, so he gets his wish.
One other pre game note worth noting that had not occurred to me until viewing this again, Emmitt Smith had on his earring before the game for the anthem, but right before kickoff, you can spot an equipment guy actually removing his earring, so we can only assume the key objective was to be seen wearing said diamond earring by the tv cameras during the anthem. Weird.
Dick Enberg on the call, and he uses the moments before the opening kick to alert us to the Super Bowl oddity that this will feature a Super Bowl with 2 kickers from Canada, Steve Christie and Eddie Murray, so there you go.
1st Quarter:
Kevin Williams will return the kickoff all the way out over midfield as Tasker did not keep his word and missed on a tackle attempt and the Cowboys nearly broke it all the way. Dallas starts its first drive at the Buffalo 48.
First play of the first possession is the dig to Michael Irvin out of 21 Personnel (which is pretty much all they will run) and they gain a quick 20. Bruce Smith crunches Emmitt on a run left behind Mark Tuinei. 3rd and 6 is an incomplete pass to Kevin Williams on a out right and maybe a missed pass by Aikman forces a field goal. It looked like Aikman missed an uncovered Alvin Harper as the safety busted his coverage. Murray nails the field goal, and Dallas leads 3-0 with 12:41 to go.
Buffalo gets the kick return out to the 21 where they start their first possession. 2nd and 9 is a cross to Andre Reed for 12 yards and a first down and he is popped by James Washington. They discuss their 4-5 defense which employs Darren Woodson as a linebacker. Thurman Thomas gains 24 on a bit of a screen pass. Then, Kenneth Davis of TCU and Temple, Texas gets some work after a strong Super Bowl 27. Don Beebe is nailed by Thomas Everett over the middle on an incomplete pass, setting up 3rd and 7 and a first down pass is dropped by Bill Brooks. Poor job by Brooks and Steve Christie for a Super Bowl record long field goal 54-yarder which is good. We are locked up at 3-3, with 10:19 left in 1st.
Next kickoff is a touchback and Dallas starts their 2nd possession at the 20. Emmitt with a middle run is met again by big Bruce Smith after Smith tosses Tuinei aside. 3rd and 1 is converted, but a hold to John Gesek brings it back and it will now be 3rd and 11. Gesek is the 3rd center of the season after injuries took Mark Stepnoski and Frank Cornish out. 3rd and long is a disaster, too, as Aikman's foot is stepped on by Gesek again and the punt team must come on. And Steve Tasker almost got home to block another punt (like he did in SB 27) but Woodson got away with a hold.
Buffalo with the ball at the 41 starts with a shovel pass to Thurman Thomas that was then fumbled to Dallas on the first snap. After 9 giveaways last year, James Washington strips Thomas and Woodson recovers. Dallas ball at midfield.
Bob Trumpy shows us the graphic to demonstrate that the 4 worst turnover games in the history of the Super Bowl are all AFC teams and then we wonder why they do so poorly in this game. A run for Emmitt and then a pass to Emmitt for a first down. Play action dart from Aikman to Alvin Harper on another dig with great protection down to the 15. Reverse to Kevin Williams with big Nate Newton out on the right for 5 yards and the Cowboys are down in Touchdown range. 3rd and 5 is a draw play to Emmitt and he is corralled down short by Darryl Talley and it is field goal time again. 6-3, Cowboys, with 3:55 to play and Thurman breathes a sigh of relief.
On Buffalo's next possession, Trumpy says the Cowboys front 4 gets off blocks faster than any defensive line he has ever seen. Ever! 3rd down catch by Pete Metzelaars for a first down. Kelly is now finding a rhythm with the K-gun hurry up, but Bill Brooks drops another one with Larry Brown on his back. Kelly is angry and the Bills must punt. Dave Thomas for the Cowboys rolls up on the punter and gives the Bills a free 1st Down on the penalty and Jimmy is not pleased. Kelly then finds Beebe at the Dallas 43 on Larry Brown. Jim Jeffcoat with a giant TFL against Thurman Thomas and the counter does not work against Dallas. Middle pass to Andre Reed to the 34 ends the 1st Quarter and he is hurt as he gets popped by James Washington.
2nd Quarter:
Reed is limping so Russell Copeland is replacing him on a 3rd and 1. Kenneth Davis had to make Ken Norton miss to get the yard, because he was dead if Norton gets his man. The tv cameras show Norton's dad in the crowd rocking a White Sox hat, and he is watching his son play without invitation as Enberg tells us about their family feud. Awkward. No huddle again and Davis with another run that eats up plenty of yardage down to the 18. Another conversion on 3rd down to the 5 with a quick out to Beebe. On the very next play, Thurman makes a man miss nicely (Leon Lett) and walks in for a touchdown for the Bills and the rarest of leads. 80 yards on 17 plays with the help on the punt penalty. 12:26 to go in the half, Buffalo 10, Dallas 6. What a move by Thomas.
Dallas has the ball back and we have play-action with the DIG behind it for Irvin. This play is so easy and routine for Dallas over and over again. First down. Next play is Emmitt in the middle for 13 yards with almost nobody touching him. Trumpy points out that Emmitt will only carry the ball in his left hand. Aikman scrambles despite a concussion last week, and is hit hard by Cornelius Bennett. Trumpy then indicates that Aikman told him that he is not sleeping well and cannot function since his concussion in the 49ers championship game but has not told anyone from the team because he wants to play. Bizarre audio by today's standards. Next play is a near interception as Henry Jones almost picks off a pass to Irvin. Punt time for the Cowboys. The punt is downed at the 1 by Matt Vanderbeek.
Buffalo must start at their 1 after Russell Copeland fell asleep on the punt return as the ball bounced at the 14. But Kelly and Reed get them out of the mess with a quick 19 yarder. Here the NBC guys start pointing out how little effect Charles Haley has had and that he has a bulging disc that requires surgery when this game is over. Kelly looks in control and is driving them down the field with calm and composure. Long shot down field to the goal-line misses Beebe. But, the pass is too far and a real missed opportunity for the Bills. 3rd and long for Buffalo has Kelly throw one up against 7 defensive backs and 8 men in coverage and it is nearly picked off, but the INT is dropped by the Cowboys and Kevin Smith. Punt for the Bills and of course, Steve Tasker of Northwestern downs it at the 1. He really is amazing on special teams. 6:15 to go in the half.
So, now, Dallas starts it at the 1. Slant to Irvin to the 15 gets things rolling for a first down. Bruce Smith just about gets to Aikman again as Tuinei barely avoids disaster. Play action in the flat to Moose Johnston converts another first down. Then, a 3rd and 2 to Jay Novacek moves the chains with a real physical play. Aikman 12-15 as he hits Emmitt for a 3rd down conversion again. Aikman can hurt you in many ways. Jinx. Next play, Aikman throws a deeper pass and Nate Odomes is there on an under thrown pass to Alvin Harper. Odomes is again the beneficiary of Bruce Smith getting around Tuinei again.
Buffalo ball with about a minute to go and the ball at midfield, so they hurry to Thomas for 12 yards inside the 40 with 0:44 to go. Halftime is promoted and the Rockin Country Sunday is straight ahead. Oh, boy!
Andre Reed is open at the 12 and beats coverage but stays in bounds, so Buffalo must use timeout #2 with 0:27 and a 1st down. Kelly is 17-23-123 yards today and has 0 interceptions in the post-season. 3rd and 7 is a safe shovel pass to Thurman, and Buffalo is just happy to get another field goal and have a halftime lead.
Christie's kick is good. Buffalo 13, Dallas 6 at the half.
HALFTIME:
Trumpy points out that Kelly is 12-12 under 10 yards and that the Bills are showing all sorts of patience. Also, working from a lead position in the 2nd half is a rare treat for them. Total yards are 216-170, Buffalo. The Bills are also all over the time of possession and total snaps with the hurry-up offense.
3rd Quarter:
Cowboys CB Kevin Smith is hurt on the opening kickoff return for Buffalo but seems like he could possibly return. Dave Thomas takes over for Smith, but only for a moment.
The Bills take the kickoff and begin to build a possession with a conversion to Bill Brooks. But, on a 1st Down carry, Leon Lett strips Thurman Thomas and James Washington executes the scoop and score for 46 yards and the touchdown. Washington has been annoyed to not start recently, but this Super Bowl has been all about his work. Meanwhile, this is the 2nd crucial fumble for Thomas in this game as Lett destroyed Kent Hull and then Washington with a fantastic runback puts the Cowboys tied after that difficult 1st half. Cowboys 13, Bills 13.
On the next possession, Charles Haley takes over on a 3rd Down and finally shows his presence and joins Jeffcoat at the QB for a big team sack and a forced punt.
Dallas gets the ball as Thurman Thomas is featured frequently on the sideline shaking his head and mentally beating himself up. Emmitt starts taking over this drive with several nice runs and then Enberg tells the story of Emmitt's dad playing semi-pro ball in his mid 40s. Jimmy has unleashed 22 on a huge ground and pound drive here. Darryl Talley checks out with a hurt shoulder and Emmitt took the ball on 6 straight carries right down the field. Then, a screen to Moose where Bruce Smith looks hurt and then they give the ball to Emmitt again. This time, he breaks a tackle behind the line by Jeff Wright and runs 15 yards behind a pulling Nate Newton for a Touchdown. Total domination by the OL and Emmitt Smith and another hurt Bills defender with Phil Hansen being run over by Kevin Gogan and Erik Williams. Cowboys jump right on Buffalo to start the 2nd half and the Cowboys are up 20-13 within 6 minutes.
Buffalo just looks demoralized on the bench with players limping and the game going in the wrong direction fast. And then, the Bills roll out the quick screen to Kenneth Davis that is destroyed by Tony Tolbert. Thurman Thomas is on the bench looking defeated. 3rd and long is a direct snap to Davis and he gained the yardage to move the chains and then the Bills start mounting a drive. If they just hang on to the ball... Davis tries to reverse field on a ground and the superior speed of the Cowboys front is absurd. 3rd down and the Cowboys go with 4 DL/7 DB with Bill Bates and Woodson as LBs. The rush gets there and Davis is stopped short. Punt time for Buffalo. 6:01 to go in the quarter.
Dallas takes over at the 25. 14 yards on the out to Irvin for a first down. But, a busted run and a few errant passes from Aikman on short plays stalls the drive. John Jett, who was selling copiers last year, is on to punt. Again, Copeland lets the ball bounce and gives up fine field position again for no discernible reason.
Kelly and Buffalo take over and speaking of confusing, another short screen is blown up, this time Darren Woodson destroys the play. Butch Davis smiles. Word is that cramps are keeping Thurman Thomas on the sideline and that joke wrote itself. Another direct snap to Davis is fumbled and here comes the punt team again. Yikes. Kind of like the block thrown by Ken Norton on Carwell Gardner. Earholed.
No Emmitt Smith in this drive as they are looking at his back and Lincoln Coleman with a carry from the former garbage man. 3rd and long and Aikman is under pressure and throws it behind Novacek. Both offenses are now officially out of sorts. Michael Jordan is shown in the crowd in a nice red suit.
Buffalo's next effort included a near interception as Kevin Smith tried to jump a route to Andre Reed. And with Thurman still on the bench, the 3rd Quarter expires.
4th Quarter:
And on the first play of the 4th Quarter, there is your dagger. James Washington jumps the route in the middle to Beebe and the man who wears Lester Hayes' 37 turns the ball over again. Huge day for Washington and surely enough for the MVP, right? I kid.
The Cowboys start the drive at the Bills 35, and, Emmitt takes over. On the ground and then through the air. Enberg points out the fun fact that this Georgia Dome is where Emory Smith won the Peach Bowl MVP recently, too. They love the Georgia Dome. Aikman takes a sack by running out of bounds rather than risk a throw at this point and has gone into win mode. 3rd and 8 and the Bills want a blitz and here Aikman reads it wonderfully and finds Harper out wide for an easy 1st Down. Well done. Emmitt inside the 5 with a few carries, and then, on 3rd and goal, Emmitt down to the goal-line. 4th and Goal? Pitch left and Smith gets in for the Touchdown. It made you nervous for a moment to see a play that goes laterally to the line, but it was well executed and outflanked Buffalo who were worried about the middle dive. Cowboys 27, Bills 13. 9:50 to play.
Every Buffalo turnover has been cashed in with Field Goal, Touchdown, Touchdown.
The Bills are now in desperation mode with Kelly scrambling and then Jimmie Jones takes over a drive with a blown up run play and then a beautiful cave in sack of Kelly. Time for a Buffalo punt and then only thing left with 7:00 is the academics of running it out.
Will Emmitt fumble? Well, in 340 touches, he fumbled one time. So, not bloody likely. Enberg and Trumpy now try to wrap their heads around a team losing in the final championship game of a sport 4 straight years. It is impossible. And yet it is happening.
During a Cowboys timeout, we see Jason Garrett, Bernie Kosar, and Jimmy Johnson offering Troy Aikman thoughts on life. Out of the timeout, the Cowboys go for the bomb to Irvin and just miss. And, then in the very next play they go again deep to Harper and connect to the 1 yard line.
Then, the discussion turns to 3 Rings - Jimmy's boat - and then, the talk of how surely a dynasty is happening and that Jimmy and Jerry have many years ahead to take over the league. Oh my.
Despite trying to punch it in from the 1, the Cowboys settle for Eddie Murray's 3rd Field Goal and take a 30-13 lead with less than 3 minutes to go. The Bill Bates story about his knee rehab, triplets, and how Tuinei, Jeffcoat, and Bates are the only 3 left from the Landry years.
One last desperation drive for Buffalo allows us to ponder Jerry Jones' new world of free agency where he will surely be active. Jim Jeffcoat just about ends Jim Kelly's life with a blindside hit as Leon Lett and Jimmie Jones guard the Gatorade bucket.
The actual execution of the Gatorade dump was poorly done as they end up just throwing the jug at Johnson's head and nearly knock him out. On the field, Tony Tolbert hammers Kelly again and on the sideline, Emmitt plays with Johnson's hair.
Don Beebe thought he was making a great decision to run out of bounds, but did so on 4th Down to turn the ball over and that gives Bernie Kosar a Super Bowl snap!
As time expires, Aikman is taken down by the cameramen. It is all so bizarre.
Cowboys 30, Bills 13
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Jerry Jones Draft Day Trade Log
Tomorrow, we will endeavor to elaborate about our specific plans and beliefs about the Cowboys 2013 draft plans. But, today, I wanted to partially answer questions and then fill in the blanks on a particular topic that goes hand in hand with player selections on draft day. This will be the 20th draft that the Cowboys will participate in since Jimmy Johnson left town before the 1994 draft. In that time, the Cowboys have certainly taken on a different reputation for their drafting ability and one of those cliches that analysts will use is the idea that "Jerry cannot sit still" on draft day.
He is thought of as an owner who falls in love with a target and then trades up to go get him without worrying too much about the cost. And, of course, he is thought of as a major downgrade to Jimmy (Johnson's 5 years of drafts compare favorably to almost anyone who ever drafted in any organization so that isn't a stretch).
Anyway, through covering this team, I felt it would be helpful to actually deal in facts rather than what we recall. If you polled draft experts, many would accuse the Cowboys of trading up all of the time. Others would say that they actually trade down all of the time. Obviously, this seems to indicate they certainly enjoy trading. Up and Down. In this post, I wish to document the trades they have conducted that take place using picks from the top 3 rounds only. But that alone will take up quite a bit of space.
Starting with 2012 and working backwards, here are the Cowboys trades involving the traditional "Day 1" picks:
Jason Garrett/Jerry Jones Era
2012: Traded #14-Michael Brockers and #45-Alshon Jeffery to the St. Louis Rams for 6th overall- Morris Claiborne. TRADE UP
===
2011: No Trades
Summary of Garrett/Jones: Nothing much to report aside from the trade up to get Claiborne last year. I am on record quite a bit on this trade up, with the long summary here, but the short version is that I think they could not afford to trade 2 starters for 1 in their current state. For the most part, these last 2 drafts are basically, "stay home and follow our board".
===
Wade Phillips/Jerry Jones Era
2010: Traded #27-Devin McCourty and #90-Taylor Price to the New England Patriots to select Dez Bryant and pick #119. TRADE UP
Edit: Also, Cowboys trade up to get Sean Lee at #55. To do so, they send #59-Montario Hardesty and #125-Clay Harbor to Philadelphia. TRADE UP
===
2009: Cowboys acquire WR Roy Williams and a 7th from Detroit for #20-Brandon Pettigrew, #82-Derrick Williams, #192-Aaron Brown. TRADE OUT
Traded away pick #51-Andy Levitre to Buffalo Bills for 75th Robert Brewster and 110th Victor Butler picks. TRADE DOWN
===
2008: Traded #28-Lawrence Jackson, #163-Owen Schmitt, #235-Brandon Coutu to Seattle for pick #25 Mike Jenkins. TRADE UP
===
2007: Cowboys trade away #22 (Brady Quinn) to Browns for #36-Kevin Kolb and 2008 first round pick (#22-Felix Jones). TRADE DOWN
Then, Cowboys
Traded #36-Kevin Kolb, #87-Stewart Bradley, #159-C.J. Gaddis to Eagles for #26-Anthony Spencer. TRADE UP
Summary of Phillips/Jones: This is where trading up to "get your guy" really got traction. They went up to get Anthony Spencer and then up to get Mike Jenkins and then up to get Dez Bryant and then to get Sean lee. In the process that that cost a total of 10 picks to get 3 players and 1 additional (and significantly lesser pick). If you add to that the 2008 Roy Williams trade that gutted the 2009 draft, they basically spent 13 picks to get 5 players. And we wonder why this team has so many holes.
They also had 2 trade downs, including the 2007 trade down to get an extra #1 in 2008 (Felix Jones) and a trade down in 2009 where they picked up quantity but dropped significant quality to do so. Just stay there and grab Andy Levitre has been said quite a few times since that bad idea of a trade down and settle for Robert Brewster (who never played) in the 3rd Round.
===
Bill Parcells/Jerry Jones Era
2006: Cowboys
Traded #49-Kellen Clemons to Jets for #53-Anthony Fasano, #189-Drew Coleman, #211-Pat McQuistan. TRADE DOWN
Cowboys
Traded #80-Clint Ingram to Jaguars for #92-Jason Hatcher and #125-Skyler Green). TRADE DOWN
===
2005: No Trades (but the extra pick from 2004 accounted below).
===
2004: Cowboys traded away #22-J.P. Losman to Buffalo for #43-Julius Jones, #144-Sean Ryan, 2005 first round
pick (#20-Marcus Spears) TRADE DOWN
===
2003: No Trades
Summary of Parcells/Jones: As you can see, this is a unique period in which draft picks were used poorly, but they were always valued. The Cowboys only participated in 3 trades in 4 drafts of top 100 picks, but each time they were accumulating bodies and stepping back. They sent away 3 picks and brought back 8. This is how a roster is built quickly, if it can be done properly. Mistakes were made when Parcells ran the war-room, with the Steven Jackson/Julius Jones decision chief amongst them, Bobby Carpenter, and many offensive linemen too (Jacob Rogers, Stephen Peterman), and of course the legendary battle where Parcells wanted Marcus Spears or Shawne Merriman over DeMarcus Ware. But, overall, the efficiency and conservative nature of his draft day philosophy is in sharp contrast to say, Phillips/Jones.
===
Dave Campo/Jerry Jones Era
2002: Cowboys traded #6-Ryan Sims to Kansas City for #8-Roy Williams, #75-Derek Ross, #186-Zuriel Smith. TRADE DOWN
Cowboys traded up to #63 to take Antonio Bryant and #129 Jamar Martin, sending Chicago #72-Roosevelt Williams, #104-Alex Brown, #140-Bobby Gray. TRADE UP
===
2001: Cowboys traded #37-Idrees Bashir to Colts for #52-Chris Chambers and #81-Kenny Smith. TRADE DOWN
Cowboys trade #52-Chris Chambers to Dolphins for #56-Tony Dixon and #122-Markus Steele. TRADE DOWN
Cowboys trade for pick #53 Quincy Carter by sending the Saints #70-Sedrick Hodge and #81-Kenny Smith. TRADE UP
===
2000: Dallas
traded 2000 first round pick (#19-Shaun Alexander), 2001 first round pick (#7-Andre Carter) to the Seattle for Joey Galloway. TRADE OUT
They also
traded pick #80-Darrell Jackson to Seattle for James McKnight. TRADE OUT
Summary of Campo/Jones: Wow. To see it all on paper again is tough to read. This is where things really started spiraling out of control as Jerry went "all in" on the Galloway trade. In fact, he went so crazy that we really forgot about the overpayment for James McKnight with the SAME TEAM! Then, the targeting and drafting of Quincy Carter and Antonio Bryant in which neither guy was what you hoped he was and then finally a very impressive job trading back in 2002 for 3 picks to just fall back 2 slots to take the guy you truly wanted. Pretty crazy reviewing these drafts and the gutting of the Galloway trade which set the 2001 trade back initiative into motion. What is truly nuts is that the Galloway trade did not scare him off the Roy Williams idea in 2008.
===
Chan Gailey/Jerry Jones Era:
1999: No trades
===
1998: No Trades
Summary of Gailey/Jones: about as non-descript an era of the Cowboys history as we can find. The only notable footnotes of these 2 drafts would be the Randy Moss/Greg Ellis decision which has been discussed pretty thoroughly by now.
===
Barry Switzer/Jerry Jones Era:
1997: Cowboys trade with the Eagles to get #22-David LaFleur and send away #25-Jon Harris, #155-Luther Broughton, 1998 third round pick #70-Brian Alford. TRADE UP
They then trade #54-Kevin Abrams to
Lions for #65-Dexter Coakley and #101-Antonio Anderson. TRADE DOWN
===
1996: Cowboys trade Washington Pick #30 - Andre Johnson for #37-Kavika Pittman and #67-Clay Shiver. TRADE DOWN
Cowboys get pick #49-Randall Godfrey from Miami in exchange for #60-Michael Cheever and #99-Phillip Daniels. TRADE UP
1995: Cowboys trade Tampa Bay pick #28 - Derrick Brooks for #41-Ronald Davis and #63-Shane Hannah. TRADE DOWN
Cowboys trade Atlanta pick #41 - Ronald Davis for #46-Sherman Williams and #110-Eric Bjornson. TRADE DOWN
===
1994: Cowboys trade for pick #23 - Shante Carver from San Francisco (also receive pick #217) for #28-William Floyd and #62-Tyrone Drakeford. TRADE UP
Summary of Switzer/Jones Era: This was certainly a very active era where the Cowboys were constantly doing something in these 4 drafts. In the end, the trades up and trades back seem to cancel each-other out in number - but don't be fooled. The quantity is out-weighed by the details. The 1995 passing on Derrick Brooks for what amounts to Sherman Williams, Shane Hannah, and Eric Bjornson seems crazy. Also, the amount of heaven and earth that was moved to get Troy Aikman his new tight end in David LaFleur should not be under-rated, either. And in 1994, sending a 1st and 2nd to get Shante Carver is a bit cringe worthy, too.
Below is a very basic summary of the trades by era. The Player +/- is simply a quantity count of players in versus players out in these trades. They, by no means, account for quality of players so it is a flawed discussion for sure. But, just so you can see the activity by era, here it is:
| Head Coach | Trades Up | Trades Down | Trades Out | Player +/- |
| Garrett | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Phillips | 4 | 2 | 1 | -5 |
| Parcells | 0 | 3 | 0 | +5 |
| Campo | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 |
| Gailey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Switzer | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 9 | 12 | 3 | -1 |
I kid. Sort of.
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