Is the Window Closing On the Cowboys? Or is it just Opening?
By Levi Glenn
First off I would like all the readers to know that I am a diehard Cowboys fan. I will always have faith in my team and believe that the ‘Boys could very well win the next 5 super Bowls. I know it is very unlikely for them or any team to win the next 5 Super Bowls but that is the fan in me speaking. I could never agree with any negativity against my team that’s in the media. Also I want to object to Colin Cowherd’s opinion of fans like me being the fourth most delusional fan base. Being a delusional fan just means we are loyal to our team. Since the Dallas Cowboys have the most loyal fan base in the world, don’t insult us with number 4 Colin, go ahead and put us at number 1.
This year I have heard a lot of talk about this window the Dallas Cowboys have and how it closing if not already shut. I don’t buy in to it at all. Most of the opinions are from retired football players that think they know best. First of all if a full career of football is causing enough brain traumas for ex-players to kill themselves, why should any of us believe they know what they are talking about?
They simply base the idea of this so called window on the fact that the teams three biggest stars are walking on the field in 2012 in their 30’s. Tony Romo just recently turned 32, Jason Witten just turned 30, and DeMarcus Ware is turning 30 in July. Is 30 plus a bad age for a QB? Look at the ages of Hall of Fame QB’s that won a Super Bowl at 30 plus.
Steve Young won his Super Bowl at age 33, Roger Staubach won two super bowls just days before his 30th, and 36th birthday, Joe Montana won 2 Super Bowls in his 30’s, Terry Bradshaw won a title at 31, John Elway won at 37 and 38, and also Peyton and Eli got one at 30 and 31. These are most the QB’s that all others want to be in their careers.
If the age game is going to be played than they better leave Tony Romo out of it. What about newly thirtied Jason Witten? Well let’s see, Mike Ditka was 32 in Super Bowl VI and John Mackey was 30 in Super Bowl V. What about Shannon Sharpe He won 3 Super Bowls in his career and the first one came at the age of 29. If you look at all the Super Bowl victories by a Hall of Fame TE the majority of them came at 30 plus. I guess Jason Witten should be ineligible for the age game as well.
Now that leaves soon to be thirtied DeMarcus Ware. Compare his age to the all-time greats. We have Lawrence Taylor that won a Super Bowl at the too old age of 31, Ray Nitschke was 30 in a Super Bowl, Nick Buoniconti was 32 in his first, and Harry Carson was 33. Once again these are Hall Of Fame linebackers.
This, in my opinion, tells me that Romo, Witten and Ware are just getting into the best age of a Hall Of Fame career. Romo is still getting better each year and hasn’t shown any signs of that changing anytime soon. Witten still is a huge threat to any defense and considering he hasn’t suffered an injury since his rookie year he has some good years left in him. Ware, the biggest beast in the in the NFC east, his sack count was so great last year that if it would take someone with brain trauma to think he is slowing down.
The age of thirty being too old to win a Super Bowl is somewhat ridiculous but it depends on the position. Football is a physical sport and the human body can only sustain so much abuse. QB’s are hit about 80 times a season and with rules protecting them the hits they receive aren’t as brutal as hits on others. TE’s on the other hand get hit about the same but the hits are brutal and untamed. I remember Jason Witten getting hit by members of the Eagles defense and the force of the hit took his helmet off. Witten being the stud he is stayed on his feet and ran another 30 yards or so. LB’s take a lot of abuse and are involved in roughly 100 hits a year but for the most part being the hitter isn’t as bad as being the hittee. RB’s on the other hand have been hit up to 3,000 times by the time they hit 30 that’s just on an average of 24 combined hits after runs and receptions per game in an 8 year period.
Considering the ages of Romo, Witten, and Ware there is no problem with what history has shown us for those positions. With the roster still having young talent at RB and WR the Dallas Cowboys are in pretty good shape, and if they do have a window history would suggest that it is just opening.