These weren’t the LA Rams. The visiting team in the 1981 divisional playoffs were the fledgling Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had only been to the playoffs once before in 1979 where they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles and lost in the conference title game to the LA Rams. Coach John McKay had gone from giving lovable loser soundbites to giving the NFC Central something to sweat. They had won four of their last five encounters to make the postseason. Doug Williams, completing his 4th season, was emerging as the division’s best quarterback. Tight end Jimmy Giles caught 45 passes for 786 yards and 6 touchdowns — enough to land him in the Pro Bowl. The Buccaneers offense also had potent threats like Kevin House and James Wilder.

In 1981, the Cowboys defense was treated to a pleasant surprise. Undrafted rookie Everson Walls led the NFL with 11 interceptions and helped opposite cornerback Dennis Thurman found “Thurman’s Thieves.” As usually, Doomsday, the Cowboys’ impressive front four, was led by Harvey Martin, John Dutton, Randy White, and Ed “Too Tall” Jones, a group that included a Hall of Famer and two others who ought to be in Canton. They pressured quarterbacks and shutdown runningbacks.

Doomsday made its presence known on the first play of the game. Ed “Too Tall” Jones sacked Doug Williams on the game’s opening drive. This was the first of four sacks Doomsday would get on the eventual Super Bowl XXII MVP. Doomsday would also pressure Williams into two intentional grounding penalties, thus making field position a luxury Tampa Bay did not have.

Ed “Too Tall” Jones launches at the wavering Doug Williams.

The first quarter bore no scoring fruits for the Cowboys. After all, they were facing a Buccaneers defense that was second in the league in takeaways and also talked the previous week about how confident they were against the Cowboys’ passing attack. However, the Cowboys glided down the field commandingly in the second quarter with a nine yard touchdown pass from Danny White to Tony Hill. Kicker Rafael Septien added three points of his own to give the Cowboys 10 total points in the second quarter. The Buccaneers were held scoreless, which was caused by their average starting position at their own 19 yard line. A 10-0 halftime lead for Dallas seemed rather low, but the Cowboys weren’t finished.

Turnovers were an issue for the Buccaneers. They lost the turnover battle 4-0. The Cowboys’ defense forced Williams into four interceptions. Dennis Thurman picked off Doug Williams twice, but it was Ed Jones’ interception and Michael Downs’ pick that helped lead to two touchdowns in the third quarter. All in all, the Cowboys scored 21 points in the third quarter from three different runningbacks. Ron Springs had a one-yard score, while Tony Dorsett and James Jones each rushed from five yards out.

Tampa Bay only advanced into Cowboys territory four times the entire game. In the second half, the Buccaneers only gained two yards rushing. Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ ground attack featured five different ball carriers who gained 212 yards for the team. In the fourth quarter, Timmy Newsome ceremonially sealed the deal with a one yard touchdown run to give the Cowboys a 38-0 win and make John McKay want to “get the hell out of here.”

Danny White was boringly effective going 15 of 26 for 143 yards and a touchdown. Tony Dorsett gained 86 yards on 16 attempts and had a touchdown. Ron Springs trailed with 70 yards on 15 attempts and a touchdown. And the defense was stupendous with its four interceptions, four sacks, and a shutout. Tom Landry compared this performance to the notorious “Doomsday in the Dome” feat from Super Bowl XII.

In the scope of the 1981 divisional weekend, the match preceded the famed “Miracle in Miami” between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. That was the incredible game from the weekend that would last decades. The dominant performance against the Buccaneers was a great sendoff to the Bay Area for the Cowboys as the Giants fell to the upstart 49ers. They needed all the confidence they could get since the 49ers creamed them 45-14 in early in the season in San Fransisco. The Cowboys would be fortunate if the upcoming contest was close at all.

When Dallas Cowboys Owner and GM Jerry Jones inducted Drew Pearson, Larry Allen, and Charley Haley in to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, it brought the total to 20 men (18 players plus Tom Landry and Tex Schramm) in the Ring.

Great Player, but don't think he should be in the Ring.(Credit: Manny Rubio-US PRESSWIRE)

I would argue that Jerry, prior to inducting Haley, had done a reasonable job of preserving the sanctity of the Ring. He hasn’t exactly been frugal with inductions: there were only 6 players in the Ring when he bought the club in 1989. But he hasn’t, at least until recently, done anything that would warrant accusations that he had cheapened the Ring.

One of the first polls I ever wrote for The Landry Hat was about whether or not Charles Haley deserved to be in the Ring of Honor. Over 60% of the people (less than 100) said he didn’t deserve to be in the Ring.

Although I had several reasons, one of the main reasons that Haley should not have been inducted into the Ring of Honor was that I felt that it was an insult to Harvey Martin. To read that argument, click here. 

The Harvey Martin vs. Charles Haley debate got me thinking about what other Dallas Cowboys players should be in the Ring of Honor.

Who should be the next player(s) to be inducted into the Ring of Honor?

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Let’s go back to the first game of the Cowboys season for a second, where we see a loss to the New York Jets twenty first ranked pass offense and twenty second ranked rushing offense. Which mattered more: Romo’s fumble and interception, or the fact that we couldn’t stop Mark Sanchez from connecting with Plaxico Burress? Take into account we had the Jets pinned at their own 15 yard line and didn’t hold them to a 3rd down play until they were at the Dallas 26 yard line. If we had a defense worth their salt we would have won that game, changed our entire season and the seasons of many other teams (including the New York Giants). But we didn’t and sadly our Cowboys were scheduling tee times instead of practice times.

I’ll skip the Detroit Lions game for obvious reasons, but how about our week six match up against the AFC Champion Patriots? The Cowboys were winning heading into the 4th quarter, but once again the Cowboys defense failed to hold Tom Brady to much more than a 3rd and 1. Three plays after that 3rd and 1, we were watching Aaron Hernandez throw imaginary dollar bills into the air from the end zone. Again, another situation where a good defense could come in handy, don’t you think? Keep looking at our loss column and you will see the same thing over and over again.

Cardinals game: Couldn’t stop the mighty Kevin Kolb from hooking up with Stephens-Howling for a 52 yard scamper to win the game.

Both Eagles games: Our defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed.

Both Giants games: Our defense looked like they made a wrong turn heading to the Texas Rangers game.

All 8 of our losses can be credited, in many ways, to the lack of play by our defense. When Romo messes up, we should be feeling confident in our defense making a stop, not holding our breath and betting on the over/under for how long it takes them to score.

Defense is just as important now as it was fifty years ago. Heck, even the best offense in the league can have a bad day. Look at Green Bay. I thought they were Super Bowl bound the very second Aaron Rogers put up 61 points in one of my fantasy leagues. But wouldn’t you know it, the Giant’s defense held the great Aaron Rogers to only two touchdowns. Meanwhile the Packer’s Defense that was so good last year, gave Eli the opportunity to throw for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Putting defense on the back burner this draft could make for another painful season next year. Like I said in my last article, I like DeCastro, from Stanford not USC, but I would feel very disappointed if we were to draft him with our fourteenth pick. If we don’t address the needs of our twenty third ranked pass defense then the Cowboys are in trouble.

Now, if the Cowboys did draft DeCastro and then made some big free agent pick ups I would feel a little more comfortable. But the 2011 Cowboys were interested in getting younger so I don’t see them pulling a 180 and spending what little cap space we have left on a big name free agents. During the Jerry Jones era of the Dallas Cowboys we have seen two types of teams: the Troy Aikmen led winners and the interchangeable Quarterback black hole led by Ryan Leaf and Quincy Carter. I don’t want to be known through out the league as winning one playoff game in 15 years anymore. I want our doomsday defense back. I saw enough offense at Texas Tech during the Mike Leach era to know that however good your offense is you can still lose without a good defense. I know that drafting a DB could be boom or bust, and I know DeCastro could be Pro Bowl material, but we would be picking him just to pick him, or for the “safe play”. Research who our last ‘safe’ draft picks are and you’ll find Barbie…I mean Bobby Carpenter, the slow starting Anthony Spencer, the highly touted yet highly mediocre Felix Jones, and Mike Jenkins. Even if we go with Quinton Couples, like the mock draft 2.0 projects, I would be happy. And at this point, I don’t care who we draft as long as they play defense.

Defense still matters. Go Cows.

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