Troy Aikman and the Hall of Fame
In 2006, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This was a proud day for Cowboys fans as Aikman had been a part of the team that restored glory to the franchise. The Cowboys hadn’t been awful before Aikman was drafted, but they were a decade removed from their last Super Bowl championship. With Aikman under center, the Cowboys would go on to win the NFC East six times and win the Super Bowl three times in four years. There’s no question that Aikman played a big part in Dallas’ success, but does he belong in the Hall of Fame?
On the surface, it seems like an outrageous question. Troy Aikman was one of the biggest names in professional sports in the 90’s, and was the face of a dynasty. During a time when the NFC won 13 Super Bowls in a row, only Joe Montana’s 49ers were more successful than Aikman’s Cowboys. To say that Aikman doesn’t belong seems ridiculous. In order to determine whether someone does or does not belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you first have to determine what it takes to be enshrined.
What Makes A Hall Of Famer?
In order to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, you have to be among the very best to ever play the game. Being enshrined in the Hall of Fame is a lot like being put on the Mount Rushmore of your sport. There have been hundreds of great players that have gone out and sacrificed their mental and physical health to entertain on Sundays, but not all of them belong in the Hall of Fame. The more players that are enshrined, the less significance being enshrined provides.
Historical Relevance
Historical relevance explains how they changed the game, and the moments that we fans remember decades later. Players like Johnny Unitas, Dan Fouts, Jimmy Kelly and Peyton Manning have come and gone, but what they have left behind speaks volumes about their careers. With the game of football constantly evolving, history shines brightly on those who did their best to change it.
This also includes the moments that are frozen in time. An unknown back-up quarterback named Tom Brady hoists the Lombardi Trophy for the first time. Brett Favre skips joyfully down the sideline after a small audible leads to a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Willie Brown, at the age of 36 years old, picks off Fran Tarkenton and takes it the house, guaranteeing the Raiders their first Super Bowl win.
Does this apply to Aikman? He certainly does. Even if you’re not a football fan, the chances are pretty good that you know who Troy Aikman was. When the NFC East was at its absolute best, America’s Team was the cream of the crop. When the Cowboys changed head coaches in 1993, the Cowboys went right back to the Super Bowl, and it’s hard to imagine that it would’ve happened without Troy Aikman under center.
Importance To Team Success
When you think of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who do you think of? It’s certainly not Trent Dilfer, with his meager 1,500 yards and 12 touchdown passes. More likely than not, you think of Ray Lewis and one of the best defenses in NFL history. When you think about the Patriots from 2014, you might think of how crisp Julian Edelman’s routes were or Malcolm Butler’s miracle interception in the Super Bowl, but the name that comes to mind first is Tom Brady. Without Tom Brady, the New England Patriots are still Miami’s ugly stepsibling and they certainly don’t have four Lombardi Trophies.
The Hall of Fame is mostly made up of players who were on championship teams, and it just makes sense. The best teams are made up of the best players making their best plays. This is a very difficult subject to debate because you’ll never know for sure just how much each player contributed to their team. Barry Sanders is considered by many to be the best runningback of all time, and the biggest reason is that he dominated despite being surrounded by mediocre talent. But by that same logic, how can you say that Jerry Rice is the best receiver of all time when he played with several MVP quarterbacks? Because you just know. It’s not a science, and ultimately comes down to your opinion.
With Aikman, this subject is very complicated. The Dallas Cowboys in the 1990’s weren’t just really good, they were great. In 1992, when Aikman won his first Super Bowl, the Cowboys were number one in total defense. They only gave up 246 yards per game. That’s not through the air, that’s total yards. They only gave up 168 passing yards and 78 rushing yards despite playing in a wildly competitive division and conference. They only gave up 15 points a game. In 2015, the Seattle Seahawks were number one in that category, and they gave up two and a half more point per game.
The next year, the Cowboys repeated, and the defense was just as good, if not better. While they gave up more yards (297 per game), they managed to shave a full point off of their ridiculous points allowed per game. Somehow, despite giving up more yards, the Cowboys only gave up 14 points a game in 1993. Curiously, the Cowboys were middle of the pack when it came to sacks (18th) and interceptions (17th).
In 1995, Aikman won his final Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys, and the defense was only 9th, giving up about 315 yards and 18 points a game. It’s worth noting again that if the Cowboys gave up 18 points a game in 2015, they would’ve been third in the league, one spot ahead of the eventual Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos.
This isn’t to insinuate that Aikman’s offense wasn’t impressive, because it certainly was. In fact, when you think of the Cowboys dynasty, you probably think of the offense first. Aikman, along with future hall of famers wide receiver Michael Irvin and runningback Emmitt Smith made up the triplets. Many teams, from St. Louis’ “Greatest Show on Turf” to the trio of Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, and Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis would attempt to re-create this strategy.
It’s unfair to insinuate that Aikman’s receiving corps made him great, because it could just as easily be the other way around. It’s impossible to determine whether it was Aikman that made receivers like Michael Irvin great or vice versa. It could be argued that Irvin wouldn’t have been as great as he was if the Cowboys had chosen instead to stick with Steve Walsh instead of Troy Aikman moving forward in 1990. So despite the fact that almost half of Troy Aikman’s touchdown passes went to Michael Irvin, we’ll leave that alone. Especially since the Cowboys weren’t really a passing team.
Runningback Emmitt Smith retired in 2004, and despite the greatness of backs like Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Lewis, and Ladanian Tomlinson, is still the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. With 18,355 yards, Smith has almost 2,000 yards on the closest rusher, Chicago’s Walter Payton. In Dallas’ championship seasons, Smith rushed for a combined 4,982 yards. That’s 26 more yards than the legendary Gale Sayers had in his entire career. If you averaged Smith’s Super Bowl seasons, he rushed for 1,657 yards and 17 touchdowns. Smith would lead the league in both categories in 2015.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Smith played in a different era. Adrian Peterson led the league in rushing in 2015, and he carried the ball 327 times, the most of any player. During Dallas’ Super Bowl seasons, Smith rushed an average of 344 times. What’s really incredible about that is that during that same span, Aikman only averaged 432 passes a season.
During this span, the Cowboys were rushing behind what would eventually be known as the “Great Wall of Dallas”, one of the best offensive lines of all time. Mark Tuinei, Nate Newton, Mark Stepnoski, John Gesek, and Erik Williams made up an offensive line so great, they got their own special on NFL Network. The strategy of pounding the rock behind a great offensive line is one that has seen a revival recently in Dallas, as the Cowboys won the division with the same strategy in 2014. Interestingly enough, when bellcow runnnigback, DeMarco Murray left in free agency, both parties struggled. The Cowboys couldn’t keep their offense together and Murray only registered 702 yards all season. The Cowboys selected Ezekiel Elliott in the first round, and it’ll be interesting to see if he, Tony Romo, and Dez Bryant can lead the Cowboys back to form.
As far as how much Aikman contributed to these championship teams, it’s hard to say. He certainly didn’t have to look far for other talented players, as several of his teammates also found themselves in the pro football hall of fame. He played with the NFL’s all-time leading rushers and a truly dominant defense. In order to really say how much he contributed, we have to look to the next category.
Statistics
Often, statistics don’t tell the whole story. As we’ve established, the game has changed, and passing numbers from the 90’s pale in comparison to modern stats for a plethora of reasons. If one quarterback throws the ball 100 times and the other quarterback throws the ball ten times, the quarterback with more passes will have better statistics. Quarterbacks in today’s NFL are playing in a completely different league than Aikman did. It’s unfair to expect him to have thrown for 5,000 yards or 50 touchdowns.
But statistics do play a big part on who gets in the Hall of Fame. Aikman need only ask his runningback, who certainly got a boost from his 18,355 yards when voting time came around. Dan Marino, Brett Favre, and Peyton Manning didn’t always play their best football in the post-season, but the numbers they put up between September and January certainly earned them a bust in Canton.
Unfortunately, even for his era, Aikman’s numbers weren’t outstanding. In his 12 year career, Aikman only amassed 32,942 yards and 165 touchdowns with 141 interceptions. His best year was in 1992, where he threw for 3,445 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. However, it’s not fair to compare someone’s best season to another. If we did that, I could argue that Rich Gannon belongs in the Hall of Fame. The easiest and most fair way to compare a career’s worth of statistics is to just average them together. And an average season for Aikman looked like 2,745 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Compared to modern stats, to say those numbers were underwhelming is an understatement. Aikman’s best season looks comparable to an average season for someone like Joe Flacco. Of course, we’ve already been over how much the game has changed. Joe Flacco never had to deal with his receivers being mugged at the line of scrimmage, and if a defender makes anything less than a picture perfect hit on him, it’s a 15 yard penalty. In order to fairly compare Aikman’s numbers, you have to look back to his time and beyond.
Since we’re discussing Hall of Fame Cowboy Quarterbacks, it’s only fair that we compare his numbers to another legend, Roger Staubach. In his career, Staubach amassed 22,700 yards, 153 touchdowns, and only 109 interceptions. For a career, Aikman managed to set the yards and touchdown records for the Cowboys. However, it’s also worth noting that Staubach played one fewer season than Aikman and actually missed most of the beginning of his career because of injuries and team struggles. An average season for Staubach, warts and all, was 2,270 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Aikman managed to average more yards per season, but despite having the likes of Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, he threw for fewer touchdowns and more interceptions.
Going back even further to the man that many refer to as the father of the passing game, Johnny Unitas. In his career, Unitas threw for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns, and 253 interceptions, and he averaged 2,235 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Despite beginning his career more than 40 years before Aikman, Unitas managed to blow Aikman’s numbers out of the water.
In all reality, Aikman’s average was far from impressive. How unimpressive? When listing quarterbacks that played in the wrong era, “Johnny U” is at the top of the list, but another name? Tim Tebow. In Tim Tebow’s only season as a starter, he threw for 1,729 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Aikman’s numbers are still better, but the gap isn’t as big as you’d like for a first ballot Hall of Fame player.
If you break it down, there are plenty of players who had more statistical success than Aikman did that don’t find themselves in the Hall of Fame. Phil Simms, Jim Everett, Len Dawson, John Hadle, Dave Krieg, and Vinny Testaverde all had better numbers than Aikman, some even achieving similar post-season success, and yet they don’t have a bust in Canton, Ohio. Kenny Stabler is finally going into the Hall of Fame this season, but even he had better numbers than Aikman did, as well as an MVP award and a championship.
Ultimately, Troy Aikman will always be a Hall of Famer, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. And in all reality, it shouldn’t be held against him the he just did what the Cowboys asked him to do. At the end of the day, he shouldn’t be criticized because he didn’t ask to play for a worse team. The important issue here isn’t that Aikman is in the Hall, it’s that there are several players and coaches who aren’t in the hall of fame for many of the reasons I posted here. Joe Namath went into the hall of fame right away, but Kenny Stabler’s legacy wasn’t honored until he passed away. John Hadl revolutionized the passing game, but the negative statistics have barred him from Canton. If these truly are the standards that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has set for their inductees, then Troy Aikman does not belong.
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