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| Wednesday, April 11 Associated Press | |||
IRVING, Texas – The guys who played with Troy Aikman the
last 12 years are having trouble imagining the Dallas Cowboys
without him.
"That strong arm, the blond hair and blue eyes – his legacy is
part of the Dallas Cowboys'," running back Emmitt Smith said.
"Any time you saw us winning, you saw him throwing."
Although Aikman's career with the Cowboys ended when he was
released March 7, his emotional retirement ceremony Monday made the
reality of his departure sink in for many of his former teammates.
"Troy was probably one of the ones you thought was going to be
here the longest," said Daryl Johnston, who joined the team with
Aikman in 1989 and retired last year. "I know Emmitt Smith and
Mark Stepnoski are still here, but his departure signals the end.
"It's going to be very difficult to view the Dallas Cowboys the
same way. He was the cornerstone. It's going to be very different
for fans when they watch the Dallas Cowboys this season."
Aikman, Smith and Michael Irvin were the "Triplets" who zoomed
the Cowboys from the bottom of the NFL to the top. Dallas went from
one win in Aikman's rookie season to Super Bowl champions in his
fourth.
The Cowboys went on to win two more, making Aikman one of only
three quarterbacks with three Super Bowl titles.
"All three of us stepped up," Smith said. "We all pushed one
another. He probably was the laid-back one, but he was the stubborn
one, too. His stubbornness was really his way of showing that
losing was not an option."
Aikman's strong, accurate arm was the foundation for his
success. Combine those with his leadership and work ethic and the
result was a 12-year career that will go down as one of the
greatest of all-time.
"When he was good, and the offense was clicking and he had it
humming, he was as good as I've ever seen," said Pat Summerall, a
broadcaster and player since the 1950s. "If I had to define him in
a word, I'd say accuracy. Somewhere in there I'd say intelligence.
"I think sometimes we all use `great' too many times on too
many occasions. But I think he'll go down as one of the great
ones."
Smith said that when Aikman was under center, he brought a
"presence, someone lacking fear at that position."
"Whenever he stood on the field, people knew he could beat
them," Smith said.
Aikman won three Super Bowls in his first six years, then won
just one playoff game in his last six seasons. Dallas' championship
nucleus dissolved through free agency, age and injuries.
The 34-year-old Aikman especially took a pounding, suffering 10
concussions, including four in his last 20 games. He also fought a
painful back problem.
Yet calling it a career wasn't easy. During a nearly 1-hour
news conference, Aikman often brushed tears from his eyes and
paused to gather his emotions.
"He was more emotional than everyone expected," Irvin said.
"He's a stoic kind of guy. This shows what football and the
relationships he's built meant to him."
Irvin and Johnston went through the same emotions in the same
room at Texas Stadium last summer. Aikman spoke with both of them
about life after football before deciding to join them in
retirement.
"We talked about that time schedule," Irvin said. "He's been
doing the same thing for so long, how do you adjust?"
Aikman is expected to take a broadcasting job as soon as this
week. No matter what Aikman does next, his longtime backup Jason
Garrett said he expects success.
"Everything Troy Aikman does, he does it well and he does it
right," Garrett said. "He puts his whole self into. You saw that
again today."
Former Cowboys defensive coordinator Butch Davis, an assistant
in Dallas during Aikman's glory days, said "it's a little bit sad
to see Troy get out."
"But it's good to see him do it on his terms," Davis said.
"Troy was one of the toughest players. He would stand in the face
of adversity and still be able to get the ball off. He was a great
leader."
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As Troy Aikman's most reliable protector, Nate Newton witnessed Aikman's drive to win plenty of times.