Troy Aikman has made a wise decision to retire from the NFL, but not only based on his health. If the doctors cleared him to play football, he should play, as should any player who feels he can still contribute and play at a high level.

But Aikman, at his age, faced the dilemma of finding a football team that ran the same type of a system he knew with the Cowboys. At his age, he didn't have much time to learn a new system. In addition, if a team risked giving him all the reps in mini-camp and training camp, it would be left without a prepared quarterback if Aikman were to get knocked out in the second game of the season.

The NFL has evolved into an era of mobile quarterbacks in the NFL. Each game, a quarterback must be responsible for one or two first downs with his legs. That's not how Aikman played the position. He required a solid offensive line and running back to operate effectively. Putting all the factors together and looking around the league, the best place for Aikman would probably be Baltimore, but that would never happen.

	Regular season vs. Postseason
	As good as Troy Aikman was during his career in the regular season, he was even better during the postseason. Aikman won 11 of his 15 postseason starts, including a perfect 3-0 mark in Super Bowls. His passing yards per game, completion percentage and quarterback rating were all higher in the playoffs.
		Regular	Post
	Win pct.	.570	.733
	Pass YPG	189.1	226.9
	Comp. pct.	61.5	63.7
	QB Rating	81.6	88.3

Regardless, I respect Aikman and think he is a Hall of Fame quarterback. The same argument that was made for Bob Griese as a Hall of Famer could be made for Troy Aikman. Both players never had great statistics, but they won Super Bowls. Aikman never threw more than 23 touchdown passes in a season; Kurt Warner nearly has that many by midseason.

I don't know what the criteria is for the Hall of Fame; all I know is Aikman was a winner and the leader of a great football team for a decade. One must consider Aikman's leadership skills and his ability to deliver under pressure and win big football games. I don't care who people have around them; the quarterback still has to deliver in crunch time. That's what Aikman was able to do.

Aikman was limited last season because he had a suspect supporting cast on offense and defense. The salary cap ultimately caught up with Aikman and the Cowboys. When he had to score 30 points and throw from the pocket 40 times a game to win, Aikman was a sitting duck. During the Cowboys' Super Bowl years, Aikman always threw around 20-25 times a game.

We have seen Dan Marino, John Elway and Steve Young move on. Now it's Aikman's turn. The passing of the old guard has left terrific opportunities for young quarterbacks to shine and become the stars of the game. Aikman was able to continue a great quarterback legacy in Dallas, begun by Roger Staubach. While Staubach's greatness was characterized by his athletic ability and the style of offense the Cowboys ran in the '70s, Aikman will be remembered for his toughness and leadership during the Cowboys' three titles in four years.

Ironically, Aikman's demeanor was more like Tom Landry, Staubach's coach. In the '70s, Dallas had the stoic coach and the athletic quarterback. In the '90s, the Cowboys had the runaround personality of Jimmy Johnson and Aikman's stoic playing abilities. The roles were reversed, but the results were the same.

Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann is analyst on ESPN's Sunday Night Football.