Dallas Cowboys can't duplicate 2007 Pro Bowl success
December 17
Dallas Morning News Columnist Todd Archer
"Last season, the Dallas Cowboys sent an NFL-record 13 players to the Pro Bowl. Eleven were selected by a vote of fans, players, coaches and management. Two were added as injury replacements.
And it became the perfect tag for an underachieving season: The Cowboys, who sent 13 players to the Pro Bowl, did not win a playoff game.
And the Super Bowl champion New York Giants had only one player picked last season - defensive end Osi Umenyiora.
On Tuesday, five Cowboys were named to the 2008 Pro Bowl: tight end Jason Witten, linebacker DeMarcus Ware, nose tackle Jay Ratliff, guard Leonard Davis and center Andre Gurode.
Witten, Ware, Ratliff and Gurode were named starters on the NFC all-star team. Davis is a backup. More Cowboys could be named depending on how many alternates the Cowboys have and how many players defer because of injury.
Witten, who leads the Cowboys with 69 catches for 815 yards, earned his fifth straight selection. Ware, who leads the NFL in sacks with 19, and Gurode will make their third consecutive trip; Davis will make his second in a row.
Ratliff, a seventh-round pick in 2005, is making his first trip. Despite being an undersized nose tackle at 6-4, 298, he leads Cowboys' defensive linemen with 72 tackles and has a career-high seven sacks.
As honored as Ratliff was to get the call while reeling in a 50-pound catfish on Lake Lewisville on Tuesday afternoon, his sights are set higher.
"A lot of guys go to the Pro Bowl, but they never won a Super Bowl," Ratliff said. "My main thing is still the main thing. I want to win a Super Bowl. That's what I want to be remembered as - a Super Bowl winner, not a Pro Bowl nominee or whatever."
The New York Jets had the most selections with seven, followed by the Giants, Minnesota and Tennessee with six apiece. The Cowboys and Baltimore, Saturday's opponent in the final regular-season game at Texas Stadium, had five each.
You could make the case that the Cowboys could have had more picks Tuesday.
Despite missing three games, Tony Romo is the NFC's highest-rated passer, and his 24 touchdown passes are third-most in the conference behind Arizona's Kurt Warner and New Orleans' Drew Brees.
But the Giants' Eli Manning got the nod as the third quarterback, partially because of his run to the Super Bowl last season.
No other inside linebacker in the NFL has more sacks than Bradie James (six), and Cowboys coaches have credited him with 171 tackles, which leads the team. He also has five tackles for loss, five quarterback pressures, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries."
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