Woodson: 90s Defenses “Never Got That Recognition”

Darren Woodson believes the great Cowboys defenses of the 1990s haven't gotten the recognition they deserve

There’s never any shortage of folks in North Texas who love to reminisce on the glory days of the 1990s, when the Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four years. But inevitably, the discussion centers around those teams’ offensive stars--the offensive line that became known as The Great Wall of Dallas and the always vaunted Triplets, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

But with all that love for those great offenses, is it possible the Dallas defenses of the early 90s are actually underappreciated?

Darren Woodson, the longtime safety who was there for all three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s, believes so.

“We’ve never been recognized that way. I think it’s an injustice and a slap in the face to the guys who played in the ’90s,” Woodson told the team’s official website recently. “Guys like Ken Norton that was a great leader for us in ’92. And Charles Haley, Tony Tolbert, Russell Maryland, the list goes on and on about the great football players on the defensive side of the ball that never got that recognition.”

Aikman, Smith and Irvin are all in the Hall of Fame and the Cowboys Ring of Honor, as is longtime offensive lineman Larry Allen. Haley is the only player named by Woodson who is headed to enshrinement in Canton, and he was just voted in this year after being named a finalist five times. The only other defensive player in the Hall of Fame who was present for a Cowboys Super Bowl in the 1990s is Deion Sanders.

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