concussion and didn't return. Then Galloway got hurt in the fourth quarter, after catching his only touchdown of the season, a pass from Randall Cunningham, and he would never catch another pass from Aikman.
Once Galloway returned in 2001, it was hard to tell what the real problem was, and why he wasn't showing the world of talent he displayed in Seattle, where he had three 1,000-yard seasons and another 987-yard year in four seasons.
In 2001, the Cowboys started four quarterbacks for at least two games each. Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf, Anthony Wright and Clint Stoerner all got a turn that year. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a haven for receivers. But coming back from the injury the year before, Galloway wasn't all the way back yet.
He didn't really show that explosiveness again until 2002, where he had his best numbers - 62 catches for 908 yards and six touchdowns, despite playing half the season with Carter and the other half with Chad Hutchinson.
In 2003, when Bill Parcells arrived, the Cowboys had three big-play receivers in Galloway, Terry Glenn and Antonio Bryant. Still, Carter was the one throwing the ball, therefore the numbers still weren't that high. He only had 34 catches, but with 672 yards, Galloway led the NFL with a 19.1 yard average.
Still, Parcells wanted his own guy. He traded Galloway to Tampa for Keyshawn Johnson, who clearly wasn't the same player he was earlier in his career, but very serviceable for two years.
As for Galloway, he went to the Bucs and thrived. After played just 10 games in 2004 and having only 416 receiving yards, he produced three straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Bucs from 2005-07, earning himself a Pro Bowl selection.
Now that's the player the Cowboys were expecting all along. It was the player Jerry thought he was getting. You can't really blame the guy for taking a big chance on a player with that type of potential. As Galloway has now proven since he left the Cowboys, he's still a top-notch receiver.
Galloway ranks 25th on the NFL's all-time list with 10,070 yards. That's good for eighth among active players. Galloway still falls under that category after signing a one-year deal with the Patriots. That's an interesting move considering Randy Moss will be on one side with Wes Welker working the middle. That could be big-time for Galloway, who shouldn't get too many double-teams. If there's one thing he can still do, it's run.
So the Cowboys obviously didn't fork over to No. 1s for a dog. He just didn't have the right surroundings.
OK, now let's look at the draft and what they gave up. You can look at the deal and say the Cowboys gave up two No. 1 picks. But I vividly remember scouting director Larry Lacewell stating the team really only surrendered one pick, if you indeed count Galloway as a "first-rounder" himself.
It's easy to see Alexander's numbers and say the Cowboys could've had that. But we all know they wouldn't have drafted him, not with Emmitt Smith still in the fold. Alexander went with the 19th overall pick in 2000. Who were the Cowboys going to take at No. 19? Another Ebenezer Ekuban? A Shante Carver?
Look at those drafts. Let's say they did have a first-round pick in 2000. Would it have been anyone who could play? Based on what the Cowboys did in 2000, you could argue it was the worst draft in club history.
Five players in all: Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore, Michael Wiley, Mario Edwards and Orantes Grant.
The next year wasn't much better. Quincy Carter, Tony Dixon, Willie Blade, Matt Lehr, Markus Steele, John Nix, Colston Weatherington and Daleroy Stewart. Now, that's a solid arena team right there.
Seriously? There's no telling who those first-round picks would've been.
My point is that maybe Jerry was onto something there. He had seen the Cowboys draft Carver, Kavika Pittman, David LaFleur, Greg Ellis and Ebenezer Ekuban with their first picks of the last few years.
With little results coming from those players, I don't think you could fault him for taking a chance at a veteran player.
But he got hurt. Then
