Oh No, Here We Go Again

again, would it? 

Especially since he's a seniors committee nominee, and last year, well, after the Hayes fiasco in 2004, the full Hall committee basically rubber-stamped the two seniors' nominations - Bennie Friedman and Fritz Pollard. So if you can be convinced to send those two to the Hall of Fame, why the hell not Wright? 

But Aikman? Well, we know. We saw him play nearly every one of his games. We saw what he did and what he meant to this franchise for 12 years. We saw the passes he threw and the games he won, more so than just his stark numbers, which in the all-time history of NFL quarterbacks, are probably just better than modest when it comes to some of those top 10 all-time lists. 

Yet, I'm guaranteeing you over the next couple of weeks you will hear Aikman's numbers compared to the likes of Warren Moon, along with the recent quarterbacks selected to the Hall of Fame, guys like John Elway and Dan Marino. 

Well, when that happens, here are some numbers that need to be thrown out on Aikman: His career playoff numbers. Check this out. Aikman holds an 11-4 record as a starting quarterback in the playoffs. That's 15 games - one short of another regular season. 

Here they are: 320 for 502 (63.7 percent) for 3,849 yards, 23 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and a QB rating of 88.3. And understand, eight of those interceptions occurred in two years (1994 and 1996), and better yet, six in just two games, the NFC Championship game loss to San Francisco and the second-round loss to Carolina in those years. 

So, would you take that over an entire season? 

You bet. 

And consider this: Over those 15 games, the Cowboys weren't playing any 6-10 teams or 4-12 teams that you would over a regular season. You're just playing playoff-caliber teams, and remember, he played three teams which advanced to the Super Bowl and four teams which advanced to the NFC title game. So that's seven of those 15 games played against championship teams. 

And he put up those kind of numbers? 

Don't even come in here with that weak stuff about having played with a superior supporting cast. Already, I've heard one national columnist spout that junk. How do we know the cast he played with wasn't superior because of the superior play at quarterback? Would Michael Irvin have caught so many passes if the quarterback wasn't always splitting the 8's on his uniform? Would Jay Novacek had as many catches as he did if the quarterback didn't know where to find the tight end? 

And for those who just won't give up the fight, would Emmitt Smith have been able to become the all-time leading rusher in the NFL if defenses didn't fear the quarterback's arm, accuracy and efficiency? I keep hearing how Aikman could not win games without Emmitt Smith. Well, how many games did Emmitt Smith win after Aikman retired, oh by the way? 

Sometimes you just got to throw away numbers. Sometimes you just got to not be so anal. Sometimes you just got to go by what you see, and with Aikman, we saw some NFL history that needs to be preserved in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

To me, maybe to you, too, Aikman is a slam dunk. 

But if history means anything, not so fast.     

MICK SHOTS