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2001 Dallas Cowboys season

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2001 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerJerry Jones
General managerJerry Jones
Head coachDave Campo
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place5th NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersG Larry Allen
LB Dexter Coakley

The 2001 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 42nd in the National Football League (NFL) and second under head coach Dave Campo. The Cowboys matched their record from the season before, going 5–11 and missing the playoffs, finishing last in the NFC East. For the first time since 1988, Troy Aikman was not on the Cowboys roster as quarterback, as the three-time Super Bowl champion retired, after playing for the team from 1989 to 2000. For the first time, Pat Summerall and John Madden did not call any Cowboys games for Fox all year.

Offseason

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Additions Subtractions
WR Darrin Chiaverini (Browns) QB Randall Cunningham (Ravens)
QB Ryan Leaf (Chargers) QB Troy Aikman (retirement)

An eventful off-season created a lot buzz but little change in the Cowboys' fortunes. Franchise quarterback Troy Aikman, after suffering a pair of concussions the previous season, was released by the team. Unable to sign on with another team — in part due to his long history of concussions — Aikman announced his retirement at an emotional and lengthy press conference later in the off-season. This left running back Emmitt Smith as the last of the famed "triplets" from the Cowboys' Super Bowl victories. Veteran quarterback Tony Banks was signed in the off-season from the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens as an immediate replacement, and owner Jerry Jones hand picked Georgia quarterback Quincy Carter with a second-round draft choice as the quarterback of the future. Many saw the Carter pick as quite a reach considering Carter's inconsistent career at Georgia and his low draft rating by several other teams.

2001 draft class

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Main article: 2001 NFL draft
2001 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 53 Quincy Carter  QB Georgia
2 56 Tony Dixon  SS Alabama
3 93 Willie Blade  DT Mississippi State compensatory
4 122 Markus Steele  LB Southern California
5 137 Matt Lehr  G Virginia Tech
6 171 Daleroy Stewart  DT Southern Mississippi
7 207 Colston Weatherington  DL Central Missouri State
7 240 John Nix  DT Southern Mississippi compensatory
7 242 Char-ron Dorsey  OT Florida State compensatory
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Notes

  • The Cowboys traded their 2000 first-round (No. 19 overall) and 2001 first-round (No. 7 overall) selections to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for wide receiver Joey Galloway.
  • The Cowboys traded their original second-round selection (No. 37 overall) to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for second- (No. 52 overall) and third-round (No. 81 overall) selections.
  • The Cowboys traded their second-round (No. 52 overall, from Indianapolis) selection to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for second (No. 56 overall) and fourth-round (No. 122 overall) selections.
  • The Cowboys traded two third-round (Nos. 70 and 81 overall) selections to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a second-round (No. 53 overall) selection.
  • The Cowboys traded their fourth-round (No. 102 overall) and 2002 seventh-round (No. 217 overall) selections to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for tight end O.J. Santiago.[1]

Undrafted free agents

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2001 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Jason Bell Cornerback UCLA
Demetric Evans Defensive end Georgia
J. J. Jones Linebacker Arkansas
Lynn Scott Safety Northwestern Oklahoma State

Roster

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Dallas Cowboys 2001 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

rookies in italics
53 active, 13 inactive, 5 practice squad

Coaching staff

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Dallas Cowboys 2001 coaching staff
Front office

Head coaches

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Offensive coaches

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Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

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Source:[2]

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 August 4 at Oakland Raiders L 14–21 0–1 Network Associates Coliseum
2 August 11 Denver Broncos L 6–20 0–2 Texas Stadium
3 August 18 at New Orleans Saints L 10–16 0–3 Louisiana Superdome
4 August 27 vs. Oakland Raiders W 21–6 1–3 Mexico Estadio Azteca (Mexico City)
5 August 30 Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–17 2–3 Texas Stadium

Regular season

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Despite what seemed a promising outing in the first pre-season game by starter Tony Banks, the Cowboys, in a very surprising move, released Banks in the middle of training camp and handed the reins over to their rookie quarterback. Unfortunately, a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness led to the Cowboys starting a total of four different quarterbacks over the course of the season, including journeyman Anthony Wright and former Arkansas Razorback Clint Stoerner. In an attempt to provide more depth at the quarterback position, the team signed former second-overall draft pick Ryan Leaf mid-season, however he provided no improvement in his limited playing time. His only start of the season, a Week 9 loss to the Falcons, was the final start of his career. The game also marked the first start for Falcons QB Michael Vick.

Even with the injection of new blood, the Cowboys suffered through another 5–11 campaign and a last place finish in the NFC East. The lack of development at quarterback and the offense as a whole would be blamed on offensive coordinator Jack Reilly who was dismissed after the season. Fans became weary of the Cowboys' performance and blamed owner Jerry Jones, who by now had taken a more hands-on approach to running the team.

One notable game included week 7, where the Cowboys led the Giants 24–7 at halftime, but (thanks in part to Clint Stoerner's 4 interceptions) the Giants rallied to win in overtime. In an unusual move, Stoerner was pulled from the game for Ryan Leaf late in the 4th quarter of a tie game. It was Leaf's debut with the team, but he couldn't lead them to victory.

Another infamous game was on Thanksgiving Day against the Broncos. Dallas trailed 26–10 and scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter. Coach Dave Campo decided against "going for 2" which if successful would have made it an eight-point (and one-possession) game. Campo instead had Dallas kick the extra point, keeping the margin at 9. Dallas did score one more late TD but that was not enough to tie the game and they never got the ball back, and lost 26–24.

A fourth consecutive season sweep of rival Washington Redskins and a victory over the San Francisco 49ers were the only victories of note. Much of the focus turned towards Emmitt Smith and his pursuit of the all-time career rushing yardage record. During an early-season game against the San Diego Chargers, Bob Hayes was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–10 0–1 Texas Stadium 61,521
2[A] September 23 San Diego Chargers L 21–32 0–2 Texas Stadium 63,430
3 September 30 at Philadelphia Eagles L 18–40 0–3 Veterans Stadium 66,621
4[B] October 7 at Oakland Raiders L 21–28 0–4 Network Associates Coliseum 61,535
5 October 15 Washington Redskins W 9–7 1–4 Texas Stadium 63,941
6 Bye[B]
7 October 28 Arizona Cardinals W 17–3 2–4 Texas Stadium 63,114
8 November 4 at New York Giants L 24–27 (OT) 2–5 Giants Stadium 78,673
9 November 11 at Atlanta Falcons L 13–20 2–6 Georgia Dome 69,010
10 November 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 3–36 2–7 Texas Stadium 63,204
11 November 22 Denver Broncos L 24–26 2–8 Texas Stadium 64,104
12 December 2 at Washington Redskins W 20–14 3–8 FedExField 85,112
13 December 9 New York Giants W 20–13 4–8 Texas Stadium 61,821
14 December 16 at Seattle Seahawks L 3–29 4–9 Husky Stadium 63,366
15 December 23 at Arizona Cardinals L 10–17 4–10 Sun Devil Stadium 48,883
16 December 30 San Francisco 49ers W 27–21 5–10 Texas Stadium 64,366
17[A] January 6 at Detroit Lions L 10–15 5–11 Pontiac Silverdome 77,512

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Philadelphia Eagles 11 5 0 .688 343 208 W2
Washington Redskins 8 8 0 .500 256 303 W2
New York Giants 7 9 0 .438 294 321 L2
Arizona Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 295 343 L1
Dallas Cowboys 5 11 0 .313 246 338 L1

Notes

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  1. ^ a b The Cowboys were originally scheduled to play the Detroit Lions during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.
  2. ^ a b The Cowboys were originally scheduled to play the Oakland Raiders during Week 6 (October 21) at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland. However, the game was re-scheduled to Week 4 to accommodate a possible Oakland Athletics baseball game in the ALCS, in which both the Cowboys and Raiders would originally have had their byes. The Athletics were subsequently eliminated on October 15.

References

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  1. ^ "2001 NFL Draft Pick Transactions". ProSportsTransactions.com.
  2. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 113.

Publications

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