FOX’s Craig Carton didn’t hold back when discussing Troy Aikman’s legacy. Many consider the Hall of Famer one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation, pointing to his three Super Bowl rings as proof. Carton, however, saw it differently. He argued Aikman’s arm was never elite.
“I think Troy Aikman was an average quarterback,” Craig Carton said on WFAN on SNY. “He had a pop-gun arm, but he played behind the best offensive line in football, had the best running back in football at the time, arguably the best wide receiver in football, the best tight end in football, and a top-10 defense. Troy Aikman is thought of as one of the great quarterbacks of his generation because he won three Super Bowls. He did not have a strong arm.”
The numbers tell the story. Aikman’s career averages, 7.0 yards per attempt and 11.4 yards per completion, just aren’t elite numbers. They’re well below what you’d expect from a quarterback known for a big arm. However, it’s a stat Aikman himself would like to see gone, because to him, it “doesn’t tell you anything.”
What made Aikman good was precision, not power. He completed 61.5% of his passes and threw very few interceptions, just 3.0% of his attempts over 12 seasons. That kind of consistency shows how careful and in control he was as a passer. Even his longest completion ever was only 90 yards. However, there will be some who take offense at Carton’s comment. Especially the very players who played with Aikman.
“That strong arm, the blond hair and blue eyes – his legacy is part of the Dallas Cowboys,” running back Emmitt Smith said, via the Associated Press. “Any time you saw us winning, you saw him throwing.”
One cannot take away what the man accomplished. Aikman walked into Dallas as the first overall pick in 1989, and by 1992, just 52 games into his career, he’d already crossed 10,000 passing yards. That season also marked a turning point for the franchise: Dallas went from the bottom of the league to the top, riding a dominant offense and defense.
The 13-3 Cowboys steamrolled through the playoffs, capped by a 52-17 win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII. Aikman was nearly perfect that day, going 22 of 30 for 273 yards and four touchdowns, earning him Super Bowl MVP honors.
The next three seasons brought more of the same, with two additional Super Bowl titles and an offense built around Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith, the famous “Triplets.” With Michael Irvin stretching defenses and Emmitt Smith wearing them down on the ground, Aikman had everything he needed to make that offense nearly unstoppable.
Together they took Dallas from a one-win team in Aikman’s rookie year to champions just three seasons later, and eventually to three rings overall, a feat only two other quarterbacks in history can match. Sure, Aikman doesn’t have the numbers, but he had such a powerful offense rallying behind him that he didn’t need to throw dimes. He’d said it himself.
“Those years of our success, we would lead the league in yards per pass,” he told Bob Sturm for The Athletic. “It wasn’t like I couldn’t throw it. We threw the ball better than anybody. We just didn’t throw it as much.”
Whatever people say about his arm, his accuracy and leadership were never in question. As broadcaster Pat Summerall once put it.
“When he was good, and the offense was clicking, and he had it humming, he was as good as I’ve ever seen,” Summerall said. “If I had to define him in a word, I’d say accuracy.”
Troy Aikman eventually retired because of chronic back pain, for which he is still training. However, 15 years after he retired, he said he still had “enough arm strength to go play in the National Football League.”
Call him average if you want. By nearly every measure that matters, Troy Aikman was one of the best.
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