Hip Hip Hooray for Friday! Congratulations on making it through another week and not resisting the urge to light your office on fire (if you actually do it, send pics).
It seems like all we’re doing these days is surviving. You in your office, I survived another night of kickball (first base can get dangerous out there), and we all seem to be surviving the fact that Tim Tebow played an NFL game for the Eagles.
Dig your fingernails in because we need to survive 23 more days. In that time we’ll be sunk in our couches, jerseys on, and toasting to the 2015 Dallas Cowboys season. Before we pop the champagne we’re going to continue our Countdown To Kickoff with the Greatest 23 in Dallas Cowboys History.
The Following Players Have All Worn 23 For The Dallas Cowboys:
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The Dallas Cowboys took a running back in the 2008 NFL Draft that would be one of the key players in their run, no pun intended, through December. Considering that the first rounder that year was Felix Jones you’d think it was him, right? Negatory, ghost rider. Please allow me to introduce you to the Greatest 23 in Dallas Cowboys History.
Tashard Choice
Before the Dallas Cowboys rode into the ferocious Heinz Field in December of 2008 to face the future Super Bowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, very few people knew who former Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice was. They found out very quickly as he established himself on the Dallas Cowboys squad.
After Marion Barber and Felix Jones went down to injuries there wasn’t a Choice… there was just Tashard. Before that fateful Sunday all Tashard had to his NFL name was 30 carries for 147 yards. He also had given one of the most epic locker room speeches in George Tech History:
Choice stepped up against the NFL’s number one ranked defense and ran a poetic 23 times for 88 yards while catching 5 passes for 78 yards. The Cowboys lost, but Tashard showed an amount of heart that few knew was there.
He continued his December hot streak as the Cowboys fought for the right to go to the playoffs. In December of 2008 Tashard Choice had:
- 62 carries
- 325 rushing yards
- 2 rushing touchdowns
- 17 receptions
- 163 receiving yards
While the Cowboys ultimately failed to make the playoffs Tashard Choice’s will gave them a chance until the very end, and to think he was only a rookie.
#23: The Right Choice Is Tashard
Tashard Choice played two more full seasons with Dallas and finished his Cowboy career with 250 rushing attempts for 1,139 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns. What doesn’t show on a resume or any data point is exactly how impressive he was.
Like another great 23, Tashard Choice had a relentless drive and just would not give up. The December that he had in his rookie season isn’t one that NFL Films highlights or that people talk about, but it was important.
Tashard drove the Cowboys in the most difficult part of the NFL season. He went up against some of the most elite defenses of that time and was not fazed by any of them. To have accomplished this as a rookie is more than enough in my book to dub Tashard Choice as the Greatest 23 in Dallas Cowboys History.
Check back tomorrow to find out who the Greatest 22 in Dallas Cowboys History is!
Want to share your opinions on who should be featured on our Countdown To Kickoff? Email me at rjochoa@insidethestar.com or Tweet @rjochoa.
