One more ring is the thing - ESPN (blog)

Troy Aikman was a tremendous leader. He was an all-time winner among quarterbacks. He played the position with the poise and precision of a fighter pilot.

Roger Staubach was all that and a phenomenal athlete who might have frightened opposing defenses the most when plays broke down for his Dallas Cowboys.

There's no point in picking nits with a pair of first-ballot Hall of Famers who combined to lead the Cowboys to five Super Bowl championships. There aren't many franchises that have ever had a quarterback in Aikman's class, much less better than him.

The Cowboys, however, are one of the exceptions. That's how great Staubach was in the '70s.

Aikman's 94-71 career record as a starting quarterback is impressive. Staubach's 85-29 record is ridiculous. In fact, Tom Brady is the only quarterback since the NFL-AFL merger with a better winning percentage.

It's difficult to compare passing statistics from different eras due to rules changes that progressively favor offenses more and more. (That's part of the reason Tony Romo is in the process of rewriting the passing chapter of the Cowboys' record book.) However, you can compare how quarterbacks stacked up statistically against their peers at the time.

Staubach led the NFL in passer rating four times, yards per attempt twice and touchdowns once. Aikman led NFL quarterbacks in a major statistical category only once, and that was completion percentage.

And ol' Roger The Dodger, as Staubach was called due to his elusiveness, rushed for more than twice as many yards and twice as many touchdowns as Aikman, a prototype pocket passer.

Of course, Aikman has the advantage in the most important stat with his 3-2 edge in Super Bowl rings. It's silly to hold that against Staubach, however.

Just ask Jackie Smith, the tight end whose infamous drop in the end zone ended up being the difference in Super Bowl XIII.

All due respect to Steve Young's San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys' chief rivals during the '90s dynasty days, but Aikman didn't have to deal with a defense as legendary as the Steel Curtain. Staubach's two Super Bowl losses came against arguably the best NFL team of all time, a Pittsburgh Steelers squad that won four titles that decade.

Aikman's '90s Cowboys would probably have a much better case in the debate about the best team of all time if Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson could have just got along, but that's a well-worn discussion for another time.