On October 13, I optimistically suggested that the Cowboys could have good fortune with Brad Johnson coming off the bench. That was dumb.  We’ve since been treated to quarterback play worse than what we had endured for much of this decade prior to the arrival of Tony Romo.

The Dallas Observer’s blog ran a piece today listing the worst quarterbacks in the history of the Dallas Cowboys. Here are the results from that story:

10. Tony Banks
Heralded as Troy Aikman’s successor in ’01, was beat out by Quincy Carter and cut in training camp

9. Ryan Leaf
Ugly ’01 stint included one TD, three picks and a 57.7 rating

8. Reggie Collier
Spot duty in ’86 resulted in two interceptions and a 55.8 rating

7. Drew Henson
Former Michigan star was harmless in short Dallas gig, throwing only one TD and one interception

6. Kevin Sweeney
’87 scab hero faltered in ’88 with 42-percent completions, five interceptions and 40.2 rating

5. Anthony Wright
’00 cameo littered with no TDs, three interceptions and a 31.7 rating

4. Clint Stoerner
Threw four picks in the second half of an ’01 loss at the Giants

3. John Roach
Filled in for Don Meredith in ’64 with one TD, six interceptions and a 31.1 rating

2. Babe Laufenberg
Backed up Aikman in ’90 with one TD, six interceptions and a woeful 16.9 rating.

1. Brad Johnson
Sunday’s repulsive performance, equipped with a 27.3 rating, set a new standard for Dallas dysfunction.

I personally disagree that some of these QBs should be on a list such as this.

* Banks never really played for the Cowboys, so I don’t see how anyone could add him to the list. There are quite a few busts who played for Dallas in training camp.

* Leaf only played because of injuries to Quincy Carter. The same is true of Wright and Stoerner. None of them were good quarterbacks by any stretch of the imagination, but they were really third-stringers (or in the case of Leaf, a player the Cowboys hoped could be rehabilitated and were willing to pay a small price to give him a shot).

* Collier was a third-stringer who saw action after Danny White broke his wrist in 1986.

* Sweeney only saw action in 1988 because the team was so bad and fans thought he showed some magic when given the chance in the scab games in 1987 and the preseason in 1988.

I would prefer to focus on those quarterbacks who backed up established starters on the Cowboys. So I would add the following two players:

Wade Wilson

Wilson was only 36 when he became Troy Aikman’s backup in 1995. He only had to start one game, but he hardly struck fear into opposing defenses. In three years as a backup, he threw one touchdown and four interceptions, earning a passer rating of 63.9.

Jerry Rhome

Rhome is better known now as a quarterbacks coach than for his pro football career. There wasn’t much to remember about his playing days. In four seasons with Dallas, he started three games, going 1-2 as a starter. He threw a total of one touchdown pass for the Cowboys along with three interceptions and finished with a 60.7 passer rating. There is no reason to wonder why Craig Morton emerged as the primary backup.

Gary Hogeboom

Hogeboom seldom played before being thrown into the starting role in 1984 in one of Tom Landry’s worst moves (at least in the 1980s). Hogeboom won half of his starts, but he could only manage a 65.4 career passer rating with the Cowboys (thanks to 13 touchdowns and 23 interceptions).

For good measure, let’s also throw in the names of Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson.

So who was the worst? Let’s have a poll.

Worst Backup Quarterback in Team History

View Results

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My vote: Laufenberg

Babe Laufenberg

The original can’t-complete-a-pass-to-save-my-life-or-my-team backup was Laufenberg, who came off the bench in 1990 when the Cowboys needed one win to secure a playoff berth. His one start came against the 4-11 Falcons, who held the Cowboys to 151 total yards of offense in a 26-7 win over Dallas.