ÃÛÌÒTV

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

The Buccaneers' Mike Evans seems like one of the most unheralded receivers to ever play the game. Despite his numbers, he has just never seemed to get the same recognition as others. It got me to thinking, what Cowboys players, past or present, do you think kind of fall into this category as great players who never really got their due? – Victor Garcia/Ft. Worth, TX

Nick: I love the question but it always sparks a good debate. For me, the answer to these questions usually come down to players who haven't received the ultimate recognition - for one way or another.

For some players, such as Darren Woodson and Lee Roy Jordan, they're in the Ring of Honor but not the Hall of Fame. For guys, that should at least be in the Ring of Honor, I'll give you guys like Harvey Martin, Everson Walls and from everything I've ever heard, Cornell Green should be in that list.

But most of those guys are players that I never covered. So I'll give some guys that played in the last 25 years that didn't get the recognition they deserve in my opinion. Tony Romo always comes to mind first because I truly think he's one of the most talented players in the NFL but always got viewed as someone who couldn't get the job done. Here's an undrafted player from a small school that became the face of the franchise for America's Team. Yet, others drafted No. 1 overall or in the Top 5, never got the hate Romo received. Others that were better than most people think are Flozell Adams, La'Roi Glover and Dexter Coakley.

Patrik: Well, this can certainly send me off onto a tangent that would have us here all day, but I'll try to pick one from my long list of those who never got the roses they deserved. From Dat Nguyen to Marion Barber to Darren Woodson (let him in!) to Jourdan Lewis, oh yes, I have an ax to grind here; but I'll settle on Alvin Harper as a name you've probably forgotten and, if you have, that saddens me greatly.

For while The Playmaker was smoking opposing defenses for the Cowboys, it was Harper playing Robin to his Batman, and masterfully. Harper got progressively better from 1992 through 1994, his 800+ yard, eight touchdown season in 1994 being beautifully complementary to what Michael Irvin was doing, and it created a dual-threat scenario at receiver for Troy Aikman to balance what Emmitt Smith was doing on the ground.

So every time you think of Irvin, you should start thinking of Harper as well — having helped lift the Cowboys to two Super Bowl rings.