Jimmy Johnson opened the championship window for the Cowboys in the 1990s. But the Green Bay Packers closed it.
The Packers did that by winning in April. And the same problem that haunted the Cowboys at the close of their 1990s dynasty continues to haunt them two decades later -- an inability to find players in the later rounds of the draft.
Let's go back to Johnson. He understood the value of first-, second- and third-round picks. Those are the premium rounds -- the rounds you build a contender. Those are the rounds you find a Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Daryl Johnston, Darren Woodson, Mark Stepnoski and Erik Williams.