Editor's note: Our series on the greatest NFL teams of all time continues with its fourth installment and a look at the 1971 Cowboys. The greatest team ever will be revealed on Tuesday, May 15.

	Tom Landry gets carried off the field after the Cowboys beat Miami 24-3 in Super Bowl VI.

Pro football is a young game with many interlocking relationships. In the 1958 NFL Championship Game, the New York Giants' offense was run by assistant coach Vince Lombardi. Their defense was run by assistant coach Tom Landry.

Perhaps foremost among Landry's coaching attributes was his great football mind. To quote another friend of mine (this time, someone you may have heard of), former NFL great Calvin Hill, "I think that as a coach -- both offensively and defensively -- he was an incredible innovator. He was ahead of the learning curve on both sides of the ball."

Landry may have gone too far in innovating during the first part of the 1971 season. He had both Craig Morton, who had taken Dallas to the Super Bowl after the 1970 season, and Roger Staubach at quarterback. They shared the job for the first half of the season and Landry even alternated them on every play in the Cowboys' 23-19 loss to the Bears in the seventh game of the season.

After the Bears' game, Landry gave the starting job to Staubach and the rest is history. The Cowboys didn't lose another game the rest of the season.

	1971 Cowboys
	Record: 11-3 Points scored/allowed: 406/222 Adjusted power index: +6.61 Opponents' record: 74-99-9 (.431)* Record against teams with winning records: 2-1 Points scored/allowed against teams with winning records: 57/41 *For all of these opponents' records, games against this team are excluded.

Staubach had an incredible passer rating of 104.8, the best of his career; the 1971 league average was 62.2. He wasn't as productive in the post-season, but he didn't have to be because the Cowboys' defense played exceptional football, holding three playoff opponents to just 18 points and 36 first downs. As you may know, the 1971 Cowboys are the only team to prevent its opponent from scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl as they beat Don Shula's Dolphins.

Eddie Epstein works as a consultant to major league baseball teams. He is the co-author, along with ESPN.com's Rob Neyer, of "Baseball Dynasties: The Greatest Teams of All Time." He has been a regular contributor to ESPN.com's baseball coverage and is a huge football fan.