I am not the smartest or the most intelligent person, but I do consider myself an above average “noticer.” Shakespeare would have termed the skill as being “observant.”
The Dallas Cowboys Football Team a month or so ago announced that they would no longer need the services of L. P. Ladouceur, the player with the most “tenure” of any current Cowboys player—16 years!
Now, I have no problem with or complaint about the man who will most likely replace L. P.—Jake McQuaide—who has been a Rams player for the past 10 seasons and has done an admirable job, according to the little I have read about him. And I imagine the reason we are losing a longterm veteran to a mid-term veteran is more “close association” than performance or ability! Apparently the signing of McQuaide will bring him back to playing with and for Greg Zuerlein (kicker) and John Fassel (special teams coach).
A little background—Ladouceur played college ball at the University of California in the early 2000s and signed on with the Saints, who decided not to keep him and gave him his release. This turned out to be fortuitous for L. P., because the Cowboys gave him a tryout a month or two later and signed him.
The signing also turned out to be fortuitous for Dallas, because he has been nearly perfect in his performances, which is not as easy as some might think. (I remember when Coach Strain thought that since I had played quite a bit of quarterback during my “younger years,” that I could be Forney’s next “deep-snapper,” as we called the position back in the ‘60s. It did not take much time for me to “prove wrong” this very smart and successful coach!)
Back to the real topic— Ladouceur was even elected to the “Pro-Bowl” in 2014, and last season, Canada’s Prime Minister congratulated him publicly for being the record holder for most NFL games played by a Canadian-born team member. And, to further show how long and steadily he has played, if he had been around for just three more games, he would have surpassed the all-time record of Jason Witten (255 games).
He played in the most CONSECUTIVE games in Cowboys history and “notched” the most consecutive games played by a long-snapper in NFL history. And, he is the only Cowboy to play in 16 consecutive seasons! He has also recorded CLEAN SNAPS on ALL his snaps and has never missed a Cowboys game!
He stands 6’ 5” tall and weighs in at 255 lbs. and was the last active player to have played games at TEXAS STADIUM. (remember that place?)
Just what does L. P. stand for? Why, it is Louis-Philippe, born in 1981 in Montreal, Canada, and became an AMERICAN CITIZEN in 2019.
Maybe after they read this article, the Cowboys will re-consider and re-sign this ICON of an iconic team!
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