IRVING, Texas -- For the 16th straight year the Dallas Cowboys will be represented at the Super Bowl by former players.

Four ex-Cowboys will be on the sidelines Sunday when New England plays the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Defensive back Nate Jones and fullback Lousaka Polite play for the Patriots, while defensive tackle Chris Canty and wide receiver Isaiah Stanback are on the Giants.

Canty starts for the Giants, while Jones and Polite are backups for the Patriots. Stanback is on the Giants’ practice squad.

Canty was a fourth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2005. Jones was a seventh-rounder in 2004 in the same round that produced Patrick Crayton and Jacques Reeves, which is a great job by the scouting department to have three keepers that late. Stanback was a fourth-round pick in 2007 but his conversion from college quarterback to wide receiver was slowed by a foot injury.

The four had some memorable moments:

Canty seemed to play his best against the Giants, which could have led to his six-year, $42 million deal he signed with New York in 2008, but his most memorable moment as a Cowboy came in 2007 when he blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt by Minnesota and saw safety Patrick Watkins return it for a touchdown. The Cowboys won, 24-14.

Jones’ most memorable moment came in 2007 as well when the Cowboys all-but clinched homefield advantage in the NFC. He can also be credited for hastening the Aaron Rodgers’ Era in Green Bay because he knocked Brett Favre out of the Nov. 29 meeting by hitting the quarterback’s arm on a blitz off the edge. Rodgers played well in Favre’s absence and became the Packers’ starter the next year.

Polite joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2004. I guess his most memorable moment came in 2006 when Julius Jones, Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson scored rushing touchdowns in a 45-14 win at Tennessee. Others might remember that as Vince Young’s first career start. Polite’s better moments came when he followed Bill Parcells’ & Co. to Miami.

Stanback’s moment was a 58-yard kickoff return against Seattle in 2008. Unfortunately the Cowboys did not score on that drive and he caught all of two passes before he was released before the 2009 season began.