Landry Line Reset - Why Is It No Longer Used?

[lspain1]

During the Landry years, the Cowboys lineman would head to the line of scrimmage and set down, then stand to hide the players behind them, who were quickly changing positions, before resetting (called a "chorus line"). But with the multiple set offense, the opposing team didn't know what was going on in the middle of the play, and who was in what position.

I know this was used to prevent the other team from using tendencies (or keys) to guess the play call. I have a number of questions about the practice and why it is no longer used (or did anyone ever use it outside of the Cowboys)?

I think multiple sets are still used today. I know Bledsoe calls a run and a pass and can check off to one or the other at the line of scrimmage. Does this run vs pass "audible" prevent a multiple set offense? Does a multiple set offense have a place in today's game? Can defensive players be confused about the play if they miss a change in the backfield?

[The30YardSlant]

nm...

[lspain1]

Because a QB like Peyton Manning would tear that defensive scheme apart.


HH, the reset I was talking about occurred on the offensive line. Now, could you explain what you are talking about?

[The30YardSlant]

HH, the reset I was talking about occurred on the offensive line. Now, could you explain what you are talking about?

Sorry, I read through the first paragraph and thought you were talking about the defensive line. Edited after further inspection. My bad

[The30YardSlant]

BTW, the reason they do not do it anymore is because defensive schemes and audibles are much more intricate than they once were. It's not as easy to trick a defense as it once was.

[lspain1]

I would think the more complicated a defensive scheme, audibles and all, the harder it would be to run it against a team using multiple sets and concealing movement in the backfield.

[Drederick Tatum]

Besides everything you mentioned, it looked cool too. A lot of the younger fans might not remember this, but the O-line would break huddle, come to the LOS to a two point stance, pause a sec, stand up and then go into a three point stand. As mentioned this hid the backfield critical seconds before the snap, gave the linemen a chance to gulp some fresh oxygen, and also looked very intimidating.

I assume with all the reads the QB (and Center, a othe linemen) have to make at the LOS as the game modernized it just became too time consuming.

[The30YardSlant]

I would think the more complicated a defensive scheme, audibles and all, the harder it would be to run it against a team using multiple sets and concealing movement in the backfield.

It depends on coaches and personel. If you have good players and smart coaches who can identify certain plays/formations and understand what the offense is trying to do, then audibles can be used quite effectively.

[lspain1]

Besides everything you mentioned, it looked cool too. A lot of the younger fans might not remember this, but the O-line would break huddle, come to the LOS to a two point stance, pause a sec, stand up and then go into a three point stand. As mentioned this hid the backfield critical seconds before the snap, gave the linemen a chance to gulp some fresh oxygen, and also looked very intimidating.

I assume with all the reads the QB (and Center, a othe linemen) have to make at the LOS as the game modernized it just became too time consuming.

I also thought it was cool, and part of the Cowboy mystique. The NFL has always been a copycat league and no one copied that move, even when the Cowboys were successful. So perhaps it had no benefit...but it sure was cool.:cool:

[burmafrd]

what I would do would have them stand up for 2 seconds and then hit the 3 point and snap in one second (unless the QB decides to audible. That would give the D only a second to shift. You would have a good chance of snapping the ball and catching the D in the middle of a shift.

[JackMagist]

During the Landry years, the Cowboys lineman would head to the line of scrimmage and set down, then stand to hide the players behind them, who were quickly changing positions, before resetting (called a "chorus line"). But with the multiple set offense, the opposing team didn't know what was going on in the middle of the play, and who was in what position.

I know this was used to prevent the other team from using tendencies (or keys) to guess the play call. I have a number of questions about the practice and why it is no longer used (or did anyone ever use it outside of the Cowboys)?

I think multiple sets are still used today. I know Bledsoe calls a run and a pass and can check off to one or the other at the line of scrimmage. Does this run vs pass "audible" prevent a multiple set offense? Does a multiple set offense have a place in today's game? Can defensive players be confused about the play if they miss a change in the backfield?The premise of hiding the resets behind the line was the original thought in using the line reset. However, it never actually worked all that well. The other teams adapted after the first season or two and the practice was continued more as tradition and part of the Cowboys mystique. The practice was discontinued by Paul Hacket when he was hired to be the OC and eventual replacement for Landry. Of course his offense stunk and Landry threw it out. Hacket left in frustration when Landry had still not retired after a couple of seasons but the line shift was never reimplemented.

[Drederick Tatum]

The O-Line Reset and the Flex Defense died the same death

[REDVOLUTION]

Doesnt the O-line reset eventually use more energy therefore making players tired? bending down then up etc...

[bbgun]

The constant up and down resets would have killed Larry Allen by the 2nd quarter.

[jimmy40]

During the Landry years, the Cowboys lineman would head to the line of scrimmage and set down, then stand to hide the players behind them, who were quickly changing positions, before resetting (called a "chorus line"). But with the multiple set offense, the opposing team didn't know what was going on in the middle of the play, and who was in what position.

I know this was used to prevent the other team from using tendencies (or keys) to guess the play call. I have a number of questions about the practice and why it is no longer used (or did anyone ever use it outside of the Cowboys)?

I think multiple sets are still used today. I know Bledsoe calls a run and a pass and can check off to one or the other at the line of scrimmage. Does this run vs pass "audible" prevent a multiple set offense? Does a multiple set offense have a place in today's game? Can defensive players be confused about the play if they miss a change in the backfield?the best thing about it was the occasional idiot defensive lineman jumping offsides because of it. Lol

[big dog cowboy]

Doesnt the O-line reset eventually use more energy therefore making players tired? bending down then up etc...
It didn't back in those days.

[Kilyin]

It didn't back in those days.

So you're saying there was no gravity back then? And all this time I thought the first Superman movie used special effects.

[DWelch1775]

The constant up and down resets would have killed Larry Allen by the 2nd quarter.

Your probobly right but it does look pretty cool and intimidating.

[Wimbo]

The average OL probably weighed in closer to 250 in those days. I imagine that syncronized movement is much harder for a 330# OLman today.

It was cool, though. We used to mimic it in schoolyard games.

[Fernando Fernandez]

Awe yesss

Brings back sweet memories...Dave Manders, John Niland, Ralph Neeley, Blaine Nye, Tony Liscio, Rayfield Wright...PRICELESS!

[Fla Cowpoke]

Add me as one that misses it. Heck, I have coached several Pop Warner teams and we always did it too. People used to comment all the time...haven't seen that since theCowboys used to do it.

It just kind of looks good. Doesn't really serve a purpose in our offense, other than intimidating some of the kids on the DL. They didn't know what was happening.

[Chief]

The average OL probably weighed in closer to 250 in those days. I imagine that syncronized movement is much harder for a 330# OLman today.



Neely, Wright, Donovan, Cooper, etc., looked like basketball players compared to today's linemen. Jim Myers and Landry prefered the athletic guys on the line, but that changed when Jim Erkenbeck was brought on board as the new line coach. They drafted Crawford Ker and Jeff Zimmerman and snagged Nate Newton ... all well over 300 pounds. The plan was to run Herschel behind a wall of flab, but it never worked out.

The line re-set looked good in the early years ... all of the guys moving in unison, but looked more like a broken accordian toward the end

[ABQCOWBOY]

The line re-set looked good in the early years ... all of the guys moving in unison, but looked more like a broken accordian toward the end

:laugh2:

How right you are Chief.

[playit12]

I think it's a shift in the game today. There was a time when offenses dictated the tone of a play to the Defense. Basically the offense called a play at the line and then did it's best to disquise that play before running it. However more and more today, the defense dictates the play. It's too difficult to run into 8 or 9 men in the box, or throw into a cover 3. Because defensive players are more physically capable, the D does not give away it's scheme by it's composition (4LBs and 4DB vs 3LBs and 5DBs for instance). Instead the QB must read the defense before snap and try to look for trends and then make the correct adjustment. The best example of this is watching Peyton at the line.

So when Bledsoe gets up to the line he's watching for where the LBs are lining up. What about the Safeties? Are they showing blitz or is there an extra defender slipping back into a zone? Are the CBs playing bump coverage or backed off in Man? So too are the Tailbacks watching for certain players. Do they need to account for a Safety up on the line of Scrimage? Is the CB cheating over? Did the D shift and overload one side of the line?

My guess is we dropped the reset because we wanted to give our Offense as much time as possible to read the D and make adjustments.

[AbeBeta]

I think it's a shift in the game today.

Also with the near constant substitutions O's already are giving something away about the play they will run. Teams used to spend far more time with the same 11 guys on the field. Now, you sub guys for certain packages so the D already has some idea what they are going to be looking at -- they don't need to figure it out by seeing your alignment.

To have the same effect as before you'd have to drop a blanket over the defensive team.

[dougonthebench]

The constant up and down resets would have killed Larry Allen by the 2nd quarter.

Nate Newton too!!

[noshame]

The play clock has killed a lot of good stuff:)

[Marktui]

it might be hard to run a play on a quick snap or first sound, since they come up on a 2 point stance. also, by doing that, it takes away from the O-lines reads when the center makes his calls.

[BlueWave]

So you're saying there was no gravity back then? And all this time I thought the first Superman movie used special effects.

No, he's saying O-Line players were lighter, in better shape, and would have never complained about it back then anyway.