[THUMPER]

I would also add that had Meredith played longer and had a chance to play on some of the really great teams that came after him his stats would have been a lot better. As it was, once we got good in 1966 his stats looked pretty good.

Had he played for the Bears (who originally drafted him) he might have had a much better career as they were a good team back then. But if he though Landry was tough on him he would have hated to play for Halas!

Actually, I don't think Landry was all that tough on him, just that he didn't understand Don at all. His approach to the game was to give your all and have fun doing it. Landry was all business and didn't get a guy who could joke about stuff the way Meredith did.

Still, the players respected Dandy Don's toughness and competitive fire. His last game was one of his worst (1968 playoff loss to the Browns) and brought about his premature retirement. I am positive that if we would have won that game we would have gone on to beat the Colts in the NFL Championship Game, then the Jets in the SB. We were one of the best teams in the league that year and should have gone further.

I believe Landry felt the same way and was crushed when we lost that game. He uncharacteristically blamed Meredith publicly for the loss. Don retired shortly afterwards. Too bad too because he was a much better QB than Morton who followed him and we would have probably won it all in 1969 and 1970 with Meredith at the helm.

Dandy Don was one tough SOB and a much better QB than people think.

Where's Skip, he usually has some good memories to share about Meredith.