1979 Divisional Playoff Game (LA Rams)

[fgoodwin]

Is there a reason this wasn't posted to the History Zone?

"Use this forum to talk about Cowboys' players, teams, games, etc. from past years."

 

[bbgun]

Is there a reason this wasn't posted to the History Zone?

"Use this forum to talk about Cowboys' players, teams, games, etc. from past years."

Because only a fraction of people would have seen it. That forum is a virtual graveyard.

 

[Captain Late]

BBGun,great job on posting the video.Man,that loss was bitter pill to swallow

some random thoughts from that game:

-Cowboys were emotionally drained from that classic win over the Skins 2 weeks earlier and came out flat

-Never could get the ball to Tony Hill all day,I think he had one catch for no gain on a flanker screen

-Right after Septien's FG,didn"t he cost them 10 yds in field position with 2 out of bound kickoffs?Then squibbed the 3rd one giving the Rams a shot to score right before the half,big swing in momentum there

-Dallas seemed to start to get it going in the 3rd Q,bottled the Rams up pretty good and seemed run the ball in that part of the game

-On Roger's TD to Saldi,he was driven hard into the turf and actually got the final concussion of his career

-when Waddy scored ,it felt like I had kicked in the gut,watching him waltz through the secondary was sickening

-I truly believed that Roger Staubach would drive us right down the field and finish off these pesky Rams.That final drive started out good,with Dorsett getting a big gain on that sweep out of the Shotgun.But the "Boys could never get the ball to Drew or Preston Pearson in those last few plays.Most fans remember Rogers illegal pass to Herb Scott,but his last pass as an NFL QB was incomplete on 4th down to Drew Pearson



-finally,never did I think this would be Roger Staubach;'s final game.1979 was his BEST season.He had led comebacks against the Cards,Bears,and 2 miracles against the Giants and the classic against Washington.I know that Waqlter Payton and Earl Campbell both had stellar seasons,but its fair to say that Roger was the MVP of the NFL in 1979,he was at his best.What a shame that the concussions took their toll and caused his retirement.


Sorry for the long post,a painful day in many ways for us Dallas Cowboys fans on that last football game played in the decade of the 1970's.It seemed like all the stars were aligned for a dramatic victory,but it wasn't to be,sigh..

 

[THUMPER]

BBGun,great job on posting the video.Man,that loss was bitter pill to swallow

some random thoughts from that game:

-Cowboys were emotionally drained from that classic win over the Skins 2 weeks earlier and came out flat

-Never could get the ball to Tony Hill all day,I think he had one catch for no gain on a flanker screen

-Right after Septien's FG,didn"t he cost them 10 yds in field position with 2 out of bound kickoffs?Then squibbed the 3rd one giving the Rams a shot to score right before the half,big swing in momentum there

-Dallas seemed to start to get it going in the 3rd Q,bottled the Rams up pretty good and seemed run the ball in that part of the game

-On Roger's TD to Saldi,he was driven hard into the turf and actually got the final concussion of his career

-when Waddy scored ,it felt like I had kicked in the gut,watching him waltz through the secondary was sickening

-I truly believed that Roger Staubach would drive us right down the field and finish off these pesky Rams.That final drive started out good,with Dorsett getting a big gain on that sweep out of the Shotgun.But the "Boys could never get the ball to Drew or Preston Pearson in those last few plays.Most fans remember Rogers illegal pass to Herb Scott,but his last pass as an NFL QB was incomplete on 4th down to Drew Pearson



-finally,never did I think this would be Roger Staubach;'s final game.1979 was his BEST season.He had led comebacks against the Cards,Bears,and 2 miracles against the Giants and the classic against Washington.I know that Waqlter Payton and Earl Campbell both had stellar seasons,but its fair to say that Roger was the MVP of the NFL in 1979,he was at his best.What a shame that the concussions took their toll and caused his retirement.


Sorry for the long post,a painful day in many ways for us Dallas Cowboys fans on that last football game played in the decade of the 1970's.It seemed like all the stars were aligned for a dramatic victory,but it wasn't to be,sigh..

You are aptly named sir.

Great first post though, welcome to the Zone! :starspin

 

[lurkercowboy]

BBGun,great job on posting the video.Man,that loss was bitter pill to swallow

some random thoughts from that game:

-Cowboys were emotionally drained from that classic win over the Skins 2 weeks earlier and came out flat

-Never could get the ball to Tony Hill all day,I think he had one catch for no gain on a flanker screen

-Right after Septien's FG,didn"t he cost them 10 yds in field position with 2 out of bound kickoffs?Then squibbed the 3rd one giving the Rams a shot to score right before the half,big swing in momentum there

-Dallas seemed to start to get it going in the 3rd Q,bottled the Rams up pretty good and seemed run the ball in that part of the game

-On Roger's TD to Saldi,he was driven hard into the turf and actually got the final concussion of his career

-when Waddy scored ,it felt like I had kicked in the gut,watching him waltz through the secondary was sickening

-I truly believed that Roger Staubach would drive us right down the field and finish off these pesky Rams.That final drive started out good,with Dorsett getting a big gain on that sweep out of the Shotgun.But the "Boys could never get the ball to Drew or Preston Pearson in those last few plays.Most fans remember Rogers illegal pass to Herb Scott,but his last pass as an NFL QB was incomplete on 4th down to Drew Pearson



-finally,never did I think this would be Roger Staubach;'s final game.1979 was his BEST season.He had led comebacks against the Cards,Bears,and 2 miracles against the Giants and the classic against Washington.I know that Waqlter Payton and Earl Campbell both had stellar seasons,but its fair to say that Roger was the MVP of the NFL in 1979,he was at his best.What a shame that the concussions took their toll and caused his retirement.


Sorry for the long post,a painful day in many ways for us Dallas Cowboys fans on that last football game played in the decade of the 1970's.It seemed like all the stars were aligned for a dramatic victory,but it wasn't to be,sigh..

Great post and welcome.

 

[Captain Late]

You are aptly named sir.

Great first post though, welcome to the Zone! :starspin

Thanks Thumper,just wish my first post wasn't about such a negative memory,LOL

 

[Captain Late]

Great post and welcome.

Thanks for the kind words and the welcome!

 

[bbgun]

BBGun,great job on posting the video.Man,that loss was bitter pill to swallow

My pleasure (bitter memories aside).

-Cowboys were emotionally drained from that classic win over the Skins 2 weeks earlier and came out flat

I didn't get that sense watching the game. We simply had no real pass rush at critical times and they stung us for two big plays. Also, we got hyper-conservative on the drive before Waddy's TD. One more first down and we might have won that game.

-Never could get the ball to Tony Hill all day,I think he had one catch for no gain on a flanker screen

Rams used seven DBs, and we weren't prepared for that.

-Right after Septien's FG,didn"t he cost them 10 yds in field position with 2 out of bound kickoffs?Then squibbed the 3rd one giving the Rams a shot to score right before the half,big swing in momentum there

True, that was inexplicable, but the Rams started that last drive at their own 30 with 50 minutes left in the half. No way does Septien's brainfart excuse giving up a TD in that situation.

-Dallas seemed to start to get it going in the 3rd Q,bottled the Rams up pretty good and seemed run the ball in that part of the game

We also barely missed a halfback option TD from Springs to Tony Hill.

-On Roger's TD to Saldi,he was driven hard into the turf and actually got the final concussion of his career

I doubt he had a legit concussion. He came back into the game and conversed at length with reporters afterwards.

-when Waddy scored ,it felt like I had kicked in the gut,watching him waltz through the secondary was sickening

Yeah, but that's what happens when you let teams hang around. Waddy had done nothing up to that point.

-I truly believed that Roger Staubach would drive us right down the field and finish off these pesky Rams.That final drive started out good,with Dorsett getting a big gain on that sweep out of the Shotgun.But the "Boys could never get the ball to Drew or Preston Pearson in those last few plays.Most fans remember Rogers illegal pass to Herb Scott,but his last pass as an NFL QB was incomplete on 4th down to Drew Pearson

He had plenty of time (and timeouts) to get into FG range. Just wasn't our day. Welcome to the board, and thanks for commiserating with us.

 

[ilovejerry]

Me either. I went to my room and cried. Then my two older brothers told me to grow up.

I wished Billy Waddy DEAD him and LYnn Swan.... I cried the whole night....wow remmeber this like yesterday..friken waddy......man..... I need to go flush my brain from this memory im bumbed out now!

 

[ilovejerry]

The quotes in this little newspaper clipping nicely sum up 1979.

Hollywood Killed us.. He was one of my favroite players we never seemed to replace him...ahhh what could have been... I still bothers me that all these steelers are in the HOF and my 70's Cowboys are forgotten..what could have been

 

[KJJ]

Staubach got shaken up on this play and it may have been the hit that caused him to call it a career. You can see him putting his hand on the back of his head as he's walking off the field. At the end of the clip the trainers are applying ice to the back of his neck. Not long after Roger retired he said he had been experiencing numbness in the back of his neck and his family urged him to retire.


Staubach to Saldi TD
[youtube]z0NBKyNc9WQ[/youtube]

 

[KJJ]

Confession ... I was 9 years old when this game was played and I was a big Rams fan at the time (got it from my Dad). In fact, I didn't like Dallas at all at this time because I always saw their games instead of the Rams.

Those were the dark ages for fans living away from their favorite teams. No internet, no ESPN, and no ticker on the bottom of the screen. I would crave the one highlight of the Rams game I would get each week on the nightly news.

Anyways ... back in those days I could tell you the entire starting lineups for the Rams. I was thrilled to win this game and go all the way to the Super Bowl. I continued following the Rams until they moved to St. Louis. To me the St. Louis Rams are a different team from the LA Rams. I couldn't root for them. I then switched to Dallas and became ingrained with Cowboys with the JJ's in 1989.

One interesting note ... cool to see Jackie Slater playing in the game knowing he started for the Rams in 2000 when they won the Super Bowl. Jackie Slater had a very long and distinguished career.

If you were a Rams fan and couldn't root for them anymore after their move to St Louis how the heck did you become ingrained with the Cowboys starting in 89? The Cowboys were AWFUL at that time and the Rams were 5 years away from moving to St Louis.

 

[NorthTexan95]

If you were a Rams fan and couldn't root for them anymore after their move to St Louis how the heck did you become ingrained with the Cowboys starting in 89? The Cowboys were AWFUL at that time and the Rams were 5 years away from moving to St Louis.

From about '86 thru the St. Louis move, I was slowly switching from the Rams to Dallas. In 89 I was at the Dallas/Rams game in Dallas silently rooting for the Rams to win. That was a great game with the Rams scoring two late td's to win. After the game I got a bunch of Ram players to sign a game program. I think that really proved to be the last hurrah of my Ram fandom.

I absolutely bought what Jimmy was selling hook, line, and sinker. I knew from the moment he was hired he was going to be a success. I knew he would eventually build Dallas into a winner. I read every article I could about Jimmy and his philosophy. I remember the DMN had an article about Jimmy using his psychology degree and his management style - I clipped and saved that article for years. Jimmy's forceful personality and his complete confidence in his ability won me over. If I was one of his players I would have run through a wall for him.

I was facinated in watching how he was going to rebuild the Cowboys. I remember during that first training camp checking the paper first thing in the morning to see who had been released by other teams and trying to determine if the Cowboys should sign them.

In the early 90's the Rams starting slipping and never could get over the 49er hump. Dallas was rising and, in all honesty, were my favorite team before the Rams made the move to St. Louie.

 

[KJJ]

From about '86 thru the St. Louis move, I was slowly switching from the Rams to Dallas. In 89 I was at the Dallas/Rams game in Dallas silently rooting for the Rams to win. That was a great game with the Rams scoring two late td's to win. After the game I got a bunch of Ram players to sign a game program. I think that really proved to be the last hurrah of my Ram fandom.

I absolutely bought what Jimmy was selling hook, line, and sinker. I knew from the moment he was hired he was going to be a success. I knew he would eventually build Dallas into a winner. I read every article I could about Jimmy and his philosophy. I remember the DMN had an article about Jimmy using his psychology degree and his management style - I clipped and saved that article for years. Jimmy's forceful personality and his complete confidence in his ability won me over. If I was one of his players I would have run through a wall for him.

I was facinated in watching how he was going to rebuild the Cowboys. I remember during that first training camp checking the paper first thing in the morning to see who had been released by other teams and trying to determine if the Cowboys should sign them.

In the early 90's the Rams starting slipping and never could get over the 49er hump. Dallas was rising and, in all honesty, were my favorite team before the Rams made the move to St. Louie.

I've been a Cowboys fan ever since I was 8 years old. I've been glued to the set every Sunday since watching them play. I'm a diehard fan! I could never stop rooting for them and start following another team no matter what. I've stuck with them through thick and thin. That's what being a true fan is all about. I've heard of fans bailing on their team but I just can't imagine it.

 

[ETex]

Damn Randy White was/is a BEAST!!

 

[Zaxor]

whoa a necro thread

 

[Everson24]

That Billy Waddy TD was one of the ten worst moments in Cowboy history. Didnt want to see Roger go out that way, home playoff loss. Rams beat Tampa the next week 6-0. The Steelers were very beatable in the Superbowl, Swann out with injury but Stallworth tore em up.

One of my top worst moments also. I also had the displeasure of working within six feet of a die hard Rams fan. He had been talking smack all week leading up to the game and telling me that Vince Ferragamo was going to be the next great QB. I couldn't wait for Doomsdsay to flatten that pretty boy.

The week following that loss was one of the worst weeks of my working life. After he said "Billy Waddy" for the one-hundredth time I finally threw a snap coupler at him and hit him in the head. I took my Cowboys losses seriously back then. Bad memories man, Bad memories

 

[ZeroClub]

There have been some hard to take losses over the years and this is one of them.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Bitter Sweet to be sure.

Just the same, thank you for posting this. It's nice to see again, even if it still brings back bad memories.

The thing that strikes me about the game then and now is how players reacted on the field. It has already been mentioned that it was a more disciplined game. I fully believe this to be true but pay attention to how the players react. Several of these players made great plays and what you don't see are players active a fool after every good to great play. They act as if they had been their, done that.

Was nice to see for a change.

 

[hutch1254]

Great stuff, bbgun. That hail Mary with White right in Ferragamo's face still kills me.

Totally couldn't believe he even got that pass off with that distance. Manster just mauled the crap out of him at the moment of release.

It took a long time for me to get over Roger retiring after that season.