All he had to do is to catch that one sure td! Shoulda stayed retired.
That would be my only one from the 70's. Honestly back then there wasn't any player that I disliked
Smith had a pretty good career in St Louis. He was a really solid player. When he came to Dallas he was a fifteen year vet that had retired.
He didn't contribute much in 1978. Jay Saldi broke his arm in the fourth game of the season and Smith was lured out of retirement by Landry. He was 38 years old. He didn't record a catch or TD during the regular season, but he was a blocking tight end. He caught three passes in the post season, one for a TD. Most remember his drop in the Super Bowl. But most don't recall perhaps the most important thing he did for the Cowboys.
Dallas was going in to the second game in November with a 6-4 record. They had just lost two straight, and the team seemed to play half-hearted football. Dallas was a successful team and had won two Super Bowls by this point. But Dallas also played down to their competition, and always seemed to take the first half off. Some said they read their news clippings and thought they could just show up and win games. Others said they were a finesse team and not a physical team at all.
Smith played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He had been to the play-off twice and they lost both times. Once to the Vikings and once to the Rams. He also had a season where he posted 1200 yards in receptions and 9 TD's in 1967. For a tight end, that was rarified air in those times.
But now he was a blocker on a team that had the players and somehow was giving a lackadaisical effort. A players only meeting was called after losing to the Miami Dolphins in week 10 on Nov 5th. Smith told them about his career and how this team was special, and these guys were loafing. He wore out the team about their play. Now keep in mind Smith was a sure fire Hall of Famer who came out of retirement to play for Dallas with a chance to win a Super Bowl. So he had a reputation which garnered respect in the locker room.
Dallas faced Green Bay in Green Bay that week. Green Bay was a 7-2 team when they met the Cowboys. Dallas thumped them 42-14.
Dallas went on to win every game for the rest of the year up until the Super Bowl against the Steelers.
I can remember the article I read about the team after the season. I never thought Smith lost the game, but knew a bunch of friends who did. The article quoted Staubach stating that heart-to-heart Smith gave the team about where he came from and how important it was to take each game seriously was the inspiration for the streak of eight straight wins and dang near a championship.
Unfortunately, athletes are sometimes remembered for that one moment when they failed. Fans hold on to that and as they replay the failures at bars or over bar-b-ques, the player is shredded. Smith played in the same conference as Dallas and had to watch the Cowboys dominate for over a decade.
What they don't remember is Staubach being out of the divisional play-off game against the Falcons because of a concussion. Danny White took over and Dallas was behind 20-13 in the third quarter. Smith caught a touchdown pass and Dallas rallied to win 27-20.
He never got a ring, but some might say he got them to the dance.
