Landry not White to blame for 1981 Niner Loss

[Rampage]

The replay of that game was recently aired and people got to watch it. They are merely discussing their feelings about it.

oh ok. I come on here and I'm thinking people are talking about the big game tomorrow night and I'm seeing people debating on whether it's Danny or Tom's fault that we lost a game 30 years ago. I'm thinking where did this come from? yo Hos, I got two 50 yard line club seats to the game tomorrow

 

[Manster68]

Exactly! I could see the erosion of talent as the 70's faded away and the 80's crept up on us. If it wasn't for Landry those early 80's teams wouldn't have gotten to the NFCCG.

I know I am late to the party, but let me add a few tidbits on your post GoliadMike.

When key injuries intermingle with bad drafts, then the process of erosion greatly accelerates.

Maybe we Cowboy fans need to applaud Landry, Schramm and Gil Brandt for the job they did acquiring talent through 1977. What a nice run that was from 1965 to 1985. Dallas remained a threat to go all the way through the mid 80s. It wasn't until the Bears blasted the Cowboys 44-0 when I realized that they just are not the same anymore. I was also only 21 years old at that time.

But let's think about this:

1978 - The only player of note from that draft was Dennis Thurman in the 11th round! Larry Bethea proved to be a liability.

1979 - Ed Jones goes on a hiatus, and Charlie Waters blows out his knee in pre-season. The 1979 draft was a little better with Doug Cosbie in the 3rd round and Ron Springs in the 5th round. Unfortunately, 1st round pick Robert Shaw (who put center John Fitzgerald on the bench his rookie year) had his career shortened with chronic knee injuries. Bruce Thornton in the 8th round did what he could to replace Too Tall Jones.

1980 - Dallas traded their 1st and 2nd round picks for John Dutton, not leaving a whole lot for the rest of the draft. The best player in the 1980 draft was probably Kurt Peterson (4th round). James Jones (3rd round), and Timmy Newsome (6th round) were average at best. Bill Roe and Gary Hogeboom were busts.

1981 - Howard Richards, Doug Donley and Ron Fellows were nothing special. The Cowboys have not drafted a first round offensive lineman since.

1982 - One of the worst drafts in Cowboys history. What in the world was Landry and Brandt thinking taking a defensive back from Western Kentucky in the first round?!?!?! Rod Hill??? A year earlier, the Cowboys got lucky finding Everson Walls and Michael Downs as undrafted free agents. Weren't there other areas on the team to address??

And what about 2nd round pick Jeff Rohrer? It's nice that he has the brains of an Ivy Leaguer, but it doesn't fo you any good if it doesn't produce plays! Rohrer was in Dallas' starting lineup for most of the 80s! Why?

1983 - Jim Jeffcoat had a great career in Dallas, but who would rather have Dan Marino? There was nothing else in the draft worth mentioning.

1984 - Dallas lost Billy Cannon Jr with a neck injury.

There is not a decent draft in for the Cowboys until 1988 - when Irvin and Ken Norton arrives. Then came a slew of GREAT drafts!

 

[Hostile]

oh ok. I come on here and I'm thinking people are talking about the big game tomorrow night and I'm seeing people debating on whether it's Danny or Tom's fault that we lost a game 30 years ago. I'm thinking where did this come from? yo Hos, I got two 50 yard line club seats to the game tomorrow

You suck. I'd be at that game if it weren't for a lying Commanders fan and my wife having Federal jury duty Monday.

Hope you enjoy it.

 

[Everson24]

Danny.

Yes Danny fumbled the ball but it was right guard Kurt Peterson who got destroyed on that play. Danny was getting ready to release a pass to a wide open Tony Hill that probably would have gone for a TD. If Peterson can hold his block for just 1 second more history remembers Danny White in a much better light.

I'm still mad a Doug Donelly for not coming down with that third down catch that made us have to punt it back to the Niners.

 

[superpunk]

oh ok. I come on here and I'm thinking people are talking about the big game tomorrow night and I'm seeing people debating on whether it's Danny or Tom's fault that we lost a game 30 years ago. I'm thinking where did this come from? yo Hos, I got two 50 yard line club seats to the game tomorrow

You coming to Danny White's tailgate? Be there.

 

[burmafrd]

When roger was in the game the players all stepped up to match him. Danny did not have the efffect and frankly no QB we have had before or since had that impact.

 

[Rampage]

You suck. I'd be at that game if it weren't for a lying Commanders fan and my wife having Federal jury duty Monday.

Hope you enjoy it.

thanks! never trust a Commanders fan.

You coming to Danny White's tailgate? Be there.

i'll try to if I get to the stadium in time. I'm driving from NY and i've never been to Maryland before. where are you guys gonna be tailgatin?

 

[goliadmike]

That is a good recap Manster68. This team really started to go downhill when Gil's gambling long shots didn't pan out in the draft and the rest of the league started catching up to the cowboys draft strategies.

I honestly believe that if Cliff Harris didn't retire and he was in the backfield with Waters we probably would have won that game in San Fran.

 

[RS12]

Watching that game I was focusing on Harvey Martin. Maybe the most efficient pass rusher I have ever seen. No wasted motion and always took the shortest route to the QB, which was usually an inside route. Maybe the most underated player in Cowboy history.

 

[bbgun]

That is a good recap Manster68. This team really started to go downhill when Gil's gambling long shots didn't pan out in the draft and the rest of the league started catching up to the cowboys draft strategies.

I honestly believe that if Cliff Harris didn't retire and he was in the backfield with Waters we probably would have won that game in San Fran.

He retired after the '79 season, I doubt that an even older Cliff Harris would have stopped Montana and co.

 

[jubal]

The one thing I felt with Roger the dodger was hope !!
You just always knew he would pull it out right up to the time the clock ran out. Never had that confidence in Danny.

 

[goliadmike]

He retired after the '79 season, I doubt that an even older Cliff Harris would have stopped Montana and co.

Aw come on bbgun, don't piss all over my childhood heroes. I know what your saying, but Waters and Harris just had a way about baiting quarterbacks. I would have like to see what those two could have done against Montana and Walsh.

 

[hammer1]

two things people don't like to hear -Tony D was a fumbler and Tom Landry was an average gameday coach .

Landry had a career winning percentage was 60+%. His most impressive professional accomplishment is his record for coaching the Dallas Cowboys to 20 consecutive winning seasons (1966-1985), an NFL record that remains unbroken and unchallenged. It remains one of the longest winning streaks in all of professional sports history.

Yeah...just average on gameday.

Hammer

 

[CATCH17]

You suck. I'd be at that game if it weren't for a lying Commanders fan and my wife having Federal jury duty Monday.

Hope you enjoy it.

So did you ever get a hold of that guy or has he avoided you?

Id like to know the rest of the story on that.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Coach Landry had to run the ball. Our OL could not stop the 49 pass rush, if he went to the pass game and didn't balance the offense, White would have been killed IMO.

 

[KJJ]

Remember - it was a much different NFL than todays NFL. You can't really compare the two at all. Landry did exactly what he had done successfully for years and years. There wasn't any reason to believe it wouldn't be successful on that day.

That's what eventually did Landry and the Cowboys in by the late 80's was Landry doing "exactly" what he had done successfully for years and years. It wasn't successful anymore. The game was changing and Landry wasn't changing with it. He was still playing around with the flex defense that no one else was using. His prevent defense allowed Montana to drive 90 yards down the field in the final 3+ minutes of the 81 title game.

 

[T-RO]

First as Joe Montana would go on to prove in the future he was more than capable of carving up teams with the pass, hey it can be argued he's was the best ever.

Joe was captain comeback...but I didn't see it in this game. This wasn't a two-minute drive. It was a 4 1/2 minute drive, spearheaded mostly by runs.

I don't think Montana completed even half his passes on that final drive. He missed one pass (to Solomon) I think, that would have been a sure touchdown.

 

[T-RO]

Coach Landry had to run the ball. Our OL could not stop the 49 pass rush, if he went to the pass game and didn't balance the offense, White would have been killed IMO.

Well and maybe that's true. I didn't see the first half. I did sure see White get killed on his final play.

 

[KJJ]

Yep cause if Roger would have been in the game Drew Pearson wouldn't have been tackled. And of course just because Staubach was sacked a whole lot more often than Danny was, he wouldn't have been on that last play and we would have won the game.

Roger wouldn't have fumbled on that last play. The sack White took was almost exactly like the one he took on the Cowboys first series of the game. It was pressure right up the middle and Danny saw the hit coming. White fumbled earlier in the game and the Cowboys got that one back. White was always known for the big turnover at the worst possible time. He always managed to choke in critical situations in big games. His fumble at the end of the 81 title game pretty much signified his career just like Montana's TD pass to Clark in the final 50 seconds signified his.

 

[T-RO]

Just ask yourself this.

Fifty-four seconds left in that game and Staubach is the quarterback instead of Danny White. A. Does Dallas lose?

Yes. Absolutely. 30 seconds left and he gets bulldozed while exposed, trying to throw that ball. I have zero doubt Staubach loses that game the exact same way!

TwoDeep you surely have some sort of bizarre hatred for Danny White. Maybe later he merited some of that. There is no way you can blame him for fumbling on that hit. There is NO WAY an objective guy can blame White for that loss.

But I bet you remember the game as a 10 or 12 year old and you can't objectively re-appraise.

And if you watch the game objectively you GOTTA admit White played much better than Montana. In how many playoff games can opposing qbs say that?