Randy White Over Walter Payton

[Thomas82]

You might really enjoy reading Tom Landry's autobiography. It has a lot of great facts about the team over the years.

Good looking out!!

 

[MichaelValentino]

Great post!

I think Randy White was the better choice for the Cowboys, but had the Cowboys picked Walter Payton, I think they would still have gone to the Super Bowl, and possibly beaten the Steelers.

One of the reasons the Cowboys lost to the Steelers is that Tom Landry was worried about Tony Dorsett's workload. With Dorsett, he simply would not consistently run the ball. Even the Steelers said after the game they wondered why Dorsett's carries were limited as he was slashing them when he did run the ball.
Walter was more durable. He was Emmitt before Emmitt.

Another reason the Cowboys lost is that Dallas put Randy White on the kickoff team. The Steelers kicker squib kicks the ball to White who tries to pick the ball up with a cast on his hand but proceeds to fumble, giving the ball to the Steelers. They score and take (I believe) an 11-point lead.
Had we gotten the football and scored and the rest of the game goes according to what it did that day, maybe we're the first team to win 4 Super Bowls, and we're the team of the 70s.

Spot on with everything you wrote, tyke.

As I posted earlier in this thread, there's a good chance Dallas beats Pittsburgh in SB X with Payton in the backfield. (1) He was a great runner and receiver, and arguably among the two greatest RBs of all time (Jim Brown); (2) Can anyone name a better blocking back? Emmitt was great and Zeke is also special in that area, but Walter would stone cold stand up LBers. I think in the 2nd half of SB X, the Pittsburgh blitz would have been neutralized with Payton getting the yards Preston Pearson and Robert Newhouse could not get on first and second down, and with Walter picking up the blitz and keeping Roger from getting sacked seven times.

In SB XIII, Pittsburgh had no answer for Dorsett, who gained 37 yards on the first three plays from scrimmage, and Donnie Shell (or Mike Wagner - can't remember which) had to make a shoestring tackle to keep Dorsett from going the distance on one of those plays (he'd have left Mel Blount in the dust up the left seam). But Coach Landry, whom I admire greatly, outcoached himself. He got away from Dorsett - to the delight of Chuck Noll and his DC George Perles and the entire Steelers front seven - and ran a trick play resulting in a fumble after the Cowboys crossed midfield. Dorsett only ran 13 times after that series. I agree with you, with Payton, Landry would have run him 25 times against the Steelers because Payton dished out as much, or more, punishment as he took. He should have run Dorsett 25 times and thrown to him on circle routes forcing Jack Ham to cover him 20 yards downfield. Ham was great, but he didn't run a 4.3. But it was what it was.

And why Coach Landry had White on the kick-off team with a cast on his right hand is beyond me. Gerela slipped on the kick-off and the ball went straight to White. The rest is history. When it is not your day, it's not your day.

But as I also said earlier, it worked out for the best for Dallas. They could have drafted one of the two greatest RBs of all time but they would have missed out on a special tackle. When Dallas moved White from MLB to RDT in 1977, the DT torch was instantly passed from the legendary quartet of the 60s-mid 70s of Lilly, Page, Olsen and Greene to White, who was the premier interior lineman of his era. So, the Cowboys got a top 10-15 all-time RB and a top 6 all-time DT while the Bears got Sweetness.

I don't think many Bears or Cowboys fans would swap how things played out in the end.

 

[tyke1doe]

Spot on with everything you wrote, tyke.

As I posted earlier in this thread, there's a good chance Dallas beats Pittsburgh in SB X with Payton in the backfield. (1) He was a great runner and receiver, and arguably among the two greatest RBs of all time (Jim Brown); (2) Can anyone name a better blocking back? Emmitt was great and Zeke is also special in that area, but Walter would stone cold stand up LBers. I think in the 2nd half of SB X, the Pittsburgh blitz would have been neutralized with Payton getting the yards Preston Pearson and Robert Newhouse could not get on first and second down, and with Walter picking up the blitz and keeping Roger from getting sacked seven times.

In SB XIII, Pittsburgh had no answer for Dorsett, who gained 37 yards on the first three plays from scrimmage, and Donnie Shell (or Mike Wagner - can't remember which) had to make a shoestring tackle to keep Dorsett from going the distance on one of those plays (he'd have left Mel Blount in the dust up the left seam). But Coach Landry, whom I admire greatly, outcoached himself. He got away from Dorsett - to the delight of Chuck Noll and his DC George Perles and the entire Steelers front seven - and ran a trick play resulting in a fumble after the Cowboys crossed midfield. Dorsett only ran 13 times after that series. I agree with you, with Payton, Landry would have run him 25 times against the Steelers because Payton dished out as much, or more, punishment as he took. He should have run Dorsett 25 times and thrown to him on circle routes forcing Jack Ham to cover him 20 yards downfield. Ham was great, but he didn't run a 4.3. But it was what it was.

And why Coach Landry had White on the kick-off team with a cast on his right hand is beyond me. Gerela slipped on the kick-off and the ball went straight to White. The rest is history. When it is not your day, it's not your day.

But as I also said earlier, it worked out for the best for Dallas. They could have drafted one of the two greatest RBs of all time but they would have missed out on a special tackle. When Dallas moved White from MLB to RDT in 1977, the DT torch was instantly passed from the legendary quartet of the 60s-mid 70s of Lilly, Page, Olsen and Greene to White, who was the premier interior lineman of his era. So, the Cowboys got a top 10-15 all-time RB and a top 6 all-time DT while the Bears got Sweetness.

I don't think many Bears or Cowboys fans would swap how things played out in the end.

Excellent analysis.

 

[MichaelValentino]

The team felt it was set at QB with Staubach, White, and Carano and therefore didn't need to draft Montana, even though he was the best player available according to their system. Tex Schramm wanted to stick to the system and draft Montana, but Landry figured they would just end up cutting Montana because they were so rich at QB. Hence, no Joe Montana in Big D and the 9ers got him. It was one of Landry's biggest regrets that he talks about in his bio

There were more than a few voices in 1978-79 saying Carano, not White, would be the heir apparent to Staubach. Carano had talent, including a great arm. So you are right: the Cowboys were stacked at QB at the time of the 1979 draft. Roger had just led the Cowboys to BTB SB appearances, and Dallas did not lose SB XIII because of Staubach. And in 1977-78 Roger was still at the top of his game and in great physical condition. The concussions of 1979 - especially that last one in the divisional round vs. the Rams - had a cumulative effect but there was no way of knowing Staubach would not play for several more years when the '79 draft rolled around, and so QB was not a priority.

The Cowboys braintrust should have looked no further than the 1979 Cotton Bowl, however. ND was down 34-12 and Montana, stricken with hypothermia, lead ND to 23 answered points in under eight minutes to give ND a 35-34 victory and the national championship. The next Roger Staubach had just played his last college football game in the Cowboys' backyard and Brandt and Schramm missed a great opportunity.

Who knows how great Montana would have been in Dallas away from Bill Walsh's West Coast offense which he created while an assistant coach in Cincinnati. No doubt he was destined to be great, but in Walsh's system which was tailor made for a cerebral QB with less than a cannon for an arm - and especially with the 1978 rules changes - Montana became the GOAT.

I still think that Roger would have won all four of the SBs Montana did with his teams in '81, '84, '88 and '89, but would Montana have beaten Pittsburgh in SB X and could he have survived the beating Staubach took in that game? How would Montana have done in SB XIII? Interesting things to consider. I don't think Montana faced a defense as good as the '78 Steelers in his SBs and he definitely did not play a defense as good as the '75 Steelers, who from '74 to '76 were just lights out great.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

There were more than a few voices in 1978-79 saying Carano, not White, would be the heir apparent to Staubach. Carano had talent, including a great arm. So you are right: the Cowboys were stacked at QB at the time of the 1979 draft. Roger had just led the Cowboys to BTB SB appearances, and Dallas did not lose SB XIII because of Staubach. And in 1977-78 Roger was still at the top of his game and in great physical condition. The concussions of 1979 - especially that last one in the divisional round vs. the Rams - had a cumulative effect but there was no way of knowing Staubach would not play for several more years when the '79 draft rolled around, and so QB was not a priority.

The Cowboys braintrust should have looked no further than the 1979 Cotton Bowl, however. ND was down 34-12 and Montana, stricken with hypothermia, lead ND to 23 answered points in under eight minutes to give ND a 35-34 victory and the national championship. The next Roger Staubach had just played his last college football game in the Cowboys' backyard and Brandt and Schramm missed a great opportunity.

Who knows how great Montana would have been in Dallas away from Bill Walsh's West Coast offense which he created while an assistant coach in Cincinnati. No doubt he was destined to be great, but in Walsh's system which was tailor made for a cerebral QB with less than a cannon for an arm - and especially with the 1978 rules changes - Montana became the GOAT.

I still think that Roger would have won all four of the SBs Montana did with his teams in '81, '84, '88 and '89, but would Montana have beaten Pittsburgh in SB X and could he have survived the beating Staubach took in that game? How would Montana have done in SB XIII? Interesting things to consider. I don't think Montana faced a defense as good as the '78 Steelers in his SBs and he definitely did not play a defense as good as the '75 Steelers, who from '74 to '76 were just lights out great.

Great post. I've always felt like Montana and Rice to SF was a temporal incursion to the timeline. They both should have been Dallas Cowboys, but the Ferengi or someone went back in time and polluted the timeline. Dallas was inches away from drafting Jerry Rice, but the 9ers traded up to steal him. Montana to Rice was supposed to be a historic Dallas Cowboys hookup.

 

[joseephuss]

What if Dallas drafts Warren Moon in the latter rounds of 1978? He went undrafted. Moon would have fit the Landry scheme pretty well. Strong armed and accurate. Certainly he wasn't as good as Montana, but he was a very good QB.

 

[tyke1doe]

Great post. I've always felt like Montana and Rice to SF was a temporal incursion to the timeline. They both should have been Dallas Cowboys, but the Ferengi or someone went back in time and polluted the timeline. Dallas was inches away from drafting Jerry Rice, but the 9ers traded up to steal him. Montana to Rice was supposed to be a historic Dallas Cowboys hookup.

 

[timb2]

Payton was a 4.5 runningback and I believed we had Calvin Hill & Preston Pearson. It wasn't the greatest need and Randy White was a LB benching 500 lbs and ran I believe a 4.6 at that time. Hollywood Henderson I believe was running 4.4s and that was unheard of back in the 70s.