Tom Landry: A Football Life

[CF74]

I finally got to watch Tom Landry's, "A Football Life" that I had recorded a while back on the DVR and found some things to be quite interesting..

Landry was a very smart individual, he was a trend setter, and he was also an engineer. The early problem they said with Landry was that he was, "Too Smart," or "Too complicated," something I used to say about Garrett. He lost 2 Championship games by one final score each time to Lombardi and so now we have the Super Bowl trophy named after Lombardi instead of Landry. (Bummer)

It was said that Landry couldn't get over the hump and win the Big game until he "Dumb'd" it down for his team (Hence being too smart.) Lombardi had a very simple and basic offense, Landry had a more complex system and many players hated playing for him because of this. As we all know Lombardi won those big games while Landry was always nipping at his heels. This was very frustrating and heart wrenching for good ole Tom Landry.

So when Landry finally started to simplify things they started winning those big games and he went on to become one of the winning-est coaches ever. Later on the game passed him bye and the rest is history but many teams still use the 4-3 base defense that he created.

I said all that to say this: We need to stop with all these freaking audibles because while the element of surprise can be advantageous, sometimes u just gotta line up and beat the other man in front of you straight up. If the play called is to run the ball don't let the defense force you to audible to a pass, just run the freakin ball!! Stop trying to be cute or sneaky, just execute the play and impose your bloody will on the other team. I'm not saying the element of surprise is over rated but sometimes there's just too much going on and we need to just snap the ball quickly and punch em while they still think they have Romo trippin...

Romo is just having to think too much when he should just relax and be himself (Minus all the turnovers of course.) It's not fun anymore for him and you can see it in his face and in his play. If he is ever going to have some real success he needs to get back to who he was before.

-They need to simplify things for him plain and simple..

 

[Manster68]

I still believe that Tom Landry is one of the greatest coaches that ever lived.
- He changed the game forever in the 1950s by inventing linebackers. The result was the Giants were playing for the championships and Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns stopped (but were more successful after Landry left for Dallas in 1960).
- Vince Lombardi took Landry's defense and won five championships with it.
- Landry revised offenses to counter the defense HE developed. He installed multiple formations.
- Landry would then develop the Flex to counter HIS offense. He would also make successful the Shotgun Formation.

Result: Landry led the Cowboys to twenty consecutive winning seasons - winning two Super Bowls.

Landry had a significant downfall though.
- His degree was in Engineering. Therefore, football to him was like his erector set. He obtained the parts he needed but Landry lacked in one big area.

That area was the human element.

THAT is why Lombardi was more successful than Landry!

 

[CF74]

Good stuff.. So what do u think will help our offense get back on track?

 

[jobberone]

Well, Landry didn't invent LBs but he did make the 4-3 what it is today and made the Mike a central theme and that was a new position for the NFL at that time. That move allowed Sam Huff to become a HOFer. I agree Tom was one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and one of the finest men to grace the sidelines. He's still a hero to me even at my age.

 

[CF74]

Soooo I'm guessing everybody around here is satisfied with our offenses production.....

 

[BoysFan4ever]

Too young for Coach Landry but he was a great man & a great coach.

It's awful what happened to him when Jerry came in.

 

[bark]

I still believe that Tom Landry is one of the greatest coaches that ever lived.
- He changed the game forever in the 1950s by inventing linebackers. The result was the Giants were playing for the championships and Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns stopped (but were more successful after Landry left for Dallas in 1960).
- Vince Lombardi took Landry's defense and won five championships with it.
- Landry revised offenses to counter the defense HE developed. He installed multiple formations.
- Landry would then develop the Flex to counter HIS offense. He would also make successful the Shotgun Formation.

Result: Landry led the Cowboys to twenty consecutive winning seasons - winning two Super Bowls.

Landry had a significant downfall though.
- His degree was in Engineering. Therefore, football to him was like his erector set. He obtained the parts he needed but Landry lacked in one big area.

That area was the human element.

THAT is why Lombardi was more successful than Landry!

Manster I want to say that I agree with most all you said here and I really respect the fact that you are a longtime fan with great knowledge of our history ...

That said , I would like to make a case for coach Landry vs Lombardi .
When Vince and Tom left the giants, they went to two very different situation. The pack even though they had a bad yr the yr before, had 4-5 hall of famers in the lineup.
Coach Landry took over a team that didn't exist before he got there and in 5 short years had them playing in the nfl championship vs Lombardi's pack.
If I recall correctly, we had 1st and goal with the clock winding down. A penalty, a botched assignment and an interception in the end zone sealed the deal. But the point is that was a bunch of greenhorns and they scared the living daylight out of the pack.
Next yr. we were clearly the better team and had the championship been played anywhere beside the frozen tundra we win going away. ( by the way we had a better record than them . Home field was chosen differently back then)
They both wound up with 2 super wins( yes I know about the other titles for the pack ) but one could argue Dallas won theirs during the golden age of the nfl.. There were some monster teams during the 70's.
anyway not really here to argue it I just felt like saying it and yea I've repeated this argument many times thru the yrs.
Never be another Thomas Wade Landry

 

[Manster68]

Manster I want to say that I agree with most all you said here and I really respect the fact that you are a longtime fan with great knowledge of our history ...

That said , I would like to make a case for coach Landry vs Lombardi .
When Vince and Tom left the giants, they went to two very different situation. The pack even though they had a bad yr the yr before, had 4-5 hall of famers in the lineup.
Coach Landry took over a team that didn't exist before he got there and in 5 short years had them playing in the nfl championship vs Lombardi's pack.
If I recall correctly, we had 1st and goal with the clock winding down. A penalty, a botched assignment and an interception in the end zone sealed the deal. But the point is that was a bunch of greenhorns and they scared the living daylight out of the pack.
Next yr. we were clearly the better team and had the championship been played anywhere beside the frozen tundra we win going away. ( by the way we had a better record than them . Home field was chosen differently back then)
They both wound up with 2 super wins( yes I know about the other titles for the pack ) but one could argue Dallas won theirs during the golden age of the nfl.. There were some monster teams during the 70's.
anyway not really here to argue it I just felt like saying it and yea I've repeated this argument many times thru the yrs.
Never be another Thomas Wade Landry

Bark, I don't have an issue with what you said. You make sense.

The unfortunate thing about all of this is, despite the near-misses with both Green Bay and Pittsburgh, and NFL Films coming out and labeled the Cowboys, "America's Team," Dallas does not get the admiration of being the runner-up as the Bills have in the early 90s. Buffalo never wins the Super Bowl, and they are labeled as great. Dallas wins two Super Bowls in the Landry era, has twenty consecutive winning seasons, yet despite coming up just short against two of the greatest dynasties in NFL history, they had to fight, scratch, and plead their case for players like Rayfield Wright, Mel Renfro, and Bob Hayes to get into the Hall of Fame. I am still wondering why Lee Roy Jordan, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Harvey Martin, and Drew Pearson is not in the Hall of Fame. I believe had one of those four games been different (NFC Championships against Green Bay & Super Bowls against Pittsburgh), Dallas would have been recognized more.

 

[bark]

Agreed manster...
So close to several more titles any one of which could have painted a different picture for us historically..Meredith beats the pack in either of those games and think how differently he would be viewed.
And while we're on the subject... How in the hell did we lose Super Bowl V

 

[big dog cowboy]

Landry had a significant downfall though.
- His degree was in Engineering. Therefore, football to him was like his erector set. He obtained the parts he needed but Landry lacked in one big area.

That area was the human element.

THAT is why Lombardi was more successful than Landry!

So playing on a frozen field or Jackie Smith dropping the ball or a bogus pass interferience call against Barnes were because Landry lacked "human element?"

 

[BoysFan4ever]

The most heartfelt part of the show was Thomas Henderson saying he cried at the funeral. That they did not always get along but it's not often you meet a great man & Tom Landry was a great man.

I believe that. Even though this is before my time Coach Landry will always be the face of the Dallas Cowboys.

 

[d_dub88]

I named my daughter Landry because the man is still a hero to me.