Word: staubach
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Freely and Feebly. The other play-off clash, between the hard-nosed defenses of Dallas and San Francisco, was, as 49er Defensive Tackle Earl Edwards had predicted, "an alley fight." Another 49er, noting Staubach's penchant for running with the ball when his receivers are covered, warned that "a quarterback who plays that way can get his neck broken." As it happened, nothing was broken except the 49ers' spirit. Staubach romped freely while veteran San Francisco Quarterback John Brodie passed feebly. Brodie had three passes intercepted, Staubach none; he was the Cowboys' leading ground gainer to boot...
Indeed, he befuddled the 49ers all afternoon with what might be called the Staubach Shuffle. In a third-and-seven situation on the Dallas 23, Staubach faded, found his receivers covered, circled as far back as the 3-yd. line, zigged away from one tackier, zagged around another, started upfield, reversed his course, angled for the sidelines, doubled back and then, while running full tilt, flipped a 17-yd. jump pass to Running Back Dan Reeves for a first down. Shuffling this way and throwing that, Roger the Dodger led the Cowboys to a 14-3 victory...
...unusual thing about Staubach is that he calls almost no plays at all. That chore is handled by Dallas Coach Tom Landry, who shuttles in his calls from the sidelines via "messenger ends." Landry uses the messenger technique, he says, "to take the pressure off the quarterback." (Others say it is because only he and God fully understand the complex Landry multiformations.) Not all of the Cowboys are happy with the messenger service. Says one player: "The coach has become so conservative-playing mostly ball control-that some guys on the offense feel throttled back. Hell we have the most...
That does not seem likely, at least not right away. "We have 14 multiple offensive formations to cope with," says Landry. "It takes a while to learn how to run it smoothly and effectively." Perfectionist Landry even goes so far as to say that Staubach is still three years away from becoming a complete professional quarterback. "It will take him that long to learn to read defenses clearly." Staubach disagrees. He argues that "I cannot be a complete quarterback until I can call the plays," and wants to take over the team on his own next season...
Scrambler. Actually, Staubach still has a very special hold on the team. Every time he fades back to pass and decides to run, for example, he is running the play his way. "Coach doesn't like my scrambling very much," he admits, "mainly because he's afraid of injuries." Staubach, who at 6 ft. 3 in. and 195 lbs. is no muscular giant by pro standards, seems to be afraid of nothing. Says New York Jets Line Coach Buddy Ryan: "The others lay down on you before you can hit them. This Staubach guy thinks...