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02:37Great players.
02:38He's all pro players and guys are highly visible in the National Football League.
02:42So I was just trying to blend in.
02:44You see him for the first time, you're wondering, what?
02:47This little guy?
02:48And then you're a little skeptical because now he's in the pros and you look at his small
02:53stature and he's wondering if he can do the same things on a professional level that he
02:58did on a college level.
03:00Tony Dorsett was always a star.
03:03He was the nation's best high school player at Hopewell High outside Pittsburgh, an NCAA
03:09champion and Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Pittsburgh and the number one pick of America's
03:15team.
03:16Coming in as a Heisman Trophy winner with a lot of hoopla, I knew there was going to be some
03:22people trying to test me.
03:23There was going to be a lot of eyes upon me and I may get challenged.
03:27I know he had a certain error.
03:32He had a sense of entitlement and he too looked at the game and knew that he was probably the
03:37best talent at the running backs so he wanted the job.
03:40It just didn't work that way.
03:42You weren't ever just handed a job.
03:45You had to earn it.
03:46You had to earn prima donna.
03:48He was
03:55Respecting a linebacker in an era where guys like to run the ball.
04:00Shocking.
04:03A notch.
04:05And Coach Landry was very good at doing that.
04:09Dorsett was beaten up in summer camp and beaten down by head coach Tom Landry.
04:15Tom doesn't want prima donnas and Tom has a way of humbling people.
04:19They would tell me and you know you got to do this and do that and he's just going to
04:23test you.
04:24He plays these mind games and I got down on myself and I was really, really, really in
04:28the dumps.
04:31Everyone else was sky high.
04:33This perfect mix of emerging stars and veteran all pros expected to reach the Super Bowl.
04:39Coach Landry ran our team like a corporation.
04:43We had goals.
04:44We had methods to obtain the goals.
04:46We had critical points to obtain the methods that obtained the goals and then we had the
04:50individual exact details to perform the critical points to perform the methods to perform
04:57the goal.
04:59And the goal was to win the Super Bowl.
05:18I think Preston Pearson was raising a little hell that I'm the guy, I know this system and you can't
05:27just put this guy in front of me.
05:28He took a lot of pride in the fact that he was keeping a player like Tony Dorsett on the
05:34bench.
05:45Coach Landry knew he could always insert Tony in certain situations.
05:49So he kind of handled him with kid gloves, only using him in certain situations in games, using him on
05:56certain plays that he was very familiar with.
06:11We knew eventually that Tony would be the man, and it was just a matter of time before he took
06:17over.
06:21This is definitely the oldest episode of America's Game where everybody in the episode is very much alive and well.
06:45I didn't like the way the media was handling the whole scenario from the standpoint of when I come into
06:52a game, they're expecting these miraculous things to happen.
06:56As a running back, that's not the way it goes.
07:03In the fourth week, Dorsett was still not starting, but he revolutionized traditional cowboy running philosophy.
07:10My whole thing was, look, I am a runner.
07:12I run to daylight.
07:13I run to what I see.
07:16And it's always not going to be like you draw up X's and O's.
07:19We're running practice, and I'm rolling this thing.
07:21I mean, our defense, you know, playing the mock defense of the Cardinals, they were moving, and so they went,
07:27and I seen it broke all the way back across, back behind the center.
07:33It will never, it will never in a hundred years ever break like that.
07:37Stay on side.
07:39I got to run to what I see.
07:41I rolled slant 24, and it broke back just like he said it would never break in a hundred years.
07:47And I go 77 yards for a touchdown.
07:50To the 50, the 40, he's to the 30, the 20, the 10, the 5, Tony Dorsett, touchdown!
07:59Cowboy runners were expected to slam into the proper hole, but it was Dorsett's ability to improvise, to transform losses
08:06into touchdowns, that made the little man unique.
08:14Coach Landry changed the way he coached.
08:18Running against the St. Louis Cardinals of football was easier than it was back then to run against the St.
08:26Louis Cardinals of baseball, and they can't even tackle you in baseball.
08:33Cardinals defense can tackle either.
08:37And Tony Dorsett showed him that he could cut back against the grain or get through holes that nobody else
08:46has ever gotten through before.
08:48The next day in the meeting, Coach Landry comes in and he says, okay, Tony's a different type of runner.
08:54What you guys are going to have to do as offensive linemen, you're just going to have to put your
08:57hats on your guy and keep your hat on him, and he's going to run to what he sees.
09:02From that point on, I never had another problem.
09:05I was able to become TD and be myself.
09:10Tom Landry allowed Randy White to be himself when he moved number 54 to defensive tackle.
09:18For two seasons, White was imprisoned at linebacker while Dr. Frankenstein tried to build him into a monster, a monster
09:25like Dick Buckus.
09:28Like the legendary linebacker, he was ferocious, but not quite skilled enough to play the position.
09:34Randy is a down lineman.
09:36You know, he's not a guy that's comfortable playing standing up.
09:40He likes to get down in a four-point stance and get after people.
09:47What Dorsett added on offense, White added on defense, where he was the destructive inside force on the doomsday defense.
09:57On game day, this meek, humble person turned into a monster.
10:03I mean, he was ferocious on game day.
10:09He scared me.
10:11I've never been afraid of anything.
10:13And Randy White scared me.
10:18White scared everyone but Thomas Henderson, a player who challenged both coaches and teammates.
10:25Thomas Hollywood Henderson was a provoker.
10:27You know, he was an instigator.
10:29He was always trying to get under somebody's skin.
10:31And he just picked the wrong guy.
10:33You know, Randy White.
10:34Why would you want to mess with Randy White?
10:36You know, he wouldn't call the master for nothing.
10:39Half man, half monster.
10:41Randy White, one of the strongest men in the National Football League.
10:45Tom White.
10:47That wasn't fair.
10:49That wasn't a fair fight.
10:51Randy proceeded to just lift him up.
10:55And I think he lifted him with one arm and slammed him into the locker.
10:59And it was over pretty quickly.
11:01He picked me up.
11:02He stuffed me in my locker.
11:05Then he had me pinned to the floor.
11:08And I said to him, while he had me pinned to the floor, if you let me up, I'm going
11:12to kick your ass.
11:13It was just, which is crazy.
11:15Randy did do a number on Thomas.
11:18He was very good to him.
11:19He could have hurt him a little more if he wanted to.
11:21So he didn't pound me.
11:22He didn't hit me.
11:24He didn't whip my ass like he probably could have.
11:28Because he knew I'd probably kill him.
11:30I mean, you know, I'd go home and get something and come back and put it on his big ass.
11:33I actually think after that incident, Randy and Hollywood became closer.
11:39They had a better understanding of each other.
11:41I know Hollywood had a better understanding of Randy White.
11:44Randy White and the ferocious front four were the bedrock of the doomsday defense,
11:49the best defensive unit in the NFL.
11:53Because this defense read offenses instead of attacking them, they were labeled as soft.
11:59We would hear a lot of teams talking about us being a finesse team.
12:03And not a physical football team.
12:05We would laugh at that and say, let's wait till Sunday and see what they say once they walk off
12:10the field.
12:11And I don't know how anybody could ever say our doomsday defense wasn't physical.
12:23Doomsday was versatile and violent.
12:28Harvey Martin, D.D. Lewis, obviously Randy White and Thomas Anderson.
12:39Cliff Harris, Charlie Waters, you know, a bunch of hard hitters.
12:56Number 79, Harvey Martin recorded the most sacks in the NFL and was named Defensive Player of the Year.
13:05This is beautiful Harvey Martin coming to you on a pretty windy day here in a brisk, cold.
13:12And I guess you wonder why I call it the beautiful Harvey Martin show today.
13:15We couldn't figure out why it was called beautiful Harvey Martin.
13:19Harvey wasn't the greatest looking guy in the world.
13:21It was the Cowboys 5-0 record that was truly beautiful.
13:30The team's perfect 5-0 record in 1977 did not satisfy their perfectionist head coach.
13:37He was more of a disciplinarian than he ever was and didn't let us get away with anything.
13:46Critiques on the games, after the games we played, we would win the game 30 points or so.
13:54And we'd go to that meeting on Monday afternoon and it'd feel like we lost.
13:58You know, he'd beat us down.
14:00He would never let us feel comfortable with what we had accomplished.
14:03There's a great motivation to avoid Coach Landry looking at you.
14:08Because when he'd look at you and you knew that he was looking at you because you did something wrong
14:16mentally,
14:18then you just wanted to crawl under the carpet.
14:21You know, it's hard to accept as a player his aloofness and the fear that we had for him,
14:27being men ourselves and fearing this man.
14:29If you really wanted to get a picture of Tom Landry, it would be in Thousand Oaks, California,
14:34with him on that two-story apparatus with a bullhorn.
14:39That's about as close emotionally that you got to him.
14:44But the...
14:47Our coach hid a whimsical side.
14:51Do you know me?
14:53I'm one of the best-known cowboys in Texas.
14:55But a lot of people don't recognize me in a cowboy hat.
14:59So I just carry the American Express card.
15:03It can help you out in plenty of tough situations
15:08because you never know when you're going to be surrounded.
15:12It can help you out in plenty of tough situations
15:16because you never know when you're going to be surrounded by Redskins.
15:24To apply for the card, look for this display and take one.
15:27The American Express card.
15:29Don't leave home without it.
15:31If he liked anybody, he'd probably like me.
15:34But you know what?
15:35I had no earthly idea of knowing that.
15:38He never showed ever that he cared about any of us as an individual.
15:46Landry loved him.
15:47Now, you know, if you want to look around the football team
15:51and wonder who does Landry...
15:53Does he like anybody?
15:54He loved Charlie Waters.
15:55Coach Landry and I had a different rapport than Coach Landry and other players.
16:00And the reason for that was is I played quarterback in college.
16:04And then when I came to the pros, I played defensive back.
16:08And Coach Landry played quarterback in college.
16:10And when he came to the pros, he played defensive back.
16:13Coach Landry also played corner in the pros
16:16when he really wasn't a very good corner.
16:18He was really, really good safety, real smart.
16:21And then that's just what I had to do also.
16:26Charlie Waters' journey from also-ran to all-pro was a painful odyssey.
16:32Coach Landry came to me and asked me to play corner.
16:36And I was a very good corner.
16:38I didn't have the speed to play corner.
16:39So he made a sacrifice to play the cornerback position,
16:44even though he knew he was really a safety.
16:47He took a lot of beatings there, got humbled in a lot of ways.
16:50I remember Charlie Taylor continually beating him.
16:57Sometimes it just didn't matter how smart you were
17:00or how much technique you used.
17:02I just couldn't play out there
17:04because I didn't have the raw speed to play the cornerback spot.
17:08And I was abused.
17:16I've been exposed to a lot of hell at the cornerback spot.
17:19I got booed at Texas Stadium, and, you know, and that was hard.
17:26And I got beat for touchdown passes in games
17:29to where when I'd go to practice the next day,
17:34I'd have to sit in the room with the offensive team,
17:37and Coach Landry would point out that I lost the game.
17:42And, you know, he was real blunt about those sort of things.
17:46And so it taught me how to deal with adversity.
17:49He paid his dues at cornerback.
17:52Knocked down but never counted out,
17:54Waters finally earned the admiration of his head coach.
17:58Coach Landry got up in front of the team,
18:00and, of course, this is the game.
18:02This is the game that I lost the game for them.
18:04And he said to the team, he said,
18:06look, you know, Charlie had a tough day yesterday.
18:09That's an understatement.
18:11And he said, but, you know, if I'd had 45 guys
18:14that tried as hard as he did,
18:16he said, I wouldn't have lost a game
18:18in my whole career coaching.
18:20With the switch to safety in 1976,
18:24Waters became the brain behind the brawn of Doomsday.
18:27Rarely out of position,
18:28this coach on the field turned himself into an all-pro.
18:45Charlie is the smartest football player I ever played with,
18:48and he had to be,
18:50because he had to tell me the damn play most of the time.
18:52There's no one player I have more respect for
18:57what he sacrificed for this game in the NFL
19:00to play as long as he played it than Charlie Waters.
19:05Because we were the Dallas Cowboys,
19:07because we were America's team,
19:09we were in everybody's living room,
19:12and people hated us.
19:14We want Dallas!
19:15Dallas!
19:16We hate you!
19:17Dallas!
19:18Everybody that played us,
19:20every game,
19:21was like a playoff game.
19:23The hated Cowboys won their first eight games,
19:26often as the result of its special teams.
19:28Waters can pick it up and run.
19:30He's got it at the 15, the 10.
19:32He cuts for the goal line.
19:33Touchdown, Cowboys!
19:35Bob Hammond waits for it at the 22,
19:37has it, here comes the rush.
19:38He fumbles the ball.
19:39Giants pick it up and head right.
19:41Now there's another fumble.
19:43Jay Saldy has it.
19:44Goes in toward the end zone.
19:46Touchdown, Cowboys!
19:49The Cowboys had a strong...
19:51Slipped and slid into the end zone.
19:54Slipped and slid into the end zone.
19:56Strong supporting cast,
19:58but the lead actor remained quarterback Roger Staubach,
20:01who generaled this imaginative offense with precision.
20:11With the game on the line,
20:13Captain Comeback sought out Mr. Clutch.
20:16Drew Pearson, number 88.
20:19Pearson, an undrafted free agent quarterback,
20:22became the Cowboys' all-time leading receiver.
20:26Roger going deep for Drew down the sideline.
20:2820 to 25, to the 10, to the 5.
20:31Touchdown, Dallas Cowboys!
20:33And you would not believe the spike that Drew Pearson just put on that ball.
20:39Clutch.
20:41Yeah, they call it clutch.
20:42What he brought to the Cowboys, though,
20:44was every week he vomited on the field.
20:47You know, he threw up.
20:50And I would throw up, too, if I was as skinny as he was.
20:53But he'd walk over to Tom Landry on a timeout and just throw up.
20:58And everybody on the defensive side of the ball just loved Drew Pearson
21:01because they knew how tough he was as far as performing when you had to perform.
21:07You trusted him.
21:10You knew that he was going to give up his body over the middle.
21:14And he was a twig.
21:15He weighed 160 pounds, 150 maybe.
21:19He was just a guy you could count on.
21:21I think it's a combination of things that happen
21:23that put you in a position to make those big plays.
21:27And the number one thing is you've got to have the confidence of the coach
21:31to call your number in those situations.
21:33You don't have his confidence.
21:34You definitely have to have the confidence of the quarterback.
21:37And I had Roger's confidence.
21:42While Pearson looked slow, no one was fast enough to catch him.
21:49With an 8-0 record, the Cowboys were primed for a rush to the players,
21:56a goal the team leaders never lost sight of.
22:00He was a leader for us, both on and off the field.
22:05He not only did it vocally, but he showed by example.
22:08I mean, he did it both.
22:09And you don't have many guys that do that.
22:11But he was our man.
22:15On that year, you know, until Coach Landry really pulled me in
22:20right before that 10th game of the season
22:21and told me he had been expecting me to start by now
22:24and that I need to just apply myself and work
22:26and act like I care on the football field
22:29because I was down.
22:31I was down.
22:32You know, we're late in the season, and I'm not starting,
22:34so I'm not feeling very good about that.
22:40In week 10, the NFL's most sensational substitute
22:44finally became a starter.
22:47Dorsett had earned his Cowboy Spurs
22:49and prodded Preston Pearson to the bench.
22:52Preston's a smart player, a smart individual,
22:55and he realized eventually that Tony was going to have to be the man.
23:00So Preston got in the mode of,
23:01how can I compliment Tony Dorsett?
23:06When Tony ended up taking the job as the starting tailback from him,
23:10they moved him to the third-down specialty back.
23:17And Coach Landry had special plays set up just for Preston Pearson.
23:21He ended up being the most specialized player of the NFL.
23:24He created a new position, the third-down back.
23:31With Pearson now a third-down specialist,
23:34could the undersized Dorsett withstand the punishment as a starter?
23:40At 175 pounds, people said,
23:41well, he's too small, he's going to be too small
23:43to take the pounding of the national football.
23:46All that did was put motivation into this body
23:49to make me want to prove people wrong.
23:51Yeah, I was small, but I was always just a thin piece of leather
23:54well put together.
23:56Tony was a power bag.
23:57Not many people know that we ran him in third-and-one an awful lot.
24:01He was blessed with a chassis that was powerful to pick up short yardage.
24:08Tony was different than any back that had come into the NFL at that time.
24:13And that he had blazing speed.
24:16He could start from a stop and go full speed after the second step,
24:21which is incredible.
24:22I mean, he was zero to 60 miles an hour after the second step.
24:34Dorsett coming left.
24:36He's out to the 30.
24:37Brakes to the right, 35, 40.
24:38Still on his feet.
24:39At the 50, one more block he might go.
24:42He's at the 30.
24:43He's being chased at the 20, the 15, the 10.
24:46Touchdown, Cowboys!
24:48He had that vision, a great vision.
24:52And he could also see into the future.
24:55On plays that were designed to go to the right,
24:58he would bend it all the way back to the other side.
25:01He could just see where the hole was going to be.
25:17The handoff goes to Dorsett, dances into the secondary and heads left.
25:20The 30, the 40, comes right to the 50, to the 40.
25:24He's going to score.
25:26Tony Dorsett, 84 yards on the touchdown.
25:30Although he started only a handful of games,
25:34Dorsett rushed for over a thousand yards
25:36and was named the NFL's Rookie of the Year.
25:44Party!
25:46Party!
25:48We were a partying football team.
25:50It's a great time to be a Dallas Cowboy.
25:52A great time.
25:53Once we got somewhere, you know, like a club or something,
25:56the line would be wrapped around the building.
25:58And, of course, here comes a Dallas Cowboy.
26:00Right away, we're ushered in.
26:02And once we're inside,
26:04the attention that we would get would be phenomenal.
26:07A lot of the things we did back then,
26:10I'm sure it wouldn't be acceptable nowadays
26:13if we had gotten caught.
26:15But we didn't get caught.
26:16We had a good time doing it.
26:18You were exposed to just about anything
26:20that you wanted to be exposed to.
26:22And we were hoping that all of us
26:25with the Cowboys kept it together.
26:29One flair that Tom Landry could not keep together
26:31was Thomas Henderson,
26:34a burr under the head Cowboy's saddle.
26:38I came into the Dallas Cowboys
26:40with a lot of disciplinary baggage.
26:43I just didn't like authority.
26:45My rookie year, when I came to training camp,
26:46he said to me,
26:48you're going to have to shave that beer.
26:49And I go, what are you talking about?
26:51Shaving my beer?
26:52I didn't come here to shave my beer.
26:53I came here to play football.
26:54What do you mean shave my beer?
26:55I'm not saving my beer.
26:58In 1975, both Henderson and number 54,
27:01Randy White,
27:02competed for the same linebacker position.
27:04So he put me and Randy White
27:07in competition for the strong side linebacker position.
27:11I embarrassed Randy White as a linebacker.
27:14I could cover the tight end.
27:15I could cover the back out of the backfield.
27:16I could whoop a tight end.
27:18After we compete for this job,
27:20and I've won the job,
27:22instead of Landry saying,
27:24Thomas, you're my starting strong side linebacker,
27:27of course I was out of position.
27:28I'm a weak side linebacker from heaven.
27:31I played out of position my whole career.
27:35After he told Randy White,
27:38you go to defensive tackle,
27:40he says, now Thomas,
27:42you're competing with Mike Heckman.
27:44Which really angered me.
27:46I mean, I was angry.
27:49Because frankly,
27:50I beat Randy White out
27:51for the strong side job.
27:54But he didn't give me that job
27:55until the beginning,
27:56the first game of the season.
27:58And when I got the job,
28:00he said to me,
28:01it was really close.
28:03It was really, really close.
28:13As fast as Henderson ran his mouth,
28:15his legs were even faster.
28:25Imagine an outside linebacker returning
28:27a kickoff for a touchdown today.
28:34Thomas Henderson was the most flamboyant coward.
28:37A player who gave himself his own nickname,
28:41Hollywood.
28:42Tom, ever since I've known you,
28:44you've always been very low-keyed,
28:46very cool,
28:47very laid back.
28:48Are you really serious
28:49about all this Hollywood stuff?
28:50Oh, no, Jane.
28:52It's a mere myth.
28:53I had on a cowboy hat,
28:55a mink coat,
28:58cowboy boots and shorts,
29:00in a limo,
29:02at the practice field in Dallas.
29:05So you either call somebody like that
29:07damn fool or Hollywood.
29:10So...
29:11He was charismatic,
29:12and he was charming.
29:14You know,
29:14a lot of people on the team
29:15did not like him,
29:16and hold it against him to this day
29:18that he brought so much attention
29:20to himself.
29:22Coach Landry said,
29:23Thomas,
29:23you're not going to play.
29:24See,
29:24you're not going to start.
29:26It was a Saturday morning practice,
29:27which is pretty much
29:28a dress rehearsal.
29:30Thomas put on a pair
29:31of combat boots,
29:33walked outside,
29:35crossed his arms,
29:37and didn't move.
29:39And he told Coach,
29:40he said,
29:42he said,
29:42you can replace me,
29:43but you can't duplicate me.
29:45He said,
29:46if I'm not starting,
29:47I'm not playing.
29:49Hollywood was such
29:50an athletic marvel
29:51that he turned defense
29:53into instant offense
29:54in 1977.
30:02No matter how spectacular
30:04Hollywood played,
30:05Landry never praised him.
30:07He congratulated
30:08a lot of mediocre people,
30:09but never would say
30:11Thomas had a great game.
30:12Congratulating Thomas
30:13is kind of like
30:14pouring gasoline on a fire.
30:16On the field,
30:17he often appeared disinterested.
30:19Off it,
30:20the X's and O's bored him.
30:22One day,
30:23we're in a meeting room
30:25watching film,
30:26and it's,
30:27the lights are off,
30:28and I look around,
30:30and Thomas was sleeping
30:31while Coach Landry
30:32was running the film.
30:33I had a nightlife.
30:37And, you know,
30:38the nightlife,
30:39you know,
30:39didn't coincide
30:40with the 8 a.m.
30:41or 9 a.m.
30:42dark room projectors
30:45clicking to put you to sleep.
30:47And so Coach Landry
30:48got up and went over
30:48and flipped the lights on,
30:50and he said,
30:51Thomas?
30:52What do you do
30:52with those glasses
30:53on this dark room?
30:54I said, you know,
30:54because I'm cool.
30:55And when you're cool,
30:56the sun is always shining.
31:00While Hollywood reveled
31:02in his celebrity,
31:03the Cowboys' offensive line
31:04took invisibility
31:06to its extremes.
31:07Although they were
31:08the backbone
31:09of the high-scoring
31:10Cowboy offense,
31:12they took offense
31:13to any number
31:14but zero.
31:16That's what zero means
31:17is nothing,
31:18and these guys
31:19got no publicity
31:20whatsoever,
31:21and they prided
31:23themselves on
31:24never being interviewed,
31:26never did any
31:27appearances
31:28as the Dallas Cowboy,
31:30never bringing
31:31attention to themselves,
31:33and rarely would
31:33the coaches
31:34ever mention them.
31:35The only time
31:36they talked
31:37was when they were
31:38in that clique,
31:39in the zero club,
31:40and the only time
31:41they were really
31:43asked to do interviews
31:44is when they,
31:45you know,
31:45did something negative.
31:47They relished
31:48being the zero club
31:49and not have people
31:51talk about them.
31:52It was a catch-22.
31:55You know,
31:56they become popular.
31:57Here we are talking
31:57about the zero club
31:58and, you know,
32:00that's just not right.
32:01You're not supposed
32:01to do that.
32:02Nobody's supposed
32:03to get any publicity.
32:05Zero was not a number
32:06associated with the offense.
32:08Dallas piled up points
32:10like a pinball machine.
32:16They won their last
32:17four games
32:18to finish the season
32:19with a 12-2 record.
32:21Super Bowl XII
32:22was clearly
32:23in their sights.
32:35We got a good chance
32:36to win the football game.
32:38We knew that they
32:38weren't going to be able
32:39to handle
32:39our defensive line.
32:40And Walter Payton
32:42was a great running back.
32:44The flex defense
32:45was designed
32:47to stop the run.
32:53The Bears could not run
32:55and they were not
32:56going to pass.
32:58They had a quarterback
32:59named Bob Avellini.
33:01Not much chance
33:02Bob Avellini,
33:03you know,
33:04is going to beat
33:05the doomsday defense.
33:10Bob Avellini
33:12couldn't beat
33:12regular defenses.
33:16He was one of the
33:17trash quarterbacks
33:19Walter Payton
33:20had to deal with.
33:29The star of the Cowboys
33:3137-7 victory
33:32was Charlie Waters
33:33who intercepted
33:34a divisional playoff
33:35record three passes.
33:46Tony Dorsett
33:47rushed for almost
33:48a hundred yards
33:49and scored twice.
33:54Hey, Tony!
33:56Draw play Dorsett
33:57to the 20,
33:58to the 15,
33:59to the 10,
33:59touch right!
34:00He is at the 5,
34:01he scores!
34:02Touchdown!
34:04What can you say?
34:05This is a complete,
34:06total,
34:07utter domination!
34:09The Cowboys
34:10had one last
34:10baton pass to make
34:12on the anchor leg
34:12to Super Bowl XII.
34:14Good afternoon,
34:14everybody,
34:15and welcome to
34:15Texas Stadium
34:16in Irving
34:16for today's
34:17National Football
34:18Conference
34:18championship encounter
34:19between the Dallas Cowboys
34:20and the Minnesota Vikings.
34:22I'm Vern Lundquist
34:23and the Cowboys
34:25favored to win this game
34:26and go on and meet
34:27either Oakland or Denver
34:28in the Super Bowl championship
34:29two weeks from today.
34:31Roger awaiting the snap,
34:33takes it,
34:33inside handoff,
34:34Dorsett,
34:35right side,
34:3510,
34:355,
34:37touchdown!
34:37In the NFC championship,
34:40Tony Dorsett scored
34:41his third touchdown
34:42of the playoffs,
34:42but it was the computer mind
34:44of Tom Landry
34:46that spit out
34:47the game-changing play.
34:48He devised a strategy
34:50that exploited
34:51the aggressiveness
34:51of cornerback
34:53Bobby Bryant,
34:54number 20.
34:55The whole key to the play
34:56was the pump fake
34:58that Roger put
34:59on Bobby,
35:00because Bobby was
35:01what we called
35:02back then a cluer.
35:03That meant a defensive back,
35:05he would look
35:05into the backfield
35:06and then pick you up
35:08as you came off
35:09the line of scrimmage,
35:10but the best way
35:11to beat them
35:12was with counter routes
35:13because the cluer
35:15would jump on
35:16the initial route
35:17and now you pump that
35:19and then you send
35:20somebody deep,
35:21you can get somebody
35:21behind him.
35:22The key was
35:23trying to keep
35:24Bobby Bryant
35:25from reading the play
35:26and drifting back
35:28deep enough
35:29to affect the play.
35:43The 23-6 triumph
35:45propelled the Dallas Cowboys
35:47into Super Bowl XII.
35:49New Orleans...
35:51Unbelievable.
35:53The one year
35:55the Vikings
35:56wouldn't have faced
35:56an all-time great team
35:57in the Super Bowl.
35:59They can't get
36:00to the Super Bowl.
36:06Every player
36:07that plays the game,
36:08the ultimate thing
36:09is to get there
36:09to the Super Bowl.
36:12We've made that mistake
36:13before
36:15by saying
36:16all we want to do
36:17is just get there.
36:18And we did that in 75
36:20and we got there
36:21and lost to the
36:22Pittsburgh Steelers.
36:23So this time around
36:24we weren't just satisfied
36:25with just getting there.
36:30The game
36:35in New Orleans
36:36the Cowboys
36:37faced the Cinderella
36:38Denver Broncos
36:39and its Orange Crush
36:41defense.
36:42There were many
36:43delicious subplots
36:43to this Super Bowl XII
36:45matchup
36:45but it was the
36:46quarterbacks Roger Staubach
36:48and Craig Morton
36:49who provided
36:50the most ironic twist.
36:52Kind of a special trick.
36:54Craig Morton
36:54just passed away
36:55so
36:56R.I.P. him.
36:58Great, I'd like to
36:59great, I'd like to
37:00shoot fellas.
37:00Craig Morton
37:01Roger Staubach
37:02Roger
37:02this is Craig Morton.
37:03Hello Mr. Staubach
37:04I've met Craig before
37:05I believe.
37:06Have you met before?
37:07I didn't realize that.
37:08Go hard, go hard
37:09out of the way
37:09go hard, go hard.
37:10Number 14
37:11wanted to be the
37:12starting quarterback
37:13of the Cowboys.
37:14That's good position there.
37:15For five years
37:16he waged a bitter battle
37:18with number 12
37:18Roger Staubach
37:20for the job.
37:21Landry was so
37:22indecisive
37:23so unsure
37:24of who should
37:25lead his team
37:26that in one game
37:27he alternated
37:28the two quarterbacks
37:29on every play.
37:30He finally
37:31ended the merry-go-round
37:32by choosing
37:33Staubach.
37:35Morton was traded
37:36to the Giants
37:36in 1974
37:37for a number one
37:39draft pick.
37:39That pick
37:40became Randy White.
37:42We felt real confident
37:44going into the game
37:45with Craig over there.
37:47We knew their offense.
37:48We felt as though
37:49we knew
37:49how to beat Craig.
37:51He wasn't going to
37:52win this one.
37:53He didn't have a chance.
38:00It was doomsday
38:01in the dough.
38:02Another day at the office
38:03for the defense.
38:05Fold, spindle,
38:06and mutilate.
38:08They overwhelmed Morton.
38:31I got to where
38:33I got through him
38:36and got an arm up
38:38on Craig's chest
38:39and pulled his shirt
38:44and I got through him
38:47and got an arm up
38:48on Craig's chest
38:51and pulled his shirt
38:52and the ball
38:54just flooded right
38:55into Randy's hand.
38:57Doomsday was
38:59pretty much unstoppable.
39:00had one of the worst
39:02Super Bowl performances
39:03of any quarterback
39:05in history.
39:07In that game,
39:08our offensive line
39:09couldn't stop him.
39:09Craig couldn't get rid
39:10of the ball
39:11and when he had time
39:12to throw the football,
39:13our defensive backs,
39:15our safeties
39:15were covering up
39:16their receivers.
39:19Morton will throw.
39:20Has time this time.
39:21Nope.
39:21Hennessey lets it go.
39:22It's intercepted again.
39:23Picked off by Aaron Kyle.
39:27Suffocating defense
39:28allowed Landry
39:29to make an aggressive
39:30play call
39:31in the first quarter.
39:33Go, Dennis!
39:34With it fourth
39:35and one from the three,
39:36the usually conservative
39:37coach disdained
39:38three points for six.
39:41Ball on the three-yard line.
39:42Staubach has it,
39:43hands it off the door,
39:44set, drives, touchdown!
39:47Well, actually,
39:48we kind of knew
39:49we had this game won
39:49at halftime.
39:50We were pretty much
39:51counting our money
39:52at halftime.
39:53We were in control.
39:55I mean,
39:56we would really
39:56have to fall
39:57way off the cliff
39:58for us to lose
39:59this game.
40:00He had plays in there
40:02to take advantage
40:03of what these guys
40:04were given
40:05to hit them
40:06for big plays
40:06to get the ball
40:07in the end zone.
40:11The first dynamic play
40:12squeezed the juice
40:13out of the Orange Crush
40:14defense.
40:20Roger goes deep
40:21across the middle,
40:22way downfield,
40:24and Bunch Johnson
40:25caught, touchdown!
40:27A sensational
40:28diving catch
40:29by Bunch Johnson
40:30the Cowboys,
40:31second-year wide receiver.
40:33We didn't just come up
40:34with those plays
40:35on the side.
40:36We had worked those plays
40:37for two weeks
40:38in preparation
40:39to do those things
40:40in that game
40:41on that Sunday.
40:43You give Coach Landry
40:44two weeks to prepare,
40:46and he could probably
40:47end that war in Iraq
40:48if you give him
40:49two weeks to prepare
40:50to do it, you know?
40:51I don't know why,
40:52Vern, but I just
40:53have the feeling
40:54that Tom Landry
40:55might have a gadget
40:56that he might want
40:56to use in a situation
40:57like this.
40:58The gadget play
40:59would be a Robert
41:00Newhouse pass.
41:08Bob had little hands,
41:10and we were teasing
41:12him something horrible.
41:13I thought they were
41:13just doing it as a joke
41:15at the end of practice
41:16because Bob couldn't,
41:18I don't think he completed
41:19one of the passes
41:20he threw in practice.
41:22God, please, Bob,
41:24you know, don't be a duck,
41:27you know, a quackin' duck.
41:28And he went to the right
41:30in practice every time,
41:31and the ball was set
41:32on the hash,
41:33so he had to go
41:33to his left.
41:35And he turned around
41:36and set his feet perfectly
41:38and threw an absolute
41:40perfect pass.
41:51I'm gonna slam this
41:52over the go-force
41:53for the orange crust
41:54after this game.
41:57I'm over here.
41:58No, you're kidding.
42:00I'm celebrating.
42:01You go over there and talk.
42:04The Cowboys had buried
42:06Cinderella.
42:07They stole her handbag,
42:09crushed her corsage,
42:10and shattered
42:11her glass slipper.
42:15Craig Morton
42:16had always wanted
42:17to quarterback the Cowboys
42:18to a Super Bowl victory.
42:20On this day,
42:21sadly, he did.
42:24From the beginning
42:25of 1977
42:26to the finish,
42:27the end result
42:28was inevitable.
42:30A world championship
42:31victory
42:32in Super Bowl XII.
42:34And then when
42:35the final whistle blows,
42:36you know,
42:37it was a feeling
42:38of elation.
42:38We finally did it.
42:40You know,
42:40we're world champions.
42:42We reached our goal.
42:44We accomplished
42:45everything we wanted
42:46to do along the way
42:48in doing that.
42:49And it was a tremendous
42:50feeling of elation.
42:52We're the world champions!
42:54We're the champions!
42:56We're the champions!
42:57We're the champions!
43:08It's not those champions!
43:09it was off the chain.
43:11You just multiply that
43:13by 10 winning the world
43:15championship.
43:15It's just,
43:16it's just unexplainable.
43:17It does a whole lot
43:18for your team,
43:19man.
43:19When you get there
43:20and you win this damn thing,
43:21it's just unbelievable.
43:22Winning Super Bowl XII
43:24is,
43:24is my world championship.
43:27I was with 45 guys
43:29that,
43:30for better or worse,
43:31I loved everyone.
43:32The world champions!
43:34The world champions!
43:35I can still say that, you know, January of 1978, I was part of the Dallas Cowboy football team that
43:43was world champion.
43:44It was a feeling of a job well done.
43:47I mean, take a deep breath, just saying to yourself, hey, yeah, this is good.
43:54It's the way it's supposed to be, and all is right with the world.
43:58I'll put this football team, the 1977 football team, up against any football team in the history of the NFL.
44:10I'll put this football team in the history of the NFL.
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