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TOM LANDRY

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Describing 'The Innovator'

The Sporting News

Tom Landry's greatest players talk about some of his strategic gems that changed the way the game was played.

As a defensive coach with the New York Giants in the 1950s, Landry began his long run as chess master for both sides of the line of scrimmage. His players describe his strategic gems best:

"When Paul Brown devised the spread formation to allow Cleveland quarterback Otto Graham more time to make optimal use of his receivers, Tom devised the proper antidote. We lined up against the Browns in a standard 6-1 set, but once Graham went into his cadence, both of our ends dropped off the scrimmage line to become linebackers while we played as ends. We shut them down cold. Tom was always a master tactician." -- Al DeRogatis, defensive tackle, New York Giants.

"Landry built the 4-3 defense around me. It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today." -- Sam Huff, linebacker, New York Giants.

"He started the inside-outside secondary alignment. The cornerback on the short side of the field had the job of covering the underneath routes while leaving the deep responsibility to the safety paired with him. On the opposite side, the other cornerback took everything deep, leaving the shallow coverage to the fourth back." -- Dick Nolan, defensive back, New York Giants.

Later with the Cowboys, Landry refined the "4-3" defense into the "Flex," introduced motion offenses, brought back the Shotgun formation, and popularized situational substitutions.

"He was always playing cat and mouse with himself. He would devise a new form of offense and then turn right around and counter it with just the right defensive adjustment. That's the way it always was with him." -- Huff.


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