Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Brian wolf wrote:What's your take on Greg Landry, Richard? Great athlete or not, it never seemed like he could win big games, wherever he went ... Even in 1972, with the Vikings faltering, Landry and the Lions couldnt win the division.

Well, now, I gotta admit---being a kielbasa-carrying member of the Polish clan and Landry being a fellow Polack (he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports HOF)---I'm a little biased. But his running and mobility made him a lot more exciting to watch than Munson and the guys who came before them (Sweetan, Plum, Morrall). To his credit, Landry readily admitted at the time that his nerves got the better of him against Dallas. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to redeem himself since that his first postseason appearance was his last. But what we Detroit fans remember from the weeks leading up the game is how Landry & Co. went from 5-4 to 10-4 to qualify as the WC, beating several playoff-contending teams in the process. That included the Thanksgiving Day game vs Oakland, when the Raiders grabbed a quick 14-0 lead and Landry (thanks to a couple acrobatic catches by Charlie Sanders) led the Lions to a comeback win.

I read somewhere that his 76-yd QB "sneak" vs Green Bay that season was the longest run by a QB in NFL history up to that point.

Anyway, re the '72 season----yeah, Landry and the rest of the team didn't exactly shine in the stretch run like they did a couple years earlier. That was Joe Schmidt's last season as HC. He was a big Landry booster. But let's be honest, for years and years Detroit could never beat Minnesota, no matter who the QB was. The Vikes just had Detroit's number.

I think Greg Landry was the Bears QB coach in 1984, then late in the year he had to be activated and start a game due to numerous injuries. Even a creaky Landry was far better than Rusty Lisch!

Landry was also tangentially related to two of the worst week 1 starting QBs. In 1978, Bert Jones is injured in preseason and the Colts opening day starting QB is...Mike Kirkland. Possibly the worst week 1 QB of the modern era. After suffering through a 5-11 season with Kirkland and Bill Troup, the Colts finally realize that having a decent backup QB is beneficial when Bert Jones keeps getting hurt, so they acquire Greg Landry from the Lions. That is good for the Colts, but then Gary Danielson gets injured in preseason and Detroit's week 1 QB for 1979 is...Jeff Komlo. Ick.

The Lions of this era were the right team at the wrong time. If there had been three wild card teams per conference back then, they would have made the playoffs every year from 1969-75.