Sunday, November 22, 1998

Rejuvenated Troy Aikman is 32, but feeling like a kid again

By Tim Cowlishaw

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas -- Troy Aikman knows he will never measure up to Warren Moon on two counts. Neither deficiency is likely to affect the outcome of Sunday's game or the forecast for the Cowboys in the 1998 season.

The first is touchdown passes. Moon has thrown more (252) since turning 30 than Aikman has thrown going back to Henrietta High School in Oklahoma. Second, and directly related, is longevity. Moon turned 42 Wednesday.

"I don't think I'll play 10 more years," laughed Aikman, who hit the 32-year mark Saturday.

What Aikman has that Moon, despite his gaudy numbers, lacks is a future spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And the good news for Dallas fans is that Aikman is determined to postpone his induction much longer than he previously had in mind.

Ten years into his NFL career, Aikman said this week he plans to play at least five more seasons. It has to do with a semi-healthy body and a newly healthy attitude at Valley Ranch.

Aikman acknowledged the other day that when he won his second Super Bowl with Dallas in his fifth pro season, he thought his career was at least half over.

"Ten years at that time seemed so long," Aikman said. "But most of the hits I took and the real punishment I've absorbed came early in my career. That's probably a good thing. I was able to withstand it."

Now Aikman envisions himself at 37, dropping back and firing balls around Texas Stadium.

"It's not so much from watching Warren because it's rare for anyone to be playing in their forties," Aikman said. "He's truly an exception. But looking at Dan Marino, John Elway and Steve Young, those are guys that have taken their share of hits and had their injuries, yet they're still playing, and they're still productive. That makes me optimistic about my ability to play a number of years."

Elway is 38 while Marino and Young are 37.

Whatever was drained of Aikman's spirit during Barry Switzer's four years has been refilled or revived in the nine months since Chan Gailey was hired. That's why Aikman thinks of playing several years into the 21st century. He thinks it will be fun. He thinks it will be productive.

He thinks there may still be room on his hand for a fourth Super Bowl ring.

"I really like the recommitment to football here," Aikman said. "We've gotten back to what allowed us to have success to begin with. We went through a period where we'd forgotten what it took to be champions. The fact we're focusing on football and not dealing with a lot of distractions, that makes me want to play as long as I can."

On a smaller scale, Aikman wants to play as long as he can this season. As in as long as possible into January. There's no doubt the Cowboys' season will go beyond December. Their two-game lead on Arizona and stranglehold on the tie-breakers suggest that the NFC East race is over.

But how far beyond do the Cowboys go? In the weakened NFC, which is threatening to be blown away by the AFC in the regular-season series, what are the Cowboys' limits?

Aikman believes the club will know more about itself with the games played in the next five days against Seattle and Minnesota than it has discovered in the first 10 games.

"Some of the teams that we've been playing don't quite measure up to some of the teams that we're going to be playing the next few games," Aikman said. "But it's difficult to answer how far we can do because of what happened last year. When you're 6-10, it's hard to get too far ahead of yourself.

"Once we're able to say we've clinched the East, we can start talking about exactly what we want to try to do -- whether that's getting a first-round bye or home-field advantage."

To get a first-round bye, the Cowboys would have to finish higher than either the Central or West Division winner. To gain home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, they have to finish on top of both.

Going into Sunday's games, Dallas trails Minnesota by two games, Atlanta by one. Maybe the Cowboys won't catch either one. Certainly they aren't going to catch the Vikings if they don't beat them on Thanksgiving Day.

The mere fact that anyone around here is thinking about such things is enough to make Aikman feel young again.

And by the standards set by the Cowboys' opposing quarterback today, that's truly what Aikman is.

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(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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