Wednesday, July 22, 1998

Clay Shiver eyes redemption with Cowboys

By Clarence E. Hill Jr.

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Dallas Cowboys center Clay Shiver admits he was in a little over his head last season.

And a little underweight.

Last year, his first as a starter, the former Florida State standout absorbed much of the blame for the Cowboys' offensive line problems. Playing at 265 pounds - light for the average NFL center - left Shiver ineffective in run-blocking. And his inexperience left him ineffective protecting quarterback Troy Aikman from the pass rush up the middle.

Shiver accepts the criticism, however. He knows he's not the same player he was last season. He doesn't even look the same. In the off-season, he bulked up with 15 pounds of muscle.

"Being the new guy, I made some mistakes a veteran wouldn't have made," Shiver said of last season. "There were a few times I had some breakdowns. But with the record we had, everybody had their share of mistakes. That's something we are all going to have to bounce back from, including myself. I've gotten quite a bit stronger.

Shiver, a third-year veteran, said "having 16 games of experience" helps his confidence coming into this season.

"Last year was almost like my rookie year," Shiver said. "I had six snaps my rookie year, so it was nonexistent. With a whole year of snaps, it'll be a different year."

Cowboys coach Chan Gailey says Shiver's biggest problem last season was size and strength. His lack of physical power hampered the Cowboys running game. Gailey said he's satisfied with Shiver's off-season conditioning work and is confident his play will improve.

"We evaluated him real closely in the off-season," Gailey said. "We talked about him being more physical. He started fairly heavy last year, but as season wore on, he lost weight. We talked about him maintaining weight and strength. He has gotten a lot stronger."

Although Shiver likely will never be as big as Gailey would prefer - he likes the 340-pound lineman - Gailey said the Cowboys were going to take advantage of Shiver's small size and use him in unique ways.

"He has a lot of potential," Gailey said. "Because of his size, he gives us the ability to do some things that other teams don't have. We can pull and get to the corners. A lot of teams don't pull their centers."

Also affecting Shiver's performance was the litany of injuries along the Cowboys offensive line last season, causing constant upheaval in the starting lineup.

"One of the toughest things that was really a struggle for us and what was overlooked was that we had injuries," Shiver said. "People were in and out of the lineup. That caused us to struggle."

Gailey said the line rotation affected Shiver more than anyone."Communication and continuity on the offensive line is vital," Gailey said. "When you lose that unit philosophy it takes its toll. It hits the guy with the least experience the hardest."

Now, thanks to Gailey's implementation of the shot-gun formation, Shiver feels like a veteran these days. While his teammates struggle to learn the nuances of the shot gun, Shiver is drawing on his college experience at Florida State where he snapped the ball to Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward.

"It's really comforting to know we got a guy that's done it before," Gailey said. "He did almost every snap there for a while at Florida State."

Shiver said the shot-gun experience gives him a chance to prove other aspects of his game like "directing people and making the right calls."

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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