Friday, July 31, 1998

Cowboys defense glad to face Watters

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) -- Former Philadelphia Eagle Ricky Watters will run for the Seattle Seahawks against Dallas in a preseason game on Friday night.

Cowboys linebacker Randall Godfrey is glad for such a stern test.

Godfrey, a third-year outside linebacker from Georgia, admitted the Cowboys were miserable at run defense last year.

"We've got to stop the run this year," he said. "Last year we had the best secondary in the league but couldn't keep teams from moving the ball on the ground. We'll focus on Ricky Friday night. We want to see how much we have improved."

Godfrey said there will be one big, big reason why the Cowboys should be a lot better.

"We only had Leon Lett for three games last year," Godfrey said. "You can see in training camp what a big difference it means to have him back. We gave up a lot of yards last year but with Leon in the line that's going to stop."

Lett missed 13-games for an NFL-mandated drug suspension.

Godfrey, a second-round pick in 1996, said he had an OK season last year but added, "I have to get more consistent in my play. I was kind of on and off last year. I can do better than that."

Godfrey worked at middle linebacker in minicamps and early in training camp here trying for Fred Strickland's job. However, a season-ending injury to another outside linebacker, Broderick Thomas, put the experiment on hold.

"I thought I was doing a good job of making plays in the middle but Thomas got hurt and I was moved back outside," Godfrey said. "That's fine with me. Fred's doing a good job and I think I'm playing well on the outside."

Stopping the run will be a big focus for the Cowboys on Friday night in their debut under Chan Gailey.