Tuesday, November 17, 1998

Deion's toe injury left Dallas defense hurting

By MIKE BALDWIN

The Daily Oklahoman

IRVING, Texas - Let the debate begin.

For years, it's been suggested quarterback Troy Aikman is the Dallas Cowboys' most indispensable player. After watching the defense collapse in a 35-28 win Sunday without Deion Sanders, you could make a strong argument Sanders is more valuable.

"One guy doesn't make that much a difference, but it certainly affects you when a player of Deion's caliber goes out," said coach Chan Gailey. "I don't think you can put a yardage factor on it."

We'll try. When Sanders left the game with a sprained big toe, Dallas led 28-0. There was 3:29 left in the first half. Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer had completed 7 of 14 passes for 83 yards. With Sanders watching all but a handful of plays from the bench, Plummer threw for 382 yards on the next six possessions.

"Their hurry-up offense hurt us and Deion going down hurt us," said safety Darren Woodson. "That's when the game changed. There are a lot of coverages we use with Deion that we had to throw out. (Secondary coach Mike) Zimmer was drawing up coverages. It was school-yard ball."

Not only does Sanders return punts and play wide receiver, he makes game-altering plays on defense, like his second-quarter interception return to the Arizona 1. He also affects opposing coaches' game plans. How many times have we heard that quarterbacks are leery of challenging Sanders, that he takes away half the field?

Dallas entered the game as the No. 7-ranked defense but dropped to 15th after giving up 480 yards, most of it with Sanders on the sideline. The pass defense is ranked 23rd after Plummer threw for 465 yards, the second most against Dallas in the club's 39-year history.

There were extenuating factors besides Sanders' injury. Backup cornerback Kevin Mathis suffered a broken forearm against the Giants, forcing seldom-used Signor Mobley and Charlie Williams to play key roles against Arizona.

"We had some guys banged up," said defensive coordinator Dave Campo. "We had some guys in there who haven't had much experience. That was part of it. At the same time, I don't want to take a darn thing away from Rob Moore, Frank Sanders and Plummer, because they made some great plays."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)