Thursday, September 17, 1998

Confident Smith ready to carry Cowboys' load

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS - Emmitt Smith slipped away from the questions that pelted him moments earlier. He wore a bemused grin as he stood in the hallway outside the Dallas Cowboys' locker room.

For months, maybe longer, the running back has dealt with innuendo that his All-Pro skills have declined. Critics wondered if he had lost a step and if his days as the focal point of the Cowboys' offense were over.

The tone of the questioning changed dramatically Wednesday as Smith was asked about being the man in Troy Aikman's absence.

"Now, they're looking at me like I'm the holy grail," Smith said. "I don't understand it, man."

Actually, Smith does understand. So does everyone else at Valley Ranch. The New York Giants, the Cowboys' next opponent, have gotten the message as well.

Aikman's fractured left collarbone has thrust Jason Garrett into the "Monday Night Football" spotlight. The Dallas players and coaching staff can talk all they want about the confidence they have in Garrett, but he has started only two games in his NFL career.

Smith has started 124 regular season games and rushed for 11,451 yards. Only seven players in league history have more.

Garrett is stepping into Aikman's cleats as the team's starting quarterback. But the success - or lack thereof - the Cowboys have in Aikman's absence will have more to do with Smith's ability to run than Garrett's ability to pass.

Smith knows. He tells himself he'll have to shoulder more of the burden until Aikman returns.

"I wouldn't be human if I didn't think like that," Smith said. "I think each and every player on the field feels like he has to take on a little bit more or do a little bit extra in order for us to win the ballgame.

"I've always tried to do extra. I've always tried to be the one to make the plays. In order to be a good football player, you've got to want to make the play yourself. At the same time, be smart about it. Trying to make the extra big play will cost you the game if you make a mistake."

Giants' Coach Jim Fassel said Wednesday he expects the Cowboys to try to take the pressure off Garrett early by establishing Smith and the running game. That hasn't happened against the Giants in recent encounters.

New York has won the last three games in the series. Smith totaled just 149 yards rushing in those losses. He carried the ball 11 times for 18 yards - and was benched in the fourth quarter - in a loss to the Giants in November 1996.

"I think his ability is still there," Fassel said. "I really do. He scares me when I look at him from the other side."

Fassel diplomatically points out that Smith's struggles against New York the last three games aren't his alone. The offensive line deserves a portion of the blame.

But as Smith said when asked about last season, "let the dead be dead." The immediate future includes life without Aikman. That should mean more eight-man defensive fronts as defenses load up against the running game with the idea of making Garrett prove he can beat them.

"I've been facing eight-man fronts for most of my career," Smith said. "In terms of pressure, I don't feel any pressure. The only pressure I feel is to want to go out an do my job the best I know how.

"The thing we have to do as an offense is maintain our composure and go out and play football like we know how to play. Execute the Xs and Os and make the plays, eight-man front or no eight-man fronts. I don't care if Troy is in the game or Jason is in the game. The bottom line is execution."

Cowboys' Coach Chan Gailey said the Cowboys' running game has "probably had better production than the execution we showed" in the first two games. That's another way of saying Smith has run well.

Smith has carried the ball 49 times for 217 yards and a touchdown in the first two games. He ranks fourth in rushing in the NFC and sixth in the NFL.

"Magnificent, man," guard Nate Newton said when asked to describe how Smith has looked. "He's running with a new confidence. You can see the confidence in him, the way he walks, the way he moves around. He just feels good."

Now, he's the man.

Again.

"I think I can get better," Smith said. "Much better. I'm going to try to get better every week."

INJURY SITUATION:

Defensive tackle Leon Lett went through conditioning drills Wednesday, but did not participate in practice.

Coach Chan Gailey said Lett participated in about 18 plays Sunday against Denver. Gailey said he wouldn't know how much Lett would play Monday against New York until the weekend.

Defensive tackle Chad Hennings, who has a sprained knee, wrist and ankle, did not practice but is expected to play against New York.

(Dallas Morning News staff writer Jean-Jacques Taylor contributed to this report.)

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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