Friday, July 24, 1998

Cowboys hope to find more interceptions in 1998

By MIKE BALDWIN

The Daily Oklahoman

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Seven interceptions? No, it's not a misprint.

One of the best secondaries in the NFL produced only seven "picks" last season, which is like Mark McGwire slamming only two home runs in a month.

How do you explain the Dallas Cowboys, a team that featured two Pro-Bowl defensive backs (Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson), tying the franchise record for fewest interceptions in a season?

There are numerous reasons: 1) the pass rush was ineffective, 2) opponents had so much success running the ball they attempted fewer passes, 3) the Cowboys dropped a few interceptions, and 4) a bump-and-run, man-to-man scheme isn't conducive for interceptions.

"We bumped quite a bit on the corners, so we didn't have a chance to see the ball as much," said cornerback Kevin Smith. "We were more concerned with stopping the run. We didn't really have a chance to sit back. As long as you play bump and run, you don't get a chance to intercept a lot of balls."

When Smith and Sanders focus on man-to-man coverage they rarely get to read the quarterback. One of the exceptions was the Green Bay game when Sanders returned a Brett Favre pass for a touchdown.

"Teams were running a lot of double and triple moves," Smith said. "They weren't giving us a lot of routes that we could jump. There were routes where quarterbacks stood in the pocket and gave the receiver time to do what he wanted to do.

"This year we hope it will be a little different."

To be different, the Cowboys must have a better pass rush in addition to forcing teams into more third-and-long situations.

"That's how you get quite a few of them is with pressure more than coming up with some exotic coverage that nobody's ever seen before," said coach Chan Gailey. "You try to create different kinds of pressure on the quarterback."

Dallas created fewer turnovers than any team in the league but don't read too much into the dramatic drop-off. Defensive tackle Leon Lett playing a full season should help and the Cowboys had 19, 19 and 22 interceptions the three previous seasons.

"It goes in streaks," said defensive coordinator Dave Campo. "I'll really be surprised if the Giants have as many turnovers this year as they did last year (44), regardless of how good their defense is. And I would be very surprised if we have as few turnovers this year as we had last year."

The Cowboys produced only 19 turnovers last season, but it was the seven interceptions that stood out. Sanders and Omar Stoutmire tied for the team lead with two each. In the franchise's 38-year history, the only other Dallas team to finish with less than 10 interceptions was the 1989 team, which finished 1-15.

"I'm not overly concerned about it," said secondary coach Mike Zimmer. "We played pretty well as a group, but I think we can play even better this year. But defense is a team deal. If you stop the run, then you can put pressure on them."

The Cowboys will continue to give opponents a steady dose of bump-and-run, man-to-man coverage, but Gailey won't say how much. That's one of the luxuries to having Sanders and Smith as your cornerbacks. It allows Woodson or the free safety to help with the run defense, but that strategy decreases the chances for interceptions.

"It all depends on how well you're playing against the run," Campo said. "If we're playing well against the run, we can do some other things. It all goes together. We need a little better pass rush, and we will swarm to the football better than we did last year with our speed. That will create some turnovers."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)