Friday, December 25, 1998

Cowboys' offense is feeling effects of free agents' injuries

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS -- Points are hard to come by for the Cowboys.

Theories aren't. More of those are floating around Valley Ranch these days than touchdowns.

Poor routes by the receivers. Breakdowns in protection, particularly up the middle. Bad reads. Injuries. Conservative play-calling.

All are valid reason to explain why the Cowboys have averaged 11 points over the last three games. But the root of the offensive struggles goes even deeper.

Personnel.

Receiver Ernie Mills. Running back Chris Warren. Guard Everett McIver. All three free agents were signed during the off season to upgrade the offense.

All three are out for the remainder of the season. Their absence has rendered the Cowboys' offense disturbingly similar to the group that managed to score more than 20 points just three times in the final 12 games of last season.

"Those players do have a big impact," owner Jerry Jones said. "That's a good explanation as to why we're not moving the ball better.

"It's not an accident."

It's not just those three. The absence of tight end David LaFleur the last three games with a sprained right knee has contributed to the offensive decline, especially in the running game.

The biggest loss was Mills. In the first 10 games of the season -- he was hurt in the 11th -- Mills had four touchdowns. Billy Davis and Michael Irvin had combined for three. Mills also had 476 yards receiving, which accounted for 28.4 percent of the yardage to the wideouts in those games.

Warren had a similar impact. He rushed for 291 yards in his nine games this season and averaged 4.9 yards a carry. He compiled 22.3 percent of the rushing yards in those games. He also scored four of the 12 rushing touchdowns -- 33 percent of the scoring -- in that period.

McIver's impact is more difficult to quantify. But in his three full games and parts of two others, he graded out high.

"As it turns out, all three contributed above expectations," Jones said. "McIver was a better player than we gave him credit for. He really showed flashes of being a dominant offensive lineman. Mills, no question, had a bigger impact than we expected. Chris is a proven, accomplished back with big skills.

"Those are pretty significant injuries. When you make personnel adjustments, it takes a toll on continuity and on the offense."

Rookie Flozell Adams, who has played tackle his entire career, was moved to guard to replace McIver. His play has been erratic.

Davis has picked up more snaps in Mills' absence, and his numbers have declined: he has caught just nine passes for 133 yards and no touchdowns in the four games since Mills perforated his small intestine. Sherman Williams will be asked to fill Warren's role as the team prepares for Sunday's game against Washington.

Cowboys' Coach Chan Gailey chooses his words carefully. He stressed he's pleased with the progress the players have made. But he's realistic.

"Have we gotten to the other guy's levels at this point?" Gailey asked. "Not yet. But they've got a chance to be. There have been flashes of that."

Flashes. That means consistency has been lacking.

Along with points.

"It affects you when you're playing without guys you rely on who are good football players," quarterback Troy Aikman said. "But we're not in a position during the season to sit and dwell on the fact we're playing without guys.

"We've got to go out with the guys we have and find a way to get it done and score points."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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