Friday, August 28, 1998

Cowboys finish winless in pre-season

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Sports Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The preseason is finally over for the Dallas Cowboys. As far as Troy Aikman is concerned, so are the excuses.

For the first time in 12 years and only the third time in the 39-year history of the franchise, the Cowboys went through an exhibition season without winning.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made sure of that Thursday night, getting sharp play from quarterback Mark Brunell and four turnovers by the defense in a 42-20 victory.

"I could sit here for an hour and tell you why we didn't win some preseason games," said Aikman, who played only two series and completed two of his four passes. "That's not important. What is important is that the preseason is over, and no one can sit here at the end of next Sunday and say we were playing younger players.

"Whatever excuses we had over the last few weeks, we don't have those anymore."

That's not to say their troubles are behind them.

On the day before the Cowboys' final preseason game, left tackle Larry Allen was named in a complaint by a topless dancer who alleged she was raped at knifepoint. No charges have been filed, and Allen isn't talking.

"I don't view it as a distraction," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said of the latest negative story. "It's regrettable for Larry, but it won't impact how we will prepare. We're going to do everything we can to minimize this sort of incident."

The Jaguars (2-2) have no such concerns.

The only event that has shaken up their camp in four years was when Brunell tore knee ligaments last season and missed two regular-season games. He went on to lead the AFC in pass efficiency last year, and showed again Thursday night he's poised for a big year.

Despite throwing his first interception of the year on the third play of the game - a pass deflected by George Teague and picked out of the air by Dexter Coakley for a 22-yard touchdown return - Brunell looked sharp.

He was 8-of-12 for 148 yards and touchdown passes of 45 and 31 yards to Jimmy Smith. The Jaguars rushed for 176 yards and outgained the Cowboys 455-230.

"It was a good showing, but you never want to be too comfortable," Smith said. "This was a great effort going into the regular season. That's about as good as it gets."

The other two years that Dallas (0-5) failed to win an exhibition game, the Cowboys went on to a losing season. First-year coach Chan Gailey doesn't put much stock in that, nor did he leave his starters in very long to give them a chance to win.

"I think the offense is a lot farther along that it's shown during the preseason - by far," Emmitt Smith said.

Aikman, Smith and Irvin all had a strong game a week ago against the St. Louis Rams, and Gailey sees no reason why they can't perform well next Sunday when they open at home against the Arizona Cardinals.

"Sure you want to win. Who doesn't want to win?" Gailey said. "But if we go on and play like we hope to play in the regular season, and have the season we hope we are going to have, this won't matter.

"Are we where we want to be? No. Can we get there? Yes."

In a battle of the reserves, the Cowboys still had their chances.

They trailed 28-20 early in the fourth quarter when the backups got sloppy. Third-string quarterback Daniel Gonzalez' pass from his end zone was intercepted by Eddie Robinson, which set up a 7-yard TD run by Tavian Banks.

On the next possession, cornerback Cordell Taylor stripped Tarik Smith and recovered the fumble. Two plays later, Banks slipped past Zebbie Lethridge and hurdled a defender on a 14-yard scoring run.

The Jaguars have won their final exhibition game in each of their four years in the league. They play at Chicago next Sunday mostly injury-free and, compared with the Cowboys, worry-free.

All that gnaws at coach Tom Coughlin is the kicking of Mike Hollis. He was voted to the Pro Bowl last year but missed two field goals Thursday night and ended the preseason 3-of-10.

Still, missing components from last year - the linebackers in particular - continued to play well. And while Coughlin understands that exhibition games are just that, he likes the idea of going out with a bang.

The 42 points are a team record. The Jaguars scored 40 points in a win over the New York Giants in the second game of the regular season last year.

"It was a nice end to the preseason for us," he said.

For the Cowboys, it was simply an end to the preseason. Considering where they've been, that's not all bad.