Friday, August 28, 1998

Cowboys' Jason Garrett shines in backup role

By Kevin Lyons

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - One of the top priorities for the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night was to see what they have in backup quarterback Jason Garrett.

Playing behind second- and third-team offensive linemen much of the summer, Garrett had struggled mightily before playing the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had been sacked five times, thrown a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, and had a team-low 54.9 rating in passing efficiency.

"I'm interested in seeing how Jason Garrett operates with most of the first team," team owner Jerry Jones said as he stood on the sidelines before the Cowboys' 42-20 loss to the Jaguars. "We want to give him the protection and the blocking. We want to have a good feel at that spot. It's not an issue of whether or not we're looking to bring in someone as a backup quarterback. That's not an issue. We just want him to get that work to have confidence, so we can be confident too."

Like most teams, the Cowboys will not have much of a chance to compete if starting quarterback Troy Aikman misses time because of an injury. But Garrett did nothing to hurt the club's confidence in him Thursday night. Finally, with time to throw, he led the Cowboys to 10 points. He was 7-for-9 passing for 87 yards. More important, he had no interceptions.

"I've been playing with different combinations of guys, and people get caught up in statistics too much sometimes," Garrett said. "Everybody understands that in the preseason you are going to try different things. But my approach has always been the same, to try to make plays when I have the opportunity. Tonight, I had some nice opportunities and the guys around me made plays some nice plays also."

Garrett opened the third quarter by leading an eight-play, 81-yard drive. It was Garrett's first touchdown drive of the preseason and came with the second-team offensive line. Garrett displayed his strength on the first play of the series, lofting a perfect, deep spiral to free-agent Jeff Ogden, who beat man-to-man coverage to make a one-handed grab.

It was, coach Chan Gailey said, "a great throw."

"And that wasn't all," Gailey said. "He showed nice execution the way he drove us down the field. You try to work Troy in with the first unit for continuity, then you get to the last game and you try to work on getting Jason some reps with the first team. He helped himself, and he helped us."

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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