Thursday, September 17, 1998

Jones: Cowboys may be down, but certainly not out

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS - The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a 19-point loss to Denver in which their defense was ravaged.

The only object quarterback Troy Aikman will be cleared to hold during games the next few weeks is a clipboard.

These are not the signs of a healthy, vibrant team. But owner Jerry Jones isn't about to offer a concession speech. The NFC East is so bad that he can, with a clear conscience, tout that the Cowboys are in the thick of the race.

"I think it's up for grabs," Jones said. "I sure do."

Jones gives the edge to New York, the team the Cowboys play Monday night in the Meadowlands. So does Dallas Coach Chan Gailey. This is the same Giants team that is coming off a loss to the Oakland Raiders.

New York and Dallas are tied atop the division with 1-1 records. Arizona, Philadelphia and Washington have failed to scratch the win column.

The challenge for Dallas during Aikman's absence is to remain in contention and keep the offense on an upward curve. It's difficult to project a record because no one can say with any certainty how long (four to eight weeks) it will take the quarterback to recover from a fractured left collarbone.

But Aikman WILL be out a minimum of four weeks. Jones has targeted two games during that time frame - Monday's game against the Giants and the Oct. 4 matchup at Washington.

"I would like to not get behind the eight-ball like we did last year," Jones said. "We lost early division games and we still, as of Thanksgiving, had opportunities. But we were always two games behind everyone else because we lost in the division.

"This game Monday and the Washington game, those are significant for us ... My focus is on those division games. If we could win a division game or win both division games, then have Troy back, I would take it."

So would the players.

"When you talk about races, you've got to know which race to run first," receiver Michael Irvin said. "That's the division. Then you go on to the other races."

Gailey's hope is that the Cowboys play well enough to remain near the top so they can make a run when Aikman returns. The word run, however, may not accurately describe this race. All five teams in the NFC East lost in Week Two.

"You hate to wish bad on anybody," Gailey said. "But if they want to continue to do that, it would suit me just fine.

"But I don't have control over them. All I have control over, hopefully, is where we go from here."

TIME TO HEAL:

Troy Aikman's history is that he will push the envelope to return from an injury.

But Aikman did say Tuesday that he's resigned to missing at least four games while his fractured collarbone mends.

"They have said four to eight weeks, and they told me the bone probably will not be healed completely for six weeks," Aikman said. "That's kind of where it's left.

"I have always been optimistic about my return from injuries, and I will continue to be with this one. But I don't want to back myself into a corner and try to predict when I'll be back, when I'll be returning, because that forces me to answer a lot of questions over the next few weeks. But I would say eight weeks is definitely on the long side."

Aikman said the pain in his shoulder has subsided little over the past two days. He has been taking pills to help him sleep at night - the discomfort extends into his neck - and can't jog yet because it jars the shoulder. He has an X painted over the site of the fracture so it's easier to apply the 20-minute bone stimulator treatments he receives every day.

Because the injury doesn't require extended time in the training room, Aikman said he will attend all of the quarterback meetings and offer input in the game plan as he has the past two weeks.

HEN PECKED:

The Cowboys' fall from the league's elite doesn't come as a surprise to Denver's Shannon Sharpe.

"I think the thing you have to understand is when you are successful, people are going to come raid your henhouse," Sharpe said. "They want to get all your hens that laid the golden egg. That's what happened with the Cowboys.

"Am I disappointed they're having a hard time? Not particularly. They've enjoyed some success that a lot of teams would like to enjoy this decade, success teams might not enjoy the next decade or the decade after that."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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