Tuesday, August 18, 1998

Cowboys' effort translates to bad in any language

By Frank Luksa

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

MEXICO CITY - I had never heard an NFL team greeted with wild cheers as it broke from a huddle to begin a thrilling display of pre-game warmups. But then, I'd never been to Azteca Stadium for an appearance by the Dallas Vaqueros, who are more popular here than guacamole.

The Cowboys last played in this stadium in 1994, against the Houston-turned-Tennessee Oilers, and drew the largest crowd in NFL history 112,376. One of the blessings of my career was to be absent. Heavy rain turned the field into an unplayable bog. Houston won such a 6-0 stinker that it renewed the host country's faith in soccer.

That was then. This was now, and Los Vaqueros had returned as a prohibitive fan favorite against Los Patriotas of New England on a cloudy Monday night that threatened but didn't produce rain again.

The Cowboys received a thunderous reception for just being themselves. They were cheered entering the field. Cheered louder en route to stretching their legs. Cheered loudest during pre-game introductions. These people obviously hadn't seen them play this summer.

Once the crowd did, the cheering stopped and you heard the sound of whistles the Latin version of "Boooo!" There was much to whistle about where the Cowboys were concerned. Concern had to deepen over their performance anywhere coach Chan Gailey looked.

This one got ugly early for Gailey's team. After three series of the American Bowl pre-season game, the score could have stood 21-0... and should have if Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe had been on target. And worse at 35-0 if New England hadn't lost two more touchdowns to phantom holding penalties.

In progress, then, was a rout disguised as a 7-0 New England lead midway through the second quarter. The stigma of the Cowboys' performance lay in the worst critique that can be given a team even if in pre-season when nothing counts: No mas.

Offense stunk, defense leaked and special teams were awful. Did I miss anything other than 21-3?

Yeah, it's early. But it's never too soon for a team with a new head coach to take a positive step. The Cowboys have nada to show on offense after three exhibition starts, and each outing appears more feeble than the last.

Danger lurks in the absence of even modest success. Doubts sprout. Confidence fades. Constant failure does not inspire a team to trust new ways and different systems.

The Cowboys are fast approaching a date where their psyche needs the healing balm of a snappy result. They don't have to win one of these pretemporada (pre-season) things. They only have to indicate the team can't be as dreadful as it looks, which shouldn't be hard.

What happened here sent the Cowboys slinking home with questions about their ability to compete. How could they feel otherwise with an 0-3 record and having scored 22 points without throwing a touchdown pass?

Troy Aikman and the No. 1 offense played three series and made two first downs. Their most humiliating moment came on fourth down when Gailey sent fullback Daryl Johnston into the middle to gain inches for a fresh series. New England stuffed him for a loss by pushing the middle of the Cowboys' offensive line into the backfield.

As advertised, Emmitt Smith and Chris Warren were withheld to protect minor wounds. Stand-by status also gave them a chance to plead that they had no involvement in the dreary scene. But defense and special teams did.

Bledsoe overthrew two TD passes in the first quarter on the only occasions he went deep. Shawn Jefferson beat Kevin Mathis, the Deion Sanders sub at right corner, on a potential 69-yard strike. Terry Glenn out-legged Kevin Smith on the other corner by five strides when Bledsoe threw long from 55 yards out.

On and on went the Patriots. Derrick Cullors took a screen pass for a 52-yard touchdown negated by holding. The same infraction wiped out a scoring, 70-yard punt return by Troy Brown. Ty Law made one stick by stealing a Jason Garrett pass and returning it 26 yards to the end zone.

If you were not scoring along with the Cowboys, Monday night's attendance of 106,424, second-highest in NFL history, proved something. Since the Cowboys were again the attraction and have scored three points in two American Bowl games at Azteca Stadium, it proved you can fool a lot of people who whistle twice.

(Frank Luksa is a sports columnist for the Dallas Morning News. Write to him at: Dallas Morning News, Communications Center, Dallas, Texas 75265.)

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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