Sunday, August 30, 1998

Chan Gailey writes off preseason with play-safe approach

By Frank Luksa

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS -- Are the Dallas Cowboys THAT bad?

Under conditions that existed during pre-season, this is not a very good team. I find that a kinder, gentler way to say it has the drab potential of its forlorn predecessor. It is possible for the Cowboys to be 6-10 awful again.

There is only one avenue of escape, a lifeline slender as a spider's web and perhaps no more long-lasting than the coo of a dove. In that perfect world, a world that defies the percentages and odds on roster attrition, the Cowboys might be capable of 10-6.

The reference to existing conditions intrudes. No one has seen the Cowboys play at peak strength and full throttle except in tiny doses. True, they may not be much better. But those conditions will change. Then we shall see.

Had Deion Sanders played right corner Thursday night, maybe Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell wouldn't have thrown many passes over replacement Kevin Mathis. Sanders instead laid out with a sore rib and played the sideline goof for TV cameras while teammates were being drubbed, 42-20.

If Leon Lett played tackle, maybe that James Stewart fellow wouldn't have run through a gauntlet of hand slaps to score from five yards out. Standing up. Or Brunell wouldn't have had time to shave before he let the ball go.

Had a third missing defensive starter, Kavika Pittman, played end instead of rookie Michael Myers ... never mind. I want to see more of Myers. He has the raw surge of a comer.

Kid-gloves treatment

And if Coach Chan Gailey hadn't kept treating his first-team offense as if it were a delicate Faberge egg, maybe those guys would develop a first-down thrust. Or discover how tight end David LaFleur hides his 6-7 self on pass plays. Also, Gailey could smooth the call where Eric Bjornson and Ernie Mills ran the same route, which wasn't what his game plan meant about spreading the field.

Anyway, they weren't on the ALLTEL Stadium stage much longer than a beer commercial.

Gailey was asked to answer for his sparing use of most regulars and especially Big Names like Aikman, Irvin and E. Smith, who gave way after three carries to T. Smith. He had a ready answer. The short version is being scared out of his cleats by threat of further injury.

"Look at all the guys who've been hurt in pre-season," said Gailey, adopting a league-wide view. "The decision, right or wrong, was mine. I made it. I thought it best for the team. Only history will bear that out.

"If we'd played them a half and somebody went down, you'd be looking at yourself cross-eyed."

Gailey had seen the impact on a defense minus Sanders and Lett. Opposing teams ran well and passed better. Some stopped to kick field goals. Two conference title threats, New England in the AFC and now the Jaguars from the NFC side, put a mixture of his irregular defenders to rout.

Thin margin of error

There hangs the tenuous thread supporting the season. The absence of two starters reduced Gailey's defense from maybe-good enough with Lett and Sanders to ailing-all over without them. Gailey couldn't risk casualties on offense or further siphon from a defense already vulnerable.

Play-safe was his only option. If someone important was to be hurt, let it be in a game of value instead of a made-for-TV scrimmage in Shreveport, where Lett and Sanders went down. Then hope when the scattered pieces assemble against Arizona on Sept. 6, they fit. And stay fit for 16 games.

"We still don't know how good we can truly be, because we haven't been together and healthy," said Chad Hennings.

Players cling to this theme for comfort. An NFC scout in Jacksonville subscribed to it when offered immunity from prosecution for an anonymous overview. Much of what he said touched familiar bases:

The Cowboys no longer run with old-time flair. Deion makes a big difference. Aikman makes the most difference. School's out on Emmitt until he runs 25 times a game. Then you'll know how much is left in his tank. No secondary threat to Irvin is a glaring weakness. The Cowboys are good if healthy, but too depth-shy to sustain a front-line injury.

"It's probably realistic to be concerned because we haven't done anything yet," said cornerback Kevin Smith. "But it's still too early to panic since we haven't played all the right guys. With our first 22 to 25, we can play with anyone in the NFL. We haven't put this team together."

And until they do? Smith paused and conceded:

"We're still a 6-10 team in most people's minds."

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(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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