Tuesday, November 24, 1998

Bad habits on both sides cost the Cowboys Randy Moss

By Frank Luksa

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS - Once more and for the last time, why didn't the Cowboys draft Randy Moss? And who's to blame for passing on a receiver destined to become the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year?

Those questions overhang the prelude to a fascinating duel Thursday at Texas Stadium between 10-1 Minnesota and the 8-3 Cowboys. They may dominate the aftermath as well.

A retreat in time is necessary to reprise how Moss and the Cowboys failed to connect when they appeared such a neat fit. Return to draft day last April. Moss loomed as a talent rarely encountered on the first round. He was the best player available who met a circled need as complementary receiver to Michael Irvin.

Dallas scouts ranked Moss as high as he could go - third overall behind quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. As a pure receiver, he went even higher. Scouting director Larry Lacewell recalled a gushing report from gruff Walt Yowarsky, for whom words of praise are a foreign language.

Yowarsky's long NFL career began about the time the earth began to warm. He's been around since 1951 as a player, assistant coach and college scout. Lacewell seldom expects Yowarsky to file unqualified, flattering data on a prospect unless he's Hall of Fame material.

"Since I've been doing this job, I haven't heard as many glowing reports from our scouts as we had on Moss," Lacewell said. "The scout who got my attention was Yowarsky, who's seen the greatest players come out of the Southeast.

"He sent a report that said, 'This guy is Deion Sanders. There's only been two or three of them in my time.' "

The Cowboys also researched Moss through two college coaches with whom he had brief contact - Lou Holtz of Notre Dame and Bobby Bowden of Florida State. Two more thumbs up.

"Holtz said he was the best he ever saw in high school football. Bowden said Moss was the best he ever had. That's pretty stout," Lacewell remembered. "People who'd had him never batted an eye about his ability. But he didn't wind up with them, and that was food for thought."

It was cause for indigestion at Valley Ranch. Moss wound up at Marshall after an assault case and marijuana rap caused Notre Dame and Florida State to revoke scholarships. He starred there against competition far below his level.

Moss made two pre-draft visits to the Cowboys. They included chats with owner Jerry Jones and a meeting with Sanders. All went so well Moss left convinced that he'd be Dallas-bound if he lingered to the eighth spot held by the Cowboys.

Jones was intrigued with Moss and what he could mean to the future. Jones understood an elementary fact of NFL life. Quarterback is the most precious, elusive talent in the game. Don't waste his best years. Move quickly to ensure a solid supporting cast and mount an all-the-way challenge.

"We have Troy Aikman," said Jones, "and if there's one thing we want to do, it's to take advantage of that for the next five or six years. We need to protect him and get people around him to catch the ball. It wasn't that Randy wasn't a priority. It was like looking at something you can't have but want."

Nineteen teams ignored Moss - Cincinnati twice - before the Vikings took him with the 21st choice. The Cowboys spent their pick on defensive end Greg Ellis, a starter with whom they are pleased if not yet ecstatic. Moss meantime ranks third in the NFC in total receiving yards (851), averaged 19.3 yards on 44 catches and has nabbed eight touchdowns.

Sins of the past kept Moss and the Cowboys apart. His and theirs. Moss built a reputation as trouble-prone. The drug episode raised red flags, especially at Valley Ranch where substance abuse once mingled freely with foot powder.

Chan Gailey, the new coach, didn't wish to launch his rookie season with a potential problem. Jones was handcuffed by his emphasis on returning civilized behavior to the locker room with the hire of Calvin Hill to instill etiquette.

Previous drug busts and suspensions of Cowboys players came back to haunt in a different form. The scandals tainted a franchise that won three Super Bowls within a span of five years. Now the renegades cost their team a desired talent.

Jones couldn't sign off on drafting Moss with that blot of drug use in his background. He'd have been called a liar, liar with his pants on fire.

"We paid the price," Jones admitted. "If so many things hadn't happened in the past, we wouldn't have blinked."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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