Tuesday, November 3, 1998

Cowboys defeat Eagles

By Hank Gola

New York Daily News

(KRT)

PHILADELPHIA - Troy Aikman is back and the way the rest of the NFC East is shaping up, he's not going to have to do all that much to lead the Cowboys to the divisional title.

Dallas, which hosts the befuddled Giants on Sunday, disposed of the awful Eagles, 34-0, at the Vet on Monday night with Aikman enjoying what amounted to a carefree tuneup after missing five games with a fractured collarbone.

"I wasn't as sharp as I would have liked but considering the layoff, I felt pretty good," said Aikman, who was 14-26-171 and threw two TDs before taking the rest of the night off with 10:41 to go in the game. "The shoulder held up pretty well so I'm fairly confident."

Aikman had been 0-4 for his career in first games back after prolonged absences but this was the now-1-8 Eagles and all he had to do was make a few plays, sort of like a rehabbing pitcher giving the manager six good innings.

"He made a couple of great throws and he took some licks and was no worse for wear," said coach Chan Gailey. "I don't think there's any question he makes a difference."

Oh, the Philly defense was up to the Monday night challenge for a half, at least, but the offense lived up to its dead last ranking. Compounding the problem was the lacerated index finger that sent QB Rodney Peete to the sidelines after the first series, leaving the helpless Bobby Hoying at the helm of this supposedly new-look offense.

Ray Rhodes had, out of desperation with the league's bottom-ranked offense, yanked the play-calling responsibilities away from offensive coordinator Dana Bible and given them to quality control coach Bill Musgrave with a mandate to be more creative.

Unfortunately, Musgrave had no quality to control and the Eagles had the look of an offense that had tried to stuff an entire training camp into a bye week.

Hoying threw it up 39 times and somehow managed to complete 13 for 124 yards, ending two of the Eagles' few penetrations of Dallas territory with interceptions.

As well, the Eagles' special teams treated the fed-up crowd of 67,002 to a spree of penalty flags, ruining field position, and allowed Deion Sanders another prime time punt return TD on a 69-yard jaunt that made it 17-0.

"We were inept in just about every phase," Rhodes said. "We didn't get anything done. It's embarrassing ."

In fact, the Eagles were so bad that Emmitt Smith (101 yards and a 15-yard TD run) found himself alibing for the weak NFC East - against which the Boys are now 4-0 - adding, "When we get back to Texas it will be morning and we've got a short week before the Giants."

Aikman also fed Michael Irvin for his first touchdown catch of the season, Irvin beating nemesis Bobby Taylor on a backside pattern that Aikman had the patience to wait for and see, delivering a perfectly thrown ball.

"I'm in a comfort zone with Troy," Irvin explained. "I know he knows the things I'm trying to do on the field. "

Aikman later threw a nine-yard bullet to tight end David LeFleur to make it 24-0 early in the third quarter. Since the Eagles haven't scored 24 points once this season, it was over before it was over.

Now it's the Giants' turn.

"What we wanted to do was come out and dominate the football game," Aikman said. "Now what we've got to do is do it again this week. This team has not been able to develop that kind of consistency. We need to start stringing some wins together. We want to get back the respect we lost last year."

(c) 1998, New York Daily News.

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