Wednesday, August 19, 1998

Gailey isn't about to panic

By Kevin Lyons

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - The offense appeared to be dismal. Again. Nobody seemed to make a play on defense.

And if you ever wanted to hear 106,000 people laugh at once, just watch game tape of the bumbling, fumbling efforts of the Cowboys' special teams in front of a packed house at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium for the Cowboys' 21-3 loss against New England on Monday night.

But after returning to the United States to review the meltdown against the Patriots, after burning videotape of another game that yielded no offensive touchdowns and no defensive highlights, coach Chan Gailey refuses to panic.

For one, Gailey said, these preseason games still don't count in the regular-season standings. Two, Gailey said he'll expect more from his club when his starters play a full half against the St. Louis Rams in Saturday's exhibition game in St. Louis. And three, he added, panic is not a word he prefers to use in August.

"I don't think panic will ever creep in for me," Gailey said. "And that's the wrong word. When you realize that you are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, that's when you start to look and see things and evaluate them in a different light. And that's the only time you start thinking about that kind of stuff."

The playoffs are indeed a long way off. But in three exhibition contests, all losses, the Cowboys have shown little evidence that they can make the playoffs.

Many of the Cowboys' problems against the Patriots were a microcosm of what has been a dreary summer. The offensive line failed to sustain pass blocking. Wide receivers Billy Davis and Ernie Mills couldn't get open much. First-round draft choice Greg Ellis, at defensive end, couldn't rush the passer.

With more things going wrong, is Gailey concerned with the club's mental health, especially when it comes to confidence?

"You don't want your players to start thinking that nothing is going right," Gailey said. "I hope that's not the case now. They've seen enough on film to know if we do some things (right) we'll be successful."

The Cowboys, presumably, will get their last chance at success before the regular season with Saturday night's game. It's the next-to-last preseason game, but the first in which Gailey intends to play Troy Aikman and the rest of the first-team offense for at least two quarters. And it's the first game in which Gailey and his coaching staff intend to employ more than a vanilla game plan.

Right now, though, after three preseason games and two scrimmages that have yielded mostly unfavorable results, the Cowboys, Gailey admits, are not feeling too good about themselves.

"Anybody that's a competitor and wants to do well wants to win," Gailey said, "and we're not right now, and they are hurting in that respect."

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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