Wednesday, July 29, 1998

Cowboys Get Physical

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) - So how physical has Chan Gailey's first training camp been?

The Cowboys had a goal line scrimmage on Tuesday and Troy Aikman was called upon to sneak across from the one-yard line with four defenders falling on top of him.

No quarterback had been tackled in a training camp scrimmage even in the Jimmy Johnson's days.

"That one play right there tells you that coach Gailey wants us to be more physical this year," said running back Emmitt Smith.

Smith, who missed practice three days ago with fluid on his knee, ran several times himself and scored on a six-yard run.

--- Officials on Duty

For the first time in training camp, NFL officials were on hand to make sure the Cowboys executed their plays legally.

One of the reasons is that Dallas led the NFL last year in pass interference penalties, a total of 15.

"We have a game on Friday night and we want to make sure we're doing things the right way," coach Chan Gailey said.

--- Stepfret Steps Up

Stepfret Williams, who is battling with Ernie Mills for the starting wide receiver job opposite Michael Irvin, hooked up with Troy Aikman on a 60-yard touchdown pass during a seven-on-seven situation.

Williams beat Zebbie Lethridge, the former Texas Tech quarterback who is trying to make it into the NFL as a free agent cornerback.

Another competitor for the play of the day was Emmitt Smith, who slanted across the middle to catch a pass from Aikman, who was lined up in the Shotgun formation.

A play that didn't work out of the Shotgun was a toss sweep to Chris Warren. It took too long to develop.

--- Pittman Gets Chewed On

It was not a good day for second-year defensive end Kavika Pittman, who kept jumping offsides.

He also got chewed out by defensive coordinator Dave Campo.

Campo ended the conversation by saying: "And don't talk back."

--- Workout Time Set

The Cowboys will get Saturday off after playing Seattle at 8 p.m. Friday in Texas Stadium.

Dallas set its next workout for 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday under the lights at Memorial Stadium.

The workout, which will be free to the public, was moved to Memorial Stadium so personnel from nearby Shepherd Air Force Base can come.