Monday, September 21, 1998

Garrett has limitations, but Cowboys have a plan

By Jean-Jacques Taylor

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS -- All week, Chan Gailey has said he isn't going to alter the Cowboys' game plan just because Jason Garrett is the starting quarterback Monday night against the New York Giants.

"We run what we run," he said. "We run the offense to attack the defense, not to fit our players' strengths."

Don't believe him.

That's because Troy Aikman and Garrett have completely different styles.

Aikman, who will miss the next 4-8 weeks with a broken left collarbone, is 6-4 and 225 pounds. He's one of the most accurate passers in NFL history and throws with enough velocity to force passes into tight coverage and still complete them.

Don't even bother reading a scouting report on the 6-2, 190-pound Garrett, because it won't do you any good.

Scouting reports measure quarterbacks who fit a certain profile in categories such as size, arm strength and mobility. Garrett's success hinges on intangibles such as intelligence and confidence, which can't be measured.

"I have to play my game," Garrett said. "I've got a lot of confidence I can get the job done, and I think the team has confidence in me."

The six-year veteran understands Gailey's multiple-formation offense and the philosophy behind pass-route combinations and blocking schemes, as well as the subtleties of attacking defenses.

But he lacks Aikman's size, so Gailey may have to use more blockers to protect him than he would for Aikman, and he doesn't have enough arm strength to compensate for poor reads or late throws.

Gailey's playbook, though, should have enough variety to fit Garrett's strengths, which means an abundance of rollouts and liberal use of the shotgun. Both provide additional protection, wider passing lanes and more time to read coverages.

Aikman's specialty is the 18-yard out and the 18-yard post because he has the arm strength to zip the ball into tight spots.

Garrett's arm isn't nearly that strong.

In the pre-season, he threw an out-pattern after the receiver had made his break, and New England's Willie Clay intercepted it and returned it for a touchdown.

"Can he throw the 18-yard out? Yes. Can he throw it better than Troy? No," Cowboys' wide receiver Michael Irvin said of Garrett. "But he's done it before, and we've completed it before."

That means more screen passes, designed to slow the Giants' pass rush, more passes in the flat and more motion to get receivers open quickly.

It might also mean fewer four- and five-receiver formations because protecting Garrett is a prime concern. Mike Quinn, who threw two passes last season as a rookie, is Garrett's backup.

For Garrett to be effective, he must be patient.

He can't dump the ball to fullback Daryl Johnston or halfback Emmitt Smith if his first read is covered. He must give the play time to develop and his receivers time to work free.

Garrett completed 14 of 19 passes against Denver for 113 yards, which was 5.94 yards per attempt. Before his injury, Aikman averaged 7.82 yards per attempt. Denver's John Elway leads the NFL with 9.38 per attempt.

"He has more than adequate arm strength," New England defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell said of Garrett. "He gets the ball where it's supposed to be, and that's the important thing."

Garrett struggled in the pre-season, completing 34 of 62 passes for 332 yards with one interception.

But his teammates -- publicly and privately -- have expressed confidence in his ability to play well until Aikman returns to the lineup.

"He has an air of confidence about him that his teammates respect," Aikman said. "It's not something you can fake. His teammates can see it."

New York will blitz Garrett from a variety of positions and defensive formations.

Giants' defensive coordinator John Fox, whose unit forced a league-high 44 turnovers last season, wants Garrett to make hasty decisions with the football, which could lead to turnovers.

"Whether it's Troy Aikman or Jason Garrett, we're not going to change much," Giants' coach Jim Fassel said. "There will be some subtle changes, but there are every week. The guy has done a great job in a backup role. The guy can play."

St. Louis defensive coordinator Pete Giunta has known it since Garrett's days as an All-Conference quarterback at Princeton. In 1988, Garrett passed for 309 yards against Lehigh, where Giunta was an assistant.

Garrett finished the season with a NCAA Division I-AA record for completions percentage (68.2) after completing 204 of 299 passes for 2,217 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Giunta said Garrett reminds him of Jeff Kemp, another former Ivy League quarterback, who played several seasons in the NFL. In 1991, Kemp led the Eagles to the playoffs after injuries to Randall Cunningham and Jim McMahon.

The Cowboys only need Garrett to lead them for the next few weeks.

"I've always been impressed with him when he's replaced Troy," Giunta said. "He's a winner. He's not going to get you beat."

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