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Sanders expected to play against Seahawks

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - Deion Sanders sported an untied tennis shoe on one foot and a fuzzy, white house slipper on the other.

He wasn't making a fashion statement.

The Cowboys expect Sanders to play against Seattle. But as he limped around Valley Ranch on Tuesday, hoping to keep his weight off the sprained big toe on his left foot, there was a question if Sanders would be able to perform his full complement of roles.

Cornerback is where Sanders is desperately needed Sunday against the Seahawks. Cowboys coach Chan Gailey indicated he would limit Sanders' involvement as a receiver and punt returner in that game.

"We probably will," Gailey said. "But if we get a miraculous recovery here in the next couple of days, don't hold me to that."

This isn't just about Seattle. The Cowboys have another game four days later against Minnesota. Gailey and Sanders must gauge the severity of the injury and determine if using him in all three roles against the Seahawks would decrease his ability to come back strong against the Vikings on Thanksgiving Day.

Receiver would be the first to go. Sanders, who hurt the toe in the first quarter of Sunday's victory over Arizona, didn't line up on offense all afternoon. Rookie Jeff Ogden took Sanders' place when the Cowboys used their four-receiver set, and Gailey said Ogden would again get the call against Seattle.

Returning punts is trickier. Even an injured Sanders is a threat.

"If I can play," Sanders said, "I can return punts."

Gailey must decide if the risks outweigh the rewards. If he plays it safe, backup running back Chris Warren would find himself returning punts.

Gailey believes there's a chance Sanders won't be cleared to practice this week. If that scenario unfolds, the option of using Sanders as a receiver or to return punts diminishes even more.

"If it goes that way, if it's a game-time decision about what he's going to do, we would limit him quite a bit," Gailey said.

Coming to an end

Chan Gailey looked at the statistics after Sunday's victory and immediately sought out Michael Irvin. He wanted to let the receiver know he was shocked and disappointed that for the first time in 117 games, the Cowboys were unable to get him the ball.

Irvin's response?

"He said, 'I'm all right,' " Gailey recalled. " 'We won.' "

The fact the offense put 35 points on the board and won minimizes any potential fallout. That doesn't mean there weren't mixed emotions on watching Irvin's streak end.

"Hey, this isn't easy on him," Gailey said. "This isn't easy on me. Who wants to be the offensive coordinator when a 117-game catching streak ends?

"I don't want to be that guy, but I was. And I'm sorry for Michael that it had to come to an end. He worked an awful long time and worked very hard for that (streak) to get in place."

Coming home

Michael Campo, the 7-year-old son of Cowboys defensive coordinator Dave Campo, was released from the hospital Tuesday and allowed to return home.

Michael broke his femur while playing football in the backyard more than three weeks ago. He has been in traction with his leg in a sling since the initial surgery. Tuesday, doctors put him in a body cast which he must wear for another two months and released him.

"We're very excited," said Campo, who would spend the night at the hospital when his wife, Kay, didn't. "It's been a tough deal, really. Everyone is glad to have him home."

Marked man

Kevin Smith is a marked man these days on and off the field.

Smith was a starting cornerback on the Cowboys teams that won Super Bowls in 1992 and '93. He fought his way back from a ruptured Achilles' tendon in '95 and has 16 interceptions for his Dallas career.

None of that, however, got Smith noticed in public. It took his struggles at the corner this season to turn the trick.

"I used to go into a restaurant or a store and people really didn't recognize me," Smith said. "Now, it seems over the last three or four weeks, I can't go anywhere.

"There is a lot more attention. It's either someone saying, 'Keep your head up,' or you get some wisecracks and whispering. It's more attention than when I was out there and so-called doing well.

"That's just part of it. It's nothing I can concern myself with. There are critics everywhere."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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