Friday, April 17, 1998

Cowboys tackling some tough decisions

By Randy Galloway

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS - For many armchair observers, the Dallas Cowboys face a question of high intrigue Saturday. Randy Moss is his name. Do they or don't they draft him?

The answer, however, appears fairly routine.

It's okay if they take Moss, but they probably won't. At least not with the eighth pick of the first round.

For those who haven't been tuned to their police scanner lately, Moss is the immensely talented wide receiver from Marshall University who in the NFL draft may not be able to outrun his old rap sheet.

If any player's character is under attack, a la Moss, the Cowboys are in a better position now to take a chance. After four years of Camp Runamok at Valley Ranch, the discipline normally associated with a professional football team finally has been restored. Moss potentially would have been an embarrassing disaster under the previous regime, but now ...

The Jerry and Chan Show already has displayed some backbone, and with character counselor Calvin Hill also on the scene, a case can be made on Moss being salvaged as a human being.

And if the Cowboys want him, they can trade down from the eighth spot and get Moss at, say, No. 12. Apparently, he has sailed right out of the top 10 due to reputation fear.

From all indications, however, the Cowboys will concentrate on defensive end help in the first round, by either staying at eight or trading down.

But let it also be noted that the Valley Ranch draft lid has been screwed on tight. After the first four picks in the first round, this is a wide-open draft, and the Cowboys wisely have not tipped their hand.

It's still very early in the changeover at Valley Ranch, but for the draft, for discipline and for football in general, the entire attitude continues to change for the better. And that starts at the top. Jerry Jones and Chan Gailey quickly have established a strong working relationship. Jones has retreated from his Richard Nixon impersonation ("I am in total charge") because he trusts Gailey and vice versa. For too many years, Valley Ranch was consumed at the top, first by egos, then by incompetence. That is changing.

What to do on Saturday is a tough call. The Cowboys have to get it right in this draft.

But a tougher decision - certainly a much more delicate decision - already has taken place.

Last week, the Cowboys signed a veteran free-agent running back with credentials, Chris Warren. The team's public stance was to downplay Warren's addition, but the truth says much more.

The football people, starting with Gailey, made a decision that was at least a year late in coming.

Emmitt Smith needs help. Emmitt has slipped. And it's not just Smith, it's the entire offense, but clearly, Emmitt is not what he has been, and can no longer be counted on for workhorse duty.

This is potentially very touchy. Emmitt still deserves to be treated with immense respect, but that respect must come within the framework of doing whatever is necessary to bring the offense back to life. The Cowboys made the right move in adding Warren.

Emmitt handled it professionally last week, but don't be surprised if his feelings aren't hurt next season. Probably more than once. Emmitt's pride in himself and in his numbers have been well established.

Gailey, however, teamed with Jones in making the decision to sign Warren, but now both are doing the smart thing for April - lowkey the move. Let the story of change unfold on the field next fall, not in the media in April.

"I'm surprised that so much was made of this," Gailey said Thursday, referring to the implications of the Warren signing. "I sat down with Emmitt, explained it to him, and he was great. There was not even an inkling from Emmitt that this would potentially be a problem."

Gailey emphasized again that Emmitt is the starter and Warren is the backup.

"I can't define for you right now what the roles will be," Gailey said. "Those roles will probably change game to game. If Emmitt is in there for every down, that's fine with me. But mainly, Chris Warren is here to be a third-down back, a guy who helps us catching the ball out of the (shotgun). And at those points in a game when Emmitt can't go because he needs a rest, Chris will run the ball for us."

It sounds elementary, but it won't be, not if Emmitt is being consistently removed from games. The management and coaching backbone was there, however, to prepare for the possibility. Whatever the draft decision on Randy Moss, that will be easier.

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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