Tuesday, September 22, 1998

Cowboys can find home atop NFC Least

By Randy Galloway

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Ask not if the Cowboys can survive the Jason Garrett Era. Instead, start figuring the magic number for winning the NFC Least.

Garrett resurfaced here Monday night after four years of bench hibernation. The Cowboys' defense resurfaced here Monday night eight days after Denver humiliation. And for those waiting endlessly for a big play from Big Bucks Deion, well, the Meadowlands had all that and more.

In a shockingly easy 31-7 rout of the Giants, many factors turned up positive for the Cowboys. But as much as anything, it was a team that came out poised, confident and coached, then improved on that for four quarters. Those, of course, are items that lead to Chan Gailey's front door.

Even though it's only September, and even with the Denver thing still a fresh memory, the Cowboys' performance Monday night meant they are officially declared the team to beat in the NFC East. Part of that is because the East is loaded with miserable clubs that can't beat anybody, and if the Cowboys can just whip-up on the division, that's eight wins right there. With two of the W's already in the bag.

The way the doctors figure it on Troy Aikman's collarbone, Garrett will be quarterbacking for three more weeks. The way Gailey will try to coach it is for Garrett to have three more weeks like this one.

For starters, Garrett was el perfecto in both turnovers and major mistakes. By playing miscue free in his first start in four years, he never put pressure on himself or the Cowboys' defense. Gailey, however, didn't hesitate to load up Garrett with added responsibility.

It could have been questionable strategy for Gailey to repeatedly put Garrett in the shotgun for third-and-short. Power football in the first half with Emmitt Smith seemed to be the proper call, except that the end result was a decisive Cowboys victory. There's your proper call.

And once Emmitt limped off late in the second quarter with a strained groin muscle, the Cowboys finished up with a backfield of Garrett and Sherman Williams. And never missed a beat, either. Figure that one.

While Garrett helped himself, he also had plenty of assistance from an offensive line that kept him sack-free. The Giants' once-proud defense found itself totally outplayed by a defensive unit attempting to recover from a drilling in Denver.

Dave Campo, the defensive coordinator, promised better days were immediately ahead. And that promise was delivered.

OK, so this wasn't the Denver machine, Campo and Co. were facing. Then again, the NFL doesn't have many Denver machines.

Strangely enough, the Giants started off Monday night with a lot of spread offense and quarterback Danny Kanell in the shotgun. Obviously, these people had watched too much game film of the Cowboys' performance against Denver.

Trying to copy-cat the Broncos' offense failed miserably, beaten by a Cowboys' blitz that recorded two first-half sacks and a lot of pressure on Kanell. By the time the Giants returned to their one and only offensive weapon - the power running game - the Cowboys also had that clamped.

Because of his defense, which ended up with four sacks, Garrett was never put in a position of playing scoreboard catch-up. There was also no sweat about a scoreless first quarter in which the Cowboys had but two first downs. The Giants weren't threatening either.

Early in the second quarter, Deion set sail on a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown to start an evening of big plays for him. Even after the Giants tied the score late in the second quarter, the turning point came before halftime.

A Garrett slant pass to Billy Davis went 60 yards longer than planned when three New York defenders pinballed each other, safety Tito Wooten being the main culprit. Davis ended up with an 80-yard touchdown play, which was followed by a Richie Cunningham field goal, courtesy of a Kevin Mathis interception. Mathis was subbing at corner for Deion, still exhausted from his punt return.

It was 17-7 at halftime. There would be no Giants rally because both the Cowboys' defense and Garrett had their games under control.

In Denver, the Aikman injury and the defensive collapse had left the Cowboys in a state of shock and uncertainty. Eight days later, the same can be said for the Giants, defending champions of the NFC East.

A good game and a bad division did some Monday night wonders for the Cowboys.

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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