Wednesday, September 30, 1998

Key to Cowboys' success against Redskins lies down on the corners

By Clarence E. Hill Jr.

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - For years, one of the juicy subplots of a Cowboys-Redskins game was the Pro Bowl-caliber battle between Dallas receiver Michael Irvin and Washington cornerback Darrell Green.

It was the size and strength of the 6-foot-2, 207-pound Irvin vs. the blazing speed and guile of the smallish Green (5-8, 184).

But that was before the Redskins signed former Oilers star Cris Dishman to their roster last year. Dishman teamed with Green to form one of the NFL's top corner tandems, and both were selected to the Pro Bowl.

Both also shared the responsibility of covering Irvin last season. Although Dishman has struggled some this season, he and Green are expected to alternate on Irvin when the Cowboys and Redskins play Sunday at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.

"When those two are playing well, they are as good as there is," Cowboys coach Chan Gailey said.

Despite the prowess of the two, winning the outside battles against Green and Dishman are keys to the Cowboys' success. The Redskins are likely to stack the line of scrimmage to stop the run and make quarterback Jason Garrett beat them with the pass, and that means the Cowboys will get one-on-one coverage from the corners.

All the Cowboys receivers, Ernie Mills and Billy Davis included, will be counted on to make some plays against Green and Dishman to loosen up the Redskins' defense. Irvin is second in the league in receptions and yardage with 26 catches for 356 yards. Davis has caught 12 passes for 229 yards and Mills has 10 receptions for 147 yards.

"Everybody knows who Michael is and will have a plan to try to stop him," Cowboys receivers coach Dwain Painter said. "That should open the door for Billy and Ernie. They have had opportunities to make plays. At times they have and at times they haven't. The bottom line is we've got to make plays on the outside. But that's the goal every week."

Mills, who has faced both Dishman and Green more than a few times during his eight-year career, is looking forward to the challenge.

"Darrell can still run and a lot of people don't know Dishman," Mills said. "He is a great technique cornerback. It's going to be a good battle. But I like playing against them. It's always fun."

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Visit the Star-Telegram on the World Wide Web: www.star-telegram.com.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.