Monday, November 23, 1998

Warren outgains man who replaced him

By ANDY NEWBERRY

Scripps Howard News Service

IRVING, Texas - As the Seattle Seahawks' all-time leading rusher, Chris Warren earned three free trips to the Pro Bowl.

If he decides on a trip to Hawaii this year, Warren will have to pay his own way.

That seems to be just fine with the Dallas Cowboys' backup running back. Warren is more intent on carrying the ball in the playoffs, a promised land he has never entered.

Warren, an off-season signee brought in to give Dallas depth behind Emmitt Smith, showed his old teammates on Sunday that he can still contribute to a winning cause.

Warren rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries and scored the final Cowboys' touchdown in a 30-22 victory over Seattle at Texas Stadium. He also caught three passes for 20 yards.

More importantly, the ninth-year pro helped Dallas win its fourth straight and improve to 8-3.

"I wanted to play well in front of them, and show them I could still play," Warren said. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to do well against them.

"But it could have been against anybody. We needed the victory. We haven't arrived yet as a team, but we're trying to eliminate our mistakes each week."

Warren did make one crucial mistake - a 15-yard penalty for being too close to the field and bumping the side judge - but on this day the Cowboys overcame penalties and bad breaks.

Dallas had 15 penalties for 129 yards and allowed Seattle to score a defensive touchdown, and still the Cowboys led 30-14 after Warren's 1-yard TD run with 7:04 remaining in the game.

Warren set up his touchdown with a 35-yard run to the Seattle 12-yard line. Warren showed patience to let his blockers set up the play and then the power and speed which allowed him to post four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (1992-95).

"It was a counter play and Larry came around and knocked off the linebacker," said Warren, who then broke three tackles. "Any time you have Larry blocking in front of you then you can almost guarantee you're going to make some yardage."

It took the Cowboys eight more plays to score on Warren's plunge over right guard. Thanks to a defensive holding call, Warren got four cracks from the 1.

"I had to get in eventually. The odds were with me," Warren said. "They had a good defensive package down there, but we stuck with it. It was good to get a touchdown against them, but it's hard to score against anybody. I knew the odds were with me."

It was Warren's 5th TD of the year. His presence has kept Smith (17 rushes, 74 yards) rested enough to be productive. Warren also picked up a couple of blitzes to allow Aikman to convert third-down passes.

"I can't say enough about how good it is to have Chris Warren on this football team," Cowboys head coach Chan Gailey said. "He caught punts, caught kickoffs and ran the ball for us."

Warren holds the Seattle club record for career rushing by 1 yard (6,706-6,705) over Curt Warner. He also holds the Seahawk single-season mark with 1,545 (1994) and four other club records.

Warren signed with Dallas after the Seahawks signed Rickey Watters away from Philadelphia. On this day, Warren outgained the man who replaced him, 71-66, despite playing in a backup role.

More important to Warren and the Cowboys was an eighth victory, and first in three tries against the AFC West.

Now Warren gets to enjoy a new experience - playing on Thanksgiving Day when the Cowboys play host to Minnesota.

Even with a short week to rest it's likely the Cowboys would like to hit the 10-1 Vikings with another two-headed running attack.

So while Seattle is treading in rough Watters at 5-6, Warren can get ready for prime time and probably a playoff bonus. What's so good about the Pro Bowl anyway?

(Andy Newberry writes for the Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News.)