AUSTIN (KRT) - The defensive line is the foundation of the Cowboys' defense.
And when healthy, the Cowboys have one of the game's best front fours.
This, however, is not a healthy group.
The Cowboys added another defensive lineman to their wounded list Monday
when Darren Benson sprained his knee. He had a magnetic resonance imaging
test late Monday.
"I don't know what it'll be, but I don't think it will be good,"
coach Barry Switzer said of the injury. "If Benson has a serious injury,
that really hurts us. We were counting on him to develop as a player this
year.
"This was going to be a great year for him. Last year was just a year
of him trying to learn. It was time for him to make great strides."
Starting defensive ends Tony Tolbert (knees) and Charles Haley (back) have
yet to practice in training camp. Nor has defensive tackle Tony Casillas,
who signed two weeks ago as the third tackle in the Cowboys' three-man rotation.
Hurvin McCormack, the third defensive end, has a sprained ankle and is day-to-day.
Defensive end Oscar Sturgis sustained a compound fracture of his left pinky
and will miss at least another week. Defensive tackle Mike Ulufale has missed
the last week with neck and shoulder soreness.
Those injuries and the loss of defensive end Shante Carver, who faces an
impending one-year suspension from the NFL for violating its substance abuse
policy, have forced defensive coordinator Dave Campo to put in young players
like Kavika Pittman.
For Pittman, the Cowboys' first pick in the 1996 draft and the 37th pick
overall, the transition from McNeese State to the NFL has been difficult.
He always has been among the best and most athletic players on the field.
Now he finds himself being pushed around by bigger, stronger players.
Add to that the mental challenge of learning a new system and terminology,
and it's easy to see why Pittman has struggled.
"Physically, he did some good things Saturday, but mentally he was
back at McNeese State," Campo said. "He has to put the physical
and the mental together. That's going to be the key to everything.
"Sometimes, he was in the wrong gap or the wrong area, or he didn't
read the right set. There was nothing major, but it was a lot of little
things."
Pittman said he has put a lot of pressure on himself to perform.
"I've been up and down," he said. "I know I can do a lot
better, I just get tied up sometimes."
Switzer said Pittman's progress has been hurt by the inability of Tolbert
and Haley to practice.
"They could show him how things are done, and he could watch how they
work," Switzer said.
"You can tell a player how to do things, but when he sees a veteran
doing it, he gets a mental image and it's a lot easier to emulate."
Pittman also must continue to get stronger. Haley is the only one of the
four defensive line starters who doesn't bench press at least 400 pounds,
but he is an exception who is one of the best pass rushers in NFL history.
Pittman needs the strength so he can attack the offensive lineman with his
hands and get them off-balance as he comes out of his stance. At McNeese
State, Pittman could read the play before flowing to the ball. The Cowboys
want him to be more aggressive.
"Things are just happening so fast for him," Campo said. "The
best thing he does is use his athletic ability to come off of blocks and
chase the ball."
(c) 1996, Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information
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