Monday, October 13, 1997

Cowboys fans die hard, don't we?

By CANDY REAGAN / Abilene Reporter-News

A few weeks ago, I suggested that the Dallas Cowboys poor performance against Arizona was merely an easy-week letdown, and they'd be back in form soon enough.

Boy was I wrong.

The Cowboys offense has looked pitiful ever since. Predictability, penalties, an inability to score in the red zone, a lack of execution ... you name it. The Cowboys offense has run the gamut, and they are lucky to be 3-2, instead of 2-3 ... or 1-4.

And to make matters worse, they begin the toughest part of their schedule tonight.

So, are the Cowboys really old and washed up, as everyone from ESPN to my dad likes to say?

Well, maybe, but you'll have a difficult time getting an avid fan like myself to accept that the glory years are over. Especially when the Cowboys still have Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Kevin Smith, Moose Johnston, and the list goes on.

I really believe that older, or not, the Cowboys ought to be winning with the current cast of talent. So, why aren't they? I offer these alternatives to the "aging, old team" theory.

First, a lack of discipline is finally catching up to them -- namely a lack of discipline from Barry Switzer.

The Cowboys have made mental errors, they have committed penalties, they haven't been focused. These problems have cost the Cowboys their games, and these are signs, not necessarily of an aging team, but of a poorly coached team.

Sure the Cowboys spent the off-season talking about cleaning up their image and adding discipline. I applaud their off- the-field moves. But a team needs discipline on the field as well.

That's difficult to do when you have a cast full of stars like the Cowboys -- stars who are rarely pulled out of a game no matter what happens.

It shouldn't be Troy Aikman's job to get in the face of Erik Williams when he makes stupid mistakes. Switzer ought to do that. And if he keeps making them, get him out of there and put in someone ... anyone.

When the discipline job is left to the players, it creates rifts, strife, internal bickering.

Switzer needs to quit trying to be his athletes' best friend and start being a coach.

The Cowboys also are getting predictable. The media has talked about this for weeks now, but this week, the New York Giants said it. Other teams have figured out exactly what the Cowboys are going to do from any one formation.

In fact, the Giants proved it. They knew by where Irvin lined up last Sunday exactly where he would go. All the defender had to do was beat him to the spot, pick off Aikman's pass and presto, the Giants have a touchdown.

I can't deny the Cowboys are older and that it does make a difference. When the Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowls, they were one of the youngest teams in the NFL.

Today they are one of the oldest. Aikman's old, sore legs can't avoid the rush, Emitt's can't elude the tackler. The offensive line is slower.

Maybe this is the beginning of the end. Certainly, whatever the problem is, the Cowboys seem unable to correct it.

It's probably just as well. The Denver Broncos have been impressive, and I'd just as soon the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins or 49ers be the ones to lose the Super Bowl to an AFC team for the first time since the Raiders won in 1984.

But then again, maybe, just maybe, the Cowboys will come out against the Redskins tonight, turn their season around and prove me wrong again.

Boy, we Cowboys fans die hard, don't we?

Candy Reagan, a local free-lance writer and avid sports fan, writes a weekly sports column commenting on sports happenings. You may contact her by e-mail at reagan@camalott.com.