On The Ropes? Cowboys Appear To Be In Trouble As Season Nears

The Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys seem to have the sky falling on them these days.

There are suspensions to be served by wide receiver Michael Irvin and defensive end Shante Carver.

There’s worry over Jay Novacek’s bad back and Tuesday’s news that offensive tackle Mark Tuinei is out two to four weeks after rupturing the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in a 31-7 exhibition loss to New England on Monday night.

That’s not to mention exhibition games in which the Cowboys have shown no offense, no defense and no special teams.

Quarterback Troy Aikman puts it succinctly.

“Pathetic,” he said after the Cowboys were flogged by New England.

Dallas coach Barry Switzer called his team’s performance “embarrassing” and described Tuinei’s injury as devastating.

“We have no depth at all,” Switzer said. “We are the thinnest team in football right now.”

That the Cowboys are 1-2 in the preseason means little in the overall picture. In fact, the Cowboys are 11-19-1 overall in preseason during the 1990s, but have three Super Bowl rings to prove exhibition games are mere exercises for owners to make money.

Nevertheless, there’s no getting around the fact that they don’t look good.

“We haven’t had a lot of our top guys in there, but there are no excuses for the way we’ve played,” Aikman said. “I wish I had an answer on how we could improve our flat play.”

One answer might be inserting the $48 million man, Emmitt Smith, into the lineup. Smith hasn’t played yet in the preseason, but he might on Saturday night against the Denver Broncos.

“I would expect the starters to see more time,” Aikman said. “I’ll play at least a half, and I would think the other starters will be in there with me.”

Jason Garrett’s play at quarterback has been the only preseason highlight. He starred in a 35-34 victory over Oakland with two touchdown passes in the last 3 minutes. He also had a touchdown pass against New England.

Personal accomplishments aside, the third-string quarterback is just as concerned as the rest. “The whole team has to get better,” he said.

Another bright spot is that cornerback Kevin Smith, who missed the 1995 season because of a torn Achilles’ tendon, played a quarter against New England and reported no major problems.

“It was a short jump in the water, but it was a jump and that’s good,” Smith said.

Charles Haley also played a quarter at defensive end, and Herschel Walker, playing for the NFL minimum of $275,000, continues to impress as a receiver, blocker and special teams player.

Smith’s return at cornerback is vital because of Deion Sanders’s experiment at wide receiver.

The more Smith can play cornerback, the more Sanders gets to play offense. Sanders needs the work. He dropped a perfect pass from Aikman against the Patriots.

Linebacker Darrin Smith said there’s nothing wrong with the Cowboys that three solid weeks of hard work won’t cure before they start the season Sept. 2 at Chicago.

“We’ve given the younger players their chance,” Smith said. “Now we need to get better as a team.”

Switzer said he was most concerned with special teams. The Cowboys gave up a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against New England.

“When you don’t have defensive backs and depth and don’t have specialists, it makes it difficult,” Switzer said. “We have to find people who can cover and play.”

The Cowboys don’t have much depth. In fact, Switzer said, it’s apparent “this team will have less depth than any returning Super Bowl champion the Cowboys have had.”

“That’s the facts of life because of the salary cap,” he added.