Cowboys’ Season Went South In A Hurry

Leon Lett’s suspension, injuries, age and errors have created the worst season since 1990 for the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas is 6-7 with three games left and must win out to keep its playoff hopes alive. Even then, the New York Giants would have to lose three out of four games and Washington would have to lose two of four.

Here’s how the season soured:

Offensive line: Start with the fact the Cowboys have the oldest offensive line in the NFL. Add to that their best pass blocker, Mark Tuinei, missed valuable time with a leg injury, aging Nate Newton was overweight and hurt, and secondyear center Clay Shiver can’t block power-rushing noseguards, and you have problems for quarterback Troy Aikman.

Also, tackle Erik Williams led the NFL in penalties for his position and had a mediocre season as a pass protector. Rookie tight end David LaFleur proved to be a good blocker, but never got Aikman’s confidence as a pass receiver. Eric Bjornson dropped too many passes.

Wide receivers: Anthony Miller has speed, but Aikman seldom hooked up with him effectively. Miller had problems breaking away from defensive backs. Michael Irvin had an OK season, but also was plagued by drops at vital times. Stepfret Williams became Aikman’s third-down receiver, but never made enough big plays to keep the offense going.

Running back: Emmitt Smith ran hard, but the offensive line was below par. Smith was no longer a scoring threat inside the 20-yard line as he had been most of his career. Plus, he was plagued by occasional injuries. Sherman Williams subbed and provided more speed, but also fumbled too often. Fullback Daryl Johnston went out with a neck injury. Herschel Walker tried hard, but can’t block.

Quarterback: Aikman has had a poor year inside the 20-yard line, where the Cowboys rank next-to-last in the NFL. Aikman had flashes of brilliance, such as the 97-yard drive against Washington to turn the game around. But his three-interception game against Tennessee killed any realistic playoff hopes.

Placekicker: Where would the Cowboys have been without Richie Cunningham?

Defensive line: Tony Tolbert, Tony Casillas, Chad Hennings and Shante Carver provided a very poor pass rush and were only average at stopping the run. Lett, suspended for drug use, was sorely missed. He’ll be back a week from Monday night against Carolina, but it’s probably too late.

Linebacker: A hustling group. Rookie Dexter Coakley, Randall Godfrey and Fred Strickland played pretty well. However, the Cowboys have a small front seven and were victimized by the run.

Secondary: This was the strength of the defense with cornerbacks Deion Sanders and Kevin Smith and safeties Brock Marion and Darren Woodson.

Punter: Toby Gowin faded in the stretch. Tired leg.

Special teams: Cunningham was the best. Coverage teams were good. Gowin’s kickoffs were poor.

Coaching: Barry Switzer didn’t make any key decisions. Had to spend too much time dealing with owner Jerry Jones, who interfered with every coaching decision.

Jones: A poor grade for the owner, who didn’t try hard enough to put down rumors that Switzer was going to be gone at the end of the season. The final straw came when he criticized his coaches and not the players for the disastrous loss at Green Bay.

Prognosis: Switzer will retire at the end of the year. Most of the offensive coaches also will be gone.