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Sunday, March 9, 1997

Cowboys have had a bad week with their kickers

By CHRIS NEWTON

Associated Press

IRVING - After Dallas Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol beat the Green Bay Packers 21-6 with seven field goals, coach Barry Switzer said he didn't know what team would do without its "one man offense."

In 1997, he might get the chance to find out.

Boniol signed an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday for $2.5 million for four years. Earlier in the week, Dallas lost punter John Jett, one of the NFL's most consistent punters, to the Detroit Lions.

Dallas has seven days to match Philadelphia's offer to Boniol or lose a key player to one of their biggest rivals.

Boniol made the NFL minimum $196,000 with Dallas in 1996, and the Cowboys offered the kicker a contract worth $361,000 for one season on the eve of the free-agent signing period.

Boniol accounted for the only scoring in four of the Cowboys' 18 games last season and the winning margin in five games.

He told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Friday that he was happy with the contract offer from the Eagles, but was holding out hope that his days with the Cowboys aren't over yet.

"You never know what's going to happen," he said. "If they match, that would be nice.

"I really have enjoyed Dallas. I really like the people I work with. But I wouldn't have signed with Philadelphia just for the money. You have to like where you're going," he said.

The Boniol dilemma could leave the Cowboys in a no-win situation. If Boniol departs, the Cowboys will receive no draft-pick compensation because Boniol was a free agent when originally signed. If the Cowboys match the offer for Boniol, they will have little ability to sign other free agents.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, team spokesman Rich Dalrymple, Boniol and his agent, James Field did not return weekend calls from The Associated Press.

Losing a kicker is usually not a devastating blow for a team, but Boniol achieved far more than the average kicker since the Cowboys signed him in 1994 out of Louisiana Tech.

Boniol established a club record in 1995, and the second-highest field-goal percentage in NFL history by hitting 27 of 28 field goals, a 96.43 percent average. He also hit 25 straight field goals to set a club record and post the fourth longest streak in NFL history.

In 1996, he hit 32 of 36 attempts and missed one extra point, carrying the team through some close games.

Boniol edged San Francisco 20-17 with a 29-yard field goal in overtime in the 10th game of the season. The next week he tied an NFL record with the seven field goals against the Packers.

The following week in a 20-6 loss to the New York Giants, Boniol scored Dallas' only points. Then against New England in the 15th game of the season, Boniol kicked four field goals in a 12-6 win over the Patriots.

In two victories this season, Boniol scored the team's only points, and he ended the year on a streak of 27 consecutive field goals.

The kicker's departure would also raise more questions about the Cowboy's ability to reclaim Super Bowl glory.

Dallas' season ended in the free-agency cliffhanger.

Back injuries knocked out tight end Jay Novacek for the entire season and defensive end Charles Haley for most of the year. Running back Emmitt Smith never completely healed from a variety of ailments and receiver Michael Irvin injured his collarbone in the last game of the season.

Other standout free agents who could be lured away this offseason include fullback Daryl Johnston, linebacker Darrin Smith, safety George Teague, linebackers Jim Schwantz and Broderick Thomas and running back Herschel Walker.