Saturday, January 4, 1997

Cowboys worried about 3-4 defense

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer (Jan. 4, 1997)

IRVING, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys have seldom ripped apart talented teams that use 3-4 defenses - which is why the Carolina Panthers will present a problem in Sunday's NFC playoff game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, although beaten 27-17 by the Cowboys in last January's Super Bowl, gave the Dallas offense fits with their blitzing 3-4 defense.

The Cowboys prepared Friday for the Carolina game in the shadow of rape accusations against Michael Irvin and Erik Williams, both of whom have denied any involvement in a Sunday night incident reported by a 23-year-old woman. No charges have been filed.

A day after police appeared to be slowing their investigation, the Cowboys' focus was back on football.

Daryl Johnston, whose primary responsibility is to block the Carolina linebackers to spring Emmitt Smith on his patented runs, said it's going to take an adjustment for the Dallas offense, which flashed Super Bowl form in a 40-15 playoff victory the Minnesota Vikings.

"Their defense is a quality group," Johnston said. "They may just be a two-year team, but they have a lot of veterans. They beat San Francisco twice. It's amazing to me that they haven't been given any more credit for what they did this year."

Johnston said the Cowboys don't often see the 3-4 defense.

"We've struggled in the past against the 3-4. It gives us trouble," Johnston said. "We'll have to make changes in our blocking schemes and protection schemes. Sometimes the 3-4 can make us struggle in our running game."

Led by linebackers Kevin Greene, Sam Mills and Lamar Lathon, the Panthers have held opponents to only a 32 percent third-down conversion rate.

The linebackers create havoc with zone blitzes because teams usually don't know where they're coming from.

"We've got a sense of urgency this week because we know we have a lot to get done, " Johnston said. "There has to be a lot of extra study."

Johnston said the Cowboys can't be considered back in prime offensive form just because of the Minnesota blowout.

"It was the only game we've played to our (offensive) capabilities this year," Johnston said. "It certainly gave us much needed confidence. Now we need to build on it."

Even Dallas coach Barry Switzer, who said the Cowboys should know how to handle the 3-4 defense, termed the blitzes that come out of it "very challenging for our offensive line."

"It's not a gimmick defense, either," Switzer said. "The reason they are successful with it is because they are very talented. If you don't look out against that defense, a quarterback can get hit in the mouth."

Carolina coach Dom Capers brought the defense with him from Pittsburgh, where he was an assistant.

"Capers took it to Carolina and has done well with it," Switzer said. "That scheme shouldn't bother us."

Quarterback Troy Aikman said the prime requirement against the 3-4 is patience.

"We've seen it before, but we know it can cause problems," Aikman said. "We've been studying hard all week to try to figure it out."

Offensive tackle Nate Newton said, "We've got to make sure that on third down, we just have four yards to go or less or we could get into trouble. "