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Sunday, December 14, 1997

Big D stands for disaster

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- On the last play that mattered for the Dallas Cowboys this season, they lost 25 yards on fourth-and-6 inches.

The whole year went that way for an underachieving club that has won three Super Bowls in the 1990s and now finds itself under the heading: "Dying Dynasty."

Troy Aikman's scrambling loss ended any hopes of a Cowboys comeback against the Carolina Panthers in a 23-13 defeat and sent the season gurgling down the drain with a 6-8 record with two games to go.

Injuries, mistakes, old age, bad coaching, and shocking play by veterans doomed Dallas to its first season out of the playoffs in seven years. The Cowboys released their grip on the NFC East title for the first time in six years.

The Aikman sack was a perfect ending for a team that started with an impressive 37-7 rout of the Steelers in Pittsburgh, then mysteriously couldn't finding a scoring punch inside the 20-yard line.

After the Steelers game, Aikman was crowing about how a hard training camp had turned the Cowboys into legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Odds for the Cowboys to be in the Super Bowl dropped to 3-to-1 in Las Vegas.

"This team has all the tools to be in the playoffs again this year," Aikman said. "And once you get into the playoffs you always have a chance to win the Super Bowl. This team looks solid."

Maybe from the neck down it looked good. The Cowboys were a team without any mental discipline. It all started with coach Barry Switzer trying to carry a loaded gun through an aiport metal detector and ended with veterans still goofing up 14 games into the season.

How could anyone account for Aikman rolling out and running out of bounds for a 6-yard loss in the Carolina game when all he had to do was throw the ball away?

Aikman had no explanation. And now he's wondering if the good times in the 1990s are all over.

"I hope it's not the end of an era," Aikman said. "Nobody is willing to concede that we had a good run early in the decade and now it's over. It's embarrassing. Something has to be done."

Emmitt Smith, the heart and soul of the team, had no explanation.

"This whole season has been a shock, a big surprise," he said. "This is a new experience for me to be in this position. At times we just looked like we didn't know what we were doing. At times we just played like garbage. We had too many mistakes and not enough big plays. I just can't figure it out, particularly after the way we came out after the Pittsburgh game. We never got it back the rest of the season."

Other than the Pittsburgh win, the only other bigtime highlight for Dallas was Aikman taking the team 97 yards late in the fourth quarter against Washington to tie the game, then winning it with a field goal.

The team could never get into a rhythm. Fullback Daryl Johnston suffered a neck injury. Offensive tackle Mark Tuinei missed most of the season with a leg injury. Guard Nate Newton was always hurt, showing wear for his 12 NFL seasons.

Running back Emmitt Smith was banged up from Day 1. Cornerback Deion Sanders broke a rib. Tight end Eric Bjornson fractured an ankle. Safety Darren Woodson played with a bum shoulder most of the season.

Aikman had head, thumb, and back problems.

Dallas couldn't overcome the injuries. Older players like Smith, Newton and Tuinei were starting to break down like old race cars run too often at high speed.

Still, these were only excuses. Other teams won with injuries. The Cowboys couldn't overcome any adversity.

"It's humiliating to know that you should win and can't get it done," said defensive tackle Tony Casillas. "If I had the answers to what was wrong with this team I'd have more money than Bill Gates."

Leon Lett missing 13 games because of an NFL-mandated drug suspension made the Cowboys easy targets for teams with solid running games. Dallas had eight games where a runner gained more than 100 yards against it.

Humiliation after humiliation was heaped upon the Cowboys. They lost in Arizona and the fans tore the goalposts down. They lost in San Francisco and even Green Bay beat the Cowboys after decades of futile pursuit.

After the Packers game, owner Jerry Jones lost it and criticized the defensive coaches for blitzing too much, only to apologize later. The Dallas defense was never the big problem -- it's been ranked second in the NFL.

It's the offense that couldn't produce, ranked 20th overall.

"We were never consistent, never in the flow," Smith said.

Then Dallas lost to Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day and to Carolina on a Monday night game to pucntuate the worst season since 1990.

"I share the blame and my coaches share the blame," said Jones. "We'll get it fixed next year."

Only Switzer may not be around to enjoy it.