Friday, October 25, 1996

Emmitt Smith says he thinks he should get the ball more

By Jean-Jacques Taylor / The Dallas Morning News (Oct. 25, 1996)

DALLAS (KRT) - Emmitt Smith said he wants to see more of a commitment to the running game.

And he'd like for it to begin Sunday against Miami.

"We need to go back to what we used to do," Smith said. "We haven't smash-mouthed anybody in a long time. We aren't eating up the clock and controlling the ball.

"To commit to the running game, you have to put it in a back's hands 20-25 times a game, and you have to keep bringing it.

"You don't just turn your back on it totally because it's not working. You don't turn your back on the passing game when it's not working. You keep trying it."

Smith, averaging 18 carries a game, is on pace to average the fewest number of carries since his rookie year. He's also ranked 10th in the NFL in rushing, making a fifth rushing title in six seasons seem improbable.

Smith had 15 carries, six in the second half, in the Cowboys' 32-28 win over Atlanta last week, but the Cowboys had only 42 plays. It did mark, however, the third time in seven games Smith has had fewer than 20 carries.

Smith had only two games last year with fewer than 20 carries. Against Kansas City, he had 18 carries but left in the third quarter with a sprained knee.

He has 22 fewer carries than he did at this time last season.

"I have told the head coach (Barry Switzer) and the offensive coordinator (Ernie Zampese) that we need to run the ball more, and the line coach (Hudson Houck) is in total agreement with me," running backs coach Joe Brodsky said. "If I have to go to the owner, then I'm going there. We've won three Super Bowls by pounding people with the running game. That has always been our philosophy."

Coach Barry Switzer said he'd like Smith to average more than 20 carries a game. Zampese said the Cowboys' ineffective running game has kept him from calling running plays with the same frequency.

"If you look at the number of running plays we had last year," Zampese said, "a lot of it was because we had leads, and when you have leads then you tend to run more than when you don't.

"We've been running the same basic plays, we just haven't been executing them."

Smith has been dropped for zero or negative yardage 21 times this season, and his longest run is only 18 yards. This time last season, Smith had six runs of 20 yards or more.

"It's very important that we run the ball because that's what got us to the Super Bowl," Smith said. "We pounded teams no matter what they did, and we forced them to go to eight-man fronts to take our running game away, and when they did that, it opened up things for Michael (Irvin) and Jay (Novacek) and everybody else.

"A lot of it has been based on my health, but I'm feeling a lot better than I was early in the season. I can't put all of the blame on the coaches, but they have to treat me better than they've been doing."

The Cowboys' have won an unprecedented three Super Bowls in the past four seasons with a running game that pounded teams into submission and took their heart in the fourth quarter.

In the past four years, Dallas has finished among the top five in rushing. Twice, the Cowboys have finished second. Yet they enter Sunday's game against Miami ranked 25th in the NFL in rushing.

The reasons are varied.

Smith has been hampered by a variety of ailments - including a sprained knee - since training camp, and several members of the offensive line are just now getting healthy and into synch.

The Cowboys' inability to consistently run the ball is reflected in their first downs and time of possession this season.

Last season, the Cowboys led the NFL in first downs (364) and were sixth in time of possession. This season, Dallas is tied for 22nd in first downs and 23rd in time of possession.

"If you can't run at the end of the season, you can't win, and that's the bottom line," guard Nate Newton said. "I'm going to trust Ernie for the next couple of weeks. We practice hard for the run, but it just doesn't happen in the game."

(c) 1996, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.