Friday, September 13, 1996

Cowboys are hoping to ease Haley's pain
By Jean-Jacques Taylor
The Dallas Morning News
(Sept. 13, 1996)

DALLAS (KRT) - The Cowboys wanted to bring rookie defensive end Kavika Pittman along slowly this season. Circumstance has dictated a change in plans.

The Cowboys need to reduce the playing time of defensive ends Tony Tolbert (knees) and Charles Haley (back) to about 30 plays per game, so their bodies will survive the rigors of an arduous 16-game season. Haley's chronically sore back, which has required operations each of the past two seasons, prevents him from relentlessly chasing quarterbacks for an entire game, something he has done since San Francisco made him a fourth-round draft pick in 1986.

The Cowboys don't know from week-to-week whether his back will allow him to play.

"I think Charles will play if he feels like it, and we'll be all right," Coach Barry Switzer said Thursday. "If he doesn't, the rest will help him. We'll just wait and see how things go. There's always a chance he can play and always a chance that he can't play ... Charles is going to be all right and have a great year; it's a long season."

Haley played 30 of 46 snaps against New York last Sunday.

To keep their snap totals low, the Cowboys must play Pittman and three-year veteran Hurvin McCormack on a regular basis. The Cowboys also are working rookie defensive lineman Mike Ulufale at defensive end.

Owner Jerry Jones, Switzer and pro personnel director Larry Lacewell gathered with team trainers, doctors and Haley in the training room Thursday afternoon to discuss his situation after an MRI on Wednesday showed no new damage to his back. Trainer Jim Maurer said the MRI revealed the Cowboys can continue their same course of treatment.

"We take it day-to-day and week-to-week," Maurer said, "and we rest him during the week to play him in the games."

After the Cowboys' 22-6 loss to Chicago in the season opener, Switzer said Pittman would begin playing more. Against New York, Pittman had a tackle and two quarterback pressures in limited action.

"Kavika is not ready to be thrown into the fire, but we feel comfortable putting him the game," Campo said. "He fits into the rotation in a small way, and we need him."

Pittman, the Cowboys' first selection in the 1996 draft and the 37th player chosen overall, said he's a lot better equipped to play now than he was six weeks ago. He struggled in training camp as he made the mental and physical adjustments from McNeese State to professional football.

The moves that had worked so easily in college and led to sacks rarely worked in camp.

"It was real discouraging and rough at first," Pittman said. "Sometimes, I thought I should be back in school getting my degree taken care of, but I understand it's going to take time to get where I want to be.

"I'm trying not to rush things. If I keep working hard like then, maybe I can get to the same level of guys like Charles Haley and Leon Lett."

Switzer said McCormack and Pittman would share the position if Haley can't play one week. The Cowboys also probably would use linebacker Broderick Thomas at defensive end in passing situations. Thomas' 39.5 career sacks are more than any other Cowboy except Haley and Tolbert.

Thomas played some at defensive end against Chicago, but not New York. He played some defensive end in the pre-season.

"Charles and those guys have Super Bowl rings. I'm trying to get one," Thomas said. "I'll do whatever it takes to help the team win."

Shante Carver will provide a more experienced backup when he returns in four weeks. He was suspended for the first six games of the season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Haley, who has played the past several seasons with persistent back pain, had back surgery last December and missed the final three games of the regular season and the Cowboys' first two playoff games. He had five tackles, a sack and three quarterback pressures in Super Bowl XXX.

He has four tackles, one sack and one quarterback pressure this season.

If Haley's health continues to betray him, Pittman said he can be a contributor.

"I knew I wasn't going to come to the NFL and start dominating, but I'm getting better," Pittman said. "And when my confidence reaches the level that it was in college, that's when I think you'll start seeing me make some plays."

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

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