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Saturday, November 22, 1997

Cowboys want the heat on Brett Favre

By Jean-Jacques Taylor

and Bart Hubbuch

The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS -- Defensive coordinator Dave Campo wants pressure on the quarterback. And he doesn't care how the job gets done.

So Campo blitzes. All game long, if necessary.

Linebackers. Safeties. Cornerbacks.

Campo sends them all to compensate for a defensive line that has yet to find a dominant pass-rusher to replace defensive end Charles Haley, who retired in July.

Campo also wants to take advantage of cornerbacks Deion Sanders and Kevin Smith, who can handle the pressure of playing man-to-man most of the time.

"It doesn't matter where the sacks come from as long as we get them," Campo said.

The result is 16 players have recorded sacks, including seven by defensive backs. The Cowboys have not had more than three sacks in a season from their secondary this decade.

Dallas has 31 sacks this season and ranks 11th in the NFL in sacks per pass attempt.

But the Cowboys recorded nearly half of their sacks (14) in wins over Chicago (five) and Arizona (nine), who have a combined record of 3-19.

"There are a lot of people who blitz and still can't get to the quarterback," said defensive tackle Tony Casillas, "so it's unfair to say our pass rush hasn't been good. We have played this season without Leon Lett who's a great pass-rusher and makes everyone more effective."

The Cowboys expect Lett, who has been suspended for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, to return in three weeks for their Dec. 8 game against Carolina.

Green Bay is adept at protecting quarterback Brett Favre, who has been sacked only 19 times in 364 pass attempts this season. But teams have had success blitzing him and disrupting his rhythm.

Favre, a career 62 percent passer, has completed 58 percent of his passes this season with 13 interceptions. He has thrown more than 14 interceptions just once in his career.

"He's not a quarterback who likes taking a sack," Casillas said. "He's always going to try to make something happen, and that's what separates him from a lot of quarterbacks."

The Cowboys must take a disciplined approach to rushing Favre, which means they must maintain their rushing lanes to prevent him from scrambling and to interfere with his sight lines. Campo also must mix his blitzes to confuse Favre, making him tentative.

The Cowboys have successfully defended Favre during their past four meetings. In that span, he has five touchdown passes and four interceptions. He has not completed more than 60 percent of his passes, and the Cowboys have sacked him nine times.

"They handle the blitz pretty well, and with a guy like Favre, he can handle the blitz by himself," Campo said. "But you have to pick your spots against Favre. The worst thing you can do is get into a rhythm against him."

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STOUTMIRE FINED:

The NFL has fined Cowboys' rookie safety Omar Stoutmire $5,000 for a hit last Sunday on Washington Redskins' receiver Leslie Shepherd that dislocated Shepherd's wrist and elbow, ending his season.

The league said Stoutmire needlessly hit Shepherd after quarterback Gus Frerotte's pass had fallen incomplete. Stoutmire, who was unavailable for comment Thursday, makes the rookie minimum of $131,000, so the fine equaled an entire game check. He has 10 days to appeal.

"Take those types of cheap shots in hockey, and you're suspended for three games," Frerotte said Thursday. "(Shepherd) is out for the whole year because the guy took a cheap shot."

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COWBELL CONTROVERSY

Wide receiver Michael Irvin started the first brushfire of Cowboys-Packers Week with an angry reaction to news reports that cowbells were being distributed in Green Bay for Sunday's game.

"That's just not right," Irvin said. "Hopefully, (NFL Commissioner) Paul Tagliabue will do something about it. If I get hit by one of them, I'm suing the league. That's my threat to Paul."

NFL rules prohibit noise-making devices inside the stadium, and the Cowboys say they will protest to the league if thousands of the bells are rung during the game.

That shouldn't be a problem, Packers' president Bob Harlan said. The green-and-gold bells are being sold as a Special Olympics fund-raiser for use outside the stadium, but Harlan insisted the team would block any attempts to bring them into Lambeau.

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BRIEFLY ...

Offensive right tackle Erik Williams experienced soreness in his sprained right ankle and did not practice Thursday, but Coach Barry Switzer still expects him to play against Green Bay. ... Offensive left tackle Mark Tuinei, out since Oct. 13 with a knee injury, said he will work out next week with a brace and hopes to play Dec. 8 against Carolina.

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

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