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Walker is Cowboys' rescue man

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Herschel Walker keeps saving the Dallas Cowboys. Someday he'd like to have a Super Bowl ring to show for all his hard work.

It was his 1989 trade to the Minnesota Vikings for five players and eight draft choices by Jimmy Johnson that set up the Cowboys for three Super Bowl championships during the 1990s.

Last year, he returned to Dallas and provided the play the Cowboys needed to salvage their season.

Off to a 1-3 start and trailing Philadelphia 10-0, Walker returned a kickoff 49 yards, giving the Cowboys the momentum needed to win 23-19. Three more wins in a row followed and Dallas won nine of its last 12 games to claim the NFC East title for a fifth straight year.

Last Sunday, the Cowboys were struggling with sa 3-3 record and missing injured fullback Daryl Johnston, when Walker came to the rescue again.

Walker caught a short fourth-quarter pass from Troy Aikman and broke four tackles on a 64-yard touchdown pass-and-run as Dallas beat Jacksonville 26-22.

This week, Walker faces Philadelphia again.

"I still love the fans there and I want to put on a good show for them," Walker said. "But everything else was pitiful (in the front office). They couldn't stand up like a man and talk to you. That's the only thing I was disappointed with."

Walker said he learned something else while he was with the Eagles.

"I learned just how big the rivalry is in Philadelphia," he said. "I didn't know how much Philadelphia hated Dallas until I was in Philly."

Eagles coach Ray Rhodes considers Walker, who is playing for the NFL minimum of $175,000, one of the Cowboys' most dangerous weapons, particularly because Dallas is using him more as a replacement for Johnston.

"I've always had a lot of respect for Herschel," Rhodes said. "He brings another dimension to the game. He not only can run, but he can catch. It gives them (the Cowboys) more of an option. He can split out and play receiver, too. He runs good patterns and he's a load after he catches the ball."

Philadelphia quarterback Rodney Peete said Walker amazes him.

"This guy is a specimen," Peete said. "He always stays in shape. I've watched him since he won the Heisman Trophy at Georgia, since he played for the New Jersey Generals, the Cowboys, the (New York) Giants, and Philadelphia. I've always admired him for his work ethic. He's not a kid but he still gets the job done."

Dallas special teams coach Joe Avezzano said the 35-year-old Walker might get the Super Bowl ring he covets if he keeps playing like he has this year.

"Herschel has a degree of speed that still allows him to outrun a lot of people," Avezzano said. "He has strength in his lower back that allows him to shed people. You put it all together and he's been very successful."

Walker has only one request of his team -- win the Super Bowl.

"I'll do anything to get that ring," he said. "That's why I'm playing for practically nothing. I don't need the money. But I do need that ring. My career won't be complete without it."