Monday, December 16, 1996

Irvin takes offense with Dallas Cowboys offense

By JAIME ARON / AP Sports Writer (Dec. 16, 1996)

IRVING, Texas (AP) - Michael Irvin wanted to be generous.

As a reward for the Dallas Cowboys' defense constantly bailing out the offense, he offered Sunday to let them split up his salary for the first five games of this season, a total of $513,235.

"That's nothing but zeroes," Pro Bowl safety Darren Woodson reminded Irvin, who was suspended for those games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

"Y'all gotta take that up with Tagliabue," Irvin said, smiling.

That brief exchange was about all that made Irvin laugh following Dallas' 12-6 victory over New England.

He quickly turned serious to address the state of the Cowboys' offense, which didn't score a touchdown for the third time in five games.

"I'm concerned, scared and embarrassed," Irvin said. "It's flat-out embarrassing for us to be playing the way we're playing. I stood there on the sidelines and just about cried."

Irvin caught six passes for 76 of Dallas' 251 total yards, but he also made a few mistakes. He couldn't catch up to a bomb from Troy Aikman on the game's first play, then he stood by watching as Ty Law stepped in front of him and intercepted Aikman to open the Cowboys' next drive.

Irvin spent much of the day sulking on the sidelines. After one pivotal play went against Dallas, he had a heated discussion with receivers coach Hubbard Alexander.

"Every man on offense has to carry their weight and we're not doing that," Irvin said. "I don't have a beef with the play-calling. I have a beef with us not getting it done.

"If we were a losing team, we'd be making excuses. I'm not making excuses. We've just got to find some answers on offense. That's the bottom line."

Dallas has been in a funk most of the season, and things don't seem to be getting better. The Cowboys have scored only four touchdowns in their last five games. Three of those came on Thanksgiving against Washington, one of the league's worst defenses.

"There's more than a trace of frustration," said offensive lineman Nate Newton, another locker-room leader. "I'm starting to see it on our stars' faces - Troy, Michael and Emmitt. We've got to concentrate harder and pay attention to details."

Irvin said one of things that disappointed him most Sunday was that he expected more after a good week of practice.

Instead, the offense had to rely on the defense - again.

Although it worked Sunday, allowing the Cowboys to secure their fifth-straight NFC East title, Irvin knows the offense had better straighten out soon or their problems will catch up to them in the playoffs.

"We're getting tired of asking the defense to come through over and over and over again," Irvin said. "If we get into that other season playing this way offensively, we won't be playing any more."