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Cowboys' offense too much Richie Cunningham

By Josie Karp

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - With apologies to a rookie kicker who is virtually flawless, the most alarming statistic for the Cowboys heading into Sunday's bye week is this: With 44 points, Richie Cunningham is the NFL's leading scorer.

That's good news for Cunningham and bad news for a Cowboys offense that has scored one touchdown in the past eight quarters plus overtime. During that span, Cunningham has kicked 10 field goals.

"We struggled the last two games," offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese said Tuesday. "We haven't played as well as we can play. The bye week comes at a good time. We have to get out and work."

With almost two weeks before their next game, the Cowboys can enjoy their 2-1 record and, at the same time, wonder how they got it.

The Cowboys' inability to convert scoring chances kept them from beating the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7, and it nearly kept them from beating the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night. Zampese said that the Cowboys' offense deserves some of the blame, but that the blitzing defenses of Arizona and Philadelphia deserve credit.

"People have gotten better," Zampese said. "People are doing different things. We've got to anticipate that teams will (blitz). We will see more of it until we prove that we can block it. They will keep coming."

Cowboys coach Barry Switzer on Tuesday deflected his team's problems converting scoring opportunities into touchdowns.

"It's always been tough to score in the NFL," Switzer said. "How many times have you seen goal-line stands, people get the ball at the 4-yard line and they can't get (the touchdown) and kick field goals? It happens every week, every game."

Early returns show it's not any harder to score this year. Through three games, an average total of 40.9 points is being scored per game in the NFL, up from 38.1 through three games a year ago.

Despite their problems near the goal line, the Cowboys lead the NFC in scoring average at 26.6 points per game. They have scored at least 21 points in each game. A year ago, the Cowboys scored fewer than 21 points eight times during the regular season.

On Monday night, however, it took a dramatic play for the Cowboys to reach 21.

Before quarterback Troy Aikman found Anthony Miller with a hurried, off-balance, across-his-body throw with less than a minute to go, the Cowboys had scored no touchdowns in their past nine trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line, the "red zone." For the season, the Cowboys have scored four touchdowns and nine field goals on 14 trips inside the 20.

Zampese is going more to the pass inside the 20-yard line because of the offense's inability to run as well as in years past. Of the 37 plays the Cowboys have run inside the 20 this season, 21 have been passes.

Once, it was nearly automatic for the Cowboys to score near the goal. Hand the ball to Emmitt Smith, who two years ago set a league record for touchdowns with 25. This season, nothing is automatic.

"I think going back two and three years ago, we were running the ball in there pretty well," Zampese said. "This year, there are probably a few more passes called in that area. I think you have to mix things up. We're attempting to do that."

Reaching the "red zone" has also been difficult.

Through three games, teams are feeding the Cowboys a steady diet of blitzes to disrupt the offense's timing. It worked for the Cardinals. And it worked for the Eagles for most of the game. Cornerback Bobby Taylor twice forced fumbles with blitzes in the first half. Those turnovers led to 10 points.

Switzer said the Cowboys made adjustments at halftime to handle the Eagles' unfamiliar blitzes. He was satisfied with the adjustments, pointing out that Aikman was not sacked in the second half.

That statistic probably had something to do with the adjustments. But it might also have had something to do with Philadelphia losing starting cornerback Troy Vincent for the second half because of an injury. The Eagles backed off from the blitz in the second half because of the limited one-on-one coverage ability of Vincent's replacement, Charles Dimry.

To try to beat the blitz, the Cowboys started going to a no-huddle offense on third down, hoping to limit the time the defense had to set up and make calls. It was a new wrinkle Switzer said the coaches implemented for Monday's game and one they might have to use again.

(c) 1997, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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