Tuesday, September 3, 1996

Sanders provides Cowboys' stability
By Rich Hofmann
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
(Sept. 3, 1996)

CHICAGO (KRT) - In their search for stability and consistency, for predictability amid the chaos, the Dallas Cowboys have settled on Deion Sanders. Which tells you plenty.

Sanders played wide receiver and cornerback, more than 100 plays overall. He caught nine passes for 87 yards on offense and had only a couple of dinky passes caught underneath him on defense. In the first quarter, he knocked a ballcarrier up in the air and caused a fumble. In the fourth quarter, he also had a controversial fumble of his own.

In between, the Cowboys played a terrible game and lost to the Chicago Bears, 22-6. And afterward, someone asked Sanders if he saw this kind of effort coming.

"See this coming?" Sanders asked. "Only Dionne Warwick could see it coming. Wrong Dionne."
Or Deion. Oh, well.

"I feel fine," he said, after it was over, after he played in all but about a dozen plays overall. "I'm just as tired as any other man who played in the game tonight."

When someone persisted in asking him if fatigue became an issue on a warm night in Chicago, Sanders asked: "Do I look good? Next question."

On his hit that sent Michael Timpson into orbit in the first quarter, causing a fumble at the Cowboys' 1-yard line - a hit that clearly saved a touchdown - Sanders said, "You guys say I can't tackle, so you tell me what happened."

On his fourth-quarter fumble - in which he appeared to have had his forward progress stopped after a reception - Sanders said: "It was pretty much of a stalemate. I thought the whistle should have blown."

During the rest of his night on offense, Sanders was given a generous cushion underneath by Bears rookie cornerback Walt Harris. And be sure of this much: This is not a publicity stunt. This will continue until Sanders falls over from exhaustion.

As defensive coordinator Dave Campo said, "We have so many people out on offense (suspended wideout Michael Irvin and injured tight end Jay Novacek, among others) that we have to do what we have to do to win."

As coach Barry Switzer said, "Deion's our No. 1 receiver right now."
Which also tells you where they are.

(c) 1996, Philadelphia Daily News. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

Cowboys Chatroom.....Dallas Cowboys.....Back to Reporter OnLine