Monday, August 12, 1996

Pats venture into Cowboy country tonight

By Kevin McNamara
Providence Journal-Bulletin

(August 12, 1996)

IRVING, Tex. (KRT) - The New England Patriots travel to big-time football country tonight but many of the prime time players on the NFL's glamour team won't be around to participate.

The Pats take on the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys tonight on national television (ESPN) at Texas Stadium and will have to look very quick to get a glimpse of the champs' top stars. Already beat up by injuries, a hectic preseason schedule and the constant swirl of controversy surrounding the drug suspensions of Michael Irvin and Shante Carver, the Cowboys just want to get to their regular season opener against the Chicago Bears in one piece.

Tonight will be Dallas' third outing in a week. Last Monday, Kansas City whipped the 'Boys in Monterrey, Mexico, 32-6. On Thursday, Dallas and Houston held a glorified scrimmage in El Paso, Texas, with 55,000 diehards in the stands. Also, tonight is Dallas' third of five preseason games, one more than the rest of the league's teams.

That pounding has left the team of the '90s in shambles. The Cowboys have 11 starters who have missed at least one practice at their training camp in Austin. All-Pro Jay Novacek (back) hasn't worked out at all and may miss most of the season. Several other big names have passed on workouts at camp in Austin, where sweltering conditions push the heat index regularly close to 110 degrees.

The Patriots won't see quarterback Troy Aikman for much more than a quarter. Running back Emmitt Smith is recovering from a slight strain in his knee and likely won't play for the second straight week. Cornerback Kevin Smith is fighting back from a season-ending Achilles tendon injury and could see his first action in a year. Veterans Erik Williams, Ray Donaldson, Charles Haley and Tony Tolbert are also in doubt.

And, of course, then there's Irvin and Carver. Irvin returned to practice last week after an off-season straight out of a soap opera. The All-Pro receiver was busted in a suburban Dallas hotel room playing with two topless dancers, marijuana and cocaine. A few weeks later, the boyfriend of one of the dancers was arrested for putting a "hit" out on Irvin. That man was arrested, pled guilty to conspiracy charges and began serving two six-year prison terms last week.

Then Irvin sat through a high-profile pretrial hearing where women told of their sex and drug escapades with him. Also, by then it was common knowledge that Irvin and other teammates rented out a playpen they called the "White House" where they could party with female hangers-on without wives or girlfriends getting in the way.

Irvin pled no contest to felony cocaine possession charges. He was fined $10,000, placed on probation for four years and ordered to perform 800 hours of community service. The NFL slapped Irvin with a five-game suspension. The Cowboys said they'll hold Irvin out of preseason games so other receivers can prepare to fill his shoes.

Carver, the team's top draft choice last year, was suspended for the first six games of this season after he repeatedly violated the league's substance abuse tests. Reportedly, Carver had frequent positive tests for alcohol use. Carver is the fifth Cowboy to be suspended by the NFL for substance abuse problems in the last year.

Three Cowboys who will play and should be a focus of Barry Switzer's plans are Deion Sanders, Herschel Walker and Daryl Johnston. Sanders, a star defensive back, is playing exclusively at wide receiver while Irvin chills on the sidelines. "Prime Time" needs work running routes with Aikman at the controls.

The Cowboys signed Walker as a free agent and he's been a pleasant surprise at both fullback and tight end. Johnston, an All-Pro fullback, is also helping out at tight end in Novacek's absence.

All the Dallas' problems don't concern the Patriots and Bill Parcells one bit. The Pats looked solid for a half before losing to Green Bay, 24-7, in their preseason opener. The team's lack of depth was exposed in that game and is a major concern.

Parcells used 69 players against Green Bay and many of the same reserves will play a lot again tonight with their jobs on the line.

The first major cut will come after next Sunday's game against Philadelphia.

(c) 1996, Providence Journal-Bulletin. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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