Monday, September 30, 1996

Eagles mum over Cowboys' woes
By JOHN F. BONFATTI
Associated Press
(Sept. 30, 1996)

PHILADELPHIA - Their star wide receiver and tight end are missing. Their star running back and quarterback are banged up. And the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys are reeling from a 1-3 start.

All of which doesn't stop the Philadelphia Eagles, who face NFC East rival Dallas tonight, from saying nice things about the Cowboys.

Despite all the problems in Dallas, the Eagles (3-1) have a genuine respect for the Cowboys, who have won nine of their last 11 games against Philadelphia, including an emphatic 30-11 victory in the playoffs last year.

"Any time it's the Dallas Cowboys, you've got to sit up and listen," wide receiver Irving Fryar said. "They've had some mishaps on and off the field, but they're a great team."

The Cowboys were a great team over the past four years, when they won three Super Bowls. And they still may be a great team - but they certainly aren't playing like one, particularly on offense.

Dallas has the NFL's 24th-ranked offense, which isn't surprising with wideout Michael Irvin (suspension) and tight end Jay Novacek (back injury), Troy Aikman's favorite targets, out of the lineup.

"You cannot lose the talents of Michael and Jay and say it's not going to effect your team," Aikman said.

Still, he said, "Regardless of who we've got out there ... if we perform better than the way we have, we're not too far off from being 3-1, and that's even after playing as poorly as we have."
The receiving corps took another hit in last week's 10-7 defeat at Buffalo with the loss of last year's other starting wide receiver, Kevin Williams. Also, Aikman was whacked on the last play in that game and his ankle is sore.

Emmitt Smith, who has run for at least 90 yards in each of his last nine games against Philadelphia, is also sore, with coach Barry Switzer saying he may have to cut down on Smith's workload.

"I just don't think he's hitting on eight cylinders yet," Switzer said. "And the offensive line is nicked up. We're playing nothing like we did last year, knocking people out of there, running north and south."

That's not what Eagles coach Ray Rhodes said he saw when he reviewed tapes of the Cowboys' offensive line.

"These guys are the same guys who blocked the heck out of everybody last year," Rhodes said. "You see the same people knocking people's butts off the ball."

Controlling the Dallas offensive and defensive lines will be the big challenge for the Eagles, who were overpowered up front in last year's playoff loss.

"I'm sure Ray will mention to us that we have to out-physical these guys because they took it to us last year," Eagles center Raleigh McKenzie said. "It's a measuring stick to see where we are physically."

While the Dallas offense has sputtered, the Cowboys' defense remains formidable, ranked second in the league. Switzer said talk about shoddy tackling refers mainly to three screen passes in the 25-24 loss to Indianapolis two weeks ago.

"We had nine missed tackles on those three plays alone," he said. "People running north and south, we haven't missed any tackles. We've usually swarmed pretty good."

The Cowboys can expect to see a steady dose of Ricky Watters, the NFC leader in combined rushing and receiving yards with 486.

What they might not expect is a big game from speedy tight end Jason Dunn. The rookie has caught only three passes this year, but two have gone for more than 50 yards.

"I'm waiting to see him catch the short pass and run through some people," Rhodes said. "He's a big strong guy, and on some of those short patterns, if he could just catch it and turn his shoulders square up the field, I think he's going to splatter some people."

Rhodes was angry last year when, after the playoff victory, Switzer gloated about kicking the Eagles around. Rhodes told his team not to talk about that statement this week, but the Eagles haven't forgotten.

"I remember the comments. They played them all over the airwaves," defensive end William Fuller said. "Some people say you don't say that, but he told the truth."

It was true, but it was also a taunt, one Rhodes would dearly love Switzer to pay for tonight.

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