Sunday, July 28, 1996

Cowboys' problems not confined to Irvin

ByDAVE GOLDBERG
Associated Press

(July 28, 1996)

If the Dallas Cowboys don't repeat, the Michael Irvin mess will be only part of the reason. The Cowboys can probably win at least three of the five games he will miss.

A more important reason is free agent attrition, depleting what could have been one of the deepest teams in NFL history.

There are eight regulars, seven of them starters, sitting out workouts in the Cowboys' training camp, all but Irvin because of chronic injuries. In addition to Irvin, they include defensive ends Charles Haley and Tony Tolbert, tight end Jay Novacek, offensive right tackle Erik Williams, center Ray Donaldson, cornerback Kevin Smith and the recently re-signed defensive tackle Tony Casillas.

With Deion Sanders taking Irvin's place at wide receiver for the first five games, it means the top cornerback is second-year man Alundis Brice, who is still recovering from being shot in the stomach two years ago while a senior at Mississippi. Brice was burned by Sanders repeatedly in the team's first scrimmage a week ago.

And Sanders himself pulled a hamstring in the scrimmage against Houston last week.

If Smith, still recovering from a tear in his Achilles tendon, doesn't get back by the final exhibition game in four weeks, Sanders will go back to defense full time.

"We just don't have enough experienced people back there," coach Barry Switzer said. "If this was two years ago, I wouldn't be saying that, but it's now."

On defense alone in the past three years, the Cowboys have lost Ken Norton, Jim Jeffcoat, Russell Maryland, Larry Brown, Dixon Edwards, Robert Jones, Jimmie Jones, James Washington and Clayton Holmes.

Moreover, on the first of their three Super Bowl winners, in 1993, Dallas rotated eight defensive linemen - Haley, Tolbert, Maryland, Casillas, Jeffcoat, Jimmie Jones, Chad Hennings and Leon Lett. Everyone stayed fresh.

Now the defensive starters are Haley, Tolbert, Lett and Hennings and there's almost nothing behind them. Shante Carver, the first-round pick in 1994, left camp this week with a substance-abuse suspension hanging over him and will be gone for the season. That's left Switzer moaning "if only ..." about second-year man Darrin Benson.

"If only he could get into top shape, he could be a good one," Switzer said.
The same holds true on the offensive line.

Donaldson, who tore up his knee last year, is 37. Nate Newton is 36 and Mark Tuinei is 34. Ron Stone, the top backup last season, took $10 million from the Giants to become a starter in the Meadowlands, making Clay Shiver, a third-round draft choice from Florida State, suddenly a key man.

None of this means the Cowboys won't repeat. They still have a lot of talent left at the core.
But they're definitely coming back to the pack.

And not just because of Irvin's offseason failings.

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