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Thursday, March 27, 1997

Cowboys get NFL's toughest schedule

By Jean-Jacques Taylor

The Dallas Morning News

(See Cowboys Schedule)

DALLAS - The Cowboys, trying to rebound from their worst season in six years, learned Wednesday they must do it against the NFL's toughest schedule.

The Cowboys, 10-6 in 1996, will play teams with a combined record of 143-113 (.558 winning percentage). Dallas also will play seven games against playoff teams, and for the third time in four seasons will play three Monday night games.

Dallas makes its first trip to Green Bay since 1989 in November, when they play the Packers on Nov. 23. More important, the Cowboys have a bye in September, which means that is one fewer game that cornerback and Cincinnati Reds' outfielder Deion Sanders has to worry about missing.

Season-ticket packages currently are on sale, but individual game tickets will not go on sale until July or August.

Owner Jerry Jones has said training camp will be more focused and intense this season, so Dallas can avoid the poor start it had in 1996. The Cowboys won their record fifth consecutive NFC East title last season but spent much of the season recovering from a 1-3 start.

The Cowboys will need to get off to a good start because their schedule is difficult early.

Dallas opens at Pittsburgh and plays six of its first nine games on the road. Three seasons ago, Dallas beat Pittsburgh in the season opener at Three Rivers Stadium to give Coach Barry Switzer his first professional victory.

"I like the idea of opening up against good teams and, overall, I like the schedule," Jones said. "It's a challenging schedule, and I wouldn't have minded playing Green Bay earlier in the year. But it could be worse. There's still a good chance you could get a nice day in Green Bay in November."

The Cowboys' toughest stretch occurs during a five-week period from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2, when Dallas plays at the New York Giants, at Washington, home against Jacksonville and on the road against Philadelphia and San Francisco.

"That's clearly the toughest stretch," said Jones, "but I'd rather have it early in the season with the road games broken in twos instead of having to play three in a row.

"Still, it's going to be a pretty tough time for us, but it's worth it because I absolutely love the backstretch."

That's because Dallas plays five of its final seven games - including divisional games against Arizona, Washington and New York - at home.

After playing at Green Bay, Dallas plays Houston at home on Thanksgiving Day. The Cowboys don't play again for 11 days, when they host Carolina on Monday night. The Panthers eliminated Dallas from the playoffs last season with a 26-17 victory.

Dallas will have three Monday night games, the maximum allowed by the NFL. Only Green Bay, New England, San Francisco and Denver will make three "Monday Night Football" appearances.

Dallas also plays two home Monday night games for only the second time in the past 10 years, which has Jones excited.

"It's a real bonus for our fans to have those games because they're showcase games for the community and because there's a certain big-time aura associated with playing on Monday night," he said.

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

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