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They're still waiting for the thud. Dallas haters around the country rubbed their hands in glee last year as the Cowboys, raked by suspensions, injuries and seemingly endless miseries, struggled through their worst season in six years. America's Team, people figured, would come crashing to earth.
But when you've been living at the very top of the NFL skyscraper, where anything less than a Super Bowl ring casts a heavy gloom over a season, you have to drop pretty far to reach bottom. Dallas's fall from grace wasn't nearly so precipitous. The Cowboys still won the NFC East at 10-6 and reached the second round of the playoffs before the emerging nation called Carolina ended their season. A lot of teams would have been happy with that.
The Cowboys built three Super Bowl champions in the '90s with a strategy based on superstar offense and speedy defense. Last year the formula fell apart. Wide receiver Michael Irvin was suspended for the first five games after he pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine. The experiment of using Deion Sanders at wideout produced 36 catches and at least twice as many blown assignments. Quarterback Troy Aikman, bothered by back and calf injuries, endured his worst season since 1990. Running back Emmitt Smith dragged his sore knee and ankle through a ho-hum year and finished with his second-lowest rushing total and lowest rushing average since he entered the league in '90.
And so on, through defensive tackle Leon Lett's one-year drug suspension in December and up to Irvin's "It's not in me right now" press conference in June, at which he spoke of retirement. Now the Cowboys face a season without tight end Jay Novacek and pass-rusher Charles Haley, both of whom may be lost to injury, and with placekicker Chris Boniol, punter John Jett and stellar weakside linebacker Darrin Smith lost to free agency.
Surely the thud must come—if, through some miracle, the Cowboys avoid it this year, then in '98, when the crushing weight of their buy-now, pay-later salary cap load falls on their heads. It's got to happen, right?
Don't be too certain. Dallas has concentrated on ensuring that the key veterans—O.K., all except Darrin Smith—are locked up. (All-Pro right guard Larry Allen's contract, which expires after this year, will be redone.) Owner Jerry Jones anticipates an increase in spending limits next year, when the NFL's new TV contract is negotiated, which would release some of the cap pressure.
On the field, Aikman vows there will be no repeat of last season. "We were a team of underachievers," he says. "Actually, an organization of underachievers, from the top on down. That's been addressed in the off-season."
If Irvin decides it is in him after all, he'll have a big-name running mate—free agent Anthony Miller, who signed with Dallas on June 2. Aikman will also have a gigantic inside target in 6'7", 280-pound tight end David LaFleur, the team's '97 first-round pick out of LSU. And who's to say Emmitt can't come back with some real hunger after his '96 downer?
The offensive line has traditionally been the team's strength. The right side remains impressive, with Allen and tackle Erik Williams—who feels he has something to prove this season. "My knee wasn't all the way back last year," he says. "Guys I'd normally dominate were making plays on me. I've got a long memory. This is my get-even year." Left tackle Mark Tuinei played heroically on a partially torn right knee ligament, but he's 37, two years older than Nate Newton. John Flannery, the new starting center, is returning from a lengthy knee rehab. Put all those knees together, and you've got a line that could dominate—or could limp home.
The Cowboys lose defenders to free agency every year but still finish near the top of the stat charts. They'll have to find someone to fill Smith's weakside-linebacker spot, but every year they plug in people who can run and let the system do the rest. It has worked.
Granted, this is an optimist's scenario loaded with what-if's. What if Irvin goes? What if Miller, 32 and coming off the lowest yards per catch performance of his nine-year career, can't handle the load? What if LaFleur isn't ready to step into a sophisticated NFL passing offense? And what if Emmitt, who has had more carries than any other back in the league since 1990, simply can't avoid injury?
Well, then it could be another gloomy 10-6 season in Dallas. But probably not. Across the board, there's just too much talent here.
—by Paul Zimmerman
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