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Stars sit in Dallas Chandler, Sanders left as spectators to action
Posted: Monday September 20, 1999 09:43 PM
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys each had an injured Pro Bowl player watching from the sideline on Monday night. Neither Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler nor Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders, who were both listed as doubtful for the game, were in the starting lineups. Tony Graziani made his third career start in place of Chandler, who pulled his hamstring in the Falcons' season-opening loss to Minnesota last week. Chandler warmed up in full pads before the game but was officially announced as the Falcons' third quarterback, meaning he can't play unless injuries make it necessary. Chandler was noticeably limping when he went to the center of the field for the pregame coin toss. Sanders, meanwhile, decided to give his injured left toe an extra two weeks to heal. With Dallas going into a bye week, the All-Pro cornerback and punt returner can continue recovering until Oct. 3. "He would be playing if this was a playoff game," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "The smart thing to do was wait two weeks." Sanders injured the toe late last season and missed five games and parts of two others. He played in a playoff loss and in the Pro Bowl, then underwent surgery in April. So far this year, Sanders has missed all of training camp, the exhibition season and the season opener, a 41-35 victory over Washington. Charlie Williams replaced Sanders at right cornerback for the second straight week.
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