Nfc East

For DALLAS, the bad news started coming in on July 28 when Tony Dorsett dropped a mirror on his right foot, breaking the big toe. The next week the Cowboys were running through a light signal drill, in shorts and T shirts, and two rookie linemen ran into each other. Kaboom! One didn't get up. Fractured cheekbone. "I got a feeling right then," says the team's P.R. man, Doug Todd, "that it was going to be one of those strange kinds of years."

The strangest part of it all may be all the unfamiliar faces Coach Tom Landry could be obliged to put into his lineup. The left side of the defensive line, Jethro Pugh and 6'9" Too Tall Jones, has retired, Jones to pursue a ring career. And Danny White, the punter and backup to Quarterback Roger Staubach, fractured his right thumb. And Scott Laidlaw, the backup fullback, pulled the same hamstring that bothered him throughout the '77 season. And Flanker Drew Pearson developed a knot in his left leg and fluid on his right knee. And Hollywood Henderson, the strongside linebacker, came up with a hiatal hernia of the esophagus.

After that, the man with the bandages turned his attention to the secondary, Landry's prime area of concern after the Steeler receivers ripped it apart in Super Bowl XIII. Left Cornerback Benny Barnes: bone spurs in his right foot. Right Corner Aaron Kyle: spurs in his knee. And then the big one—Strong Safety Charlie Waters, a three-time Pro Bowl selection: torn ligaments in his right knee in an exhibition game. He is lost until next season.

In any other division Dallas could by now have kissed off its chances of repeating as champs, but the NFC East is not, say, the AFC East, where two or three hungry wolves are waiting to pounce. There is, in fact, not one serious challenger to the Cowboys, whose long suit—depth—will be tested this year. It won't hurt that the schedule makers have been kind. Dallas won't face a tough opponent until October, when Dorsett should be running at full speed and White and Laidlaw may be O.K. And by then some rookies—notably second-round draftee Aaron Mitchell, a cornerback, and Bruce Thornton, a swing defensive lineman selected in the eighth round—may have cracked the lineup.

The PHILADELPHIA Eagles slipped into the playoffs last year on the winged feet of Wilbert Montgomery, only to make a quick exit when they blew a 13-0 fourth-quarter lead to Atlanta. Montgomery's 1,220 yards rushing erased Steve Van Buren from the Eagle record book, but the guy who knocked down the linebackers for Montgomery last year, 215-pound Fullback Mike Hogan, won't be around. Hogan and reserve Halfback Boomer Betterson were arrested on cocaine charges. Hogan was waived to San Francisco, and Betterson has been placed on injured reserve. Hogan's heir apparent is Leroy Harris, a two-year starter for Miami whom the Eagles acquired in a Monday trade.

A substandard running game could keep the Eagles' defense on the field longer this season, which will give opponents even more opportunities to throw long passes, which were Philadelphia's undoing in the playoff game against the Falcons. Philadelphia hasn't drafted a top defensive back since Randy Logan in 1973, and he's still solid at strong safety. Part of the problem last year was a pass rush that dropped from 47 sacks in '77 to 29. To shore up that area the Eagles picked up Claude Humphrey, the 35-year-old defensive end who "retired" from Atlanta last September.

Philadelphia's strength, especially against the run, is the defensive front seven, led by greatly underrated Right End Carl Hairston, Inside Linebacker Bill Bergey and a comer at outside linebacker, Reggie Wilkes. The Eagles' first pick in the draft, Jerry Robinson from UCLA, has impressed everyone with his speed (4.6 for 40 yards) and could be a starter at outside linebacker. Another draft pick, Tony Franklin of Texas A&M, seems ready to end the Eagles' long search for a quality placekicker.

The Eagles did it on guts last year, but now they've reached a higher plateau—the playoff level—where a team's hopes of going far are pretty much dependent on talent. And that is not Philadelphia's long suit.

The paychecks are pretty chintzy in ST. LOUIS, where 10 Cardinal veterans say they are playing out their options. Center Tom Banks, a four-time Pro Bowl choice, didn't report to camp until after the first exhibition, and operations vice-president Joe Sullivan's response was that the Cardinals could live without Banks, because he wasn't so hot at handling big middle guards. And Cardinal Coach Bud Wilkinson had said he was leaving unless the players were paid better.

But sometimes such disgruntlement yields unexpected benefits, and in presenting a united front against management, Wilkinson and his troops just might have an extra emotional drive on the field. After all, they did rally to go 6-2 after starting the 1978 season at 0-8. And they do have a sprinkling of blue-chippers—Banks, Right Tackle Dan Dierdorf, Quarterback Jim Hart, Flanker Mel Gray and Right Cornerback Roger Wehrli.