COWBOY NOTEBOOK : Schramm: Contract Woes Delaying Dorsett’s Arrival

Tex Schramm, president of the Dallas Cowboys, said Wednesday that he “blames the people giving Tony Dorsett advice” for reports that the running back has asked for a new contract.

Dorsett, who is in the fourth year of a six-year contract with Dallas, did not report to the Cowboy training camp in Thousand Oaks on Sunday with the team’s five other veteran running backs. His contract requires him to be in camp by tonight, according to Coach Tom Landry.

The Internal Revenue Service has moved to seize property owned by Dorsett for non-payment of more than $400,000 in back taxes, an IRS spokeswoman said.

Schramm said that he believes Dorsett’s request to renegotiate is linked to his financial problems.

“I would like to help him with his financial problems without renegotiating his contract,” Schramm said. “I haven’t talked with Tony or his agent (Whit Stewart) in some time. They consulted a third party who, in turn, contacted me. We verified figures and pinpointed areas Tony is having problems.

“If renegotiating benefits the club and the player, I have no objections. We don’t renegotiate if it’s a one-way street.”

Schramm would not reveal the identity of the third party. Both Schramm and Landry expressed disappointment that Dorsett did not report Sunday.

Cowboys’ fullback Ron Springs said Dorsett is upset with his contract.

“Last week he saw what Danny White and Randy White are making and he figures he deserves more,” Springs said. “I’ve talked to him a lot the past two weeks.”

“Not being here never benefits a player,” Schramm said. “Tony is the core of our offense.”

Added Landry: “I certainly would prefer that Tony was here. He’d better be here by Thursday night.”

Quarterback Danny White, who has been a teammate of Dorsett’s since the running back was drafted No. 1 by Dallas in 1977, said the veterans in camp support Dorsett.

“We’re concerned for Tony because he’s our friend,” White said. “We’ve seen him face challenges before and he’s always overcome them.”

It was a case of White flight.

Last year’s quarterback controversy between Danny White and Gary Hogeboom resulted in White calling the season “a nightmare.” Both quarterbacks said they were hounded by reporters daily during training camp, causing White to become somewhat defensive.

Possibly anticipating a new set of questions concerning competition with Hogeboom, White ducked a group of reporters Wednesday by slipping into a fenced-off weight area. When the reporters moved only a few yards away, White broke into a full run for the locker room.

Corralled later outside his dormitory, White was contrite.

“I was just loosening up,” he said of his earlier exit. “Hey, football wasn’t fun for me last year. If I have to to through that again, I’ll quit and find something else to do.”

Landry, who named White the No. 1 quarterback when training camp began, has made a significant change in the passing attack.

“We’ve eliminated passes that require a seven-step drop by the quarterback,” Landry said. “We will go exclusively with a five-step drop.”

A trend in recent years, spearheaded by the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, has been to throw quick-hitting passes. Shorter pass routes allow offensive linemen to be more aggressive in their blocking, according to Landry.

White said he is in favor of the change.

“The longer drop tipped off some of our routes last year,” he said. “Defensive backs watch the quarterback as much as they watch receivers.”

Another trend, according to White, is employing small, fast wide receivers who get off the line of scrimmage quickly. White is looking forward to passing to world-class sprinter Mel Lattany, a rookie receiver. Lattany holds the fastest time ever in the world at sea level in the 100-meter dash.

“We haven’t had anyone who can run like that since I’ve been here,” White said. “I hope he fine-tunes his skills and develops into a polished receiver.”

Lattany said he has had more spring in his step since he stopped sleeping on a box spring.

“I thought everybody was sleeping on those things,” he said, laughing. “I woke up stiff and sore the first four days of camp.”

The team has since provided him with a mattress.