Hot Cowboys Face Humble Rams
The Dallas Cowboys, their eyes perhaps beginning to fix on the grand prize a few months away, will continue their fight today at Texas Stadium against overconfidence, oversleeping, and, maybe as an afterthought, overlooking the overmatched Rams.
How hot are the Cowboys?
Along the way to five consecutive victories, the Cowboys, the only team in the league ranked in the top five in both total offense and total defense, have kicked down doors that had been closed to them in recent years:
--Despite star receiver Michael Irvin’s oversleeping and missing the team flight last weekend, the Cowboys beat Detroit, the team that defeated them twice last season, in the Pontiac Silverdome.
--They beat the Eagles and Randall Cunningham, the quarterback who had been 8-0 against them previously.
--They won indoors for the first time in Coach Jimmy Johnson’s four-year tenure.
The Cowboys (8-1), who have won their last 11 home games, last lost on Oct. 5 to the Eagles but beat Philadelphia a month later in Dallas, 20-10.
The Rams, losers of their last 12 road games, have been frustratingly close to upsets on the road in their three previous attempts, but late in the week, they were suggesting that merely staying close might be an accomplishment.
“They have the best record, they’ve played against good teams, they’ve got the No. 1-rated defense in the league, and that’s always a sign of a potential championship team,” Ram Coach Chuck Knox said of the Cowboys.
“And offensively, they’ve got all the weapons. The special teams are very good. They’re probably the best team in the league right now.”
The last time Knox talked like that was before the season opener in Buffalo, where the Rams lost, 40-7.
And Dallas might be better than Buffalo. Quarterback Troy Aikman leads the NFC in passing with 2,000 yards and running back Emmitt Smith is the early MVP favorite with 963 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Irvin is talking about a sub-par season although he is second in the NFC with 871 yards receiving--four more than the Rams’ top three receivers combined--and newly acquired defensive end Charles Haley has revitalized a dormant pass rush.
Dallas’ opponents have only one third-down conversion in their last 29 chances. The Cowboys have given up only 125 points and have 25 sacks in nine games.
“The key to our season has been our defense,” Irvin said. “No doubt.”
But it is the Dallas offense that gets most of the attention. Smith, the league’s most-worked back with 219 carries, has run for nine touchdowns and carried 124 times for 555 yards during the winning streak.
“He’s a great running back, no ifs, buts or ands about it,” Knox said.
For a young Ram defense that has had major difficulties against balanced offenses, this is a chance to try to erase the Buffalo memories--or repeat them.
“A challenge? Hell, there’s no doubt,” linebacker coach Dick Selcer said. “You’re walking into a situation where you’ve got to be physically good, wired up, and you’ve got to be mentally good.
“Maybe that’s what we need. We need that challenge. How we measure up, you’ll find out Sunday.”
Said strong safety Anthony Newman: “This is a great opportunity for us because everybody is saying (the Cowboys are) the team of the ‘90s. This is a Super Bowl team.
“Now we’ve got to go out there and show ourselves and show people that, hey, we’re a good football team, also. It’s going to be a good game.”
Ram Notes
The starting time of today’s game has been changed from 10 a.m. PST to 1 p.m. because of network considerations. Because of TV’s desire to get the Cowboys on at the most desirable viewing times, they will not have a regular noon (CST) start the rest of this season.
* RAIDERS
In the Seattle Seahawks, they finally have an opponent they can look down on. C14