Woodson Changes His Tune : Pro football: Dallas safety didn’t like Cowboys as a youth growing up in Phoenix.

Darren Woodson has to laugh about the way he looked at the Dallas Cowboys when he was attending high school in Phoenix.

“I didn’t like them,” Woodson said. “I guess it was just the way they used to walk around, like they’re better than anyone else.”

Woodson, who stayed around to play for Arizona State, now personifies Dallas’ toughness. The first Cowboys safety chosen for consecutive Pro Bowls since Cliff Harris in 1978-79, he is a rising defensive star on the NFL’s most visible team.

“He’s the toughest, most physical guy we’ve got,” coach Barry Switzer said.

Woodson, a second-round draft choice in 1992, set the Dallas franchise record for tackles by a defensive back (155) his second season, and his 113 tackles last year were good for a second straight second-place finish.

This year, he has 135 and will win the team tackling laurels no matter how many he had against the Arizona Cardinals Monday night.

Not that Woodson cares about individual honors now that the Cowboys controlled their fate again. He thought the Cowboys (11-4) had lost any chance at the NFC’s best record after back-to-back losses to Washington and Philadelphia to start the month.

But Chicago’s 20-14 victory over the Eagles on Sunday handed Dallas its fourth consecutive NFC East title and a bye next week. Then Atlanta upset San Francisco 28-27, leaving the Cowboys needing a win over the Cardinals for the home-field edge all the way to the Super Bowl.

“We want that home field,” defensive coordinator Dave Campo said. “And we needed that extra week off. We’re really banged-up right now, but if we can just get by this game, we should be pretty healthy.”

Campo personally scouted Woodson, who at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds was a successful but undersized linebacker with the Sun Devils.

“Some people rated him down a little bit, but we were pretty sure what he could do,” said Campo, who formerly coached the secondary.

With the move to safety, Woodson went from being small at one position to oversized at another, making an adjustment that surprised even Campo at its smoothness.

The Cardinals (4-11) haven’t had much production out of their tight ends, with 31 of 309 completions going to Wendall Gaines, Oscar McBride or Chad Fann. So some of Woodson’s attention may be diverted to fullback Larry Centers, who had 89 catches and with four more would set an NFL record for running backs.

“It depends on what defense we’re in,” Woodson said. “Most of the time, I line up on the tight end side of the ball. I pride myself on keeping the tight end from making any catches.”