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Sunday, July 25, 1999

Gailey hopes speed improves 1999 Cowboys
Dallas heads to camp remembering foul taste of playoff loss
By Jaime Aron
Associated Press

IRVING, Texas - Chan Gailey has spent nearly seven months stewing over the way his first season as coach of the Dallas Cowboys came crashing down. So as he heads into year two, Gailey is ready to make some changes.
   The Cowboys open training camp Monday determined to be faster on offense and defense and intent on relying less on selected veterans early in the season in hopes of keeping them fresh when it matters most.
   Slow feet and tired legs caught up to Dallas late last season. The Cowboys lost three of their final five games and barely beat a bad Philadelphia team.
   Then, on Jan. 2, they were humiliated in the first round of the playoffs by Arizona, a team they'd beaten in their last nine contests. The game wasn't even as close as the 20-7 final score.
   Suddenly, their 10-6 season that included an unprecedented 8-0 sweep in NFC East play didn't seem so satisfying.
   "I don't want to lose the feeling I had at the end of that ballgame," Gailey said. "I want us to realize the positives and good things we did, but understand how bad it hurts to be out of the playoffs and to lose like that."
   Offensive woes
   What hurt Gailey most is that he was betrayed by his offense, which is his specialty.
   The four- and five-receiver sets he favored didn't work because there wasn't a legitimate threat other than Michael Irvin, and he wasn't always feared. Once defenses knew they could stop the passing game, they concentrated more on shutting down Emmitt Smith and the running game.
   It won't be as easy for opponents this year. The offensive line has been improved and the receiving corps is deeper. That combination means more time for Troy Aikman to find better targets.
   Front line help
   Four of the five line spots will have new starters, although there's only one newcomer - and he's not new. Mark Stepnoski, the center on two of Dallas' Super Bowl champion teams, is back after a four-year absence.
   But the line is improved with second-year hulk Flozell Adams moving from guard to tackle, where he's more comfortable, and Erik Williams heading into camp in better shape than he's been in years.
   All-Pro Larry Allen moves to left guard and Everett McIver replaces Nate Newton at right guard, although it remains to be seen whether he or anyone else can replace Newton's jolly spirit.
   "In my opinion, this is one of the best lines we've had in about four years," Smith said. "Unfortunately, Nate's not going to be there with us, but we still look good."
   Receiving corps
   The new lineup of receivers is also promising. Dallas signed Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, traded for James McKnight of Seattle and drafted Wane McGarity of Texas and MarTay Jenkins of Nebraska-Omaha.
   The common denominator of all four newcomers is speed.
   "It's not enough to say we're faster because we've got guys who run 40s in such-and-such time," Gailey said. "I hope that as we watch our team, it'll be obvious that we are faster."
   Aikman likes what he's seen from Ismail, who could be the deep threat Dallas has lacked since Alvin Harper left five years ago.
   "We've had speed in the past, but we've never had that kind of speed from a guy who has actually made plays in the NFL," Aikman said. "He's shown he can play in this league."
   Last season, Gailey began using what he calls "preventative medicine" with Smith by sending him to the sidelines on most third downs. Gailey plans to prescribe it to Irvin and fullback Daryl Johnston this season.
   "You want to put great players in a position to be successful," Gailey said.
   Irvin, the club leader in virtually every receiving category, would be more likely to accept a lesser role if team owner Jerry Jones would extend his contract beyond this season. But Jones says he's not ready to commit.
   "If he's here and playing hard, that's great," Gailey said. "If he's not, he makes us make a decision."
   Missing stars
   Dallas will start training camp - and probably the season - without two if its best defenders as Deion Sanders recovers from toe surgery and Leon Lett is suspended indefinitely for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
   Without Lett, the defensive line is less effective against the run and won't put as much pressure on quarterbacks. Sanders' absence makes Dallas' secondary vulnerable.
   That forces Dallas to rely more than ever on its linebackers, a unit that's been mostly forgotten this decade.
   Speedy Dexter Coakley and solid Randall Godfrey return as starters. They'll be joined by Quentin Coryatt, a former No. 2 overall pick who sat out last year after being cut by Indianapolis.
   "We're going to have one of the fastest linebacker corps in the NFL," Coakley said. "I told (Coryatt) all he has to do is hold people up and I'll come in and clean 'em up."
   Sanders had surgery in late April to repair a slow-healing toe problem. Gailey says Sanders will be ready for "a great deal of the season," but he can't be more specific.
   "Does that mean the opening game, the third game, the fifth game? I don't know," Gailey said.
   The big story of last year's training camp was "Scissorgate," the debacle involving Irvin, McIver and a haircut that went awry.
   If Irvin can refrain from honing his barbershop skills this summer, the Cowboys could have one of their calmest training camps in years.
   Easier preseason
   Jones is giving the guys a break by not sending them to El Paso, Shreveport, La., or Mexico City, as he's done in recent years.
   Instead, the Cowboys will leave Wichita Falls for only three preseason road games, beginning with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, against the resurrected Cleveland Browns on Aug. 9. Camp ends Aug. 25 and is followed by two more exhibition games at Texas Stadium.
   Dallas opens the regular season Sept. 12 in Washington.
   "I'm excited about our team and our chances of winning a championship," Gailey said. "I think we've got a chance to be a very good football team."

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