8B
Wednesday, September 25, 1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Cowboys thrown by injuries, try to get back in saddle
Eagles' coach looks for revenge Monday
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas — Emmitt Smith has bruised ribs, a sore neck, a sore knee and a sore ankle.
He's averaging only 3.3 yards a carry, gained just 25 yards in his last game and already is 140 yards behind Washington's Terry Allen for the NFL rush leading.
The NFL's four-time leading rusher and the once-fearsome Dallas Cowboys running game have hit
the wall four games into the season.
the wain four games into the season.
Coach Barry Switzer has decided Smith needs a rest during games until he gets back to full strength.
"Emmitt is not well, and there is no question in my mind that he is not 100 percent," Switzer said yesterday. "It would probably help him to play Sherman Williams some."
Smith admits he is plagued by naging pains.
This change in the running game will start Monday night at Philadelphia, when the 1-3 Cowboys try to refloat their sinking ship.
"I still have things bothering me," Smith said. "I'm not used to being burged up this early in the season."
Smith said another problem with the Dallas running game was that the Cowboys were seeing a lot of eight-man fronts because teams felt their passing game was not as strong as it once had been.
The passing game suffered another blow Monday when starting wide receiver Kevin William's injury was diagnosed as a broken foot. Already out have been Michael Irvin, suspended for the first five games, and tight end Jay Novacek.
"We have to run the football, and if we don't, we don't have a chance. Some teams pass the ball to set up the run. We run to set up the pass," Switzer said.
Without his most reliable people, Troy Ailkman has struggled, and the Cowboys have scored only 64 points in four games, with 27 coming in the victory against the Giants. Twenty-four points were in the
The Cowboys will be playing a Philadelphia team still steaming from a 30-11 loss in the 1995 playoffs as Dallas began its march to the Super Bowl.
Eagles coach Ray Rhodes took exception to a Switzer postgame remark that the Cowboys kicked the Eagles' rumps. Rhodes promised retribution in a future game.
Week 3 one-point home loss to Indianapolis in which Dallas blew an 18-point lead.
Switzer was reminded of that promise yesterday.
"That's just his demeanor, that's how he motivates his team," Switzer said. "I've been hearing payback
Switzer said the game against the Eagles was very important.
since I was in junior high school."
"It's a division game," he said. "We would have liked to go through our first five games at least 3-2, but now we'd like to be 2-3 before we take our break."
Swinzer said he doubted the Cowboys will try to sign another receiver before Monday night because of the bye next week and the return of Irvin for the sixth game of the season.
"I doubt if there is a receiver out there who could help us," Switzer said. "Besides, we get Mike back next week."
Seminoles to play their first big game
Florida State hopes junior quarterback maintains numbers
The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A first-year quarterback in his first big game is sometimes the recipe for an upset. Ask Nebraska.
Florida State finds itself in similar territory Saturday when the second-ranked Seminoles face No. 11 North Carolina.
Junior Thad Busy is off to a respectable start, ranking second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing efficiency.
He has completed 60 percent of his passes for 326 yards and four touchdowns, but the opponents have been Duke and North Carolina State two teams looking for their first victory.
That changes Saturday when the No. 2-ranked Seminoles (2-0) run into a North Carolina defense ranked only behind Florida State nationally.
He hopes it won't be a repeat of Arizona State's 19-9 victory Saturday night over Nebraska and its first-year quarterback. Scott Frost.
"After North Carolina, I'm going to have a little bit better feeling of what we might be able to do down the road," coach Bobby Bowden said.
Busby made big strides between the first and second games, passing for 251 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 51-17 victory at North Carolina State.
North Carolina (3-0) has eaten up opposing quarterbacks in victories against Clemson, Syracuse and Georgia Tech — intercepting six passes and allowing opponents to complete only 37 percent of their attempts.
Recent Florida State quarterbacks have come of age by their third start, and Seminole coaches their busby is on schedule.
"I think we showed some people what we're capable of," Busy said. "But there's still room for improvement."
"He needs experience, and he needs to be successful while he's having it," Bowden said.
showed some
people what we're
capable of.
Florida State quarterback
At Florida State, you don't start at quarterback until at least your junior year. Busby — like predecessors Charlie Ward, Casey Weldon and Brad Johnson — also redshirted a year. Danny Kanell, the starter the past two years, didn't have a redshirt year.
Kanell and Ward enjoyed big games in their third starts, helping Florida State to easy road victories.
two years ago, Kanei passed for 427 yards and a touchdown in Florida State's 52-20 victory against Maryland. Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy his senior year, passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns in his third start, a 34-13 victory at North Carolina State in 1992.
Ward's first big test actually came in his second game when he rallied the Seminoles to a 24-20 victory at Clemson while Kanell struggled in his first major challenge — a 34-20 loss at Miami.
Of course Florida State eventually ranks quarterbacks by victories. Ward finished with a 22-2 record and Kanell went 21-3-1.
Bowden feels Busby can gain more consistency faster if he runs the ball more often. He gained 25 yards on one running play against Duke.
But Busby has run just seven times in three games and threw two interceptions at North Carolina State when it looked as if he had room to gain yards.
"He forced the ball when he could have run it and made 10, 11 yards," Bowden said. "I suspect that each time we play, we'll find a little bit more out about our offense and discover the things that we can do best."
Saturday, he noted, would be a good time to find out.
Sanders and wife set aside divorce
The Associated Press
McKINNEY, Texas — Deion's divorce is off.
At the request of both parties, a judge today dismissed the divorce petition filed by Carolyn Sanders, wife of the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver-cornerback.
State district judge Verla Sie Holland in Collin County granted the joint motion filed by both parties.
"The parties let the court know that they wish to attempt to reconcile," said Mike McCurley, Carolyn Sanders' attorney.
divorce Sept. 11 on the grounds of adultery and cruel treatment.
Carolyn Sanders filed for
She said they had been married for seven years, but Sanders said they had been married in March in Reno, Nev.
Carolyn Sanders, 31, was seeking temporary custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Deiondra, and 2-year-old son, Devion Jr.
She also had asked the court to prohibit the 28-year-old football star from entering the couple's new Plano residence and to give her control of three vehicles — a 1993 Mercedes 300SL convertible, a Mercedes 428SL and a 1994 Suburban.
49ers' coach hasn't decided on starter
The Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Steve Young says he can play through a recurrence of his groin injury. Coach George Seifert is not so sure.
Seifert on Monday said Young may need additional time to heal, and Elvis Grbac may start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's game against Atlanta.
"It's a situation that we're discussing," Seifert said. "I visited with the doctors a little bit ago. There'll be a decision made in plenty of time for this next ball game."
the next big game.
Young, who missed five games with a shoulder injury last season, aggravated a groin strain when Kevin Greene yanked him to the turf on the first offensive play in Sunday's 23-7 loss to Carolina.
he continued playing, but the injury clearly limited his mobility, both in his running and in his ability to dodge pass rushers.
"Anybody that saw it knew it was affected," Seifert said. "But you could also see that the mobility was more affected early. Then, later in the game,
he was stronger in his movement."
Young originally strained his groin Sept. 8 during a third-quarter scramble against St. Louis. He was replaced by Grbac, who finished the game, a 34-049ers victory.
San Francisco subsequently had a bye week and Young took 10 days off before resuming practice last Wednesday in preparation for the Carolina game.
Young said he was still troubled by the injury, but he also said he thought he could keep playing.
"It's sore; I made it through the game but it's sore." Young said.
Seifert said he would determine Young's playing status in the next day or two.
"Time off would allow the thing to heal some," Seifert said. "To say it would totally go away, that might not be the case either. It could come back. But time could possibly help it. At the same time, he feels stronger so I don't have all the pieces together yet. I'm not going to give you the answer. I'll bob and weave a little bit because I don't know for sure myself."
Chiefs value Bono, but 'fickle' fans boo
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In 1 1/4 seasons, he has played 21 games and rung up 17 wins. So far this season he has thrown 118 passes and had only one intercepted.
He has led his Kansas City Chiefs to the first 4-0 start in franchise history.
Still, Steve Bono is quick to incur the wrath of Kansas City fans.
"He threw into double coverage," one caller to this town's most popular radio sports talk show on Monday, the day after the Chiefs defeated Denver 17-14 despite his interception.
"Last year he wasn't a 13-3 quarterback," the caller said. "He was about a 9-7 quarterback riding a 15-1 defense."
No doubt the caller was among the almost 80,000 fans who packed Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to see Bono and the Chiefs defeat Denver for their 12th consecutive AFC West win. When he struggled during a couple of third-quarter drives, the fans booed him. But when he directed an eight-play, 67-yard march to set up Marcus Allen's goahead touchdown with 4:09 remaining, they cheered.
"I just wish the fickle fans would appreciate him the way we appreciate him," said running back Todd McNair, who caught one of Bono's most important passes on Sunday. "And we appreciate him a lot."
To defensive linemen Joe Phillips and Neil Smith, Bono looked especially great in the waning minutes by keeping John Elway out of the game.
Elway, who has victimized the Chiefs for more fourth-quarter, game-winning drives than any other opponent, was intercepted a moment after Allen's touchdown run put the Chiefs ahead.
But as Elway stood impatiently on the sideline hungering for the ball, Bono refused to let him have it. On third-and-8 from his own 6-yard-line, Bono hit Chris Penn for nine yards and a first down.
On third-and-5 from the 20, with Elway's trigger finger fairly twitching, Bono threw a perfectly timed 8-
yard completion to McNair.
The Broncos then were out of timeouts and
the Chiefs were 4-0 for the first time since Lamar Hunt founded the team 37 seasons ago.
"I was standing there talking to Neil in those last few minutes, and we knew Elway was over there on the other side of the field just waiting to get in there and do his thing." Phillips said. "To me, those two first downs at the end of the game that kept the ball out of Elway's hands were every bit as impressive as the touchdown drive."
"I thought we were going to get a shot at it at the end," Elway said. "But their offense did a good job of keeping it away from us."
Since replacing the retired Joe Montana following the 1994 season and finally becoming a full-time starter in his 11th year, the oft-booed Bono is 17-3 in regular season games.
In victories this season against Oakland, Seattle, Denver and Houston, he has completed 70 of 118 passes for 754 yards and seven touchdowns. He seems to be at his best when the pressure is greatest. In each of the first three games this year, he directed scoring drives in the final two minutes of the first half.
Bono said his fourth-quarter heroes were a team effort.
"I don't think it's just me," he said. "I think everybody really stepped it up at the end, with Todd making the catch on third down and Chris running a good route, guys running the ball and the guys up front. I think everybody stepped it up and got the job done."
He did not throw an interception this season until his 94th pass was picked off by Denver's Bill Romanowski.
"I know a lot of people want to criticize him, but he did pretty well today under all the pressure," Allen said.
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