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| | | | | | | |  Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Redskins, Cowboys aren't Super Bowl contenders in 2000
By Eric Dickerson
Special to MondayNightFootball.com
The main problem with the Cowboys is the injuries, starting with Troy Aikman and Joey Galloway. Those are two major hits. Plus, they are not a young team anymore.
|  | | Raghib Ismail is the go-to receiver in the Cowboys' balanced offense. |
Galloway -- their prize wide receiver pickup -- is gone for the season. Dat Nguyen, a solid young linebacker, is gone for at least two weeks. Deion Sanders is now with their opponents this week, the Washington Redskins. And on Friday, Dallas said Aikman is going to be held out at least one more week to recover from a concussion he suffered against the Eagles in Week 1. So the young players the Cowboys do have must start at critical positions: wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback.
Those are the key skill positions that need experience. With Aikman hurting and the offensive line getting older, it all adds up to their 0-2 start.
At least one thing hasn't changed for the Cowboys: Emmitt Smith -- the cornerstone to the Dallas offense -- still dominates behind that mammoth line. Emmitt is probably the most seasoned running back in the NFL that is still playing at an elite level. He's been around for a long time and has stayed healthy most of the years. One thing that makes a great running back in the NFL is consistency and longevity. Emmitt has both.
Emmitt needs to have a great running game between the tackles against the Washington Redskins on Monday night. Washington's front four, despite all the hoopla about the big names, is not that great. In fact, I don't think the Washington defense as a whole is as dominant as people make them out to be.
Most of the Redskins defense is made up of older players. Defensive end Bruce Smith is not in his 20s anymore. Deion Sanders is still a fine player at corner, but he's not the Deion that first came into the league. What makes a defense great usually is a bunch of young guys who can fly around, mixed nicely with one or two veterans. Now, if you take this defense and make most of them eight years younger, that would be a really dominant unit.
With Super Bowl teams, guys play together for a long time and get to know their tendencies. This is especially critical on the offensive line, and the Redskins have a rookie starting at tackle. That's not to single out just that unit, there are a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball for the Redskins.
So I don't see Washington winning a Super Bowl this year. There are really too many good teams out there. The St. Louis Rams can outscore anyone, the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens have improved, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have that great defense.
So here are five things to watch when the Cowboys visit the Redskins on Monday night:
1. When the Cowboys have the ball:
Dallas likes mixing it up on offense. They never try to just run Emmitt down people's throats, they will mix it up with a couple of long passes. That strategy won't change against Washington. If the Redskins give them a lot of nickel defenses, you'll see a lot of Emmitt. If they play a lot of eight-man fronts, they may go deep to Rocket Ismail. Dallas has always been good at mixing it up.
Backup quarterback Randall Cunningham played well last week in the loss to the Cardinals, but Aikman is without question the starter of this team. Randall may have had the hot hand against the Cardinals last week, but quarterbacks are hot one night and then horribly cold the next game. So you go with Aikman when he's ready -- probably in Week 4. He knows the Cowboys system and he's won in the system.
2. When the Redskins have the ball:
With the season-ending injury to wide receiver Michael Westbrook, expect to see Stephen Davis more than usual against the Cowboys. Davis doesn't do anything fancy, he just runs north-south behind that huge offensive line. Those guys really knock people off the line of scrimmage, and Davis finds the holes well. Occasionally, you will see Davis bounce outside and those quick Dallas linebackers will have to track him down.
3. New faces to look for:
Aside from Washington two prized rookies this year -- linebacker LaVar Arrington and offensive tackle Chris Samuels -- you'll see a lot more old faces than young on Monday. Just enjoy some of the older guys that have starred over the years -- Darrell Green, Deion in a new uniform, Emmitt. They are expected to make the biggest impact, as Arrington and Samuels are still learning their spots. Also, Cunningham tends to star on Monday nights.
4. Best matchup:
Bruce Smith against Flozell Adams is a good one. That will get ugly. Smith will probably attack throughout, but in the end, the younger Adams should control him.
5.Key players of the game:
Emmitt: I would estimate Emmitt has been able to play at around 90 percent healthy his entire career. He's posted big numbers even towards the end of his career, and that's a great accomplishment. He can still run for well over 100 yards and two touchdowns against the Skins.
If Emmitt breaks the NFL's all-time rushing mark sometime in the next few seasons, there are few more deserving. Again, it's consistency over a long period of time. Look at Walter Payton, the current career rushing leader: he was not the biggest or fastest, but he was tough seemingly forever. Plus, Emmitt playing on the Cowboys with that big offensive line nearly his entire career played its part too. Has there been running backs with more talent than Emmitt? No question. But those backs haven't had the long career that Emmitt's had with the same football team.
Deion: People still respect him because he can still run a 4.3 40. But is Deion's critical reaction time still there, that make-up speed? At least he knows the Dallas personnel better than nearly any other corner in the NFL.
Eric Dickerson, a Hall of Fame running back, is a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football.
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Michael Westbrook talks about his season-ending injury.