Speaking of Clowns -g-
>>December 30, 1999
Giants and Cowboys Are 7-8 Playoff Hopefuls
By BILL PENNINGTON
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Dec. 29 -- If it seems almost comical that the 7-8
Giants still have dreamy playoff hopes, then what is there to say about
the 7-8 Dallas Cowboys?
They have realistic playoff hopes.
If the Cowboys defeat the Giants Sunday at Texas Stadium, Dallas earns
the final playoff berth in the National Football Conference. It does not
matter who wins or loses any other game.
This came as quite a surprise to the Cowboys last Sunday night, when
various contenders, one by one, stubbed their toes in the batty playoff
chase, handing Dallas the best opportunity of all.
"We all thought it was over and we'd soon be eliminated," Dallas
quarterback Troy Aikman said today in a conference call with reporters.
The Giants, meanwhile, are doing their best to treat the game as another
valid playoff opportunity, even if they need Arizona to win in Green Bay
early on Sunday afternoon to give their 4 p.m. game at Dallas have any
playoff meaning.
Giants Coach Jim Fassel hasn't turned down the intensity around Giants
Stadium as his team prepares. He said today that if the Giants are
eliminated from the playoff chase before they take the field against the
Cowboys, he won't coach the game differently or rest his injured
players.
"I've told the players, we're going down there to win a game," said
Fassel, whose Giants will make the playoffs with a Green Bay loss and a
victory over Dallas. "And they had better play hard."
That sentiment was part of Fassel's overall theme today. He made a
point, for example, of emphasizing how upset he still was over the
Giants' loss to Minnesota last weekend.
"I had my heart set on winning that game," Fassel said. The coach once
again said starting jobs were on the line based on players' performances
against Dallas.
"I guarantee I mean it," he said.
Cowboys Coach Chan Gailey is too busy feeling fortunate to worry about
altering his lineup just yet. Leaving the Superdome in New Orleans on
Friday, just after his Cowboys had been upset by the Saints, Gailey knew
his team was still alive, at least mathematically.
"But I didn't think all those things would happen and get us back in
it," Gailey said.
The team owner, Jerry Jones, had already delivered a concession speech,
saying he felt "a little foolish and stupid," for spending so much money
on a losing team. Jones then vowed to make personnel changes. Cornerback
Deion Sanders was wondering if he wanted to return to a team that didn't
have championship-caliber talent.
By Monday morning, when it became apparent that the Cowboys were not
only back in playoff contention, but also didn't need help to get there,
Jones had gathered 20 veterans in a special meeting at the team's
headquarters, passionately imploring them to win Sunday and return
Dallas to the playoffs.
He didn't mention any of the changes he had been contemplating Christmas
Eve. Not now, not with the Cowboys in the midst of a full-blown playoff
run.
"I wish I could make heads or tails of all this," Gailey said today.
It's all a bit farcical, but the Cowboys aren't about to apologize for
being 8-8 and in the playoffs, if that's what happens.
"We don't make the rules, we go by them," Gailey said. "If they say 8-8
gets us in, we'll get in and go make a run at the thing."
The Giants have made similar statements, which did not surprise Aikman.
"It's just been a very strange year for everyone," Aikman said.
"We certainly haven't played like we wanted to. Obviously, you don't sit
around in training camp talking about going 8-8. But a lot of times
things don't go the way you want them to, but you make the best of it.
That's what we're trying to do."
Aikman did acknowledge that this season was more than peculiar; it said
something about the National Football League.
"With the salary cap, you no longer have backup quarterbacks or backup
players making $400,000 or $500,000 like you did when I joined the
league in 1989," Aikman said. "They are scattered around, replaced
usually by less experienced players. Then when you get injuries, the
quality of play drops dramatically.
"The football itself is not as good as it was. The level of talent from
one team to the next is not that great. But the games are closer. From a
fans' standpoint, I don't know which they prefer."<<
I can't wait for this game. It will require mass quantities of alcohol to watch -g- |
