DATE: Wednesday, October 15, 1997           TAG: 9710150698

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Bob Molinaro 

                                            LENGTH:   74 lines

BARRY'S BOYS SCRATCH THEIR HEADS, SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

On an early Tuesday morning following a long Monday night, Dallas Cowboys peacock Deion Sanders paused during his rambling post-mortems, noting that, ``Something's wrong with this picture.''

Which is just what some newspaper reporters were thinking as they cornered veteran guard Nate Newton and asked him where the Cowboys go from here.

``We got Jacksonville next,'' he said. ``Jacksonville's got a nice team. Maybe we can upset them. If we upset them, we get on a nice roll, maybe we can blow this thing up.''

Upset Jacksonville? Some of the Texas writers clustered around Newton didn't like the sound of that. Since when would a Cowboys' victory over the expansion Jaguars be considered an upset?

Since now, said Newton.

``What's Jacksonville's record?'' he asked. ``You tell me. Jacksonville's 5-1, right? The Dallas Cowboys are 3-3. I think the Dallas Cowboys be the ones doing the upsetting.''

Big Nate sees the big picture very clearly. The Cowboys are not 3-3 by accident or injury or because Barry Switzer carried his pistol through an airport.

``It could easily be a very ugly season for us if we're not careful,'' said Emmitt Smith.

As if the Cowboys at 3-3 aren't ugly enough.

Said Sanders: ``Things haven't been funny for a while, but they really aren't funny no more.''

Somebody asked him, ``What's the situation with this team?''

``What's the situation?'' Sanders replied. ``Losing is the situation.''

Everybody knew, or should have known, that the Cowboys had holes. It's surprising, though, that the biggest problem has been the offense. It lacks a knockout punch. In their 21-16 loss to the Redskins, offensive anemia did in the Cowboys again.

Now, some are questioning the team's heart. Although the score reflects a relatively even contest, the Redskins pushed around Dallas for the first three quarters.

This week, the Cowboys fall to third place in a muddled NFC East. The NFL's institutionalized mediocrity appears to have caught up with America's Team.

``We're 3-3 with 10 games left, the emphasis on 10 games left,'' Sanders reminded everyone.

Newton said, ``We have a shot to be in this thing. We can win nine or 10 games, who knows, do that wild-card thing.''

The Cowboys may have gone from a dynasty into a state of denial. But for now, they have no choice but to push on and try to do their thing.

Says quarterback Troy Aikman: ``We saddle up and go.''

But in what direction?

``If we can't go 50 yards, then we don't deserve to win,'' said wide receiver Michael Irvin.

He was referring to Dallas' final possession. With 4:41 to play, Aikman, Smith, Newton, Irvin and the Cowboys were half a field away from redemption, actually 49 yards to be exact.

``Not 80, not 75, 50 yards for the victory,'' said Irvin. ``If we can't go 50 yards, we can't be talking about improvement by the end of the season. Offensively, we're not making plays.''

Newton concurred.

``Been that way all year,'' he said. ``Pressing. Frustrated. We've just got to circle the wagons. The Indians just scalped us.''

Early Tuesday morning, the Cowboys' household names carried themselves with the world weariness of athletes who are the most watched and over-analyzed in pro football.

You might expect a Dallas team that is 3-3 to react defensively to media prying. But no, not this night. The veteran Cowboys appeared as self-assured and relaxed as they were when winning was a habit.

Maybe that's part of the problem. In some ways, the picture hasn't changed for the Cowboys. And yet in other ways it has.

``Life is frustrating for the Dallas Cowboys,'' Nate Newton said. ``Ain't no glamour for us at all.''

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