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January 11, 2000
Give Green credit for using SmithThis time, it was going to be different. Vikings coach Denny Green said as much last week. When Green was reminded of how the Dallas Cowboys dominated Minnesota in the first half Nov. 8, he couldn't get the words of his response out of his mouth fast enough. The implication of the questions was that with Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman back in the Cowboys' lineup -- unlike in the second half of the Vikings' 27-17 win Nov. 8 -- Minnesota could be in deep trouble. Green's confident response: the Cowboys would have Emmitt Smith, but this time the Vikings would have Robert Smith, who missed the Dallas game with an injury. No one has wanted Robert Smith to be healthy more than Robert Smith. The seasons have always looked promising for the running back taken in the first round of the 1993 draft. But then came the injuries. A season-ending knee injury in 1993, two games missed in 1994 with a hip injury, then an ankle injury in '95 caused him to miss almost half the season. Robert Smith was leading the NFL in rushing midway through the1996 season before suffering torn ligaments against Chicago. In '97, Smith missed two game games with an ankle injury. This season, it was the sports hernia, which required surgery, and for Robert Smith to miss three games. But he's come back strong and finished the season with 1,105 yards on 221 carries -- his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. Sunday, he showed the promise we always knew he had -- when he's healthy. Against Dallas, Robert Smith was really the reason the Cowboys were forced into self-flagellating themselves. So in all fairness, we have to give Green credit, and Ray Sherman, too. Not for being able to predict the future, but for having a plan to make it happen, and not abandoning it when the Vikings fell behind early. Smith (Robert, that is) was the difference in the Vikings' 27-10 playoff win Sunday -- well, that and the four Dallas turnovers, three of them critical. But the Vikings' Mr. Smith rushed for 140 yards on 28 carries -- a team playoff record -- and caught three passes for 58 yards, including a 26-yarder for a touchdown in the second quarter. The loss was the eighth in a row on the road for the Cowboys, and what's truly disturbing for them is they blew leads in all of them. Same story, different Sunday. Even after Deion Sanders muffed a Mitch Berger punt that led to the Vikings' first three points, the Cowboys didn't self destruct -- at least not immediately. Aikman marched the Cowboys 79 yards in eight plays -- the key play a 45-yard pass to Raghib Ismail. Dallas led 10-3, and when the defense held the Vikings on the ensuing drive, the Cowboys looked to be in playoff mode. It was the first half of the first meeting all over again. That was when the Cowboys began the process of self-destruction. Robert Thomas fumbled at the Dallas 23 and four plays later the game was tied at 10. The game was over. Robert Smith's success set the scene for the Cowboys' ultimate failure. With Robert Smith, the Vikings were able to win in a way that's in total opposition to the team's reputation for quick, long strikes from Jeff George to Randy Moss or Cris Carter. True, George did hook up for a 58-yard touchdown to Moss in the final minute of the first half, but the Vikings in this game were a ball-hogging, time-eating, running team. The Vikings took away the Cowboys' game plan and made it their own. Minnesota ran the ball 38 times for 175 yards and threw only 25 times, keeping the ball for almost 36 minutes. The Cowboys' only chance of beating the Vikings actually played to their strengths. Run the ball, throw the ball, and keep the Vikings' high-powered offense off the field with the rushing of Emmitt Smith and a passing game sure to be invigorated by Minnesota's often-inept secondary. But Robert Smith made all that moot. Grinding out chunks of yards, the Vikings were able to keep Emmitt Smith from doing the same for Dallas. When the Cowboys fell behind, they were eventually forced to abandon their running game. And Dallas was quite successful on the ground (16 carries, 111 yards). But with Minnesota up 27-10 early in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys had to go to the air, which cost them the game. Dallas committed two turnovers in the final quarter, both in the end zone. Jason Tucker fumbled through the end zone after catching an Aikman pass and struggling to the Minnesota 7. Aikman got the Cowboys close yet again, but then threw the ball right at Robert Griffith in the back of the end zone. Having your star running back healthy made all the difference. Just like Denny said.
Column by Bob Varmette, Journal sports writer
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