Bye- Bye Boos

"Man, how things have changed," says Flanker Pete Gent of the Dallas Cowboys. "When I joined this club two years ago, nobody did anything but jeer at us. If there was a crowd waiting at the airport when we returned from a game, we figured they had ropes." To day, a huge electric sign in downtown Dallas proclaims, HOME OF THE COW BOYS -- WORLD'S FASTEST TEAM, and in the Cotton Bowl last week 80,000 fans turned out to watch their heroes beat the Cleveland Browns 26-14 for their eighth victory of the season (against two losses, one tie) and take over first place in the National Football League's Eastern Conference.

Quite a turnabout, indeed, for a team that sold only 1,914 season tickets in 1961, and never has enjoyed a winning season in its six-year history. The turnabout is especially sweet for Don Meredith, 28, who has been a Cowboys' quarterback ever since he graduated from Southern Methodist in 1960--and has taken the brunt of the fans' abuse.

"The first time I was ever booed in my life was with the Cowboys," says Meredith. "But I guess that's part of growing up as a pro quarterback." Against Cleveland last week, Meredith completed 16 out of 24 passes for 131 yds. and one touchdown--and walked off the field to a standing ovation.

The Whole Gauntlet. The Dallas offense that Meredith directs is probably the most complicated in pro football. "We run the whole gauntlet," says Coach Tom Landry. "We use double wings, triple wings, a two-back formation, backs in motion to the strong side and the weak side--in other words, everything." To carry the ball, the Cowboys can call on Fullback Don Perkins, a stumpy (5 ft. 10 in., 210 lbs.) speedster who gained 111 yds. against the Browns, or Halfback Dan Reeves, who runs, says

Landry, "just fast enough to get over the goal line"--and has already scored 14 TDs this season. To catch Meredith's passes, they have Flanker Gent, a 6-ft. 4-in. jumping jack, and Split End Bob Hayes, the world-record holder (at 9.1 sec.) in the 100-yd. dash.

For all that offense, defense has been Landry's real specialty ever since he bossed the New York Giants' famed defensive brigade in the late 1950s. The Cowboys' ferocious defense, bulwarked by 255-lb. Tackle Bob Lilly, ranks No. 1 in the N.F.L. in nine separate categories. They have held their opponents to only 228 yds. per game--71 yds. on the ground. Enemy quarterbacks have completed only 45% of their passes against the Cowboys, and they have been dumped for losses 39 times. "We seem to have become a very strong team," says Landry--who should be a shoo-in for Understater of the Year.

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