Johnson said in an interview earlier this week it would probably not be good for the two to be on the team "for the long haul. But when the right deal didn't come along, Jones and Johnson didn't feel bad about keeping him. There's a big difference in the marketplace between the number one supplemental draft and the number one overall." The Cowboys had figured on trading Walsh soon after the supplemental draft. "Those contracts, relatively speaking, are what they are because of where they were drafted. You simply can't be certain when you're making an investment. And I didn't feel bad at all that the most expensive wells weren't the best. Jones used an analogy from his knowledge of oil and gas to explain his position: "Listen, some of the best gas wells I've ever been involved with cost 10 percent of the more expensive wells. Even though Aikman will make approximately $1.5 million this year while Walsh will make approximately $400,000, new owner Jerry Jones cautioned that nobody should assume he and Johnson will be embarrassed to start Walsh. Personalities don't enter into it." Neither apparently will bucks. The guys I like are guys who can get it done. "Steve is a bottom-line quarterback," Johnson said between two-a-day practices last week. Walsh played two years for Johnson at Miami, leading the Hurricanes to 12 straight victories and a national championship as a sophomore, and to 11 victories in 12 games last season as a redshirt junior. And there is not even a whisper of a teacher's pet situation here. In competitive scrimmages Walsh has looked not just efficient, but in control. But the same was once said of Bernie Kosar and Joe Montana. But Steve's not going to try to gun it." Some have suggested Walsh's arm and body simply aren't strong enough to make him a star in the NFL. "Troy can throw some balls Steve can't, like passes into zone coverage. There's no substitute for it," Laufenberg said. "It's nice to have a cannon, without question. It's sort of like the receiver who relies heavily on speed versus the guy who gets open with good moves and catches everything thrown his way. Steve gets by on other things, on what most people refer to as intangibles. He's got the strong arm, strapping physique just a lot of athletic ability. "You don't have to tell Troy and Steve something twice. Here is Laufenberg's assessment: "Both have been taught very well in college," he said. They evaluate Walsh in the cerebral sense: does the intangibles, reads defenses superbly, smart enough never to try what he can't do. Scouts and players talk about Aikman in a physical sense: strong body, great arm, a natural. Even though Aikman and Walsh are only a few weeks into their professional careers, images and perceptions have been formed. Logic says one of those two, born 10 days apart 22 years ago, will start in the regular season. Walsh will start this weekend's preseason game against the Raiders. Aikman started the first preseason game, against the Chargers in San Diego. Let me tell you they've got a great battle going for number two." Aikman and Walsh are the ones listed No. Asked what he thinks of Aikman and Walsh, Laufenberg said, "They're both great guys. 1 pick in the supplemental draft with the steel-trap mind and savvy of a veteran or perhaps Babe Laufenberg, the charismatic ex-Redskin who may be the only person in camp who believes he has a chance at starting the season No. 1 pick in the draft with the atomic arm and $11 million contract Steve Walsh, the No. So Johnson will choose either Troy Aikman, the No. All four of the quarterbacks on the Cowboys' roster last season - Steve Pelluer (holdout, about to be traded), Danny White (forced into retirement), Kevin Sweeney (Plan B free agent) and Scott Secules (traded to Miami) - are gone. The player Johnson sends out for the first snap from center, he said, will be the starter. 2 everybody except Coach Jimmy Johnson and his staff will be playing a guessing game, because Johnson said this week he won't decide on a starter until just before the last preseason game, against Houston. Probably nothing is more important to the revitalization of the Cowboys than the development of those two rookie quarterbacks, who are battling for the starting job. Nobody enjoys a good quarterback controversy as much as the Dallas Cowboys.
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