Aikman Expects To Be Dallas QB

	IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Troy Aikman doesn't like it when another
quarterback has ``his'' team.
	For the past two weeks, the Dallas Cowboys have survived with
backup quarterbacks, but the odds are they won't have to play
without Aikman again.
	He's been sidelined with a sprained left knee ligament, but was
in charge of the team Tuesday as the Cowboys prepared for
Saturday's game against Cleveland in Texas Stadium.
	``I plan on playing,'' Aikman said. ``The knee is coming alone
fine.''
	Third-stringer Jason Garrett won the Green Bay game and
second-stringer Rodney Peete led the team to victory last Sunday
against Philadelphia.
	Peete said he knows his role and doesn't expect to play against
the Browns.
	``I'd like to play, but I hope he's feeling well enough to play
because this is his team,'' Peete said. ``When I came here, I knew
the only time I was going to get to play was when he couldn't go.''
	Aikman, who could play with a knee brace on Saturday, hates
sideline duty.
	``I remember the last time I had a sprained knee I was held out
five weeks and could have played in two weeks,'' Aikman said.
	Aikman still simmers over the incident. It was three years ago,
and the Cowboys started their playoff run without him. Steve
Beuerlein got on a roll, and coach Jimmy Johnson wouldn't start
Aikman, who said he was ready.
	Finally, in a blowout by Detroit, Aikman got to see second-half
mopup duty. Johnson later apologized to Aikman, who led the Cowboys
to back-to-back Super Bowl victories the next two years.
	``I know my body and my body tells me when I can play,'' Aikman
said. ``I believe I can play.''
	Coach Barry Switzer said Aikman can take as long as he wants to
decide.
	``If he runs out of that tunnel on Saturday and `poof' says he
can play, then that's enough notice for me,'' Switzer said. ``He
doesn't need that much practice time.''
	Running back Emmitt Smith said he hopes so because the team
needs Aikman back despite the success of the reserve quarterbacks.
	``It's very important that we get him back before the
playoffs,'' Smith said. ``We've got to gel and get in rhythm for
that playoff run. We need him in there.''
	It's already been a busy week for Aikman. He opened a restaurant
in Dallas on Monday night and moved easily from guest to guest
without a limp.
	``Only Troy and God can keep him out of the game on Saturday,
and I think God is going to be quiet,'' wide receiver Michael Irvin
said. ``We've got to have our general before we get into the
playoffs. ''