Dat Nguyen: I was hurting Dallas Cowboys by playing
Nguyen: I was hurting Cowboys by playing
STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas - Dat Nguyen was in pain and felt he was hurting the Dallas Cowboys by continuing to play."It's pretty much Dat-like for it to be the way that it is," said Dan Campbell, also Nguyen's teammate at Texas A&M. "It was one of those deals where he didn't feel like he was able to give his all."After a second conversation in a month with coach Bill Parcells in which Nguyen mentioned retirement, the linebacker was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list this week with neck and knee injuries.
Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL, played only sparingly in the past four games without starting. He had missed the previous three games. While he is signed through 2007 and hasn't officially retired, indications are Nguyen won't play again."He said, 'I see plays develop and I know where I need to be before it even happens and I can't get there,'" Campbell said. "To hear him say that, to me, pretty much put everything in perspective."The 30-year-old Nguyen has spent all seven of his NFL seasons in Dallas, and even won over Parcells, who prefers linebackers bigger and taller than the 5-foot-11 Nguyen.
Nguyen was a defensive captain and the team's tackling leader in Parcells' first two seasons, the first player since Ken Norton Jr. in the Super Bowl seasons of 1992-93 to lead the Cowboys in consecutive years. He had 172 tackles in 2001 and 81 more the next season while limited to eight games because of a broken wrist.
"His leadership will definitely be missed," said Aaron Glenn, a 12-year veteran reunited with Parcells this season. "He was one of the mainstays on this team, a guy that came in before Bill and was here during Bill's reign. Bill's going to get his type of guys in here, and Dat was a guy that stuck around.
"Nguyen has 39 tackles this season and 665 in his career. Besides both knees hurting, he strained his neck Sept. 25 at Oakland. He played the next week, but was inactive the next three games to end his 43-game starting streak - the last 36 since Parcells had arrived."He's done a great job. He's been a very dependable guy," Parcells said. "I haven't been here for all of his career, but if the first part was anything like the first couple of years with me, then he's commended for what he's accomplished."
STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas - Dat Nguyen was in pain and felt he was hurting the Dallas Cowboys by continuing to play."It's pretty much Dat-like for it to be the way that it is," said Dan Campbell, also Nguyen's teammate at Texas A&M. "It was one of those deals where he didn't feel like he was able to give his all."After a second conversation in a month with coach Bill Parcells in which Nguyen mentioned retirement, the linebacker was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list this week with neck and knee injuries.
Nguyen, the first Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL, played only sparingly in the past four games without starting. He had missed the previous three games. While he is signed through 2007 and hasn't officially retired, indications are Nguyen won't play again."He said, 'I see plays develop and I know where I need to be before it even happens and I can't get there,'" Campbell said. "To hear him say that, to me, pretty much put everything in perspective."The 30-year-old Nguyen has spent all seven of his NFL seasons in Dallas, and even won over Parcells, who prefers linebackers bigger and taller than the 5-foot-11 Nguyen.
Nguyen was a defensive captain and the team's tackling leader in Parcells' first two seasons, the first player since Ken Norton Jr. in the Super Bowl seasons of 1992-93 to lead the Cowboys in consecutive years. He had 172 tackles in 2001 and 81 more the next season while limited to eight games because of a broken wrist.
"His leadership will definitely be missed," said Aaron Glenn, a 12-year veteran reunited with Parcells this season. "He was one of the mainstays on this team, a guy that came in before Bill and was here during Bill's reign. Bill's going to get his type of guys in here, and Dat was a guy that stuck around.
"Nguyen has 39 tackles this season and 665 in his career. Besides both knees hurting, he strained his neck Sept. 25 at Oakland. He played the next week, but was inactive the next three games to end his 43-game starting streak - the last 36 since Parcells had arrived."He's done a great job. He's been a very dependable guy," Parcells said. "I haven't been here for all of his career, but if the first part was anything like the first couple of years with me, then he's commended for what he's accomplished."
posted by The Gryphon at 9:37 PM
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