The OK Corral
By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
June 4, 2006
IRVING, Texas – In one swift moment, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe went from being in the center of the media maelstrom to standing almost completely alone. Across the room, the main attraction had arrived, like an elephant stomping its way into the center of P.T. Barnum's featured ring.
In that sliver of time, the largess that is Terrell Owens was on full display. Big crowd. Big smile. Big charm. Even his ears were blasting at full volume, with a screaming set of five-karat diamond earrings hovering like small moons on each side of his head. And across the way, the man who might hold the key to keeping Owens happy – no doubt, it always has come down to the quarterback – curled his lip into a half smile and shook his head.
"People shouldn't be worried about me," Bledsoe said. "If they're worried about how I'm going to handle it all, they shouldn't. I've seen some interesting stuff come through before. But I never had a problem with Eric Moulds. I never had a problem with Keyshawn [Johnson]. I never had a problem with Terry [Glenn]."
You didn't have to read between the lines to absorb Bledsoe's point. Unlike some of Owens' previous sparring partners – notably Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb – Bledsoe is a quarterback who isn't going to fold under the weight of an obnoxious prima donna wide receiver. And while the cast of characters he listed surely would qualify as understudies to Owens' role of NFL Judas last season, you get the feeling Bledsoe knows exactly what he's getting into. In a way, you get the feeling the entire team knows it's dabbling on the edge of Super Bowl ecstasy or supreme catastrophe.
"I hoped people wouldn't make judgments about me until after they've been around me on a team," Bledsoe said. "I'm extending him the same courtesy."
But he's not naive, either.
"I've seen enough of that stuff [with Owens]," Bledsoe said. "I know other guys in different organizations that witnessed the whole situation and kind of told me the ins and outs of what went on."
And Bledsoe also knows that Owens has the capability to take the offense to another level, just as he did in San Francisco and initially in Philadelphia. Which makes it slightly easier to give T.O. the benefit of the doubt. But that's exactly what it is – a "courtesy" as Bledsoe calls it.
Yet don't be surprised if some media members try to paint Bledsoe and Owens as bosom buddies by the beginning of training camp, creating the same false perception of brotherhood that ultimately proved hollow with McNabb. For now, the ultimate truth between Owens and Bledsoe is this: They are teammates, building a relationship on the field – they're not fast friends who will be vacationing together in Tuscany.
In the broader view, the Cowboys' locker room has the same feel, even though the "clean slate" philosophy with Owens is believable simply for the fact that he has the ability to immediately make an offense Super Bowl material.
"Obviously, he's going to put up great numbers, and he's going to open things up for me and Terry Glenn and Julius Jones," tight end Jason Witten said.
But it's a transition destined for some work. For the first time in his career, Owens will be playing outside of a West Coast offense, and unlike his arrival in Philadelphia, he's stepping into a scheme that has a potentially dominant running back in Jones, a tight end who demands red-zone catches in Witten and a player in Glenn who technically is the No. 1 wideout.
That means the coming months are going to be more about Owens learning to share than about everyone else making room for him – a dicey reality considering he historically has demanded to be the focal point of the offense. And then there is the caution about Owens' mouth and showboating antics. In Dallas, Owens' on-field persona precedes him like no other NFL city, as much for the rivalry he ignited playing for the Eagles as his infamous Celine Dion impression at the 50-yard line of Texas Stadium when he was a 49er.
"No one is going to walk around with a harness on him," cornerback Aaron Glenn said of T.O. "What are those little things that you see these mothers walking [with], where they have the kid wrapped up like a puppy or something? Well, that's not what we're trying to do here."
What the Cowboys are trying to do – despite statements to the contrary – is fit Owens into the program, rather than molding the program to fit him. Coach Bill Parcells already has chafed once under the Owens obsession, asserting that after answering 35 questions about his new receiver at the team's last minicamp he's not speaking about him again until training camp. When pressed for information about Owens on Friday, Parcells didn't move an inch off the doctrine, responding to questions with one of his own.
"Who?"
Surely, Parcells will have more 35-questions-about-T.O. sessions. He has his biggest coaching challenge since Lawrence Taylor – another player whose entire career was a sweet-and-sour cocktail of talent and arrogance. Interestingly, like Taylor, Owens carries the same passion that Parcells embraces. While he's best remembered for the disasters, T.O. also has an undeniable knack for greatness and inspiration. Like L.T., his will be a career filled with seminal moments, both polarizing and captivating.
People forget that before Owens blew up the bridge in San Francisco, he had one of the most breathtaking game-winning touchdown catches in playoff history as a 49er – and left the field in joyous sobs. And before he burned down the village in Philadelphia, he returned from what should have been a season-ending injury and gave a Super Bowl performance that was nothing short of miraculous.
The question of which Owens that Dallas is getting can be answered by Owens himself – it's likely both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even Owens seemed to admit as much Friday, saying at one point that he felt "humbled" by last season and was going to try and be "a better teammate," but then also asserting that "I am who I am and I can't change that, and I can't allow people to change who I am. I've been successful on the football field being who I am. So I don't care."
What's clear, it won't be long before the Cowboys experience the Yin and Yang of their teammate. In what likely will be another spike in his career drama, Owens' new book – containing detailed opining about last season's debacle in Philly – is set to come out in late July, just in time for the opening of training camp. It also will arrive just in time to spark up a little triangle of controversy, from Dallas to Philadelphia to Minnesota (where former offensive coordinator Brad Childress is leading the Vikings).
Owens called the book "as close to the truth as I can tell" – a statement that seemed to be missing only a congressional subcommittee and some television cameras for him to point into.
How it will go over with the Cowboys remains to be seen. The players talk about Owens and offer a clean slate. In return, Owens calls Dallas the best sports organization in the country and labels his relationship with Parcells "a match made in heaven."
"I have a chance here to go out on top with one of the greatest teams and one of the greatest coaches and owners," T.O. said. "This is chapter one."
You get the feeling the Cowboys have read this romance once before. All they're offering now is a chance for Owens to change the ending.
June 4, 2006
IRVING, Texas – In one swift moment, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe went from being in the center of the media maelstrom to standing almost completely alone. Across the room, the main attraction had arrived, like an elephant stomping its way into the center of P.T. Barnum's featured ring.
In that sliver of time, the largess that is Terrell Owens was on full display. Big crowd. Big smile. Big charm. Even his ears were blasting at full volume, with a screaming set of five-karat diamond earrings hovering like small moons on each side of his head. And across the way, the man who might hold the key to keeping Owens happy – no doubt, it always has come down to the quarterback – curled his lip into a half smile and shook his head.
"People shouldn't be worried about me," Bledsoe said. "If they're worried about how I'm going to handle it all, they shouldn't. I've seen some interesting stuff come through before. But I never had a problem with Eric Moulds. I never had a problem with Keyshawn [Johnson]. I never had a problem with Terry [Glenn]."
You didn't have to read between the lines to absorb Bledsoe's point. Unlike some of Owens' previous sparring partners – notably Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb – Bledsoe is a quarterback who isn't going to fold under the weight of an obnoxious prima donna wide receiver. And while the cast of characters he listed surely would qualify as understudies to Owens' role of NFL Judas last season, you get the feeling Bledsoe knows exactly what he's getting into. In a way, you get the feeling the entire team knows it's dabbling on the edge of Super Bowl ecstasy or supreme catastrophe.
"I hoped people wouldn't make judgments about me until after they've been around me on a team," Bledsoe said. "I'm extending him the same courtesy."
But he's not naive, either.
"I've seen enough of that stuff [with Owens]," Bledsoe said. "I know other guys in different organizations that witnessed the whole situation and kind of told me the ins and outs of what went on."
And Bledsoe also knows that Owens has the capability to take the offense to another level, just as he did in San Francisco and initially in Philadelphia. Which makes it slightly easier to give T.O. the benefit of the doubt. But that's exactly what it is – a "courtesy" as Bledsoe calls it.
Yet don't be surprised if some media members try to paint Bledsoe and Owens as bosom buddies by the beginning of training camp, creating the same false perception of brotherhood that ultimately proved hollow with McNabb. For now, the ultimate truth between Owens and Bledsoe is this: They are teammates, building a relationship on the field – they're not fast friends who will be vacationing together in Tuscany.
In the broader view, the Cowboys' locker room has the same feel, even though the "clean slate" philosophy with Owens is believable simply for the fact that he has the ability to immediately make an offense Super Bowl material.
"Obviously, he's going to put up great numbers, and he's going to open things up for me and Terry Glenn and Julius Jones," tight end Jason Witten said.
But it's a transition destined for some work. For the first time in his career, Owens will be playing outside of a West Coast offense, and unlike his arrival in Philadelphia, he's stepping into a scheme that has a potentially dominant running back in Jones, a tight end who demands red-zone catches in Witten and a player in Glenn who technically is the No. 1 wideout.
That means the coming months are going to be more about Owens learning to share than about everyone else making room for him – a dicey reality considering he historically has demanded to be the focal point of the offense. And then there is the caution about Owens' mouth and showboating antics. In Dallas, Owens' on-field persona precedes him like no other NFL city, as much for the rivalry he ignited playing for the Eagles as his infamous Celine Dion impression at the 50-yard line of Texas Stadium when he was a 49er.
"No one is going to walk around with a harness on him," cornerback Aaron Glenn said of T.O. "What are those little things that you see these mothers walking [with], where they have the kid wrapped up like a puppy or something? Well, that's not what we're trying to do here."
What the Cowboys are trying to do – despite statements to the contrary – is fit Owens into the program, rather than molding the program to fit him. Coach Bill Parcells already has chafed once under the Owens obsession, asserting that after answering 35 questions about his new receiver at the team's last minicamp he's not speaking about him again until training camp. When pressed for information about Owens on Friday, Parcells didn't move an inch off the doctrine, responding to questions with one of his own.
"Who?"
Surely, Parcells will have more 35-questions-about-T.O. sessions. He has his biggest coaching challenge since Lawrence Taylor – another player whose entire career was a sweet-and-sour cocktail of talent and arrogance. Interestingly, like Taylor, Owens carries the same passion that Parcells embraces. While he's best remembered for the disasters, T.O. also has an undeniable knack for greatness and inspiration. Like L.T., his will be a career filled with seminal moments, both polarizing and captivating.
People forget that before Owens blew up the bridge in San Francisco, he had one of the most breathtaking game-winning touchdown catches in playoff history as a 49er – and left the field in joyous sobs. And before he burned down the village in Philadelphia, he returned from what should have been a season-ending injury and gave a Super Bowl performance that was nothing short of miraculous.
The question of which Owens that Dallas is getting can be answered by Owens himself – it's likely both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even Owens seemed to admit as much Friday, saying at one point that he felt "humbled" by last season and was going to try and be "a better teammate," but then also asserting that "I am who I am and I can't change that, and I can't allow people to change who I am. I've been successful on the football field being who I am. So I don't care."
What's clear, it won't be long before the Cowboys experience the Yin and Yang of their teammate. In what likely will be another spike in his career drama, Owens' new book – containing detailed opining about last season's debacle in Philly – is set to come out in late July, just in time for the opening of training camp. It also will arrive just in time to spark up a little triangle of controversy, from Dallas to Philadelphia to Minnesota (where former offensive coordinator Brad Childress is leading the Vikings).
Owens called the book "as close to the truth as I can tell" – a statement that seemed to be missing only a congressional subcommittee and some television cameras for him to point into.
How it will go over with the Cowboys remains to be seen. The players talk about Owens and offer a clean slate. In return, Owens calls Dallas the best sports organization in the country and labels his relationship with Parcells "a match made in heaven."
"I have a chance here to go out on top with one of the greatest teams and one of the greatest coaches and owners," T.O. said. "This is chapter one."
You get the feeling the Cowboys have read this romance once before. All they're offering now is a chance for Owens to change the ending.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:41 PM
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