Saturday, August 19, 2006

81 wont be on the field monday

OXNARD, Calif. -- Terrell Owens is going to have to practice more before he plays for Bill Parcells.

Parcells said the receiver won't play in the Dallas Cowboys' second preseason game Monday night against the New Orleans Saints. Owens went through his fifth straight practice Saturday since missing 14 in a row because of hamstring problem.


Owens

"He's gotten some pretty good work in this week, and I just don't want to start over next week," Parcells said. "Hopefully, he'll get his first real game action next weekend."

Owens didn't talk to reporters after the morning practice, the first of two for the Cowboys on their final full day of workouts at their California camp.

Since returning to practice Wednesday afternoon, Owens has gone through individual and team drills. He has run routes at full speed, making hard cuts without any apparent problems.

After the team's only workout Friday, Owens said he was "a little bit sorer than usual" but was still day-to-day. He wasn't sure if he would play Monday night.

Parcells said the decision to hold Owens out was final.

"Nothing will change my mind," Parcells said. "It's the natural course of events. I don't think you can play pro football practicing four to five days. I think you need more than that."

When asked how much time Owens needed, Parcells said, "I don't know the player that well, but certainly more than what he's had so far."

Dallas has a short turnaround between its next two preseason games. With a day off after playing New Orleans, the Cowboys have only two true days of practices before playing San Francisco at home Saturday night.

Owens first felt a twinge in his hamstring Aug. 2, but an MRI taken three days later was clear. Owens flew in several doctors and trainers, plus a hyperbaric chamber, because he still didn't feel right.

During Cowboys practices, Owens became a regular on the stationary bicycle. One day last week, he wore the uniform of Discovery Channel pro cycling team -- sporting the similar blue and silver colors of the Cowboys -- to poke fun at all the time he was pedaling on the sideline.

Owens remained in California last weekend when the Cowboys played their preseason opener in Seattle. When the team returned to the practice field Monday, Owens started doing more in his rehabilitation and missed only three more sessions before finally donning the pads again and joining his teammates.

"Even with the time that I've had off, just being Lance Armstrong on the bikes over here, I feel like I've still come in and they've put me in situations where I kind of had to push myself a little bit," Owens said Friday. "My conditioning, my wind is not where it needs to be. But it's a 16-week season, so I know my conditioning will be there."


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thank you BP. If you dont practice you dont play