Parcells hears the clock winding down
For some 'Boys, Super Bowl could be now or never.
By Ashley Fox
Inquirer Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. - After the Dallas Cowboys flamed out last season, losing four of their last six games and failing to make the postseason for the second consecutive year, Bill Parcells needed a few days. Days to decompress. Days to reassess.
In the 14 years since he turned 50, Parcells has contemplated his legacy, as a man and as a football coach. He views his life's passion through a wiser eye. Each opportunity is precious now, and Parcells does not want to waste any more time chasing a goal if it is unreachable.
A Super Bowl for the Cowboys this season is not unattainable, at least not in Parcells' view. The team is built to win now, with an accomplished coach, a veteran quarterback, and a star looking for a third chance.
For Parcells - as well as Drew Bledsoe and Terrell Owens - it quite possibly is now or never.
"You get to where you know you are close to the end," Parcells said last week, one day before the Cowboys opened training camp and more than six months after signing a one-year contract extension. "You know chronologically you are close to the end, and it gets a little bit more precious to you... . Each game. Each season. It sounds a little corny, but really, that's the way it is for me right this moment. So I do look forward to [this season] with that anticipation."
Since winning the Super Bowl after the 1995 season, the Cowboys have been to the playoffs just four times and won a postseason game only once - a wild-card game against Minnesota in December 1996. Parcells took over in 2003 and led a team that a year earlier had finished 5-11 to the playoffs with a 10-6 regular-season record.
After going 6-10 in 2004, Dallas started last season 7-3 but collapsed down the stretch to finish 9-7. In Parcells' opinion, his team was better than that. The Cowboys lost three games by a field goal or less, and Bledsoe suffered playing behind a line that gave up 49 sacks.
The Cowboys needed a reliable kicker and more firepower on offense. In the off-season, they got both, signing the most accurate kicker in NFL history in Mike Vanderjagt and one of the most controversial players of this decade in Owens.
Owner Jerry Jones said he first thought it might be possible to lure Owens to Dallas in November, after the Eagles essentially sent T.O. home for the rest of the season. Jones is a risk-taker, driven by a fear of failure, and he said he felt somewhat of a kinship with the reviled receiver.
Owens' 101 career touchdown catches and 10,000-plus receiving yards did not hurt, either.
"Someone asked me, 'Jerry, how mad does it make you that he laid on the star?' " Jones said, recounting the time Owens, then a San Francisco 49er, celebrated scoring a touchdown by standing on the Cowboys' logo at midfield. "I said, 'Not nearly as mad as that touchdown he scored right before he laid on the star.' Now, those were bad days in Dallas."
It took Parcells 48 days to publicly comment on the acquisition of Owens, fueling speculation that he did not support the move. But Parcells insisted last week that he signed off on the deal for Owens, and that he can work with him.
Owens won't catch 100 passes, as he did in 2002 for the Niners, and the Cowboys will not radically change their offense to fit his skills, Parcells said. But Owens should see enough action to make Bledsoe and receiver Terry Glenn better.
As for his relationship with Parcells, Owens said Saturday, "It's a work in progress.
"Bill is going to be Bill," he added. "You have to be confident in yourself. I know Bill's the kind of guy that's going to test guys, so to speak. And I'm kind of like a couple steps ahead of him in that department... . I just try to come out here and be attentive, try to help the guys out on both sides of the ball. I just try to come out here and compete. Long as I'm doing my job, we'll have no problems."
Another big question is: Can the line protect Bledsoe and create holes for the running-back tandem of Julius Jones and Marion Barber?
Two-time Pro Bowl tackle Flozell Adams is back after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 6 last season. Right guard Marco Rivera had off-season back surgery, but said he is healthy. There is competition at center and at right guard.
The Cowboys apparently are so concerned about depth and talent on the line that earlier this week they interviewed former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who is trying to make a comeback after retiring from the Oakland Raiders in 2004.
About the offensive line, Parcells said: "If we're not good there, we probably won't be a very good team."
At age 34 and entering his 14th year in the league, Bledsoe refused to say that this could be his final shot at winning a championship, but he said he has learned that "you never know when your last chance is coming."
This could be it. For Bledsoe. For Owens. And for Parcells, who knows better than most that an opportunity such as this is precious.
By Ashley Fox
Inquirer Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. - After the Dallas Cowboys flamed out last season, losing four of their last six games and failing to make the postseason for the second consecutive year, Bill Parcells needed a few days. Days to decompress. Days to reassess.
In the 14 years since he turned 50, Parcells has contemplated his legacy, as a man and as a football coach. He views his life's passion through a wiser eye. Each opportunity is precious now, and Parcells does not want to waste any more time chasing a goal if it is unreachable.
A Super Bowl for the Cowboys this season is not unattainable, at least not in Parcells' view. The team is built to win now, with an accomplished coach, a veteran quarterback, and a star looking for a third chance.
For Parcells - as well as Drew Bledsoe and Terrell Owens - it quite possibly is now or never.
"You get to where you know you are close to the end," Parcells said last week, one day before the Cowboys opened training camp and more than six months after signing a one-year contract extension. "You know chronologically you are close to the end, and it gets a little bit more precious to you... . Each game. Each season. It sounds a little corny, but really, that's the way it is for me right this moment. So I do look forward to [this season] with that anticipation."
Since winning the Super Bowl after the 1995 season, the Cowboys have been to the playoffs just four times and won a postseason game only once - a wild-card game against Minnesota in December 1996. Parcells took over in 2003 and led a team that a year earlier had finished 5-11 to the playoffs with a 10-6 regular-season record.
After going 6-10 in 2004, Dallas started last season 7-3 but collapsed down the stretch to finish 9-7. In Parcells' opinion, his team was better than that. The Cowboys lost three games by a field goal or less, and Bledsoe suffered playing behind a line that gave up 49 sacks.
The Cowboys needed a reliable kicker and more firepower on offense. In the off-season, they got both, signing the most accurate kicker in NFL history in Mike Vanderjagt and one of the most controversial players of this decade in Owens.
Owner Jerry Jones said he first thought it might be possible to lure Owens to Dallas in November, after the Eagles essentially sent T.O. home for the rest of the season. Jones is a risk-taker, driven by a fear of failure, and he said he felt somewhat of a kinship with the reviled receiver.
Owens' 101 career touchdown catches and 10,000-plus receiving yards did not hurt, either.
"Someone asked me, 'Jerry, how mad does it make you that he laid on the star?' " Jones said, recounting the time Owens, then a San Francisco 49er, celebrated scoring a touchdown by standing on the Cowboys' logo at midfield. "I said, 'Not nearly as mad as that touchdown he scored right before he laid on the star.' Now, those were bad days in Dallas."
It took Parcells 48 days to publicly comment on the acquisition of Owens, fueling speculation that he did not support the move. But Parcells insisted last week that he signed off on the deal for Owens, and that he can work with him.
Owens won't catch 100 passes, as he did in 2002 for the Niners, and the Cowboys will not radically change their offense to fit his skills, Parcells said. But Owens should see enough action to make Bledsoe and receiver Terry Glenn better.
As for his relationship with Parcells, Owens said Saturday, "It's a work in progress.
"Bill is going to be Bill," he added. "You have to be confident in yourself. I know Bill's the kind of guy that's going to test guys, so to speak. And I'm kind of like a couple steps ahead of him in that department... . I just try to come out here and be attentive, try to help the guys out on both sides of the ball. I just try to come out here and compete. Long as I'm doing my job, we'll have no problems."
Another big question is: Can the line protect Bledsoe and create holes for the running-back tandem of Julius Jones and Marion Barber?
Two-time Pro Bowl tackle Flozell Adams is back after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 6 last season. Right guard Marco Rivera had off-season back surgery, but said he is healthy. There is competition at center and at right guard.
The Cowboys apparently are so concerned about depth and talent on the line that earlier this week they interviewed former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who is trying to make a comeback after retiring from the Oakland Raiders in 2004.
About the offensive line, Parcells said: "If we're not good there, we probably won't be a very good team."
At age 34 and entering his 14th year in the league, Bledsoe refused to say that this could be his final shot at winning a championship, but he said he has learned that "you never know when your last chance is coming."
This could be it. For Bledsoe. For Owens. And for Parcells, who knows better than most that an opportunity such as this is precious.
posted by The Gryphon at 1:40 PM
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