Parcells waits, but T.O. not budging
Jean-Jacques Taylor: Parcells waits, but T.O. not budging
Only thing that's running out – it's not Owens – is patience
OXNARD, Calif. – Terrell Owens became the NFL's best receiver by practicing one way: full speed.
All of the time.
He doesn't know another speed. The Cowboys wish he did.
Owens' has missed 12 consecutive practices – more than any other player on the roster – because of a strained left hamstring.
Coach Bill Parcells is a stickler for having players practice.
It's the reason he banned food and lowered the temperature to an uncomfortable level to keep players out of the training room. And the reason players who don't practice must do cardiovascular work outside with the team.
He doesn't want players missing practice.
"Hey, this is football season and football players usually play football," said Parcells, quoting former New York Giants general manager George Young. "... Durability is part of it. You've got to fight through some of this stuff."
Parcells is fond of saying football is a game of repetition that can't be learned by studying squiggly lines on a chalkboard. Blocking and tackling must be learned through repetition at practice.
After the Cowboys' win over Seattle on Saturday, owner Jerry Jones said Owens needs to learn to practice when he's not 100 percent healthy. Owens said Monday that Jerry Rice taught him to treat every practice as if it were his last.
He can't do that going less than full speed.
That's how he practiced in San Francisco and Philadelphia. That approach has made him a perennial Pro Bowl player and led him to riches he couldn't have imagined as a child in Alexander City, Ala.
For now, he's not going to change.
"They know that when I'm on the field, I practice 100 percent, so it's hard for me to be out there and go 75 or less than what I'm used to," Owens said. "I'm used to practicing at game speed. That's how I've always practiced. I learned it from the best receiver in the game in Jerry Rice, and that is something that has been instilled in me, so it's going to be hard to break that habit.
"[Jones] is not the only one that's said that. I've talked to the trainers, and they've kind of told me that I may have to motor it down a little bit, but that's the only way I know how to practice."
For now, Parcells is not pushing the issue.
He knows Owens' reputation as a competitor. He also realizes Owens is admittedly sensitive.
Parcells is a master motivator, but he hasn't learned what tactics bring out the best in Owens.
So he hasn't teased Owens the way he has done in the past with players such as Terry Glenn and Jason Witten.
But the season waits for no player. The first regular-season game is less than a month away, and Owens is supposed to be the focal point of the offense.
Sooner or later, he'll have to test his body in practice.
"I don't know the player very well. I just have to give him the benefit of the doubt right now," Parcells said. "We need to see something here pretty soon. That is the truth.
"... I don't want to jeopardize him for the season, so right now I am erring on the side of caution. But at some time, he is going to have to practice and play like everybody else."
Only thing that's running out – it's not Owens – is patience
OXNARD, Calif. – Terrell Owens became the NFL's best receiver by practicing one way: full speed.
All of the time.
He doesn't know another speed. The Cowboys wish he did.
Owens' has missed 12 consecutive practices – more than any other player on the roster – because of a strained left hamstring.
Coach Bill Parcells is a stickler for having players practice.
It's the reason he banned food and lowered the temperature to an uncomfortable level to keep players out of the training room. And the reason players who don't practice must do cardiovascular work outside with the team.
He doesn't want players missing practice.
"Hey, this is football season and football players usually play football," said Parcells, quoting former New York Giants general manager George Young. "... Durability is part of it. You've got to fight through some of this stuff."
Parcells is fond of saying football is a game of repetition that can't be learned by studying squiggly lines on a chalkboard. Blocking and tackling must be learned through repetition at practice.
After the Cowboys' win over Seattle on Saturday, owner Jerry Jones said Owens needs to learn to practice when he's not 100 percent healthy. Owens said Monday that Jerry Rice taught him to treat every practice as if it were his last.
He can't do that going less than full speed.
That's how he practiced in San Francisco and Philadelphia. That approach has made him a perennial Pro Bowl player and led him to riches he couldn't have imagined as a child in Alexander City, Ala.
For now, he's not going to change.
"They know that when I'm on the field, I practice 100 percent, so it's hard for me to be out there and go 75 or less than what I'm used to," Owens said. "I'm used to practicing at game speed. That's how I've always practiced. I learned it from the best receiver in the game in Jerry Rice, and that is something that has been instilled in me, so it's going to be hard to break that habit.
"[Jones] is not the only one that's said that. I've talked to the trainers, and they've kind of told me that I may have to motor it down a little bit, but that's the only way I know how to practice."
For now, Parcells is not pushing the issue.
He knows Owens' reputation as a competitor. He also realizes Owens is admittedly sensitive.
Parcells is a master motivator, but he hasn't learned what tactics bring out the best in Owens.
So he hasn't teased Owens the way he has done in the past with players such as Terry Glenn and Jason Witten.
But the season waits for no player. The first regular-season game is less than a month away, and Owens is supposed to be the focal point of the offense.
Sooner or later, he'll have to test his body in practice.
"I don't know the player very well. I just have to give him the benefit of the doubt right now," Parcells said. "We need to see something here pretty soon. That is the truth.
"... I don't want to jeopardize him for the season, so right now I am erring on the side of caution. But at some time, he is going to have to practice and play like everybody else."
posted by The Gryphon at 7:36 PM
<< Home