T.O. expected to practice Wednesday
IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys might be without one of their starting wide receivers Sunday at Tennessee, but not both.
Terrell Owens missed practice again Tuesday while his surgically-repaired right hand continues to heal, but Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells said Owens will "do some" work with the team Wednesday. And Terry Glenn fully participated Tuesday despite suffering a minor laceration to his thumb on Monday.
Glenn hasn't missed any time this week because Parcells didn't hold a full practice on Monday. The veteran receiver evidently nicked his thumb while attempting to cut tape off his uniform, according to Parcells.
"And he had his hand down in his pants and he missed," Parcells said. "Fortunately he cut his hand."
Parcells' unintentional quip drew some chuckles from the media, but the prospect of losing two starting receivers would have been no laughing matter.
Parcells hasn't ruled out the possibility of Owens returning Sunday against the Titans (noon, CDT), a potential 13-day turnaround from last Monday's procedure to stabilize the fractured fourth metacarpal just below his right ring finger. Last week's bye gave Owens more time to heal.
"The swelling has gone down pretty good," Parcells said. "He has caught some balls and he ran a lot today. Tomorrow he'll do something."
Owens hasn't practiced since undergoing surgery, but he began running heavily during last Friday's practice and caught a few passes on Tuesday.
"The first day he said I was throwing like a girl, so today I was throwing some bullets to him," rookie receiver Sam Hurd joked. "You can see it hurts still, but it's a lot of progress because he's catching the ball."
Owens declined to speak to reporters until Wednesday, but he appeared to be in good spirits. As he left the locker room for a few minutes, Owens playfully tried to duck behind a trash can to avoid the cameras.
Parcells believes Owens will maintain his conditioning level, and the surgically-inserted metal plate in his hand is designed to stabilize the fractured bone and accelerate the healing process. The only remaining hurdle is tolerating enough pain to catch those zip passes from quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
"If he can withstand it (the pain), he can play," Parcells said. "You don't have to worry about the displacement or anything like that. It's anchored down there pretty good."
If Parcells decides to make Owens inactive against Tennessee (0-3), there's a good chance he'd be able to return Oct. 8 against his former Eagles teammates. In the meantime, the rest of the Cowboys' receivers will prepare for increased roles in case he can't play.
Parcells has said he probably wouldn't move third-year receiver Patrick Crayton into the starting lineup because he wants Crayton to continue playing on the nickel and spelling Glenn in standard sets. That means Hurd or possibly first-year backup Jamaica Rector would start if Owens is inactive. Rookie free agent Miles Austin also made the 53-man roster but hasn't been active for either of the Cowboys' first two games.
Rector forced his way onto the roster with a team-high 20 preseason catches for 245 yards, and Hurd started three preseason games while Owens nursed a sore left hamstring.
"Just who I think will do the best job," Parcells said when asked about potentially deciding among his young receivers. "I mean, again this is a problem here and we've got several moving parts that are a little uncertain right this minute, but as I say, we're early in the week."
Hurd has impressed Parcells with his knowledge of multiple positions. The undrafted rookie from Northern Illinois spent time working with Owens each day after practice while the Cowboys were stationed in Oxnard, Calif., for training camp.
"They're just saying keep practicing hard," Hurd said. "Don't try to be Superman out there. Just practice hard and keep doing what I've been doing since I got here."
Owens' return would pose even more problems for the Titans' 29th-ranked defense, which did a better job in last Sunday's 13-10 loss to Miami. The Tennessee defense held Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper to 168 yards and zero touchdowns, along with sacking him five times.
At least Parcells only has to worry about one receiver's health right now. Owens, Glenn and Crayton were all sidelined with injuries at one point during training camp.
And Parcells isn't trying to make a snap decision on Owens, either. The Cowboys will practice three more days this week before departing for Nashville, leaving him plenty of time to evaluate Owens' progress.
"I have to see him out there being a confident player," Parcells said. "I don't want him out there thinking about something. If it's going act as a deterrent, I don't want that because that would eventually hurt us.
"I'm talking to him every day, seeing how he's doing. We're moving forward. We have a lot of time between now and the game."
Terrell Owens missed practice again Tuesday while his surgically-repaired right hand continues to heal, but Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells said Owens will "do some" work with the team Wednesday. And Terry Glenn fully participated Tuesday despite suffering a minor laceration to his thumb on Monday.
Glenn hasn't missed any time this week because Parcells didn't hold a full practice on Monday. The veteran receiver evidently nicked his thumb while attempting to cut tape off his uniform, according to Parcells.
"And he had his hand down in his pants and he missed," Parcells said. "Fortunately he cut his hand."
Parcells' unintentional quip drew some chuckles from the media, but the prospect of losing two starting receivers would have been no laughing matter.
Parcells hasn't ruled out the possibility of Owens returning Sunday against the Titans (noon, CDT), a potential 13-day turnaround from last Monday's procedure to stabilize the fractured fourth metacarpal just below his right ring finger. Last week's bye gave Owens more time to heal.
"The swelling has gone down pretty good," Parcells said. "He has caught some balls and he ran a lot today. Tomorrow he'll do something."
Owens hasn't practiced since undergoing surgery, but he began running heavily during last Friday's practice and caught a few passes on Tuesday.
"The first day he said I was throwing like a girl, so today I was throwing some bullets to him," rookie receiver Sam Hurd joked. "You can see it hurts still, but it's a lot of progress because he's catching the ball."
Owens declined to speak to reporters until Wednesday, but he appeared to be in good spirits. As he left the locker room for a few minutes, Owens playfully tried to duck behind a trash can to avoid the cameras.
Parcells believes Owens will maintain his conditioning level, and the surgically-inserted metal plate in his hand is designed to stabilize the fractured bone and accelerate the healing process. The only remaining hurdle is tolerating enough pain to catch those zip passes from quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
"If he can withstand it (the pain), he can play," Parcells said. "You don't have to worry about the displacement or anything like that. It's anchored down there pretty good."
If Parcells decides to make Owens inactive against Tennessee (0-3), there's a good chance he'd be able to return Oct. 8 against his former Eagles teammates. In the meantime, the rest of the Cowboys' receivers will prepare for increased roles in case he can't play.
Parcells has said he probably wouldn't move third-year receiver Patrick Crayton into the starting lineup because he wants Crayton to continue playing on the nickel and spelling Glenn in standard sets. That means Hurd or possibly first-year backup Jamaica Rector would start if Owens is inactive. Rookie free agent Miles Austin also made the 53-man roster but hasn't been active for either of the Cowboys' first two games.
Rector forced his way onto the roster with a team-high 20 preseason catches for 245 yards, and Hurd started three preseason games while Owens nursed a sore left hamstring.
"Just who I think will do the best job," Parcells said when asked about potentially deciding among his young receivers. "I mean, again this is a problem here and we've got several moving parts that are a little uncertain right this minute, but as I say, we're early in the week."
Hurd has impressed Parcells with his knowledge of multiple positions. The undrafted rookie from Northern Illinois spent time working with Owens each day after practice while the Cowboys were stationed in Oxnard, Calif., for training camp.
"They're just saying keep practicing hard," Hurd said. "Don't try to be Superman out there. Just practice hard and keep doing what I've been doing since I got here."
Owens' return would pose even more problems for the Titans' 29th-ranked defense, which did a better job in last Sunday's 13-10 loss to Miami. The Tennessee defense held Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper to 168 yards and zero touchdowns, along with sacking him five times.
At least Parcells only has to worry about one receiver's health right now. Owens, Glenn and Crayton were all sidelined with injuries at one point during training camp.
And Parcells isn't trying to make a snap decision on Owens, either. The Cowboys will practice three more days this week before departing for Nashville, leaving him plenty of time to evaluate Owens' progress.
"I have to see him out there being a confident player," Parcells said. "I don't want him out there thinking about something. If it's going act as a deterrent, I don't want that because that would eventually hurt us.
"I'm talking to him every day, seeing how he's doing. We're moving forward. We have a lot of time between now and the game."
posted by The Gryphon at 7:43 PM
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