'T.O. Returns' angle great cloak for teammates
JAIME ARON
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas - This is the week the other 52 members of the Dallas Cowboys have been looking forward to all season.
Not because they give a hoot about Terrell Owens going back to Philadelphia - it's because the T.O. story line is all anybody outside the organization cares about.
Contrary to popular belief, when outsiders focus tightly on something, that doesn't mean the same is happening inside the locker room. Truth is, what gets described as a distraction usually is a pleasant diversion to players.
That's certainly the case this week.
While sports-talk radio, TV shows and newspapers analyze every aspect of "Owens Returns!!!" the rest of the Cowboys will savor every second out of the spotlight.
That means Julius Jones won't be badgered about why his great performance against Tennessee was so rare, only the fifth 100-yard game of his career. Jason Witten will avoid questions about his two false starts against the Titans and the budding trend of flags flying his way. And Mike Vanderjagt is off the hook for the chip-shot field goal he missed and mediocre kickoffs.
Everyone not named Owens gets to go through the week focusing solely on getting ready for an important division game, save for a question or two about their take on THE story of the week.
The scrutiny and attention will solely be on No. 81, exactly how he likes it.
"I love me some me," he said again Friday on his radio show, repeating a line he's said for years and a sentiment that could be his epitaph.
That wasn't meant to be a macabre reference to the events of last week, but it works well as a bridge to a perfect example of this distraction-diversion concept.
Coach Bill Parcells blows smoke from time to time, but he was telling the truth last week when he said Owens' trip to the emergency room wasn't a distraction. Players not only agreed, they laughed at the question.
Some folks found that hard to believe. However, most fans don't realize the things they discuss, debate and fret over usually are nothing like the things discussed, debated and fretted over by players.
Take last week's T.O. story.
Players missed the unfolding drama that turned it into such a big deal. They arrived at work to learn Owens spent the night in the hospital, then by the end of practice he was there catching passes.
They got word of the suicide report, but most didn't believe it. Once he showed up, they certainly didn't give it a second thought, yet fans and media continued to examine every nuance.
Find it hard to believe that players could drop it that easily? Think they were berated by friends around the league, and nonfootball pals, all wanting the inside story?
"You know who called me?" veteran cornerback Aaron Glenn said. "My mom did. The only thing she asked was, `Is he OK?' That was it."
Considering the Cowboys plowed through the Titans 45-14 on Sunday, it didn't seem to affect them much. (Well, they did punt once; maybe they could've avoided that without all the focus that was lost worrying about Owens.)
To best understand how something that seems so big on the outside can be so small on the inside, you've got to understand the way things work at Valley Ranch.
Reporters are only allowed in the locker room for 45 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That's a total of three hours per week, and there's not a single player around for all of it.
Guys are out having lunch or eating in the dining room, getting treatment in the training room or watching film in a meeting room. Sometimes they're just running errands or simply hanging out away from the cameras. High-profile guys like Owens and quarterback Drew Bledsoe meet with reporters once a week. Others come and go, often without stopping to talk.
The point is, you can be berated by more T.O. talk on your drive home from work than players will all of this week.
Every player knows the subject is out there. They may talk about it, too, though not as long - and certainly not as detailed - as some folks might expect.
Sorry if this shatters some sort of myth of players being all-consumed by everything surrounding their team and the upcoming game. The simple reality is that the squawk surrounding most games matters merely to fans, and that's not strictly limited to this story. The same is true when it comes to "getting the season off to a good start," a "rivalry game" or any "must-win game" that doesn't mean the offseason would begin with a loss.
So feel free to spend the next several days predicting the mean-spirited signs sure to be waved by the fans who booed Santa Claus and cheered Michael Irvin's career-ending neck injury. Or use your energy coming up with "25 million reasons" to make fun of Owens' publicist.
But don't waste any time wondering about T.O. being a distraction.
The guy might be a lot of things, but that's one thing he's not - at least, not this week.
Associated Press
IRVING, Texas - This is the week the other 52 members of the Dallas Cowboys have been looking forward to all season.
Not because they give a hoot about Terrell Owens going back to Philadelphia - it's because the T.O. story line is all anybody outside the organization cares about.
Contrary to popular belief, when outsiders focus tightly on something, that doesn't mean the same is happening inside the locker room. Truth is, what gets described as a distraction usually is a pleasant diversion to players.
That's certainly the case this week.
While sports-talk radio, TV shows and newspapers analyze every aspect of "Owens Returns!!!" the rest of the Cowboys will savor every second out of the spotlight.
That means Julius Jones won't be badgered about why his great performance against Tennessee was so rare, only the fifth 100-yard game of his career. Jason Witten will avoid questions about his two false starts against the Titans and the budding trend of flags flying his way. And Mike Vanderjagt is off the hook for the chip-shot field goal he missed and mediocre kickoffs.
Everyone not named Owens gets to go through the week focusing solely on getting ready for an important division game, save for a question or two about their take on THE story of the week.
The scrutiny and attention will solely be on No. 81, exactly how he likes it.
"I love me some me," he said again Friday on his radio show, repeating a line he's said for years and a sentiment that could be his epitaph.
That wasn't meant to be a macabre reference to the events of last week, but it works well as a bridge to a perfect example of this distraction-diversion concept.
Coach Bill Parcells blows smoke from time to time, but he was telling the truth last week when he said Owens' trip to the emergency room wasn't a distraction. Players not only agreed, they laughed at the question.
Some folks found that hard to believe. However, most fans don't realize the things they discuss, debate and fret over usually are nothing like the things discussed, debated and fretted over by players.
Take last week's T.O. story.
Players missed the unfolding drama that turned it into such a big deal. They arrived at work to learn Owens spent the night in the hospital, then by the end of practice he was there catching passes.
They got word of the suicide report, but most didn't believe it. Once he showed up, they certainly didn't give it a second thought, yet fans and media continued to examine every nuance.
Find it hard to believe that players could drop it that easily? Think they were berated by friends around the league, and nonfootball pals, all wanting the inside story?
"You know who called me?" veteran cornerback Aaron Glenn said. "My mom did. The only thing she asked was, `Is he OK?' That was it."
Considering the Cowboys plowed through the Titans 45-14 on Sunday, it didn't seem to affect them much. (Well, they did punt once; maybe they could've avoided that without all the focus that was lost worrying about Owens.)
To best understand how something that seems so big on the outside can be so small on the inside, you've got to understand the way things work at Valley Ranch.
Reporters are only allowed in the locker room for 45 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That's a total of three hours per week, and there's not a single player around for all of it.
Guys are out having lunch or eating in the dining room, getting treatment in the training room or watching film in a meeting room. Sometimes they're just running errands or simply hanging out away from the cameras. High-profile guys like Owens and quarterback Drew Bledsoe meet with reporters once a week. Others come and go, often without stopping to talk.
The point is, you can be berated by more T.O. talk on your drive home from work than players will all of this week.
Every player knows the subject is out there. They may talk about it, too, though not as long - and certainly not as detailed - as some folks might expect.
Sorry if this shatters some sort of myth of players being all-consumed by everything surrounding their team and the upcoming game. The simple reality is that the squawk surrounding most games matters merely to fans, and that's not strictly limited to this story. The same is true when it comes to "getting the season off to a good start," a "rivalry game" or any "must-win game" that doesn't mean the offseason would begin with a loss.
So feel free to spend the next several days predicting the mean-spirited signs sure to be waved by the fans who booed Santa Claus and cheered Michael Irvin's career-ending neck injury. Or use your energy coming up with "25 million reasons" to make fun of Owens' publicist.
But don't waste any time wondering about T.O. being a distraction.
The guy might be a lot of things, but that's one thing he's not - at least, not this week.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:22 PM
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