BP says media exaggerates stuff
CENTER STAGE: Terrell Owens’ arrival in Dallas has intensified the spotlight on ‘America’s Team.’
Associated Press
Texas-sized drama surrounding the Cowboys
By Darren Urban, TribuneNovember 9, 2006
It can be debated whether the Dallas Cowboys are still “America’s Team.” Either way, America has heard plenty about Dallas this season. The Cowboys are never far from the spotlight. They signed Terrell Owens, a soap opera unto himself.
Then came the “will he or won’t he” situation with coach Bill Parcells and his quarterbacks, until Parcells finally pulled the trigger and benched veteran Drew Bledsoe in favor of the unproven Tony Romo.
The possibility this is Parcells’ final season coaching has been an undercurrent to the whole show. Some thought the Cowboys were the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Instead, Dallas plays the Cardinals in Arizona Sunday with a disappointing 4-4 record. Yet Parcells said Wednesday that the Cowboys’ side issues are just the background noise of a normal NFL team — not one in chaos.
“I think, really, and I’m being very honest, I think the opinion nationally is a little bit distorted from the actuality,” Parcells said. “I really do. I think with these cable networks and these sports shows and stuff it makes it a little bit more exaggerated than actually what’s taking place.
“It’s obvious that there is some stuff going on. You have to deal with it. As you get older, you just do the best you can with all of it, and not worry about things you can’t control perfectly.”
The Cowboys should have won in Washington this past weekend, with kicker Mike Vanderjagt lining up for a game-winning field goal on the last play of a tie game. Instead, Vanderjagt’s kick was blocked, and on the ensuing runback a Cowboys player was flagged for a questionable 15-yard face mask penalty.
The penalty gave the Redskins one untimed down inside field goal range. Kicker Nick Novak then dealt the Cowboys a crushing loss, bringing the team as low emotionally as it had been high the week before in a stirring comeback win in Carolina.
“This epitomized the season to this point,” linebacker Bradie James told the Fort-Worth Star Telegram after the Redskins loss. “It has been up-and-down crazy, just like this game. It’s who we are.”
Penalties have hurt the Cowboys. So have bad turnovers, including a flurry of interceptions by both Bledsoe and Romo. Owens has dropped some significant passes, including one that would have gone for a 74-yard touchdown.
Dallas is fourth in the NFL in scoring, fifth in total offense and is tied for fourth in total defense. Every statistic says the Cowboys should be better.
“We felt we had been building this program and this team for the last four years or so since Bill came here, and we all felt it was our most talented squad,” Romo said. “You never know what you will do until you are out there, but I think we all felt we would be a team to contend with in the NFC.”
A natural scapegoat would be the constant circus surrounding the high-profile franchise, but Romo said that is wrong.
“If Drew Bledsoe was playing quarterback or I was playing quarterback, I don’t think that makes a difference how our defense is going to play Cover 2 against Arizona,” Romo said. “That’s part of the deal. You have to do your job no matter what is going on around you.”
Parcells noted that for the current struggles, the Cowboys only have five teams ahead of them in the conference standings, and two are only a game better than Dallas.
Parcells might be in a better place, too, which can only help for the second half of the season. He acknowledged any decision to retire is based on his energy level, something many national analysts have noticed looked low early in the season.
But inserting Romo into the lineup, “it’s kind of perked me up a little bit,” Parcells said, “because I see some signs that ‘gee, maybe he can be a pretty good quarterback in this league.’ ”
“When you get to be 65, which I am, and I’m not trying to exaggerate this, I feel really happy that I’ve been able to do it as long as I have,” Parcells added. “No matter what the criticism is or what happens now, the game tells you what you are.”
Associated Press
Texas-sized drama surrounding the Cowboys
By Darren Urban, TribuneNovember 9, 2006
It can be debated whether the Dallas Cowboys are still “America’s Team.” Either way, America has heard plenty about Dallas this season. The Cowboys are never far from the spotlight. They signed Terrell Owens, a soap opera unto himself.
Then came the “will he or won’t he” situation with coach Bill Parcells and his quarterbacks, until Parcells finally pulled the trigger and benched veteran Drew Bledsoe in favor of the unproven Tony Romo.
The possibility this is Parcells’ final season coaching has been an undercurrent to the whole show. Some thought the Cowboys were the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Instead, Dallas plays the Cardinals in Arizona Sunday with a disappointing 4-4 record. Yet Parcells said Wednesday that the Cowboys’ side issues are just the background noise of a normal NFL team — not one in chaos.
“I think, really, and I’m being very honest, I think the opinion nationally is a little bit distorted from the actuality,” Parcells said. “I really do. I think with these cable networks and these sports shows and stuff it makes it a little bit more exaggerated than actually what’s taking place.
“It’s obvious that there is some stuff going on. You have to deal with it. As you get older, you just do the best you can with all of it, and not worry about things you can’t control perfectly.”
The Cowboys should have won in Washington this past weekend, with kicker Mike Vanderjagt lining up for a game-winning field goal on the last play of a tie game. Instead, Vanderjagt’s kick was blocked, and on the ensuing runback a Cowboys player was flagged for a questionable 15-yard face mask penalty.
The penalty gave the Redskins one untimed down inside field goal range. Kicker Nick Novak then dealt the Cowboys a crushing loss, bringing the team as low emotionally as it had been high the week before in a stirring comeback win in Carolina.
“This epitomized the season to this point,” linebacker Bradie James told the Fort-Worth Star Telegram after the Redskins loss. “It has been up-and-down crazy, just like this game. It’s who we are.”
Penalties have hurt the Cowboys. So have bad turnovers, including a flurry of interceptions by both Bledsoe and Romo. Owens has dropped some significant passes, including one that would have gone for a 74-yard touchdown.
Dallas is fourth in the NFL in scoring, fifth in total offense and is tied for fourth in total defense. Every statistic says the Cowboys should be better.
“We felt we had been building this program and this team for the last four years or so since Bill came here, and we all felt it was our most talented squad,” Romo said. “You never know what you will do until you are out there, but I think we all felt we would be a team to contend with in the NFC.”
A natural scapegoat would be the constant circus surrounding the high-profile franchise, but Romo said that is wrong.
“If Drew Bledsoe was playing quarterback or I was playing quarterback, I don’t think that makes a difference how our defense is going to play Cover 2 against Arizona,” Romo said. “That’s part of the deal. You have to do your job no matter what is going on around you.”
Parcells noted that for the current struggles, the Cowboys only have five teams ahead of them in the conference standings, and two are only a game better than Dallas.
Parcells might be in a better place, too, which can only help for the second half of the season. He acknowledged any decision to retire is based on his energy level, something many national analysts have noticed looked low early in the season.
But inserting Romo into the lineup, “it’s kind of perked me up a little bit,” Parcells said, “because I see some signs that ‘gee, maybe he can be a pretty good quarterback in this league.’ ”
“When you get to be 65, which I am, and I’m not trying to exaggerate this, I feel really happy that I’ve been able to do it as long as I have,” Parcells added. “No matter what the criticism is or what happens now, the game tells you what you are.”
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