Dallas Cowboys' Owens thriving at 34
By ALBERT BREER / The Dallas Morning News
abreer@dallasnews.com
IRVING – The numbers tell part of the story on the greatest season ever by a receiver 34 or older.
Terrell Owens has 74 catches, 1,270 yards, 14 touchdowns and three games left to continue redefining most precedents for a receiver his age. Most lose a step. Owens hasn't seemed to. Most wear down. Owens just won't.
But what's happened in the background reveals a man determined to blow past all preconceived notions about him as if they were an overmatched rookie corner. Yes, Owens thinks he's the best. This year has been his time to prove it.
"It's being able to be used as a playmaker," Owens said. "That's the thing. Last year, I wasn't used that way, and the way the season went, I felt like an average receiver."
In 2006, even while chafing under the thumb of a coaching staff with which he clashed, Owens caught 86 passes for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns. But one number stood out: He led the NFL with 14 drops.
Even with those lapses, those numbers would merit unequivocal success for most receivers. For Owens, they didn't. He thought he was better than that. Turns out, he was right.
"He's hungry," Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman said. "He knows what he brings to the table, and he's the type of guy ... he wants you to get on to his shoulders. He wants to be the guy to say, 'Hey, I'm going to get this done. I want this team to be on my back.' "
Saying that is the easy part. The harder part, for older receivers, is actually doing it.
The first thing it requires is work ethic, and, by all accounts, Owens has that in spades. His drive is, in part, the product of always wanting to be No. 1 and struggling to get there.
Owens was lightly recruited out of high school, something of an afterthought in a draft class of receivers that produced five first-round picks. He played second fiddle to Jerry Rice on the 49ers in his first five seasons as a pro.
"You go back to my high school and college days, I never was a star receiver," Owens said, saying that playing with Rice, every receiver's gold standard, had an impact. "I wasn't that No. 1 guy. I've always tried to work to get there."
The result has been an irrepressible approach to off-season workouts, now with trainer Buddy Primm. From unorthodox rubber-band resistance training to old-fashion track labor and weight room hours, Owens has paid the price required to retain his physical gifts.
More than a decade ago, after nine years in New England, Irving Fryar did similar things, hiring a trainer to manage his weight work and enlisting the University of Miami's track coach to create a speed and conditioning program for him. As a result, Fryar's three most productive seasons came after he turned 32.
At 35, Fryar had his best season, catching 86 passes for 1,316 yards and six touchdowns for the 1997 Eagles. Was he running a 4.2 in the 40-yard dash anymore? No. But that became less relevant as he perfected his game.
"You're gonna lose speed. That's natural. It's how your body's made up," Fryar said. "The first part of my career, I ran 4.2. By the time I was with the Eagles, I was a 4.4 or a 4.5. But I was able to play like a 4.2 guy, because I was smarter, I reacted quicker, and I could do things without even thinking about them."
And that goes back to what has made Owens successful. It's not just his talent and drive but also an aptitude for the game that Sherman, without being asked about it, called underrated.
"In the classroom, he studies, he asks questions, he works hard," Sherman said. "I mean, you can see he's determined to be the best he can be."
Then comes the final part of the equation: opportunity.
Fryar said he was as good as ever from 1993 to '95, when he was with the Dolphins. Yet, his numbers as an Eagle were more prolific the next two years, and it was easy for him to see why. Offensive coordinator Jon Gruden made a concerted effort to get him the ball.
"When they said do it, I did it," Fryar said. "The talent was there. It was always in me. It was getting the opportunity more so than anything. Down in Miami, I had great talent around me. But in Philly, they made me the go-to guy, and I answered the call."
A better player emerged, Fryar added, because he'd get into a rhythm. From there, he felt like he was rolling.
Owens is feeling that way these days. His 14 touchdown catches are the most in a season by a receiver 34 or older. His 1,270 yards put him within 96 of being tops on that list among the plus-34 set.
He is defying the odds, but he's not surprising himself.
"I think anybody that plays in the league, that's monitored my career, they know what I can do," Owens said. "Now, I'm just getting the chance to do it."
abreer@dallasnews.com
IRVING – The numbers tell part of the story on the greatest season ever by a receiver 34 or older.
Terrell Owens has 74 catches, 1,270 yards, 14 touchdowns and three games left to continue redefining most precedents for a receiver his age. Most lose a step. Owens hasn't seemed to. Most wear down. Owens just won't.
But what's happened in the background reveals a man determined to blow past all preconceived notions about him as if they were an overmatched rookie corner. Yes, Owens thinks he's the best. This year has been his time to prove it.
"It's being able to be used as a playmaker," Owens said. "That's the thing. Last year, I wasn't used that way, and the way the season went, I felt like an average receiver."
In 2006, even while chafing under the thumb of a coaching staff with which he clashed, Owens caught 86 passes for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns. But one number stood out: He led the NFL with 14 drops.
Even with those lapses, those numbers would merit unequivocal success for most receivers. For Owens, they didn't. He thought he was better than that. Turns out, he was right.
"He's hungry," Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman said. "He knows what he brings to the table, and he's the type of guy ... he wants you to get on to his shoulders. He wants to be the guy to say, 'Hey, I'm going to get this done. I want this team to be on my back.' "
Saying that is the easy part. The harder part, for older receivers, is actually doing it.
The first thing it requires is work ethic, and, by all accounts, Owens has that in spades. His drive is, in part, the product of always wanting to be No. 1 and struggling to get there.
Owens was lightly recruited out of high school, something of an afterthought in a draft class of receivers that produced five first-round picks. He played second fiddle to Jerry Rice on the 49ers in his first five seasons as a pro.
"You go back to my high school and college days, I never was a star receiver," Owens said, saying that playing with Rice, every receiver's gold standard, had an impact. "I wasn't that No. 1 guy. I've always tried to work to get there."
The result has been an irrepressible approach to off-season workouts, now with trainer Buddy Primm. From unorthodox rubber-band resistance training to old-fashion track labor and weight room hours, Owens has paid the price required to retain his physical gifts.
More than a decade ago, after nine years in New England, Irving Fryar did similar things, hiring a trainer to manage his weight work and enlisting the University of Miami's track coach to create a speed and conditioning program for him. As a result, Fryar's three most productive seasons came after he turned 32.
At 35, Fryar had his best season, catching 86 passes for 1,316 yards and six touchdowns for the 1997 Eagles. Was he running a 4.2 in the 40-yard dash anymore? No. But that became less relevant as he perfected his game.
"You're gonna lose speed. That's natural. It's how your body's made up," Fryar said. "The first part of my career, I ran 4.2. By the time I was with the Eagles, I was a 4.4 or a 4.5. But I was able to play like a 4.2 guy, because I was smarter, I reacted quicker, and I could do things without even thinking about them."
And that goes back to what has made Owens successful. It's not just his talent and drive but also an aptitude for the game that Sherman, without being asked about it, called underrated.
"In the classroom, he studies, he asks questions, he works hard," Sherman said. "I mean, you can see he's determined to be the best he can be."
Then comes the final part of the equation: opportunity.
Fryar said he was as good as ever from 1993 to '95, when he was with the Dolphins. Yet, his numbers as an Eagle were more prolific the next two years, and it was easy for him to see why. Offensive coordinator Jon Gruden made a concerted effort to get him the ball.
"When they said do it, I did it," Fryar said. "The talent was there. It was always in me. It was getting the opportunity more so than anything. Down in Miami, I had great talent around me. But in Philly, they made me the go-to guy, and I answered the call."
A better player emerged, Fryar added, because he'd get into a rhythm. From there, he felt like he was rolling.
Owens is feeling that way these days. His 14 touchdown catches are the most in a season by a receiver 34 or older. His 1,270 yards put him within 96 of being tops on that list among the plus-34 set.
He is defying the odds, but he's not surprising himself.
"I think anybody that plays in the league, that's monitored my career, they know what I can do," Owens said. "Now, I'm just getting the chance to do it."
posted by The Gryphon at 8:13 AM
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