(Irving, Texas) - Cowboys Head Coach Bill Parells tried to downplay the impending crisis at Valley Ranch. “Is this the Cuban Missile Crisis?” he asked before starting his daily press conference.
Parcells knows there is controversy in the air, but never confirmed that the team had fined Wide Receiver Terrell Owens for being late for a team meeting on Friday and scheduled rehab for an injury.
“I'm not acknowledging that that happened,” said Parcells. “Its a hypothetical.”
Team owner Jerry Jones seemed upset that the information leaked out.
“I promise if I find out, how that type of information gets out, within our organization, the ones responsible will not be part of the Dallas Cowboys organization,” he said.
Owens was fined and he confirmed the fine himself.
“There is really not an explanation,” said Owens. “I just over slept, and I was late, and that was the consequences of that, so not anything I tried to do intentionally. It’s not the first time and it probably won't be the last time. I'm not perfect by any means, and like I said, its just one of those things that happens.”
Said Parcells, “Listen, he has a history of what? I don't know about that history. I don't know if he was fined by other teams for being tardy, I have no idea whether he was or not.”
Owens said it was the only time since he joined the Cowboys that he's been late checking in at Valley Ranch. Obviously, everything he does is being closely monitored.
“Its been different because I am who I am, so anything that I do is going to attract any attention, and you guys are going to blow it out of proportion. I don't really worry about that. I get it. I know who I am. I know the attention that I get from the media, so I know I'm under a microscope. It’s very unfortunate that I got fined, and I was late, and in that, to my teammates, I apologize and so I just got to move on.”
“Whatever opinion anyone else is totally irrelevant, to my line of thinking,” said Parcells, “Because they don't have all the facts, and I do.”
Said Jones, “There is an old adage, that sometimes, whether it’s bad or good, keep them talking about you, so from that standpoint its all good.
So while Owens admits that he was late and missed valuable meeting and rehab time, he still doesn't know when he'll be back on the field, and the season opener is now less than two weeks away.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Injuries Hurt Players Chances
The missed practice time of the top three receivers for the Dallas Cowboys has been the focus of many reports from training camp, but the pressure of getting back on the field is highest on players who aren't guaranteed a spot.
“You can't get in tune with this game watching, you just can't do it,” says Head Coach Bill Parcells. “Particularly the line positions. You can just can't do it. You just can't do.”
Linebacker Rocky Boiman, a fifth year player out of Notre Dame, suffered a compound fracture of his thumb last week, but he's back on the field. He knows he can't make the team riding a bike, or standing on the sidelines.
“I'm not in position where i've been here for 10-years, or anything like that,” says Boiman. “I've got to be out here, and show what i can do. Just have suck it up and go!”
In the first preseason game in Seattle on Saturday night, Bobby Carpenter was trying to get back on the field, even though he had a tough time standing up. Third year pro, Wide Receiver Patrick Crayton, who sprained an ankle in Seattle, has experienced the pressure of having to return.
“It’s a big different, he's like, uh oh, we can't deal with that,” says Crayton. “Because to him, you haven't showed him anything, especially being a rookie.”
Parcells doesn't want injured players on the field during practice, he thinks they’re a distraction to the rest of the team. He would prefer to have that workout outside the lines, until they're healthy enough to participate inside the lines.
“You can't get in tune with this game watching, you just can't do it,” says Head Coach Bill Parcells. “Particularly the line positions. You can just can't do it. You just can't do.”
Linebacker Rocky Boiman, a fifth year player out of Notre Dame, suffered a compound fracture of his thumb last week, but he's back on the field. He knows he can't make the team riding a bike, or standing on the sidelines.
“I'm not in position where i've been here for 10-years, or anything like that,” says Boiman. “I've got to be out here, and show what i can do. Just have suck it up and go!”
In the first preseason game in Seattle on Saturday night, Bobby Carpenter was trying to get back on the field, even though he had a tough time standing up. Third year pro, Wide Receiver Patrick Crayton, who sprained an ankle in Seattle, has experienced the pressure of having to return.
“It’s a big different, he's like, uh oh, we can't deal with that,” says Crayton. “Because to him, you haven't showed him anything, especially being a rookie.”
Parcells doesn't want injured players on the field during practice, he thinks they’re a distraction to the rest of the team. He would prefer to have that workout outside the lines, until they're healthy enough to participate inside the lines.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Rayfield Wright And Troy Aikman Enter Pro Football Hall of Fame
Canton, Ohio was a popular spot for Cowboys fans this weekend. “We made our pilgrimage,” said one fan from Texas, who traveled the miles to see Former Cowboys Offensive Tackle Rayfield Wright inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“Is anybody more deserving that Rayfield, I asked. “No sir, he's the man.”
But the most popular jersey of the day was Former Cowboys Quarterback Troy Aikman's number 8. One fan was wearing Aikman’s number 8 from UCLA.
How long have you been an Akiman fan? “Ah since UCLA, 87, and 88,” he said.
But despite two more additions, fans still feel the Cowboys have been slighted when it comes to the number of members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Said one fan, waiting in line to enter the stadium for the ceremonies, “They need a whole enshrinement for nothing but Cowboys, add on to the ring of honor.”
But support for the two latest additions was overwhelming. So much so that Aikman made it a point to recognize the following.
“Thank you,” he said in tears. “Your support meant so much to me as it did through out my career, football is a great game that as afforded me many things and provided much happiness. But my greatest blessings in life have been my family, and friends. A high school coach once told me you have a lot of acquaintances and very few friends, for most that’s probably true, but not for me. The many friendships in my life have made me feel every single day, like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and I thank all of you for being here today.”
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones was in the audience when the first player he ever drafted after he bought the team. “It just reminded me how important a team is to him, was to him,” he said. “What a team player he is, his recognition of his teammates, and the fans, and the coaches they played in it, were just heart warming.”
Jones said he feels like he is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with Aikman. “Of course you do, I know my eyes are red, I wasn't going to take my sunglasses off, I've been crying for 30-minutes during his comments.”
“Obviously, just a range of emotions, the loudest reception, and the most emotion, was on Troy Aikman and Rayfield Wright,” said Dale Hellestrae, a former teammate of Aikman. “It was spectacular to see it.”
While Aikman and Wright may have delivered the most emotional speeches of the day, for Wright, the long wait was finally over.
Offensive lineman are taught to protect the quarterback, the same way that the secret service protects our nation’s president,” said Wright. “In this case, Roger Staubach was our president, and the director of the secret service, was our Offensive Line Coach Jim Myers. He built an offensive line that was unmatched. And today, I can not accept this honor, without bringing Coach Myers and his offensive line into the hall with me.”
“You know his first game was against Deacon Jones and he shut Deacon out,” said Myers. “He came there as a split end and a weak safety, and they tried to make a tight end out of him, tried to make a defensive guy out of him, but he came over to the offensive line and made a coach out of me,” Myers said laughing.
The cowboys representatives in the Pro Football Hall of Fame now stands at nine, that's seven players, but its a number that will certainly grow in the future, especially with names like Running back Emmitt Smith and Offensive Lineman Larry Allen, and perhaps even Wide Receiver Michael Irvin.
But for now, these two cowboys are the focus, joining a select group of only 235-people, who make up the pro football hall of fame.
“I think the whole event was such a dramatic event, all the speakers, all the enshrines, I think they all did such a great job,” said Wright. “I think they spoke their hearts, you know, in every situation, it was just a true blessing, just to be a part of such a great class. It really was. And I'm honored.”
Said Aikman, “In a lot of ways, this has been a lot of fun, because it has made me look back on my career and the people that have meant a lot to me over the years, that have helped me get here, and at the same time, I am looking forward to as I mentioned, that we've celebrated the career, and I feel like I have a few different times now, with the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and then when I retired. I hope there are other things. I hope there are other things in life for me down the road that I'm remembered for as much as what I was or am as a football player,” he said.
“Is anybody more deserving that Rayfield, I asked. “No sir, he's the man.”
But the most popular jersey of the day was Former Cowboys Quarterback Troy Aikman's number 8. One fan was wearing Aikman’s number 8 from UCLA.
How long have you been an Akiman fan? “Ah since UCLA, 87, and 88,” he said.
But despite two more additions, fans still feel the Cowboys have been slighted when it comes to the number of members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Said one fan, waiting in line to enter the stadium for the ceremonies, “They need a whole enshrinement for nothing but Cowboys, add on to the ring of honor.”
But support for the two latest additions was overwhelming. So much so that Aikman made it a point to recognize the following.
“Thank you,” he said in tears. “Your support meant so much to me as it did through out my career, football is a great game that as afforded me many things and provided much happiness. But my greatest blessings in life have been my family, and friends. A high school coach once told me you have a lot of acquaintances and very few friends, for most that’s probably true, but not for me. The many friendships in my life have made me feel every single day, like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and I thank all of you for being here today.”
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones was in the audience when the first player he ever drafted after he bought the team. “It just reminded me how important a team is to him, was to him,” he said. “What a team player he is, his recognition of his teammates, and the fans, and the coaches they played in it, were just heart warming.”
Jones said he feels like he is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with Aikman. “Of course you do, I know my eyes are red, I wasn't going to take my sunglasses off, I've been crying for 30-minutes during his comments.”
“Obviously, just a range of emotions, the loudest reception, and the most emotion, was on Troy Aikman and Rayfield Wright,” said Dale Hellestrae, a former teammate of Aikman. “It was spectacular to see it.”
While Aikman and Wright may have delivered the most emotional speeches of the day, for Wright, the long wait was finally over.
Offensive lineman are taught to protect the quarterback, the same way that the secret service protects our nation’s president,” said Wright. “In this case, Roger Staubach was our president, and the director of the secret service, was our Offensive Line Coach Jim Myers. He built an offensive line that was unmatched. And today, I can not accept this honor, without bringing Coach Myers and his offensive line into the hall with me.”
“You know his first game was against Deacon Jones and he shut Deacon out,” said Myers. “He came there as a split end and a weak safety, and they tried to make a tight end out of him, tried to make a defensive guy out of him, but he came over to the offensive line and made a coach out of me,” Myers said laughing.
The cowboys representatives in the Pro Football Hall of Fame now stands at nine, that's seven players, but its a number that will certainly grow in the future, especially with names like Running back Emmitt Smith and Offensive Lineman Larry Allen, and perhaps even Wide Receiver Michael Irvin.
But for now, these two cowboys are the focus, joining a select group of only 235-people, who make up the pro football hall of fame.
“I think the whole event was such a dramatic event, all the speakers, all the enshrines, I think they all did such a great job,” said Wright. “I think they spoke their hearts, you know, in every situation, it was just a true blessing, just to be a part of such a great class. It really was. And I'm honored.”
Said Aikman, “In a lot of ways, this has been a lot of fun, because it has made me look back on my career and the people that have meant a lot to me over the years, that have helped me get here, and at the same time, I am looking forward to as I mentioned, that we've celebrated the career, and I feel like I have a few different times now, with the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and then when I retired. I hope there are other things. I hope there are other things in life for me down the road that I'm remembered for as much as what I was or am as a football player,” he said.
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