Parcells unhappy with progress at Dallas camp

[tcwest10]

Madden knows better than to show favoritism towards any team, don't you Johnnie?
Good to see you around again, PT. Don't worry, nothing has changed. We're gonna rag Dallas every chance we get, and you're gonna post eye rolls.
It's all good.

[Primetime42]

Madden knows better than to show favoritism towards any team, don't you Johnnie?
Good to see you around again, PT. Don't worry, nothing has changed. We're gonna rag Dallas every chance we get, and you're gonna post eye rolls.
It's all good.

Been busy. Just got a new job.

One of my new co-workers is someone you really, really hate. Just thought I'd throw it out there

I very rarely sleep anymore, it seems.

[tcwest10]

Madden knows better than to show favoritism towards any team, don't you Johnnie?
Good to see you around again, PT. Don't worry, nothing has changed. We're gonna rag Dallas every chance we get, and you're gonna post eye rolls.
It's all good.

Been busy. Just got a new job.

One of my new co-workers is someone you really, really hate. Just thought I'd throw it out there

I very rarely sleep anymore, it seems.

Good. You're easier to pick on when you're tired.

It's been posited that JPM36 is actually the HOF announcer.

[Primetime42]

It's been posited that JPM36 is actually the HOF announcer.

Oh, no, it's someone you dislike far, far more than that guy.

That's really the last hint i'm giving you.

[Chris Luva Luva]

The rift is already in place. Now its just a matter of time.

If you're wondering why Terrell Owens chose Wednesday to make his sudden return to the practice field after having skipped the 14 previous sessions, the answer is rather simple: The Dallas Cowboys' mercurial receiver apparently decided he'd rather deal with a twinge in his left hamstring than with his sore head coach.

SI.com has learned that the previous afternoon, during the team's training-camp practice in Oxnard, Calif., Cowboys coach Bill Parcells approached trainer Jim Maurer and pointedly said, "Look, you tell Terrell that tomorrow I want him out here for practice. Tomorrow's the day. I don't care. Tomorrow's the day."

Apparently, Owens got the message, rejoining his teammates on the field Wednesday afternoon for the first time since Aug. 2. And, equally important, Parcells sent a message to his players that he remains firmly in charge of his team.

"Before T.O. got back out there, a lot of people were starting to second-guess Bill," one Cowboys player says. "For the first time ever, he'd shown a little weakness, like he might not be totally in control, and like he didn't know how to handle this situation. Because, let's face it, it's been a total spectacle so far."

Don't think that the "Tour de Terrell" stunt Owens pulled last week -- wearing the Discovery Channel pro cycling team's silver and blue jersey and a racing helmet while riding his stationary bike on the sideline during practice -- didn't irk Parcells, who reacted disgustedly. "As soon as he saw T.O. in the jersey, and saw all the TV cameras heading over, Parcells got up and walked to the other end of the field," says the same Cowboys player. "It's like he was saying, 'There's no way you're gonna get a shot of me in the same frame as that crap.'"

Dallas players are well aware that owner Jerry Jones was a driving force behind the courtship of Owens, who replaced reasonably popular wideout Keyshawn Johnson following the team's near-playoff 2005 campaign. They also know that Parcells absolutely loathes it when a player misses practice with a vague ailment -- and it was natural to question just how injured Owens was. Despite having consistently complained of hamstring pain, the wideout was rumored to have run a 4.48 40-yard dash on Tuesday. An MRI exam on Aug. 5, three days after he said he first injured the hamstring, reportedly came up clear.

If the surest way to rile Andy Reid, Owens' former coach in Philadelphia, was to undermine his authority and publicly embarrass his starting quarterback, the quickest way into Parcells' doghouse surely is to do exactly what Owens had been doing for the better part of two weeks.

Remember the brouhaha that occurred a decade ago when Parcells, then the Patriots' coach, referred to wideout Terry Glenn as "she"? The infamous jab came because Glenn -- now, incidentally, Dallas's other starting wideout -- had missed a series of practices with a hamstring injury.

From the other Cowboys' perspective, it was hard not to imagine that the coach had developed similar feelings about Owens. But until Parcells' ultimatum to Maurer, they weren't sure if the Tuna had the juice or gumption to take on Jones' prized free-agent signee.

"We all just sat and wondered, 'Who's gonna win this battle?'" says the Cowboys player. "As a player, you can't help but get distracted when something like that is going on. The guy comes out last every single practice, has somebody carrying his helmet and is always putting on his uniform at the last minute, and then he's out there riding the bike and drawing attention to himself. Even if he's not trying to be a deterrent -- and he clearly is -- it's obvious that the coach isn't happy.

"The bottom line is, he appeared to be healthy and wasn't practicing. So we'd sit and wonder, Who's gonna win? How's it gonna go down?'"

Give this round to the Tuna -- and stay tuned.

[Mursilis]

The rift is already in place. Now its just a matter of time.

Don't think that the "Tour de Terrell" stunt Owens pulled last week -- wearing the Discovery Channel pro cycling team's silver and blue jersey and a racing helmet while riding his stationary bike on the sideline during practice -- didn't irk Parcells, who reacted disgustedly.

A pro cyclist's jersey and helmet on a stationary bike - hilarious!
Of all the teams that stupid clown could help destroy, I'm so glad he chose the Cowboys! With the Eagles he waited until the second year to really kill the team, but I'm happy to see he's undermining the team right from training camp this year! Good luck dealing with Hurricane T.O., Cowgirls! You choose your poison, now enjoy it!!

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

Is T.O. turning into the Larry Brown of the NFL? He might make a great livelihood just for working out in the offseason, signing big deals, and never getting on the field.

[Deadskins]

Is T.O. turning into the Larry Brown of the NFL?

T.O. = Larry Brown?

Not in this lifetime!

[yupchagee]

The rift is already in place. Now its just a matter of time.

Don't think that the "Tour de Terrell" stunt Owens pulled last week -- wearing the Discovery Channel pro cycling team's silver and blue jersey and a racing helmet while riding his stationary bike on the sideline during practice -- didn't irk Parcells, who reacted disgustedly.

A pro cyclist's jersey and helmet on a stationary bike - hilarious!
Of all the teams that stupid clown could help destroy, I'm so glad he chose the Cowboys! With the Eagles he waited until the second year to really kill the team, but I'm happy to see he's undermining the team right from training camp this year! Good luck dealing with Hurricane T.O., Cowgirls! You choose your poison, now enjoy it!!

This is music to my eyes.

[JansenFan]

Is T.O. turning into the Larry Brown of the NFL?

T.O. = Larry Brown?

Not in this lifetime!

You better hope Larry Brown had his bad ear turned towards you when you said that.

(btw, I know you must be talking about the basketball coach).

[JPM36]

I can't help but laugh when the so-called "experts" question the Redskins chemistry coming into this season when it's the Cowboys who added arguably the worst locker room guy in NFL history and a KICKER who has famously critcized teammates and coaches after playoff losses (before choking on his own in last season's playoff defeat)

We'll see who has the chemistry problems this year, and something tells me it won't be Joe Gibbs's group.

[yupchagee]

I can't help but laugh when the so-called "experts" question the Redskins chemistry coming into this season when it's the Cowboys who added arguably the worst locker room guy in NFL history and a KICKER who has famously critcized teammates and coaches after playoff losses (before choking on his own in last season's playoff defeat)

We'll see who has the chemistry problems this year, and something tells me it won't be Joe Gibbs's group.

It is funny. Good team chemistry has always been a Gibbs hallmark. Maybe we should become sports writers. Evidently, as long as you get the right number of words in a column, it doesn't have to make any sense.

[NC43Hog]

Is T.O. turning into the Larry Brown of the NFL?

I KNOW I did not just read this!!!!!

Always clarify before making such a Blasphemus statement.

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

Is T.O. turning into the Larry Brown of the NFL?

I KNOW I did not just read this!!!!!

Always clarify before making such a Blasphemus statement.

My bad. My bad. (thumps chest)