Terrell Owens Stands by Criticism of Cowboys Offense, Presumably Because He's Right

If you were one of the hundreds of football fans who have NFL Network, and you weren't distracted by Deion Sanders' homage to the '80s, you probably saw and comprehended his Thursday night interview with Terrell Owens during halftime of the Bengals-Steelers game.

As far as T.O. woe-is-me sessions go, this was pretty tame, and in fact, the most inflammatory thing to come from the one-on-one -- other than Mr. Prime's ensemble -- was this relatively innocuous quote: "For me to have the numbers that I have and not really being involved it is discouraging," Owens said. "It is frustrating, but what can I do?"

Yesterday, however, the Dallas Morning News' Calvin Watkins wrote that Owens "wasn't backing down" from his NFL Network comments "in which he said his offensive numbers are not to his liking because of the Cowboys' system."

Again, hardly scandalous. Watkins explains:

When pressed about his problems with the offense, Owens said it lacks flexibility and that defenses have caught up to coordinator Jason Garrett's scheme. Owens said the Cowboys have not made the necessary adjustments to combat what teams are doing to stop him.

Is that true? I have no idea; It's tough to judge a scheme when a team is forced to trot Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger onto the field for three straight weeks. Whatever, Owens admits that he misses the West Coast Offense, before adding: "[But] you've got to deal with the cards that are dealt ... [The WCO is] a different offense ... It's a lot of flexibility." And after you deal with the dealt cards, you've got to play them.

Watkins rightly points out that this is the same offense Dallas ran a year ago, when T.O. racked up 1,355 receiving yards, 81 catches and 15 touchdowns. And the Johnson/Bollinger two-headed experiment that went horribly awry had something to do with the midseason collapse. Still, the Cowboys are 6-4 and still in the playoff mix.

I have no problem with Owens' comments, and based on his body of work, they barely merit a mention (yet here we are). It's just too bad more NFL players aren't like Marion Barber.

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) holds his right pinkie after making a few passes during practice at the Cowboys training facility in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) makes a throw during football practice at the team's training facility in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, front, prepares to make a throw as backup quarterback Brooks Bollinger (5) looks on during football practice at the team's training facility in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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