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The rift between Dallas Cowboys stars Terrell Owens, Tony Romo and Jason Witten is wider than just those three players, a source inside the team's locker room told ESPN's Ed Werder on Friday.
The source told Werder that the majority of defensive players on the team support Owens' contention that Romo is overly reliant on Jason Witten and often throws into coverage trying to get him the ball while ignoring Owens in situation where he could make a play.
One starting player told Werder that "We are not together as a team, and that includes the coaches."
Dallas defensive back Terence Newman told ESPN's First Take on Friday that reports of a rift are blown out of proportion. Newman said that Owens hadn't said a bad word to anyone, and that, as a defensive player, he'd like Owens to get the ball more.
Newman said that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has an open-door policy and both Romo and Witten, along with wide receiver Patrick Crayton, had been in to talk to their coach.
He also said that team chemistry is "great," but insinuated that when Cowboys' coaches make a mistake, they shift the blame to others and the players have noticed it.
In his weekly readio spot on 1310 "The Ticket" in Dallas, Jones said a meeting took place between Roy Williams, Crayton, Owens and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. He said it was nothing out of the ordinary.
"[Owens is] interested in the ball to win the game," Jones said. "He knows if he can get the ball, we have a better chance to win the game. We all agree with that."
Jones said that he visited with Owens for 10 or 15 minutes during practice on Thursday, but said the subject of the meeting with Garrett did not come up. "Not that he [Owens] feels slighted or he feels like there's some type of favoritism going on," Jones said.
Jones also said that Garrett encourages "continual communication."
Phillips said that reports that the team is in turmoil are untrue. "I don't agree," he said.
"Enough talking. We need to get it done," Phillips said.
The comments come a day after a source who speaks regularly with Owens' teammates told ESPN that Owens thinks Romo and Witten -- close friends and road roommates who came to Dallas in the same offseason -- hold private meetings and create plays without including Owens.
Owens believes these discussions have worked to his detriment and Romo seeks to deliver the ball to Witten regardless of whether Owens is open.
"I don't know anything about that," Phillips said when asked about a possible rift at his news conference on Thursday.
"We've thrown for a lot of yards with a lot of players. One receiver is pretty close to 1,000 yards. ... There's no favoritism there, we are going to the guy that is going to be open."
Owens declined to discuss the situation on Thursday outside the Cowboys' locker room. As he walked toward the players' lounge at Valley Ranch, ESPN asked Owens if he would answer questions and he said, "Nope.''
But later Thursday, Owens told The Dallas Morning News: "I'm not jealous of Witten. I'm not jealous of nobody. I can take the approach that I got paid, so screw everything, but that's not me.
The source told Werder that the majority of defensive players on the team support Owens' contention that Romo is overly reliant on Jason Witten and often throws into coverage trying to get him the ball while ignoring Owens in situation where he could make a play.
One starting player told Werder that "We are not together as a team, and that includes the coaches."
Dallas defensive back Terence Newman told ESPN's First Take on Friday that reports of a rift are blown out of proportion. Newman said that Owens hadn't said a bad word to anyone, and that, as a defensive player, he'd like Owens to get the ball more.
Newman said that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has an open-door policy and both Romo and Witten, along with wide receiver Patrick Crayton, had been in to talk to their coach.
He also said that team chemistry is "great," but insinuated that when Cowboys' coaches make a mistake, they shift the blame to others and the players have noticed it.
In his weekly readio spot on 1310 "The Ticket" in Dallas, Jones said a meeting took place between Roy Williams, Crayton, Owens and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. He said it was nothing out of the ordinary.
"[Owens is] interested in the ball to win the game," Jones said. "He knows if he can get the ball, we have a better chance to win the game. We all agree with that."
Jones said that he visited with Owens for 10 or 15 minutes during practice on Thursday, but said the subject of the meeting with Garrett did not come up. "Not that he [Owens] feels slighted or he feels like there's some type of favoritism going on," Jones said.
Jones also said that Garrett encourages "continual communication."
Phillips said that reports that the team is in turmoil are untrue. "I don't agree," he said.
"Enough talking. We need to get it done," Phillips said.
The comments come a day after a source who speaks regularly with Owens' teammates told ESPN that Owens thinks Romo and Witten -- close friends and road roommates who came to Dallas in the same offseason -- hold private meetings and create plays without including Owens.
Owens believes these discussions have worked to his detriment and Romo seeks to deliver the ball to Witten regardless of whether Owens is open.
"I don't know anything about that," Phillips said when asked about a possible rift at his news conference on Thursday.
"We've thrown for a lot of yards with a lot of players. One receiver is pretty close to 1,000 yards. ... There's no favoritism there, we are going to the guy that is going to be open."
Owens declined to discuss the situation on Thursday outside the Cowboys' locker room. As he walked toward the players' lounge at Valley Ranch, ESPN asked Owens if he would answer questions and he said, "Nope.''
But later Thursday, Owens told The Dallas Morning News: "I'm not jealous of Witten. I'm not jealous of nobody. I can take the approach that I got paid, so screw everything, but that's not me.
