Daily Herald: Talent does the talking

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Talent does the talking
By John Dietz | Daily Herald Staff
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Sometimes Terrell Owens talks too much.


Sometimes he acts a little bit silly, like last week when he used the football as a camera after scoring a touchdown.


And sometimes, he's just plain moody when things aren't going his way.
But then there are times when the 12-year NFL veteran lets his play do all the talking for him, and he leaves a stadium in shocked silence.


That's exactly how he left the better part of 62,099 at Soldier Field on Sunday.


After a slow first half, Owens torched the Bears' secondary with 5 catches for 105 yards in a 10-minute span in the third quarter, almost single-handedly vaulting the Cowboys (3-0) to a 34-10 victory over the Bears.


"We came in here, mission accomplished, and I feel like there was a statement made," said Owens, who ended up with 8 catches for 145 yards.
Bears cornerback Charles Tillman shadowed Owens for much of the first half and basically held Owens at bay. But then a slew of injuries to the defense affected the Bears' ability to rush the passer and receivers were running amok in the secondary.


"(The defensive backs) are not going to cover for six or seven seconds," said defensive end Alex Brown. "That's on us. As a front four, we've got to get pressure. We've got to get the quarterback down. ... For some reason, our radar was off today."


The game turned in the third quarter when Dallas put together drives of 89 and 91 yards to take a 17-10 lead. On the first drive, Owens accounted for 70 of those 89 yards, including 18 on a third-and-7.


On the 91-yard march, Owens had what was probably his play of the game when -- on third-and-11 from the 8-yard line -- he got free in the secondary, used a crushing block by Sam Hurd on Adam Archuleta and picked up 35 yards.


"One of the guys didn't lock him up or they weren't in their zone," Tillman said.


Said Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher: "We've got to get off the field. Third-and-11, we've got to make a play."


It was Owens' only reception of the drive, but imagine if he doesn't make that play. Dallas is forced to punt, the game stays tied at 10-10, and who knows what happens after that?


Tillman said the Bears played about half man-to-man and half zone coverage during the game, but much of the first half appeared to be man-to-man. Once the injuries kicked in, the zones started appearing and there was no stopping Owens.


"I thought I did OK as far as the man coverage goes," Tillman said. "But he did make some good plays. T.O. is a good receiver. He's one of the best in the business."


And does he talk too much on the field?


"He's a true class act, a true sportsman," Tillman said. "A lot of people (say), 'T.O. this, T.O. that.' In my opinion, from what I saw, he didn't say anything. He just kind of smiled."


And it's all on film.
 
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