Here we go... T.O. questions Cowboys' game plan in playoff loss

[Coakleys Dad]

T.O. questions Cowboys' game plan in playoff loss
August 20, 2008 1:58 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Terrell Owens feels he was underutilized in last January's playoff loss to the Giants.Just in the nick of time, the old Terrell Owens made a cameo appearance at Valley Ranch on Tuesday. In the aftermath of last January's divisional playoff loss to the Giants at Texas Stadium, T.O. made headlines with his tearful defense of quarterback Tony Romo.
He said that the high-ankle sprain that caused him to miss the final regular-season game against the Commanders didn't affect his play against the Giants, which is interesting when you consider the fact that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett suddenly scrapped the team's vaunted passing attack for a run-based approach against New York.
On Tuesday, T.O. thought it would be a good idea to question Garrett's game plan -- seven months later. With the following quote, T.O. suggests that Wade Phillips and Garrett should've followed Andy Reid's blueprint in Super Bowl XXXIX.
"I feel I made the most of the opportunities," Owens said of his play in the 21-17 divisional loss. "It was just like when I played in the Super Bowl with the Eagles, I told the coach if I am on the football field to treat me as if I am 100 percent. I don't think [the Cowboys] were considering what I did in the game. ... I felt like I could have done more."
Wonder if T.O. brought this up with the coaching staff when the Cowboys were devising a game plan the week leading up to the game?
T.O. had torched the Giants for 212 yards and four touchdowns in two regular-season games. And that's why he feels like the Cowboys coaching staff erred in not treating him as if he were 100 percent in the playoff game. When I bump into Wade after the game Friday, I'll make sure and ask him about T.O.'s revisionist history.







& a piece by Mosley of all people. Bring the ruckus....

 

[WoodysGirl]

Did Cowboys go to T.O. enough in playoff loss? He doesn't think so

10:50 AM Wed, Aug 20, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon E-mail News tips

T.O. was a great teammate after the Cowboys' loss to the Giants, when he made a tearful defense of his quarterback. Months later, the Original 81 made a mild complaint about the Cowboys' strategy in the game.

"I feel I made the most of the opportunities," T.O. said yesterday during his long chit-chat with reporters. "It was just like when I played in the Super Bowl with the Eagles, I told the coach if I am on the football field to treat me as if I am 100 percent. I don't think they [were] considering what I did in the game. . . . I felt like I could have done more."

T.O.'s comments really aren't a big deal. Like most receivers of his Hall of Fame caliber, he doesn't believe he was used properly in any game he doesn't finish with 100 yards and a TD or two.

I could understand if T.O. has a beef with not getting the ball with the game on the line. I'm still scratching my head about why Tony Romo went to a well-covered Terry Glenn on fourth down.

Other than that (favorite T.O. phrase), the Cowboys basically did use T.O. in their normal fashion. He was targeted on 11 passes (throw-by-throw here), lining up wide left, wide right, in the slot and going in motion.

It's easy to point out that T.O. was shut out in the second half. Take a closer look, however, and you'll see that he could/should have had two more touchdowns. The ball slipped out of Romo's hands on what would have been a walk-in score, and a hit by Justin Tuck kept Romo from getting enough on a ball when T.O. got open behind the secondary.

If the Cowboys execute those two plays, T.O.'s six-catch, 120ish-yard, three-TD performance would be legendary. And the Cowboys probably would have played the Patriots in the Super Bowl. There certainly wouldn't have been any second-guessing of the game plan seven months later.

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

ESPN's trying!

 

[superpunk]

Any competitor is going to feel that, in a loss, things would have been different if they had just gone to him more.

Most competitors know to keep that little bit of insight inside their head, though.

 

[Doomsday101]

It is over and done nothing can change that.

Could Dallas have won going to TO more in that game? Maybe, maybe not TO did not look like he had the extra gear to separate from the defender in that game.

For me the game came down to too many mental mistakes by the Cowboys you hope to learn from it and move ahead.

I have no problem with TO feeling that way I would not expect anything less than a player feeling like he could have done more.

 

[theebs]

espn and mosley have insisted on making this an issue.

I have a question why is clarence hill even asking him this? Maybe because he knows the response he will get and then he can turn up on espn.

I am starting to think the local media here are bigger attention ****** than some of the players.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

yawn.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

A shining example of why Mosely is a piece of garbage. Sounds like ESPN's plan to make him their resident Cowboys fan has backfired on them, so they are going to ole reliable, criticizing Owens.






YAKUZA

 

[DaBoys4Life]

I didn't like the way our pass orientated offense lined up in a 2 TE set and ran the ball 20+ times in the 1st half.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Meh... He is a Cowboy now.
Going into 3rd year.
Having career years with us.

He loves Jerry.
He loves Wade.
He loves Coach Garrett.
He loves Tony Romo.
He loves Danny Amendola.

I dont blame him for feeling this way. Right or wrong. I dont blame him.
Its his honest way of saying I wanted to do more.

 

[landryscorner]

there is NOTHING wrong with questioning authority! ignoring the players insights is one of the many faults of cordinators and coaches in the NFL

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

This should raise concerns, not about Owens, but about Garrett. While most Cowboy fans want to elevate him to god-like status, I won't do that for Garrett. He still needs to prove it to me because without T.O. heaviliy in the mix Garrett's offense had a Dr.Jeckle/Mr.Hide look to it. So if T.O. in fact was able to carry more of the load, then it is the coaching staffs' fault for not recognizing that, especially in the light of a playoff-calliber contest.

As far as I'm concerned, T.O. is a much more proven WR in this league than Garrett is a coordinator. So if T.O. feels he was underused then Garret really needs to look at that and adjust accordingly. Coaches always harp on players to not leave yards on the field, so it is fair to harp on coaches for leaving talent off the field, and that applies to Garrett if in fact that is the case here.

 

[theebs]

This should raise concerns, not about Owens, but about Garrett. While most Cowboy fans want to elevate him to god-like status, I won't do that for Garrett. He still needs to prove it to me because without T.O. heaviliy in the mix Garrett's offense had a Dr.Jeckle/Mr.Hide look to it. So if T.O. in fact was able to carry more of the load, then it is the coaching staffs' fault for not recognizing that, especially in the light of a playoff-calliber contest.

As far as I'm concerned, T.O. is a much more proven WR in this league than Garrett is a coordinator. So if T.O. feels he was underused then Garret really needs to look at that and adjust accordingly. Coaches always harp on players to not leave yards on the field, so it is fair to harp on coaches for leaving talent off the field, and that applies to Garrett if in fact that is the case here.

good god. Garrett coached a team without owens for 6 quarters. Two of them were the second half of the carolina game in which we were having our way with them. We had a lead and had a yardage difference of like 250 to 40 yards.

It is impossible to judge garret without owens, because he never really gameplanned without him. The skins game was what it was. Neccessary to play but not of any importance to this team. Even at that, with columbo nursing a bad knee, andre gurode not playing and terrential downpours We still should have scored a bunch of points.

Guys ran the plays and got open, the ball was delivered, austin and hurd dropped balls that day. Two of them were for 6.

People, especially the media have blown this offense without owens out of proportion, 6 quarters of football, 1 game played without owens is not enough to judge someone by.

I know this. I have hitched my wagon to the garretts. I love everything about them.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

This to me is a boring, non-issue, that ESPN would like to try and turn into a huge issue.

 

[landryscorner]

This should raise concerns, not about Owens, but about Garrett. While most Cowboy fans want to elevate him to god-like status, I won't do that for Garrett. He still needs to prove it to me because without T.O. heaviliy in the mix Garrett's offense had a Dr.Jeckle/Mr.Hide look to it. So if T.O. in fact was able to carry more of the load, then it is the coaching staffs' fault for not recognizing that, especially in the light of a playoff-calliber contest.

As far as I'm concerned, T.O. is a much more proven WR in this league than Garrett is a coordinator. So if T.O. feels he was underused then Garret really needs to look at that and adjust accordingly. Coaches always harp on players to not leave yards on the field, so it is fair to harp on coaches for leaving talent off the field, and that applies to Garrett if in fact that is the case here.

dude during that game I was furious that TO wasn't being used, I dont blame him at all for complaining, after all, we do remember his superbowl effort with the eagles

 

[Coy]

I agree with him, we changed the way we had played all year, instead of finishing the Giants through the air, we ran the ball a lot more and that´s why the game was so close, after the third quarter it was anybody’s game.
I do think they changed the game plan because they thought TO wasn´t 100%.
Forget about that, 2008 is starting and this is our year.

 

[Doomsday101]

This to me is a boring, non-issue, that ESPN would like to try and turn into a huge issue.

I agree. If TO was bad mouthing the coaches and pouting I may feel different but all he has done is state an opinion that if he was more involved the outcome may have been different. That has not been the case, Owens seems to have a good relationship with both Phillips and Garrett. I don't think he is questioning their ability as a HC or a coordinator

 

[ologan]

That game was lost when we couldn't stop the Giants from driving most of the length of the field and scoring a TD just before the half. End of story!

 

[Coakleys Dad]

That game was lost when we couldn't stop the Giants from driving most of the length of the field and scoring a TD just before the half. End of story!

Bye bye Reeves...

 

[alby]

Non-story