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Slimmed down Bum agrees with Aikman on T.O. departure [The Port Arthur News, Texas]
(Port Arthur News, The (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apr. 15--What's left of Bum Phillips totally agrees with Troy Aikman's assessment last week that the Dallas Cowboys will be better off with Terrell Owens freezing his butt off in Buffalo during the 2009 season. Actually, Aikman didn't phrase T.O.'s departure quite that way, so just chalk the thought up to journalistic license.
As for the phrase "what's left of Bum," the coach with the most NFL regular season wins of anybody with Southeast Texas roots -- yes, he's ahead of Jimmy Johnson -- has become the incredible shrinking man. As of Tuesday morning, he's down 36 pounds to 220.
"No, I can't remember the last time I weighed 220," he informed from his Goliad ranch. "I think I was probably 225 or 230 when I started coaching the Houston Oilers. It's pretty amazing. I really feel good." Phillips and wife Debbie -- she's dropped 35 pounds -- owe it all to the Nutrisystems program, and probably ought to be starring in one of the commercials. It's the same diet that saw Bum's former coaching rival Don Shula take off 32 pounds, Shula's Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino shed 22 and ESPN's Chris Berman trim down by a whopping 41.
For Bum, who will be 86 in September, there's only one problem with getting smaller. His clothes don't fit and he stubbornly refuses to buy new ones. "I just gird 'em up 'till they won't fall off," he says. Debbie, however, indicates his clothes "bag everywhere" and his wardrobe will be changing soon.
Meanwhile, his interest in the Cowboys is obvious. Son Wade, as Jerry Jones' fifth head coach since Jethro fired Johnson, has been caught up in considerable turbulence since Dallas went a disappointing 9-7. Entering the final year of his contract, he's almost in a Super Bowl or bust situation with a team loaded with question marks.
Bum's Cowboy observations are mostly as an old coach watching from a distance. He rarely attends games, seldom rehashes them with the head coach and says he's oblivious to the way-too-personal attacks on Wade from the Dallas media. In addition, he likes and respects Jones, which causes him to choose his words carefully.
Before amplifying on Owens, he commended Jones for doing the right thing by eliminating a major distraction.
"I know that wasn't an easy thing for Jerry to do," said Bum. "He brought Owens to Dallas, and he knew he was going to take a lot of flack for a decision that didn't work out. He probably didn't want to let him go. I don't know who convinced him it had to be done, but I admire him for going through with it." That said, Phillips is quick to stress the importance of not having a divided locker room, a necessity Jones foolishly downplays. Bum's Houston Oilers teams overachieved because of a unity, a loyalty, a devotion to a common cause and as he used to say, "holding on to the rope." It was an approach that enabled them to shrink the huge talent gap between those Oilers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. With few Pro Bowlers and only two players -- Earl Campbell and Elvin Bethea -- who reached the NFL Hall of Fame, Bum's Luv Ya Blue teams challenged the Steelers like nobody else in the late '70s.
"Nothing tears a team up quicker than a guy who is being disruptive on the sidelines and in the locker," Phillips noted. "Owens was constantly fussing at somebody. You just don't want a guy around who is always unhappy. You need everybody pushing the wagon in the same direction. I'd take my chances with less talent, as long as they were team players.
"I'd guess Owens had his little groups in the locker room who listened to him and sided with him," he continued. "I'd imagine he influenced some of the younger players. You don't need a veteran player doing that. The Cowboys are going to miss his talent, but they will profit in the long run by the silence." Phillips heartily agrees with a certain sportswriter's assessment that the Cowboys would be better served next year to lean more heavily on the running game. It's an approach that would take some pressure off heavily scrutinized, oft-criticized QB Tony Romo. But he's skeptical it will happen.
"I think the offensive coordinator (Jason Garrett) is a passing coach. His thinking is you pass to set up the run, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I've always believed you run to set up the pass and control the clock. With Owens gone, and some of the receiver questions they have, it might not be a bad idea.
"The thing is, Dallas looks to me like more of a finesse running team. They rely a lot on timing in their running game. I look at their linemen and they are more in a stance to drop back and pass block. They have good enough backs and big enough linemen, I'd like to see them hit people in the mouth, go right at defenses." Given Garrett's air-it-out philosophy, Phillips thinks one of the players most critical to Dallas' success is going to be former Detroit Lion Roy Williams.
"He has to come through and be a big play receiver," Bum said. "I don't know why he didn't play better after he came to Dallas last year. He really didn't do much at all. Part of that might have been because the quarterback had to spend so much time looking for Owens, before he looked for anybody else.
"Maybe now that the load is on Williams' shoulders, he will play a bigger part. Last year, from what I saw, he wasn't even as good as some of their younger receivers. At times, he didn't look like he ran very hard. They are going to need him to play well and one of their young receivers to step up." As for the diet, Bum isn't saying how much lower he wants to go. But he's willing to listen if Nutrisystems needs an elder spokesman.
Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net. His Sportsrap radio show airs Mondays at 8:05 p.m. on KLVI (560-AM).
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/04/15/4132478.htm
(Port Arthur News, The (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Apr. 15--What's left of Bum Phillips totally agrees with Troy Aikman's assessment last week that the Dallas Cowboys will be better off with Terrell Owens freezing his butt off in Buffalo during the 2009 season. Actually, Aikman didn't phrase T.O.'s departure quite that way, so just chalk the thought up to journalistic license.
As for the phrase "what's left of Bum," the coach with the most NFL regular season wins of anybody with Southeast Texas roots -- yes, he's ahead of Jimmy Johnson -- has become the incredible shrinking man. As of Tuesday morning, he's down 36 pounds to 220.
"No, I can't remember the last time I weighed 220," he informed from his Goliad ranch. "I think I was probably 225 or 230 when I started coaching the Houston Oilers. It's pretty amazing. I really feel good." Phillips and wife Debbie -- she's dropped 35 pounds -- owe it all to the Nutrisystems program, and probably ought to be starring in one of the commercials. It's the same diet that saw Bum's former coaching rival Don Shula take off 32 pounds, Shula's Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino shed 22 and ESPN's Chris Berman trim down by a whopping 41.
For Bum, who will be 86 in September, there's only one problem with getting smaller. His clothes don't fit and he stubbornly refuses to buy new ones. "I just gird 'em up 'till they won't fall off," he says. Debbie, however, indicates his clothes "bag everywhere" and his wardrobe will be changing soon.
Meanwhile, his interest in the Cowboys is obvious. Son Wade, as Jerry Jones' fifth head coach since Jethro fired Johnson, has been caught up in considerable turbulence since Dallas went a disappointing 9-7. Entering the final year of his contract, he's almost in a Super Bowl or bust situation with a team loaded with question marks.
Bum's Cowboy observations are mostly as an old coach watching from a distance. He rarely attends games, seldom rehashes them with the head coach and says he's oblivious to the way-too-personal attacks on Wade from the Dallas media. In addition, he likes and respects Jones, which causes him to choose his words carefully.
Before amplifying on Owens, he commended Jones for doing the right thing by eliminating a major distraction.
"I know that wasn't an easy thing for Jerry to do," said Bum. "He brought Owens to Dallas, and he knew he was going to take a lot of flack for a decision that didn't work out. He probably didn't want to let him go. I don't know who convinced him it had to be done, but I admire him for going through with it." That said, Phillips is quick to stress the importance of not having a divided locker room, a necessity Jones foolishly downplays. Bum's Houston Oilers teams overachieved because of a unity, a loyalty, a devotion to a common cause and as he used to say, "holding on to the rope." It was an approach that enabled them to shrink the huge talent gap between those Oilers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. With few Pro Bowlers and only two players -- Earl Campbell and Elvin Bethea -- who reached the NFL Hall of Fame, Bum's Luv Ya Blue teams challenged the Steelers like nobody else in the late '70s.
"Nothing tears a team up quicker than a guy who is being disruptive on the sidelines and in the locker," Phillips noted. "Owens was constantly fussing at somebody. You just don't want a guy around who is always unhappy. You need everybody pushing the wagon in the same direction. I'd take my chances with less talent, as long as they were team players.
"I'd guess Owens had his little groups in the locker room who listened to him and sided with him," he continued. "I'd imagine he influenced some of the younger players. You don't need a veteran player doing that. The Cowboys are going to miss his talent, but they will profit in the long run by the silence." Phillips heartily agrees with a certain sportswriter's assessment that the Cowboys would be better served next year to lean more heavily on the running game. It's an approach that would take some pressure off heavily scrutinized, oft-criticized QB Tony Romo. But he's skeptical it will happen.
"I think the offensive coordinator (Jason Garrett) is a passing coach. His thinking is you pass to set up the run, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I've always believed you run to set up the pass and control the clock. With Owens gone, and some of the receiver questions they have, it might not be a bad idea.
"The thing is, Dallas looks to me like more of a finesse running team. They rely a lot on timing in their running game. I look at their linemen and they are more in a stance to drop back and pass block. They have good enough backs and big enough linemen, I'd like to see them hit people in the mouth, go right at defenses." Given Garrett's air-it-out philosophy, Phillips thinks one of the players most critical to Dallas' success is going to be former Detroit Lion Roy Williams.
"He has to come through and be a big play receiver," Bum said. "I don't know why he didn't play better after he came to Dallas last year. He really didn't do much at all. Part of that might have been because the quarterback had to spend so much time looking for Owens, before he looked for anybody else.
"Maybe now that the load is on Williams' shoulders, he will play a bigger part. Last year, from what I saw, he wasn't even as good as some of their younger receivers. At times, he didn't look like he ran very hard. They are going to need him to play well and one of their young receivers to step up." As for the diet, Bum isn't saying how much lower he wants to go. But he's willing to listen if Nutrisystems needs an elder spokesman.
Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at rdwest@usa.net. His Sportsrap radio show airs Mondays at 8:05 p.m. on KLVI (560-AM).
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/04/15/4132478.htm
