Web Posted: 09/01/2006 12:14 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
IRVING — Terrell Owens appears to be good to go for the season opener.
Now, the Dallas Cowboys have to find out if the same can be said for the other big-name free agent they signed in the offseason.
The Cowboys had to settle for a 10-10 tie with Minnesota on Thursday after Mike Vanderjagt missed wide right on overtime field-goal attempts from 33 and 32 yards.
Owens, who has been plagued by a hamstring injury since the first week of training camp and missed the Cowboys' previous three exhibition games, made his debut with 13:46 left in the first half and played until halftime. He was in on 19 snaps, covering two possessions, and finished with one catch for 6 yards.
"I just wanted to run around and get my hands on the ball," Owens said. "It's a long season. We'll be ready to work in Jacksonville."
With Owens apparently healthy, Vanderjagt becomes the Cowboys' chief concern.
Asked if the sore groin that forced him to miss two of the Cowboys' four exhibition games had anything to do with the misses, Vanderjagt said, "I'm not going to put it on that. I'm certainly not 100 percent, but you should make a 32-yard field goal in your sleep. Write what you want.
"It was sorry ... kicking."
The fans who stayed for the extra session certainly agreed. They showered Vanderjagt with boos after both misses and did the same when he jogged onto the field for the final attempt with 11 seconds left.
"I don't make excuses for two (easy) field goals from the middle of the field," Vanderjagt said.
After losing three games last season because of faulty kicking, the Cowboys signed Vanderjagt to a three-year, $5.4 million contract that included a $2.5 million signing bonus. The deal made him the highest-paid kicker in team history, but coach Bill Parcells suggested he wouldn't be afraid to release Vanderjagt if he doesn't get his act together before the Sept. 10 opener in Jacksonville.
"We will have to think it over," Parcells said. "You know I have not seen very much, so we will see."
Asked if Vanderjagt's injury was still an issue, Parcells said, "I don't think so. He kicked all week and he looked fine to me in warmups."
Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe (right) and wide receiver Terrell Owens talk things over between plays.
Vanderjagt, who joined the Cowboys after eight seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, is the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
"You can rest on your laurels only so long," Vanderjagt said. "You have to make kicks when a star is on your helmet not a horseshoe. I've got some making up to do."
Vanderjagt wasn't the only goat. Rookie receiver Sam Hurd, a former Brackenridge star, dropped a sure TD pass from Tony Romo in the end zone in overtime.
Parcells also faced scrutiny after deciding to kick the extra point and force OT after Tyson Thompson caught a 2-yard pass from Romo to pull the Cowboys within 10-9 with 17 seconds left.
Asked why he didn't try a 2-point conversion, Parcells said: "Because I didn't want to. We didn't really have a good play. What we wanted to throw for two, we had already thrown once down there. We didn't really have a good play."
Romo completed 30 of 45 passes for 349 yards, two interceptions and one TD. Drew Bledsoe was 9 of 11 for 69 yards and an interception.
Bledsoe had to leave the game after taking a blow to the head while attempting to field a botched snap in the first quarter.
