OXNARD, Calif. (Aug. 8, 2006) -- Bill Parcells said he has no problem with Terrell Owens bringing in his own experts to help repair his ailing hamstring.
Parcells does have a problem with all the attention the injury is generating at Cowboys camp.
With T.O.-related questions again dominating his daily gathering with reporters, Parcells tried getting off the subject by saying: "I'm getting the sense that most of the media is just waiting for something to be controversial in that regard. And I'm here to tell you, it's not going to happen from me. So you need to get that in your head. OK?"
When the topic was broached again later, Parcells warned not to try interpreting his mood on this subject.
"The situation is the same as I told you the other day," he said. "We are hopeful we can get the work in and get him into the program and up to speed with what we do as soon as possible. It hasn't changed. I said it yesterday. I said it today. I said it the first day. It's not going to change."
Since taking part in the first eight workouts of training camp, Owens has been on the sidelines for the last eight, including a scrimmage. Plenty more absences are likely since Owens said he doubts that he will play in the preseason opener Aug. 12 in Seattle.
The pain began last Aug. 2. An MRI taken Aug. 5 showed no problems. He's repeatedly said his status is day-to-day, spending most of each practice slowly riding a stationary bicycle.
"If the player is telling you that he has something bothering him, then you have to give the player the benefit of the doubt," Parcells said. "At some point in time it's going to be prohibitive. But that's not now. That shouldn't be the story today."
The notion that Owens might be stirring things up so early in training camp is exactly why this is so buzz-worthy.
After his chaotic stints in San Francisco and Philadelphia, Owens has become a story whether he plays or not, which is likely among the reasons team owner and marketing whiz Jerry Jones signed the receiver in March. Jones certainly knew how tantalizing the combination of this player and this team -- and this coach -- would be to the masses.
The downside is that the club must deal with ongoing speculation of when and if Owens would stir things up in Dallas.
A nagging hamstring injury in early August doesn't even crack the Top 10 of Owens incidents -- but little things could be starting to pile up, such as turning to his own medical team instead of those provided by the team.
It's worth noting that many of the specialists he's summoned were among those who helped him recover from an ankle injury to play in the February 2005 Super Bowl. But he contradicts the new team-friendly attitude he says he has adopted when he says, "I have to do what's best for me regardless of what anybody thinks."
Parcells said Owens is not his first player to go beyond the organization's staff to treat an injury. The coach's viewpoint: "If that's what he wants to do."
Parcells has often praised Dallas' training staff during his three-plus seasons, especially with how quickly they've rehabilitated several injured players. He said Aug. 8 that he's "very pleased" with them.
Asked what they think of Owens' outside help, he said reporters would have to ask them. Reminded they are off-limits to reporters, Parcells said, "Then I guess you're not going to ask them."
Owens' conditioning and competitiveness are not things Parcells is concerned about. The bigger issue raised by all the lost practices is that he and quarterback Drew Bledsoe aren't getting their timing down. The two were not very sharp in their five days together thus far.
Asked when that becomes an issue, Parcells said, "I don't know that it ever will be."
However, he also doesn't think they can merely show up for the Sept. 10 opener at Jacksonville and immediately click.
"You wouldn't think so, would you?" he said.
