Cowboys need Owens
IRVING, Texas He practiced, but he really didn't. He only walked, but he jogged. He's back, but he's not.
Head coach Wade Phillips and the Dallas Cowboys aren't trying to be evasive about the status of wide receiver Terrell Owens and his high ankle sprain. The situation is simply that fluid. Of course, the world would know exactly where the wide receiver stands, if he were talking. But he's not. And this time, he hasn't even left so much as a single "Dear John" for the media, as he did during his week of silence leading into the New England Patriots game.
"That was classic," cracked Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton.
Sans a note, the Cowboys were left playing junior MDs Monday, ranging from the optimistic outlook of Crayton and fellow receiver Sam Hurd to the more cautious dialogue of Phillips. But there is little wavering on one point: Dallas, which plays host to the New York Giants in Sunday's NFC divisional game, is exponentially better with their star wideout.
"It's real big," Crayton said. "You've got a game-breaker a future Hall of Famer that's coming back and it's playoff time. (We're) hungry. We're trying to get this ring, so we've got to have all our pieces."
"It's huge," Hurd said. "That's a weapon that means everything."
It's hard to argue with Owens' production against the Giants this season nine catches, 212 yards and four touchdowns. Perhaps more important, his presence would give Dallas something it hasn't had since last season: a full complement of its most talented receivers, along with Crayton, tight end Jason Witten and wideout Terry Glenn, who is back to full speed in practice. Owens' healthy presence could mean single coverage for all three of those players, and easier decisions for quarterback Tony Romo against blitz packages, not to mention less stacking up at the line of scrimmage against running backs Julius Jones and Marion Barber.
While it's only been a small snapshot, Dallas' offense hasn't been impressive since Owens went down with the ankle injury in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers. The Cowboys have managed only two field goals in the slightly more than four quarters Romo played without his star wideout.
"(Opponents) don't zone quite as much," Crayton said of the looks Dallas got without Owens in the lineup. "They tend to try to bring a little more heat. That's the difference. He occupies two people just about every play. (It impacts) passing and running. Because when he's not in there, they can put a little more in the box."
Crayton and Hurd said they both believed Owens would play against the Giants, after watching him go through portions of Monday's walkthrough. Owens spent the early portion of the practice with the training staff doing some jogging, before joining the rest of the team in standard non-contact drills.
Phillips with his typical befuddled tone when discussing issues was a bit more cautious, suggesting Owens' long-term prognosis will be a part of the final evaluation. That big-picture approach is suggestive that Owens will likely be hampered the remainder of the postseason, even if he does play.
"There is a dilemma there certainly in what percentage he's going to be healthy," Phillips said. "I think he would play no matter what. (If it was his decision) he would play. But it comes down to the decision as to if you were to win, to not have him healthy for the next game, you have to think about those things.
"From his history, from his toughness, from his ability to withstand pain those are all positives. But you don't want to put him in harm's way."
Then again, Dallas might not have a choice. Despite entering the postseason with the NFC's No. 1 seed, there is a maelstrom of drama surrounding the franchise. On a lesser level, the Cowboys are fighting the notion that it's hard to defeat a team three times in a season, trying to become the 12th team in 18 tries to do so since 1970. Of greater significance, there's been second-guessing over the ugly season-ending loss to the Washington Redskins and the lingering story line of Romo's bobbled snap last season against the Seattle Seahawks.
"I don't know that he looks at that play," Witten said of Romo's miscue against the Seahawks. "A lot of people were wondering how he would come back. Obviously he showed (he could). I think all of us really wondered how he would overcome that. But more than anything, he was able to bounce back from it and obviously have a great season."
Of course, that would be a far bigger story line in Dallas if Romo's bye-week vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with girlfriend Jessica Simpson wasn't such a hot topic. Romo and Simpson took the trip with Witten and his wife, ending up on the wrong end of the paparazzo's lens. Within hours, the photos were all over the internet, sparking up debate about Romo's focus leading in the postseason.
The spotlight on Romo's relationship with Simpson has developed into a sore spot for the quarterback, who happened upon the media Monday while Phillips was being grilled about his quarterback's trip. Turning down the hallway and away from the mob, Romo jokingly yelled "Tell them I'm not talking Wednesday," referring to his scheduled meeting with the Dallas media.
"People will look for blame if you lose and basically let all that stuff go when you win," Phillips said. "Because they don't think it was relevant (if you win), and it isn't. To me, it isn't relevant either way."
For a franchise starved for playoff success, what's relevant will certainly be hashed out in the coming weeks. But in the locker room, there's little doubt which diva holds the true key to Dallas success. And that equation begins and ends with Terrell Owens.
"When you get out on the field, they are game-planning for No. 81," Crayton said. "Everything else, all that other stuff, forget about it."
Copyright 2008 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Boosted by win over Titans, Rivers leads Bolts against Colts
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- One starting quarterback on Sunday will be leading the defending Super Bowl champions. He was MVP of that game, as well as a two-time NFL MVP earlier this decade.
The other guy? He just got his first playoff win.
Welcome to Philip Rivers' world. He'll lead the San Diego Chargers into Sunday's divisional-round playoff game against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts relishing the underdog role.
It's one thing to throw 292 yards and the go-ahead ahead touchdown in a 17-6 win over the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans.
Now he's going to be compared with Manning, and he's going to be tested by safety Bob Sanders, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
"Barring something crazy, we're going to be the underdogs from here on out as far as that goes," Rivers said.
That's fine with Rivers, the Chargers' second-year starter.
"Any team can win it all and any team can get beat as we found out here last year as the one seed. The Colts were in our position last year now as the three seed. Pittsburgh, a couple years ago they were the six seed. I think at this point, why not us? We're going to go with that frame of mind. We're going to go in confident but obviously knowing the challenge that's ahead of us."
Rivers has never lacked for confidence since coming into the league as the fourth overall pick, and he carried a big load in the wild-card win.
The Titans loaded up against LaDainian Tomlinson and forced Rivers to beat them. He did.
"His confidence is going to be higher," Tomlinson said. "The momentum of going into this playoff game is going to be a big thing for us. We are coming off a fresh win last week. Keeping that momentum of playing football and not taking any time off, that's going to help us.
"Obviously they have the advantage in experience. I certainly don't see Philip being shaken up at all. That's not his style to show any lack of confidence. It's because he's the son of a coach. That goes back to his roots. That's just the way he is. His dad did a great job of just keeping him focused. Even when things aren't going well, he's always been able to keep confident. That's huge for a quarterback."
It's been an up-and-down season for Rivers. He's played well at times, but he's also struggled. He was booed at home several times during the season by fans whose expectations were sky-high after a 14-2 finish in 2006.
Playing well against the Titans certainly helped, but coach Norv Turner said it wasn't as if Rivers had been doing horribly.
"If I had doubts, or if Philip had doubts or if any of his teammates had doubts then that performance would be good for all of us," Turner said. "I don't have any doubts about Philip and our players don't have any doubts and I know he doesn't have any doubts. He's had parts of games like that throughout the entire year. He's had games like that throughout this year and that wasn't a surprise to me."
In losing their two previous playoff games, the Chargers weren't able to control their emotions. They did a much better job of that against the Titans.
"I think too, once the ball gets snapped and you get going, it's the same game," Rivers said. "Nothing really changes. I do think we handled the preparation going in. I think from an emotional standpoint we handled that a lot better on Sunday. I think now once you get one under your belt and you see that hey it is a game just like the first 16 were, I think it'll help our approach again this week. We know the task is tough but I think we'll have the right mind-set going in."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Browns sign QB Ken Dorsey to 3-year contract extension
BEREA, Ohio -- Quarterback Ken Dorsey, who has served as a mentor for Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn this season, signed a three-year contract extension with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday.
Dorsey would have become a free agent after this season.
"We are glad to get this done with Ken," Browns general manager Phil Savage said. "Ken has been a vital part of our offensive production this year and we look forward to having him as part of our team going forward."
The Browns acquired Dorsey in a 2006 trade with San Francisco. He was waived by the club at the end of training camp, but was re-signed by Cleveland on Sept. 11, the same day starter Charlie Frye was traded to Seattle.
Dorsey's knowledge of first-year offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski's system has been vital in Anderson's development. Dorsey and Chudzinski were previously together at the University of Miami. He has been the Browns' third-string quarterback in each of the past two seasons. Dorsey has thrown for 1,712 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 career starts, all with San Francisco.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Overtime TD catch gives Dolphins win, and Camarillo taste of attention
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- In the interest of explaining why Miami Dolphins wide receiver Greg Camarillo was a largely anonymous player before last weekend, here's an update on his NFL career statistics.
He's made six tackles.
He's made four catches.
Not exactly a Canton-caliber resume.
"I wasn't aware of him," New England linebacker Junior Seau said. "But he did make a great play."
That's true, and after that one play -- "scat left Ernie," the Dolphins call it -- just about everyone who follows the NFL is probably somewhat aware of Camarillo.
He caught a short pass from Cleo Lemon and sprinted for a 64-yard winning touchdown in overtime last Sunday to give Miami (1-13) its first victory of the season, 22-16 over the Baltimore Ravens, a play that made Camarillo an instant legend in the Dolphins' locker room. The replay has been shown countless times, his phone is still blowing up with calls and texts, and all the attention is enough to make Camarillo a bit sheepish.
Not bad for a guy who entered last weekend with one career catch for 2 yards and was seeing virtually all of his action as a special-teams player.
"Obviously, I've never experienced anything like this," Camarillo said. "So I'm just enjoying the ride. I got a lot of support from my old friends, family, people that surround me and it definitely feels good."
It should have felt good, because it took long enough for Camarillo to reach the end zone -- in many ways.
Teammates have ribbed him a bit since Sunday because, um, let's just say he won't be the favorite in any team sprinting contests.
"He didn't know he was that fast," Lemon said.
Camarillo is a guy who turned down Harvard and walked onto Stanford's football team in 2000, never caught a touchdown pass for the Cardinal, never had a catch go for more than 36 yards, yet still got into the NFL.
And now, his first pro touchdown is certain to go down in Dolphins' lore. Once he crossed the goal line, Miami teammates and coaches spilled onto the field in celebration -- putting an end, once and for all, to talk that the Dolphins would finish the year as the NFL's first-ever 0-16 club.
"I don't work hard for recognition, but it never hurts to get a little pat on the back," said Camarillo, who had a similar overtime TD catch in high school. "I wish it wasn't to get us one victory. I wish it was for a championship or something, but it had that feel to it, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I could be part of it."
His first NFL stop was San Diego, where he did enough to catch Cam Cameron's eye.
When Cameron -- the former San Diego offensive coordinator -- came to the Dolphins as a rookie head coach this year, he gave Camarillo a shot in South Florida. The move paid off, and there's probably a strong chance that Camarillo will be one of Lemon's primary targets Sunday when the Dolphins visit the unbeaten New England Patriots (14-0).
"He's done a great job blocking," Cameron said. "He gives us a lot of flexibility and plays all three positions in our offense, and all four now with our four-wide-receiver set. You'll see Greg out there."
Cameron said he "absolutely" expects Camarillo's confidence to soar after last weekend's success.
"I reminded Greg, there is nothing older than yesterday's success," Cameron said. "Now he's on people's radar. ... Now people are starting to actually go and look and see who that guy is."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Marc Bulger on track to return to starting role as Rams QB
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Unlike last week, the St. Louis Rams are going to take it slow on the status of Marc Bulger.
The quarterback took all the repetitions in practice on Wednesday and is on track to return after missing two games with a concussion. But coach Scott Linehan will wait until Friday, after two more days of practice and no symptoms, before selecting Bulger as the starter for Sunday's home game against the Green Packers.
"I thought he looked fine," Linehan said. "More importantly, it's how he gets through the week."
Linehan prefers cautious optimism after last week's experience, when Bulger received medical clearance on Tuesday and practiced for two days before concussion symptoms returned and he ended up sitting out a 19-10 loss at Cincinnati.
Bulger has no problem with that. He didn't want to compare how he felt on Wednesday to how he felt a week ago.
I'd hate to sit here and play a percentage game or guess whether I'm going to play or not," Bulger said. "I felt good today and I'm just going to wait until Friday."
Last week the Rams were also without backup Gus Frerotte, who has a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. That forced the Rams to elevate Brock Berlin from the practice squad to make his NFL debut.
The Rams' only touchdown at Cincinnati came on an interception return by Fakhir Brown.
This week the position appears to be in better shape. Frerotte threw some passes in practices on Wednesday, although Berlin handled repetitions for the scout team.
"He looked to be close to himself," Linehan said of Frerotte. "We'll see how he feels after throwing. He put in some pretty good work."
Center Brett Romberg, also on track to return after missing five of the past six games with a high right ankle sprain, doesn't think the Rams will need Frerotte.
"Marc looked like a totally different person today," Romberg said. "I think you should see him on Sunday."
Bulger, who missed two other games earlier in the season with broken ribs, said he's had no thought of sitting out the rest of the year. The Rams may be 3-10, but Bulger is excited about playing against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, then facing his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers next Thursday.
"For selfish reasons I want to get back out there," Bulger said. "Everyone is in here fighting and I wouldn't want to shut it down just for the sake of shutting it down, unless it made sense to do it and I thought my health was going to be in jeopardy."
Bulger said there was no particular overriding reason for not playing last week, mentioning fatigue and a general feeling that it was best to give the concussion more time. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, the former Rams two-time NFL MVP, was one of the players he consulted.
"I didn't think I was going to play anyway because I didn't talk to him until Friday," Bulger said. "You kind of wonder about it because you really have never felt it before and it's kind of hard to explain to everyone.
"The more people I can talk to who have had it, the better."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
Broncos release DT Adams
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO (TICKER) -- The Denver Broncos on Tuesday released defensive tackle Sam Adams and cornerback Jeff Shoate.
Adams, who was signed as a free agent on June 4, recorded nine tackles in 11 games this season.
A 14-year veteran, Adams has recorded 403 tackles - 318 solo - and 44 sacks in 206 games with the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals and the Broncos.
Meanwhile, Shoate totaled eight tackles - six solo - in seven games with Denver this season. A fifth-round pick by the Broncos in 2004, Shoate has 11 tackles in 14 career games.
Copyright 2007 PA SportsTicker. All Rights Reserved
With 2 wins, Jets heading to Miami as underdogs against 0-11 Dolphins
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- The New York Jets are heading to Miami with two more victories than the winless Dolphins and little respect from the oddsmakers.
"We're an underdog every week, I think," right guard Brandon Moore said Thursday.
Well, they opened as favorites three times this season -- and lost two of those games. That helps explain why the Jets (2-9) again carry the underdog label into Sunday's meeting with the Dolphins (0-11), who are favored by as many as 1 1/2 points in various sports books. A slight underdog, sure, but still enough to qualify as disrespect.
"An insult? We've had a lot of insults this year," Moore said. "Guys are just trying to go out and get another win and get things going a little bit more positively around here. Underdog, points and all that, guys aren't concerned about that. We've been dealing with it all year."
But why would the Jets be considered more likely to lose against a winless team?
"I don't know how sports bookies and all that make underdogs," Moore said, "so I don't have any idea."
Keith Glantz, whose Glantz-Culver line out of Las Vegas has the Dolphins installed as a one-point favorite, likes what he's seen from Miami recently.
"I know they haven't won a game yet, but they are at home and they have been competitive, especially in their last three games," Glantz said. "It just looks like this is a team that wants to win a game."
Glantz also likes the fact the Dolphins have lost six games by three points each, including their earlier matchup against the Jets. Meanwhile, New York is coming off its worst loss of the season, 34-3 at Dallas last Thursday.
"They probably don't want to be the first team to lose to the Dolphins, but I think there's more motivation for Miami to not finish without a win," Glantz said.
Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson said the Jets aren't focused on Miami's record, "because we know that a lot of their games have been won or lost by a touchdown or points less than that."
"It's not really a situation where you say they are 0-11, this is in the bag," he said. "It is more a situation of saying this is a great team."
That might be a bit of a stretch, but it is true the Dolphins have gotten close to pulling off that elusive first victory. They nearly had it Monday when they fell 3-0 in the rain and slop at Pittsburgh.
The weather could play a role again Sunday. While the temperature has been in the 40s all week in New York, it's expected to be sunny and in the low-80s at kickoff at Miami. To better prepare for the weather, coach Eric Mangini has had the Jets practice in the bubble -- the Jetrodome -- to simulate the warmer temperatures of Miami.
"It's the same pressure every week," safety Kerry Rhodes said. "You have to take everybody the same way. You have to approach every game the same way. It sounds the same, but that's the way that we go about things. We know that they can play with everybody."
The Jets held on for a 31-28 victory when the teams played in Week 3, but a number of key players on both sides won't be on the field this time around.
Rookie John Beck is the Dolphins quarterback instead of Trent Green, and Kellen Clemens will be leading the Jets in place of Chad Pennington. Miami will also be without the injured Ronnie Brown, who scored three touchdowns in the last meeting, and the since-traded Chris Chambers, who had 101 yards receiving. The Jets could be without top wide receivers Laveranues Coles (ankle) and Jerricho Cotchery (finger), and linebacker Jonathan Vilma is out for the year with a knee injury.
"There's definitely elements of that where there has been quite a bit of changeover," Mangini said. "They've been consistent, though, with the offensive line. That's one place where it's been steady over the course of time. What you do see is a lot of carry-over between the two teams in what they're running offensively."
That's not necessarily a good thing. Miami is ranked 27th in the league on offense, while New York is even worse at 30th.
"We played them early in the year and they had not really formed an identity with what they wanted to do," said linebacker David Bowens, a former Dolphin. "Now, 11 games in, we have more film to look at and more things to go on."
The Jets only hope that's enough to prevent what would be their most embarrassing loss in some time.
"We're trying to go out and get a win, man," Moore said. "Whether they're 0-11 or 11-0, guys are just trying to get a win, win No. 3, and get going and get positive because we enjoyed the feeling we had against Pittsburgh. It was short-lived, but we're trying to get back to that, that winning feeling."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
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