Tearful T.O. Backs Romo
By STEPHEN HAWKINS,
AP
Posted: 2008-01-14 14:34:13
IRVING, Texas (Jan. 13) - Terrell Owens' bottom lip was quivering,
his voice wavering. While his teary eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, he
couldn't hide his disappointment - or his loyalty to quarterback
Tony Romo - after the Cowboys' 21-17 playoff loss to the New York
Giants on Sunday.
Terrell Owens gets emotional after Dallas lost to the Giants on Sunday. He was upset over the attention the media was giving teammate Tony Romo for vacationing with pop star Jessica Simpson. "You guys do that, it's not fair. We lost as a team," Owens cried.
"This is not about Tony. You guys can point the finger at him,
you can talk about the vacation, and if you do that, it's really
unfair," Owens said, his voice choked with emotion. "It's really
unfair. That's my teammate. That's my quarterback. You guys do
that, it's not fair. We lost as a team. We lost as a team, man."
A week after Romo's well-documented bye weekend getaway to
Mexico with Jessica Simpson and a couple of teammates, the Cowboys'
season is over. After a 13-3 regular season that clinched the NFC's
top seed, Dallas instead made it 11 straight seasons without a
postseason victory.
As promised, Owens was back on the field for the Cowboys after
missing the regular season finale and 2 1/2 weeks of practice because
of an ankle sprain.
Owens dropped the first pass thrown his way, but shuffled his
feet to stay in bounds for a 4-yard touchdown. He finished with
four catches for 49 yards, but didn't get a chance to catch a
game-winner.
Romo's fourth-and-11 pass - intended for Terry Glenn, not a
double-covered Owens - was intercepted by R.W. McQuarters in the
end zone with 9 seconds left.
"They kind of doubled T.O. on the outside and Terry had a guy
running with him up the middle," Romo said. "I tried to throw to
the one guy in one-on-one and hope for something lucky."
Owens pushed his helmet awkwardly on top of his head and walked
toward the sideline after the play.
Defeated and deflated, there were no more chances. Instead, T.O.
and the Cowboys were left trying to make sense of another
devastating postseason finish.
"It's hard, I can't," Owens said.
There was last year's wild-card loss in Seattle when Romo
botched the snap on what would have been a chip-shot field goal in
the closing minutes. Now, it's losing their first home playoff game
in nine years, against an NFC East rival they beat twice in the
regular season.
"It's very disappointing, especially after the way last year
ended," Owens said. "This year, we felt we were destined to get
to the Super Bowl and we didn't make enough plays."
But they made plenty of mistakes.
Take Amani Toomer's 52-yard touchdown on the Giants' opening
drive, when he caught the ball in an open gap near the 40, slipped
away from two defenders while Pro Bowl safety Roy Williams fell
down, then outran another Cowboy to the end zone.
After the Cowboys took a 14-7 lead on Marion Barber's 1-yard
plunge with 53 seconds left in the first half, New York went 71
yards in seven plays to tie the game. The Giants got 15 of those
yards on a facemask penalty.
"We let them back in it, and that gave them some hope,"
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said.
The Cowboys went three-and-out after regaining the lead in the
third quarter, when guard Leonard Davis' unnecessary roughness
penalty wiped out a first down. McQuarters' 25-yard return on the
ensuing punt set up New York's go-ahead touchdown.
Facing third-and-20 from midfield with 4 minutes left, Romo had
to call timeout because the play clock was running out. Once they
regrouped, Owens was streaking toward the end zone. By the time he
turned around, there was a defender between he and the ball that
fell several yards short of where he was.
"It's hard, especially right now because you need to take a
step back," Romo said, when asked if a 13-win season still means
anything. "I've grown up in the sense that I'm not naive to
believe that everything is going to work out perfect. So I
appreciate the moments sometimes, even though we didn't accomplish
our goal."
There will be no rematch next week at Texas Stadium against
Green Bay and Brett Favre, the team and quarterback Romo grew up in
Wisconsin rooting for, with a Super Bowl berth on the line.
The Cowboys beat the Packers at the end of November, a victory
that ultimately gave Dallas the NFC's top seed.
"Obviously, the regular season don't matter. This is very
evident," Owens said. "When the playoffs start, it's any man's
game. We came up short."
AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 23: The Automotion Dancers perform in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2008 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2008 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in AuburnHills, Michigan. The Pistons won 105-88. (D. Lippitt/Einstein, NBAE/Getty Images)
BOSTON - APRIL 20: A Celtics Dancer performs in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics during the 2008 NBA Playoffs at TD Banknorth Garden on April 20, 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics won 104-81. (Brian Babineau, NBAE/Getty Images)
DENVER - APRIL 28: The Denver Nuggets Cheerleaders perform during a break in the action against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2008 NBA Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on April 28, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. The Lakers defeated the Nuggets 107-101 and clinched their playoff series 4-0. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)
ATLANTA - APRIL 26: An Atlanta Hawks cheerleader strikes a pose while performing an on-court routine during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics during the 2008 NBA Playoffs at the Philips Arena on April 26, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Hawks beat the Celtics 102-93. (Mike Zarrilli, Getty Images)
PHOENIX - APRIL 27: A Phoenix Suns cheerleader performs in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs during the 2008 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2008 at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns won 105-86. (Joe Murphy, NBAE/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 29: An Automotion dancer performs in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2008 NBA Playoffs at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 29, 2008 in AuburnHills, Michigan. The Pistons 98-81. (Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)
Cheerleaders react as Dallas Stars' Joel Lundqvist (39) collides with San Jose Sharks' Douglas Murray, causing the glass to break during the first period in Game 6 of their NHL Western Conference semi-final NHL hockey game in Dallas, Texas, May 4, 2008. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (UNITED STATES)
Reuters
A cheerleader animates the crowd as Boca Junior's Juan Roman Riquelme enters the pitch before the game against River Plate of the Argentina's first league soccer game at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Sunday, May 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Eduardo Di Baia)
AP
Cheerleaders perform during a time out at the Euroleague Men Final Four basketball game between Tau Ceramica and CSKA Moscow in Madrid May 2, 2008. REUTERS/Sergio Perez (SPAIN)
Reuters
Cheerleaders heading to their next match venue are seen with their belongings at the airport in Calcutta, India, Monday, April 21, 2008. The foreign cheerleaders were brought in to show India's cricket fans how to shake their pompoms _ but not every one was impressed. The New Delhi team said Wednesday it was switching its cheerleaders for a band of drummers, while Mumbai politicians have forced their dancing girls to cover up, saying the performances were lewd and not appropriate for India's traditional culture.(AP Photo)
AP
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