Ron Borges

This is the year of reckoning for a lot of people in Dallas, not just Terrell Owens.

Coach Bill Parcells was brought here four years ago to return the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. Thus far he's struggled to get them to the playoffs, which has happened only once in three years. At 65, Parcells doesn't want to coach much longer and with a 14-year veteran at quarterback, aging wide receivers and an offensive line whose best player has seen his best days, time is running out. It's probably now or never for him, Drew Bledsoe, Terry Glenn, Flozell Adams and Owens, because owner Jerry Jones is running out of patience with a team that's costing him millions and has probably the best talent in the division top to bottom.

Jones imported T.O. without Parcells' full approval in the offseason in hopes the mercurial wideout would do for the Cowboys in his first season in Dallas what he did for the Eagles in his first year in Philadelphia.

Instead he seems to be trying to do what he did for them in his second season, which is cause more problems for his team than opposing teams.

It was Owens' game-breaking ability and imposing presence that lifted the Eagles to the Super Bowl two years ago. It was his insecurities that laid them low last season, and this summer he's made a spectacle of himself, claiming for weeks he couldn't practice because of a hamstring problem. His failure to practice had Parcells irate and left quarterback Drew Bledsoe with few chances to get his timing down with what was supposed to be his most dangerous receiver.

Whatever Owens does this season won't matter if Bledsoe isn't allowed to stay upright in the pocket and free from the pressure up the middle that resulted in his being sacked 25 times in the last five games of the '05 season. Bledsoe had good numbers, passing for 3,639 yards and 23 touchdowns, but he was sacked 49 times and launched 17 picks, several of which cost the Cowboys dearly. A large measure of his problems developed after reliable left tackle Flozell Adams went down Oct. 16. Dallas was 4-2 with Adams and 5-5 without him. His absence led to a chain reaction of protection problems and a dropoff in the running game. Adams is back but already has sustained an injury and might not be ready for the opener. What of the rest of the line?

Departed 10-time Pro Bowl guard Larry Allen wasn't what he used to bem and he couldn't get along with Parcellsm but is Kyle Kosier the answer?

Kosier has started 43 games at four different positions the past four seasons in Detroit and San Francisco. The good news is he's versatile. The bad news is he wasn't good enough to hold a position for long. He and right guard Marco Rivera are crucial because Bledsoe's lack of mobility most often leads to problems when he's pressured up the middle. Same is true at center, where incumbent Al Johnson and massive Andre Gurade have been battling for the starting role. Parcells favors size, but Gurade hasn't been able to unseat Johnson, and Johnson hasn't been able to prevent the penetration up the middle that has haunted Bledsoe.

Defensively, Dallas has a powerful front seven and a better secondary than they sometimes showed a year ago. If DeMarcus Ware and Chris Canty can build on their sterling rookie seasons and fellow second-year man Marcus Spears can live up to what Parcells hoped he'd become when he took him in the first round last year, their front seven could remind Parcells of his best days with the Giants. That's especially true if Greg Ellis, who is being converted to linebacker, can become the reincarnation of Willie McGinest, which is what Parcells is looking for from him as a spot player.

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Dallas believes the addition of free agent linebacker Akin Ayodele is an improvement, but he's being asked to move to inside linebacker after spending all his career outside or at defensive end. No. 1 pick Bobby Carpenter has shown signs he'll help at inside linebacker as well on a defense that was already loaded when he arrived.

Hot seat
Terrell Owens. Everyone was waiting for the first time he exploded in a selfish rant about how Bledsoe missed him when he was open or how Parcells wasn't calling his number often enough in an offense that likes to spread the ball around or how he couldn't practice for whatever reason. It took about three days for that to happen, and for awhile Parcells was saying he wasn't sure if Owens would start the season opener because he had missed so many practices. Things seem better now and Owens is likely to play against the Jags. But if this situation deteriorates again, it could ruin Dallas' season. It's up to T.O. how hot this seat gets.

Overheard
One guy who's benefited from the arrival of Owens is fellow wide receiver Terry Glenn. Glenn has responded to the challenge of Owens' arrival with his best training camp since coming to the Cowboys.

He's a big play receiver who averaged 18 yards a catch last year and who could break games open if left in single coverage. If Owens gets his head on straight and plays well, it could give Glenn a chance to have his greatest season as well and Dallas a two-pronged deep passing game that would torment opposing defenses.

Outlook
At times, Dallas is going to a one-back set with two tight ends to try and restore some power running and allow Julius Jones more freedom to read defenses and hit the holes he sees rather than follow a fullback to a designated spot. Dallas' concern is whether his body will hold up. Jones has been active in only 21 of his first 32 games, and that's too unreliable for Parcells. But he still has faith in Jones and he'll get chances to produce big yardage on a team that Jones has spent over $70 million on the past two years in an effort to bring a sixth Super Bowl championship to Dallas. Eight new free agents and a stoutly built defense that is bigger, faster and younger than the one Parcells inherited give him reason for optimism. So, too, does the presence of the most accurate kicker in NFL history, Mike Vanderjagt. Dallas doesn't usually pay kickers, but they paid him to leave the Colts because they were in nine games decided by four points or less last year and lost three of them with erratic kicking. The fact that Parcells took both the Giants and Patriots to the Super Bowl in his fourth season there is also reassuring.

This is his fourth year in Dallas, and he looks to have a team that could go deep into the playoffs.

Prediction
First.

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