IRVING, Texas - Not much has changed in Terrell Owens' world.
He was confident before his team hit a two-game plunge here in the last two weeks. He is confident his team will turn things around.
And he is confident that he will be a big part of it.
Oh, and he still wants more touches on offense.
Business as usual for Owens, who reiterated on Wednesday not only his confidence, but the entire team's faith in backup quarterback Brad Johnson, who will start again Sunday in place of Tony Romo and probably will for the next two weeks, too.
"We're going to rally around 'Bull,'" Owens said, referring to Johnson. "He's the starting quarterback. We have to do whatever we can do to create some opportunities for ourselves to win the game."
And with Romo still injured, Owens said that best chance still resides with Johnson, despite his lack of playing time here in the last few seasons.
"He hadn't played a lot. I guess if it's rust or what, you guys know he hasn't played in a while," Owens said. "Any time you get a guy that hasn't played, obviously practice is different than the games, like tempo and the game situations. But he's a veteran, he's been there before and played this game for a number of years. I think the important thing for us is to hone in on the things we need to do, and what we need to do better. That's going to be the emphasis here in practice. We're going to go through practice this week, practice hard and get a realistic look at what's going on this week on game day."
It's safe to say that Owens, again, wants to be a big contributor in this week's game plan as the Cowboys try to avoid a three-game losing streak against Tampa Bay.
But Owens said all he can do is continue to run the plays that are called, stating he won't be making any special trips to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's office this week.
"He has an open door policy," Owens said of Garrett. "The thing is, I'm no different than I was last year. I still feel like I'm the same player and can do some of the same things I did last year and what I've done throughout my career. As far as me going in there and beating on someone's door and say, 'Get me involved' . . . If I did that in front of the cameras, then it's another story about me griping about the ball.
"So I'll take the approach that I go with the plays that are called and other than that, I'm just going to go as followed."
Owens was asked if he thought going in motion more before the snap could help free up some tight man coverage that he's been receiving lately.
"Well . . . I can't put myself in motion. I'm just going out there and going with the plays that were called," said Owens, who added that teams are playing him tighter knowing they have help in coverage. "When it's Cover Two coverage and somebody is on me, obviously they're going to be a little more aggressive because they have help over the top. If it's man-to-man, they're not going to be as aggressive, and I can pretty much take my time and be patient and get a cleaner release.
"It has been hard for me to get of the line of scrimmage. It's not that I can't get off. They're just playing more aggressive. These defensive coordinators know I can beat them at any given time, so they're basically rolling coverage my way and taking me pretty much out of the offense."
Owens has yet to record a 100-yard game this season and has just 25 receptions in seven games, including three games of two catches.
New Safety
With safety Roy Williams going to injured reserve with a broken right arm, the Cowboys added Daren Stone to the 53-man roster this week.
In fact, it looks like Stone has a chance to be active this Sunday against the Bucs. That's how banged up the Cowboys are at the safety position.
Stone, a sixth-round pick of the Falcons in 2007 (203rd overall), played in 12 games as a rookie last year, but was released after training camp this season.
Still, he said he'll be ready for action this week.
"Yeah, I've been waiting," Stone said. "I think I'll be able to do some stuff on special teams. Right now, I'm going to keep trying to learn this defense as fast as I can."
Stone, who starred at the University of Maine, said he's always admired Roy Williams' play at safety.
"I even have a Roy Williams jersey," Stone said. "I've always thought he was a really good player and watched him a lot when I was in college."
But Williams isn't the only safety banged up for the Cowboys. Keith Davis was knocked woozy in last week's game with the Rams and had a lacerated finger the week before. Pat Watkins has been out the last three games with a neck injury.
Injury Pileup
The Cowboys' injury situation certainly did not significantly improve on Wednesday when they went back to practice, five players still not participating in practice, three more already on injured reserve, one still on reserve/suspended and another practicing just as he did last week when he ended up not even playing in the game.
Nevertheless, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said the team had a "spirited practice," the rainy, windy weather forcing the Cowboys indoors. At least linebacker/special teams ace Kevin Burnett was back practicing after being limited in the St. Louis game because of a calf injury. Burnett, who didn't take his usual role on the team's sub-packages as the inside linebacker, said he was running much better and anticipated playing.
At the start of practice it appeared one of the five players not participating in practice was finally returning, but starting left guard Kyle Kosier was only dressed for practice and minimally participated in the pre-practice activity. He did nothing after that, being listed as not participating, leaving him quite questionable for Sunday's game. The foot injury Kosier suffered during preseason has limited him to playing in only one game so far this season.
In that same questionable boat would have to be safety Pat Watkins, the guy who practiced all last week, but didn't even make the trip to St. Louis with the team. Watkins has been bothered by a bulging disk in his neck, and while Phillips said he was "a little better" this week, he likely will be no better than questionable for Sunday at this point.
The other players not participating in practice on Wednesday were quarterback Tony Romo (fractured finger), cornerback Terence Newman (sports hernia surgery), running back Felix Jones (hamstring) and outside linebacker Anthony Spencer (hamstring). And with safety Roy Williams having been placed on injured reserve, that makes three players out for the season, including punter Mat McBriar and receiver Sam Hurd, with Pacman Jones on reserve/suspended.
Mickey Spagnola
Short Shots The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had two players missing practice Wednesday, both wide receivers, Ike Hilliard (concussion) and Maurice Stovall (hamstring). There would seem to be a good chance Hilliard is held out after Sunday's concussion sent him to the hospital for tests that night. Among the Bucs six limited players in practice were running back Warrick Dunn (back) and former Cowboys wide receiver Joey Galloway, who has been out since Sept. 14 when he suffered a foot injury . . . Dallas Police said the tires and rims off Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin's Escalade were stolen, valued at $15,000. Hamlin found his car in an apartment complex parking lot near the Galleria on blocks . . . It's finally happened, the Cowboys have hit rock bottom in kickoff coverage, ranked 32nd in opponent's average starting position (31.3-yard line). Not helping matters is the three kickoffs sailing out of bounds, the most in the NFL, and only Washington has two.
Mickey Spagnola
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