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T.O. reportedly defends Romo, rips 'Sheshawn'

Cowboys WR says he's not unhappy with QB, then slams ESPN analyst

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NBCSports.com news services
updated 11:49 a.m. ET Oct. 1, 2008

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens on Tuesday said that he is not angry with quarterback Tony Romo or the offense in general, but did toss a barb toward former wideout-turned-television analyst Keyshawn Johnson, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Two days removed from being openly critical of the offense after the Cowboys (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season with a 26-24 setback to the Washington Redskins, Owens went on the defensive, the newspaper reported.

"It's a matter of being frustrated with the loss," Owens said on his weekly radio show, the newspaper reported. "It had nothing to do with the offense."

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Owens, who had seven catches for 71 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, had 18 passes directed toward him - in addition to two rushing attempts.

After the loss, Owens complained about his lack of production.

"I'm a competitor and I want the ball," T.O. said.

"Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half,'' Owens also said. "I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it.''

The talented but controversial wideout said Tuesday that his comments came out of frustration about the loss, not the offense.

"It's a matter of being frustrated with the loss," Owens said, the Star-Telegram reported. "It had nothing to do with the offense."

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The numbers also are misconstrued because, in his opinion, all the passes weren't catchable, Owens said, the newspaper reported.

"That is not to say nothing about Tony Romo," Owens said, the newspaper reported. "I am not going to be able to catch every ball thrown my way. Every pass was not a valid catchable pass."

Then, Owens turned his attention to Johnson, who he referred to as "Sheshawn" on three separate occasions, the Star-Telegram reported.

"(As the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft) he is the ultimate underachiever on that (ESPN) panel. I am the reason he is in the booth," Owens said. "Everybody is aware when I was brought to Dallas, he was the one they let go to get me here."

Currently in second place on the all-time touchdown receptions list with 133, Owens trails only Pro Football Hall of Famer and former teammate Jerry Rice, who is the league's all-time leader with 197 TDs.

The 34-year-old Owens, who signed a three-year contract extension worth $27 million in the offseason, has 17 catches for 264 yards and four touchdowns this season.

In his first two seasons with the Cowboys, Owens recorded 171 catches for 2,622 yards and 29 touchdowns. He holds the team's single-season record with 15 TDs set last year. A third-round pick of San Francisco in 1996, Owens has 899 receptions - which is ninth-best in NFL history - in 12 seasons with the 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys. Owens has hauled in at least 13 touchdown catches in seven seasons; only Rice has managed eight seasons with that many scoring passes.

The combustible wideout also had eight 1,000-yard seasons, including five straight from 2000-04.

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