seat center table.
Even he, who orchestrated this spectacle by his silence, couldn't contain his amusement.
"So, let me see what you want to talk about?" Parcells said sarcastically, throwing out the first shot, knowing full-well the clamoring for his spoken word that's been going on.
And so it began, and not so surprisingly with a question about, who else, Terrell Owens.
So let me make this easy on you guys, deciphering the word according to Bill.
He is not mad at Jerry for signing Owens, and he continued to refer to the decisions that are made around The Ranch as "we" decisions, a combination of himself, Jerry, Stephen and scouting director Jeff Ireland.
"I support whatever decisions in the organization," Parcells said. "I was part of it. I continue to be part of it."
He doesn't think signing Owens is a gamble, or any bigger gamble than say, drafting Anthony Fasano in the second round, pointing out player acquisition is a 50-50 proposition usually.
"I mean I'm gonna make every attempt to work . . . it's in my best interest that he's successful," Parcells said. "And it's in his best interest that he's successful. And so we really, I think want the same thing."
He doesn't think Owens and Drew Bledsoe will have problems. He said he'd see to that.
He is not cross ways with Owens over his workouts, er lack thereof here at The Ranch, and was not taken by surprise by his absences.
"He's done exactly what I told him," Parcells said. "He had several things pending that he had to deal with. I want all that stuff out of the way before he gets here. So there's several things he had to take care of. I understood that. I said get it taken care of, and when you get here, let's go to work. And that's the way it's gonna be."
He wasn't disappointed in the draft or the draft process. That's not why he didn't talk, saying he told Cowboys P.R. director Rich Dalrymple weeks ago he wasn't going to talk immediately after the draft.
(And you know, he told me after I returned from the NFL Annual Meetings in Orlando empty-handed - meaning no Bill quotes - that he planned on "flying under the radar more" this season. Must have meant it.)
He said he understood the decisions to part ways with Larry Allen and Keyshawn Johnson were business decisions, and that he was fine with those economical decisions.
He said Rob Petitti will be a better player physically, and for those who are so concerned about right tackle, he said, "I don't think Fabini will give up 15 sacks if I turned him around backwards."
He thinks Kyle Kosier is a "developing" player, good enough to win with at left guard.
He explained just why the Cowboys wanted another starting-quality tight end in the draft, and exactly why they selected Anthony Fasano, for those who didn't seem inclined to believe Jerry Jones on Saturday.
He said, no, "we were not trying to trade Julius Jones," and that he's not concerned about him, although he realizes durability has been a problem.
And in no particular order, starting with the day's biggest understatement, which even amused himself when it came out, Parcells thinks the Cowboys have a "chance" to have a better field-goal situation, a chance to find a starting safety, better depth (see size) on the defensive line, thinks that Bobby Carpenter is a true linebacker, that Skyler Green can return punts and kickoffs if he gets down to 192, that he doesn't think he'll encounter any post-touchdown celebration problems with you-know-who and that Drew Henson seems to be making progress in NFL Europe, but it's a hard evaluation.
Oh, and when yours truly asked - and I fell on my sword for you guys since there's about 100 emails expressing concerns over the Jason Hatcher pick in the third round - what he saw in Hatcher, he said somewhat incredulous that I would even ask, "I saw a 4.7-something 40, and he's 6-6, 290. Didn't take long (to decide)."
And with that, he rose, 51 minutes later, leaving only because he had a coaches' meeting to attend, not because he felt like he just had his wisdom teeth extracted. He appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed himself, swatting away those questions laced with urgency and
MICK SHOTS
