happy."
Crayton said last Sunday's win over the Giants was a "perfect example of his attitude" in that Owens went into halftime without having a single catch. Last season, Owens repeatedly complained about not getting more involved earlier in certain games.
"If that would have been last year he would have been throwing a fit and cussing out (former wide receivers coach) Todd Haley," Crayton said. "And we would have gotten out of game plan trying to change stuff to make him happy. This year, he was patient. He caught two touchdowns in the second half. That is all you can say.
"He knows (offensive coordinator Jason) Garrett is going spread the ball around. He is going to call plays to get the ball to him. He is moving him around to different spots for him to have the opportunity to get key match-ups that we want to see out there."
And from the sound of things, it appears that trust might have been the biggest issue with Owens last year. That's not to say that Parcells and his staff had this overriding plan not to get T.O. the ball last season. He did have one of the best seasons in club history.
But coming into a system where the offense was in place, the quarterback was set (at least for six games until Tony Romo unseated Drew Bledsoe) and the coaching staff had its own ideas on how things would go, Owens never seemed to feel like he was a real part of the show.
But with the coaching change and a new offense now in place, Owens is not only a big part of the system. It's one he believes in.
"I think he trusts what we have going on this year," tight end Jason Witten said. "He knows what this offense can do and sees what kind of talent we have. He's a lot more patient this year. But he has the confidence that he's going to get the football and he's going to be a part of this thing."
And Witten even admitted how refreshing this season has been so far regarding Owens.
"I don't know if it was really a distraction, but it was always something," Witten said. "And (the media) just made a big deal out of everything. So it was something going on and they were asking us all the time. This year, we really haven't had anything like that."
A game-changing receiver without all of the distractions? The Cowboys can only hope it stays that way.
If it does, Owens will be heard from in a different way this year.
Loud and clear.
