IRVING – Terrell Owens has had some bad relationships in his NFL career, and one of the worst was with Jeff Garcia.
The two former San Francisco 49ers meet Christmas Day when the receiver's Cowboys host the quarterback's Eagles.
When Garcia, now leading the Eagles' playoff charge, was asked about Owens during a conference call with reporters on Thursday he said: "Not even talking about that."
Garcia had success with Owens in their five years together. He made three Pro Bowl teams from 2000 to 2002. The 49ers reached the playoffs twice and won the NFC West in 2002.
"When we were in San Francisco, we were very successful," Owens said after Thursday's practice. "We played to his strength."
Cowboys safety Tony Parrish witnessed the problems first-hand in San Francisco.
"It was crazy toward the end there," said Parrish, who played two seasons with Owens and Garcia. "We had other things we had to worry about. As a defense, we let them handle that. That was the way I saw it. They are two grown men."
Why so much hatred?
Owens questioned why he wasn't getting the ball enough and directed most of the criticism toward Garcia. The tension between the players resulted in a near fight in the 49ers weight room in 2003.
Then, when the players left the 49ers for different teams following the 2003 season, Owens questioned Garcia's sexuality.
"Like my boy tells me: 'If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat' " Owens said in a Playboy magazine interview.
Garcia, who was playing for Cleveland at the time, said that he was not gay.
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LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN Teammates Terrell Owens and Jeff Garcia celebrate a win in Texas Stadium in 2002. |
"My thing was I didn't say that he was gay," Owens said before the start of the 2004 season. "Like I said, the conversation and interview was loose and from my knowledge, I'm not sure if Jeff is gay or not."
Garcia's fiancée is Carmella DeCesare, who was Playboy's 2004 Playmate of the Year.
Owens said that he doesn't have anything against Garcia.
"No, we're not even going to get into that. That's old news," Owens said.
The tension was a learning experience for both players, especially Owens. The receiver hasn't encountered any problems with his Cowboys teammates – just with passing-game coordinator Todd Haley, but that relationship is getting better.
When Owens was with Philadelphia, he had a bad relationship with quarterback Donovan McNabb.
"You always can learn from your mistakes," Owens said. "I think I definitely had ample opportunity, especially with the suspension last year going through a lot of things, to kind of just reflect on what happened not only in Philly but in San Francisco."
Garcia won't acknowledge Owens publicly and just wants to move on. He took over when McNabb suffered a season-ending knee injury and is 3-1 as a starter with eight touchdown passes and one interception.
"I think Jeff may have surprised a lot of those guys with the way he's playing," Owens said. "But I knew he was always capable of doing that, especially with the coaching staff and him being coached under [offensive coordinator] Marty Mornhinweg. Marty knows Jeff very well and knows what he can do and not do."
E-mail cwatkins@dallasnews.com
| T.O. AND HIS QUARTERBACKS |
| Those who have completed at least one pass to Terrell Owens in his 11-year NFL career. |
| Quarterback | Rec. | Yards | Avg. | TDs |
| Drew Bledsoe | 23 | 323 | 14.0 | 3 |
| Jeff Brohm | 5 | 54 | 10.8 | 1 |
| Koy Detmer | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 |
| Ty Detmer | 4 | 72 | 18.0 | 2 |
| Jim Druckenmiller | 4 | 75 | 18.8 | 0 |
| Jeff Garcia | 386 | 5,450 | 14.1 | 50 |
| Elvis Grbac | 5 | 94 | 18.8 | 0 |
| Terry Kirby | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 1 |
| Donovan McNabb | 123 | 1,959 | 15.9 | 20 |
| Rick Mirer | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 |
| Tim Rattay | 22 | 277 | 12.6 | 3 |
| Tony Romo | 54 | 717 | 13.2 | 8 |
| Steve Stenstrom | 11 | 143 | 13.0 | 0 |
| Steve Young | 153 | 2,368 | 15.5 | 24 |
| Total | 793 | 11,575 | 14.6 | 112 |
