Another Miles Austin article sent to us (Bergen Record)
Austin quietly showing Parcells he has what it takes
Sunday, October 22, 2006
By KEITH IDEC
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Miles Austin missed an assignment during a training-camp practice, prompting Bill Parcells to direct one of his infamous insults at the rookie receiver.
"He said, 'You're like a ball in high grass, son. You're lost,' '' a laughing Austin recalled.
Two months later, Austin is slowly but surely finding his way playing for the demanding Dallas Cowboys' coach. The Garfield High School graduate was inactive for his first four NFL games, but showed enough practice progress to make his regular-season debut a week ago against Houston. He didn't participate in any offensive plays, but Austin made two special-teams tackles in his first official action since making the improbable jump from Monmouth University.
Parcells took notice and said Austin will be active again for the Cowboys' nationally televised game against the Giants on Monday night. Austin is the Dallas receiver you never hear about, but Parcells predicted that'll change, too, once Austin acclimates to playing at this elite level following four years of Division I-AA college ball.
"He is just big and fast,'' Parcells said, "but I didn't know how tough he was. He can catch very well. He's just young and he's green. He doesn't quite know what he is doing. But he has tremendous, tremendous physical potential. This guy has ability now. I'm telling you, he's got it. I don't think I could miss that.''
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Austin always has been an imposing physical specimen, so he has had little difficulty adapting to the NFL's physicality. He has concentrated mostly on learning nuances of the Cowboys' offense and the intricacies of his position. Monmouth's all-time leading receiver has become better at running routes and making breaks, but he realizes much more improvement is needed to become a polished player.
Nevertheless, Austin's inclusion in the Cowboys' 34-6 victory over the Texans reinforced that his hard work hasn't gone unnoticed.
"Before that, I was helping out in practice and I was on the sideline [during games],'' Austin said. "But I didn't really feel like I was helping come game time. I felt like I was helping during the week, with practice and the scout team. But during the game you kind of want to help, so it was great to be out there.''
Being around Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn every day has helped Austin understand what it will take to become a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver.
"T.O.'s a real great guy, and he's been nothing but welcoming and open to me and the other receivers,'' Austin said. "In practice, I ask him all the time about the way he gets out of his break in a certain route, and he'll explain it to me without any question. So he's just been a tremendous help in my progress as a receiver.''
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
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Sunday, October 22, 2006
By KEITH IDEC
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Miles Austin missed an assignment during a training-camp practice, prompting Bill Parcells to direct one of his infamous insults at the rookie receiver.
"He said, 'You're like a ball in high grass, son. You're lost,' '' a laughing Austin recalled.
Two months later, Austin is slowly but surely finding his way playing for the demanding Dallas Cowboys' coach. The Garfield High School graduate was inactive for his first four NFL games, but showed enough practice progress to make his regular-season debut a week ago against Houston. He didn't participate in any offensive plays, but Austin made two special-teams tackles in his first official action since making the improbable jump from Monmouth University.
Parcells took notice and said Austin will be active again for the Cowboys' nationally televised game against the Giants on Monday night. Austin is the Dallas receiver you never hear about, but Parcells predicted that'll change, too, once Austin acclimates to playing at this elite level following four years of Division I-AA college ball.
"He is just big and fast,'' Parcells said, "but I didn't know how tough he was. He can catch very well. He's just young and he's green. He doesn't quite know what he is doing. But he has tremendous, tremendous physical potential. This guy has ability now. I'm telling you, he's got it. I don't think I could miss that.''
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Austin always has been an imposing physical specimen, so he has had little difficulty adapting to the NFL's physicality. He has concentrated mostly on learning nuances of the Cowboys' offense and the intricacies of his position. Monmouth's all-time leading receiver has become better at running routes and making breaks, but he realizes much more improvement is needed to become a polished player.
Nevertheless, Austin's inclusion in the Cowboys' 34-6 victory over the Texans reinforced that his hard work hasn't gone unnoticed.
"Before that, I was helping out in practice and I was on the sideline [during games],'' Austin said. "But I didn't really feel like I was helping come game time. I felt like I was helping during the week, with practice and the scout team. But during the game you kind of want to help, so it was great to be out there.''
Being around Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn every day has helped Austin understand what it will take to become a Pro Bowl-caliber receiver.
"T.O.'s a real great guy, and he's been nothing but welcoming and open to me and the other receivers,'' Austin said. "In practice, I ask him all the time about the way he gets out of his break in a certain route, and he'll explain it to me without any question. So he's just been a tremendous help in my progress as a receiver.''
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted by Tony Graham at 1:04 AM
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