Redskins corner made life difficult for Owens
Shawn Springs had a request, one that is simple to fulfill. He wanted reporters to point out a fact when it comes to himself and Terrell Owens, the man he stopped Sunday.
“Can you all make a point that he’s two years older than me?” the Redskins corner said.
Mission accomplished. You’re welcome.
Springs helped limit Owens in Washington’s 26-24 win at Dallas on Sunday, frustrating the Cowboys’ star until leaving with a calf injury in the third quarter. Owens finished with seven catches for 71 yards. Springs, meanwhile, said his calf isn’t “too bad” but he’s not sure what his status will be for Sunday’s game at Philadelphia.
But what tweaked Springs is what he says is the focus on his age (33) and not Owens’ (he turns 35 in December).
“You hear commentaries about Shawn Springs, for an older corner, he can cover,” Springs said. “And [Owens] is two years older than me. People forget stuff like that.”
No one will forget anytime soon.
Not that Springs was puffing his chest out. He’s battled Owens on 10 occasions now and often has been locked in man coverage against him.
So, yes, it felt good. But …
“Not when you expect it,” Springs said. “Sometimes the media makes it more than it is. … The reason I was drafted was to play bigger receivers.”
Said secondary coach Jerry Gray, “Shawn is a big, physical guy. A lot of times guys get pushed around by receivers.”
Funny thing is, Springs spent part of Sunday night at Owens’ house, watching the Philadelphia vs. Chicago game; he said they barely talked about the game they had just played. Springs then went to be with his father, Ron, who remains in a coma at a Dallas hospital.
After the game Owens sounded off in frustration about the Dallas offense and his lack of touches -—though he was thrown to 18 times and ran one end around.
After Springs was hurt, Carlos Rogers covered Owens and, on one fourth-quarter series, he made three defenses of passes to him.
“If he doesn’t get the ball he gets frustrated,” Rogers said. “That’s throughout the whole Dallas team. Once you see them up high, it’s all laughs and gags and they celebrate and do this or that. But when they play from behind it’s a different story.”
