COWBOYS OPEN TRAINING CAMP: PARCELLS TO SQUEEZE ALL HE CAN OUT OF T.O. DALLAS COACH HOPES WIDE RECEIVER WILL RESPOND TO COMPETITION.

Byline: IVAN OROZCO Staff Writer

OXNARD -- Bill Parcells knows lemonade can be sweet, but with the wrong ingredient it can be sour.

The same can be said about his Dallas Cowboys. Team chemistry could be sugary or bitter, with much of it depending on Parcells' new wide receiver, Terrell Owens.

``I told (the team) this morning that I don't care how many lemons you've got or what the quality of the lemons are,'' Parcells said Friday during the opening news conference at the team's training camp. ``You still have to make the lemonade. This is the time to try and make it. It doesn't make any difference what you got.''

The biggest question facing the Cowboys is whether Owens, the five-time Pro Bowler, will help the team or cause a distraction with his notoriously difficult personality.

Parcells, in his fourth season with the Cowboys, has had problematic players on previous teams, including Lawrence Taylor with the New York Giants and Bryan Cox and Keyshawn Johnson with the New York Jets.

Parcells has denied reports that he did not favor the Owens' signing. He said Friday he worked with the organization when they decided to bring in Owensr, and added his coaching experience has helped eliminate past problems with players.

``It's always been kind of my approach with players to tell them what I want, and give them an understanding of what we're trying to do,'' Parcells said. ``All the players that you would refer to, they have one common trait: they responded to competition. If a player does not respond to competition, I cannot deal with him. I would have a serious, serious problem.''

Owens is expected to be challenged. He will have to adjust to a new offense that team owner Jerry Jones refers to as ``balanced.'' It's a possibility that Owens will not get the ball as much as he'd like with Parcells using a double-tight end, two-receiver formation. Parcells said he hopes Owens responds positively to that sort of competition.

``I think he does (respond), it would not be good if he didn't,'' Parcells said.

Jones agrees with Parcells and expects Owens to respond. In terms of acquiring players, the owner said he looks at where the player is in his career and the skill level, where the player might fit on the roster and if the player adds depth.

In the case of Owens, Jones focused on what he can do on the field and not the off-field tactics that were issues in San Francisco and Philadelphia.

``Terrell (Owens), Deion (Sanders), those types of players shouldn't be available to you because of their skill,'' Jones said. ``You have to think about the reasons why they are available, but the focus is what he can do right out here (on the field).''

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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, center, jokes with coach Bill Parcells, right, during a news conference Friday in Oxnard.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press