(Long Island, NY) What exactly was Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinking when he took on the dependent known as Terrell Owens? The team already had a decent set of wide receivers in Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson. They could have resigned Johnson and dealt with his moaning and groaning. But instead, they let him go to Carolina and acquired the most selfish athlete the game has known.
Head coach Bill Parcells could not have been behind the move to bring T.O. to Big D. Regardless of the Tuna’s reputation as a disciplinarian, this was risky even for him. Owens’ rap sheet is as long as his stat sheet. He caused a commotion in San Francisco with the ‘sharpie’ incident and, ironically enough, the Dallas Cowboys’ midfield star nonsense. Then he forces his way off the Niners, nixes a trade to Baltimore, then is all smiles when he is finally dealt to Philadelphia.
His tenure with the Eagles was a nightmare. Possibly his talent helped the team reach the Super Bowl a few years ago, but he also had a hand in tearing up that locker room. He showed a lot of courage coming back to have a huge game in the SB loss to New England, returning much earlier than expected, even with his broken leg not fully healed.
But instead of following that up with sportsmanship, he started making statements about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. He was suspended for a week during the following training camp and held an impromptu press conference on his home lawn while doing sit-ups. He kept up what was deemed by Eagles head coach Andy Reid as conduct detrimental to the team, enough that he was told to stay home for the rest of the season.
Somebody was stupid enough to think that Owens would turn into a boy scout overnight. And that was Jones. Starting off on the wrong foot, he missed the majority of training camp and the pre-season with injuries. He was also late for a team meeting, claiming he overslept. Then the even out-did himself with his “suicide” attempt, which he denied was actually that. He accidentally took too many painkillers and had to be removed to the hospital via ambulance. He returned a few weeks later and even started to play at the level expected of him. But it was a matter of time until the next episode.
Owens had a falling out with his position coach, but then stated that everything was fine between the two. Then during g the week prior to a divisional match-up against Washington in November, Owens fell asleep during a team meeting. He promptly feigned sleep during an endzone celebration during the Redskins game, earning a 15-yard penalty. He also dropped a sure touchdown pass later in the game and had a sideline explosion at Parcells. And most importantly, the Cowboys lost the game by three points.
What will it take to finally send this player away for good? There is no way to say that he hasn’t caused enough of a distribution on this team to cause them to be having less of a season that they expected to. No one can say that he isn’t as talented a receiver in the NFL. But at what price? The negatives outweigh the positives by a large margin.
