# Terell Owens shoots himself in the foot yet again **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 4, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443 "2005-11-04T06:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/21 "2005-11-04T17:36:19Z")
> [@Black Train Song](#): > > I can see why TO is so frustrated and I don’t think he’s the problem. > > How can you say his ego outways his talent? When the ball is thrown to him he usually catches it. He’s ranked no.3 in the league right now and that’s with a crappy offense. When the Eagles traded for him, he couldn’t gush enough about them. How the management appreciated him. How great it was going to be to work with a great QB. And now the bloom is off the rose, he has the exact same complaints he had when he was with the 49’ers. When the Eagles decide they’ve had enough and trade his sorry ass, he’ll have the same complaints about that team, too. TO is all about the love TO ain’t getting. And that does affect a team. He’s rapidly catching up with the whiniest WR in history, Lynn Swann. ---
**Author:** ![BigDummy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/22 "2005-11-04T21:33:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > **He destroyed the Eagles all the way to the Superbowl last year** , and I don’t think he’s close to their top problem (McNabb hurt, won’t run the ball) this year. I wish he’d shut up, but he’s helped Philly more than he’s hurt them and they sure wouldn’t be better off without him. I hear this a lot, but I’m not seeing it somehow. The Eagles made the conference championship game the three years prior to getting Owens, the last two years hosting it. It seems like the only way Owens gets them to the superbowl is by helping them win _that_ game. But unless y’all were watching a different game than I was, Owens was injured for that one. In fact, the whole playoffs, wasn’t it? So where’s Owens’ contribution exactly? There was his “heroic” performance **in** the superbowl, but how did he really get them there? I agree that at this moment they sure wouldn’t be better off without him, but after the season that might not be as true. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/23 "2005-11-05T03:52:25Z")
I’m sure that next year that there’ll be plenty of opportunities in the CFL or Arena football. Perhaps in semi-pro? ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/24 "2005-11-05T07:57:00Z")
> [@Breakdancing Duck](#): > > If you want the kind of money that TO and his agent have been screaming about all year and if you want the kind of respect that Owens has been crying that he hasn’t gotten then _usually catching the ball that is thrown to him_ ain’t gonna cut it. > > If you want the respect and the money, you have to catch the ball **every single time.** > > No excuses. I can’t even begin to tell you all the things that are wrong with this statement. To expect anyone, ever, under any circumstances to catch every single ball that is thrown to him is ludicrous. Sometimes the coverage is too tight and he just has to bat it down, sometimes it’s just not a good pass, hell sometimes it just doesn’t click right and he drops it and it’s his fault. The difference between TO and a normal receiver is that the VAST MAJORITY of the time that the ball is catchable, he will catch it, and also balls that ARE NOT CATCHABLE to most receivers are to him. Terrell Owens is a fantastic athlete. He has been known to be a jerk off the field, but to say he is anything but a top-top-top-tier wideout is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/25 "2005-11-05T08:27:26Z")
> [@BigDummy](#): > > I hear this a lot, but I’m not seeing it somehow. The Eagles made the conference championship game the three years prior to getting Owens, the last two years hosting it. It seems like the only way Owens gets them to the superbowl is by helping them win _that_ game. But unless y’all were watching a different game than I was, Owens was injured for that one. In fact, the whole playoffs, wasn’t it? So where’s Owens’ contribution exactly? There was his “heroic” performance **in** the superbowl, but how did he really get them there? You can’t just assume that they were going to make the game again because they did it before. The NFC did suck, but the team was better with him on the field, period. They had lacked a quality wideout and everybody knew it, and with TO, they had one. He helped them get the division title and the home field advantage that took them to the Super Bowl, and he was the only guy who played well when they got there. He’d have broken the team TD record if he stayed healthy, and he’s having another excellent this year. That’s how, as I said, he’s destroyed them. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/26 "2005-11-05T09:13:31Z")
> [@vinniepaz](#): > > I can’t even begin to tell you all the things that are wrong with this statement. To expect anyone, ever, under any circumstances to catch every single ball that is thrown to him is ludicrous. Sometimes the coverage is too tight and he just has to bat it down, sometimes it’s just not a good pass, hell sometimes it just doesn’t click right and he drops it and it’s his fault. The difference between TO and a normal receiver is that the **VAST MAJORITY of the time that the ball is catchable, he will catch it** , and also balls that ARE NOT CATCHABLE to most receivers are to him. Terrell Owens is a fantastic athlete. He has been known to be a jerk off the field, but to say he is anything but a top-top-top-tier wideout is ridiculous. I disagree with the bolded part. There’s no question that T.O. is a fantastic athlete, but what’s really amazing about him is the way he runs with the ball after he catches it. He’s never had great hands, and he short arms passes pretty regularly. He makes some highlight reel catches, but he drops more than his share of catchable balls. ---
**Author:** ![BigDummy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/27 "2005-11-05T16:52:05Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > You can’t just assume that they were going to make the game again because they did it before. The NFC did suck, but the team was better with him on the field, period. They had lacked a quality wideout and everybody knew it, and with TO, they had one. He helped them get the division title and the home field advantage that took them to the Super Bowl, and he was the only guy who played well when they got there. He’d have broken the team TD record if he stayed healthy, and he’s having another excellent this year. That’s how, as I said, he’s destroyed them. 3 times before. And they lacked that quality wide-out the previous two years they won the division and got homefield in the championship game. They were certainly better with him, but face it when he got hurt they got through the playoffs and to the superbowl just fine _without_ him. And as for him being the best player when they got there, I read someone describe that as “The quietest 122 yards receiving I’ve ever seen”. Which if you look at how he actually played, is pretty accurate. NE played off him a little then tighted up in the red zone, where he couldn’t get close to getting open. And they weren’t really doubling him like they would’ve if he was healthy, just playing it tight. No catches anywhere near the end zone. He played well for an injured guy, but couldn’t really perform like he needed to and kept a healthy player off the field. One of the ones who **really** helped them get to the Superbowl. It was just more T.O showing off. Because on or off the field, it’s all about T.O. Not saying he isn’t an extrememly talented receiver, when he’s not short-arming important passes like he did at the end in S.F., but to give him credit for the Eagles’ season last year is just stupid. Just to repeat in case you missed it again, my point isn’t that he made the team worse (he didn’t), it’s that they could have made the Superbowl without him. And did, in fact. He did _not_ “get them to the Superbowl”. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/28 "2005-11-05T17:14:51Z")
> [@BigDummy](#): > > And as for him being the best player when they got there, I read someone describe that as “The quietest 122 yards receiving I’ve ever seen”. Which if you look at how he actually played, is pretty accurate. If you say so. That just means EVERYONE was bad, because nobody else managed to get it done. > [@](#): > > He played well for an injured guy, but couldn’t really perform like he needed to and kept a healthy player off the field. One of the ones who **really** helped them get to the Superbowl. It was just more T.O showing off. Because on or off the field, it’s all about T.O. That’s just nonsense. He kept no one off the field, and if he did, it would have been Reid’s fault for playing him. It’s also typical of the attitude people try to take toward Owens: if he plays well, that proves he’s only in it for himself (even if he’s playing after a major injury and perhaps risking his career), if he plays badly, that proves he’s only in it for himself. What potential MVP did Owens keep off the field? > [@](#): > > Just to repeat in case you missed it again, my point isn’t that he made the team worse (he didn’t), it’s that they could have made the Superbowl without him. And did, in fact. He did _not_ “get them to the Superbowl”. My initial point wasn’t that he got them to the Super Bowl, it was that he improved the team and obviously didn’t hurt them, since their results with him were better than their results without him. I suppose they could have done it without him the previous three years, but they never did. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/29 "2005-11-05T17:36:35Z")
ESPN just reported that he’s been suspended by the Eagles, although he might not have played this week anyway. This team is falling apart. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/30 "2005-11-05T18:10:58Z")
[T.O. Suspended Indefinitely By the Eagles](http://www.clickondetroit.com/nfl/5258288/detail.html). I disagree with this decision. I think the Eagles are cutting off their nose to spite their face. I’m probably in the minority, though. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/31 "2005-11-05T18:23:53Z")
I agree 100% with this decision. It sure humbled Keyshawn Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/32 "2005-11-05T19:09:27Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > [T.O. Suspended Indefinitely By the Eagles](http://www.clickondetroit.com/nfl/5258288/detail.html). > > I disagree with this decision. I think the Eagles are cutting off their nose to spite their face. I’m probably in the minority, though. It seems to me that by doing this, the Eagles are giving up on this season. They’ve got a beat up QB, one receiving threat out of the backfield, a decent tight end in L.J. Smith, and 2 wideouts who only catch the ball because T.O. draws so much attention from the defense. They’re playing in a competitive division for the first time in years, and their offense is horribly out of balance. If T.O.'s not on the field and they keep passing 70+% of the time, McNabb is going to get killed out there. Any of the other three NFC East teams are capable of beating the Eagles with Owens; without him, I don’t give them much chance at all. If they’re really not planning on putting Owens on the field anymore, then they should write this season off, have McNabb go for surgery on his hernia, and keep him as healthy as they can for next year. Nobody wants to quit halfway through a season, but I think that’s what they’re doing by benching Owens. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/33 "2005-11-05T19:37:41Z")
I wondered what it would take for Reid to finally get angry at Owens. I’m a little surprised he’s put up with it for as long as he has. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/34 "2005-11-05T19:41:30Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > [T.O. Suspended Indefinitely By the Eagles](http://www.clickondetroit.com/nfl/5258288/detail.html). > > I disagree with this decision. I think the Eagles are cutting off their nose to spite their face. I’m probably in the minority, though. The Eagles have decided that there are some things more important than football. I’m not necessarily sure how I feel about that. The Eagles _are_ a football team, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/35 "2005-11-05T20:22:28Z")
Schadenfreude, baby! Lifelong Redskins fan and hater of the iggles. (I used to not care - was more concerned with the Cowboys and Giants - but I used to watch games at a sports bar with other 'Skins fans. The iggles fans would come over to our table and root against the 'Skins. They wouldn’t even watch their own game!) Fast forward many years, and I’ve befriended a cool guy that is an iggles fan. He’s quite smug about the dominance of Philly over the NFC in recent years. I try to tell him - your team is a decent - not great - team at a time when the NFC East is particularly weak. Seriously, we might be seeing some parity now in the division but the last decade has been horrendous. My 'Skins have certainly contributed to this mediocrity. The T.O. move has got to be one of the worst front office debacles in NFL history. The iggles needed a decent, not great receiver. Any number of role-player type receivers could have done the job. (Doubt that the 'Skins would have let this happen, but Rod Gardner was available earlier this year.) They have really good team chemistry and McNabb has grown into the role of team leader. What do they do? Just bring in the most disruptive locker room presence the league has seen in years. Dumb, dumb, dumb. The team response is always a day late and a dollar short. Reid really thought that winning would shut T.O. up - but he is a malcontent who takes his frustrations out on his teammates. It’s one thing to generically complain. Another to blame the media, or even the coaching staff. But someone who criticizes his teammates to the media? That’s scum, man. The closest guy to T.O. would be Randy Moss, and I don’t really recall Moss significantly ripping his teammates to the press. Philly’s window of opportunity has slammed shut. Three years of making it to the NFC title game and not getting it done? That’s more of a reflection of how weak the division and conference has been rather than how good the team is. And when you get to the big dance finally, you lose. Meanwhile another decent team, Carolina, is getting better, and finally the NFC East is slowing getting good again. You get what you deserve by investing money and sacrificing your team chemistry for this jackass. Cracking the whip won’t help. Your playoff chances are seriously in doubt and you’ve made the locker room poisonous - not to mention the way that the Philly front office treats its veteran players (Trotter et al). I’m enjoying this so much!!! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/36 "2005-11-05T20:25:30Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I disagree with this decision. I think the Eagles are cutting off their nose to spite their face. I’m probably in the minority, though. You might be, I certainly agree with it. Even massively talented prima donnas have a line they shouldn’t cross. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/37 "2005-11-05T21:58:37Z")
> [@Breakdancing Duck](#): > > Nothing has ever been TO’s fault, it’s always been someone else. But he is perfect. Give him the chance and he’ll tell you himself. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/38 "2005-11-05T23:45:21Z")
Yeah, like you needed an anlayst to tell you that. More good news: my fantasy football team is playing against T.O. this week! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/39 "2005-11-05T23:58:30Z")
Since he’s been [suspended “indefinitely”](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/nfl/11/05/ap.pa.eagles.owenssuspe.ap/index.html?cnn=yes), what’s the cheapest way for Philadelphia to get rid of him? ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443/40 "2005-11-06T00:27:07Z")
T.O. is also tone-deaf when it comes to PR. He’s not a QB. QBs get the big contracts in the NFL. However, you might be able to offset the difference with some solid endorsement deals. He’s not an ugly guy, he is able to string together coherent thoughts in English… why not set yourself up for some ads? (I see Chad Johnson soon seizing this opportunity by doing the things that jackass T.O. does not do.) Drew Rosenhaus, the industry wunderkind, also comes across as incredibly incompetent through this whole saga. Can you not shut your client up? Or are you giving this advice to keep going to the media and spewing idiocy? I can’t imagine any athlete with brains thinking, “Hey, this guy really knows how to manage my career!” You would think that T.O. would be advised to come out and say, “I don’t have anything to say at this point. I will let my play on the field speak for itself, and when the season is over I will comment on the events of this year.” Guess that makes too much sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terell-owens-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-yet-again/329443.md?page=3)