Today you're getting what I think is a first: two posts in one day from Hole Punch Sports!
As you have probably already heard, as we do not break news here at Hole Punch Sports, is that Terrell Owens is suspended for three more games and will not play again this season.
This comes on the heels of the announcement over the weekend that another Eagles wide receiver, Brian Westbrook, received a $30 million extension from the club. Apparently the Eagles do renogotiate before a contract's up.
(Of course, Westbrook is actually a running back, something he's done a pretty awful job of this year-3.5 per carry, on pace for under 700 rushing yards. But he could end up with nearly a thousand yards receiving.)
Owens' contract controversy has already been covered splendidly on this website. However, despite all the dire predictions before the year started, T.O. didn't hold out of any actual games, and was playing some of the best football of his career.
T.O.'s frustration this season is understandable, considering how the press harps on him for every little thing (though he of course invites the attention) while guys like McNabb and Westbrook receive a free ride.
Let's take McNabb, who's been overrated his whole career thanks not to race but to fabulous teammates (especially on defense). Face it, he's a punk. After playing miserably in the endgame of last year's Super Bowl, McNabb seemed to have no problem taking veiled potshots at T.O. for wanting more money all offseason, coming off as the classy, team-oriented guy and improving his endorsement-related earning potential. Oh, by the way, McNabb's in the middle of a 12-year, $115 million contract. Of course he's happy with his deal.
Let's not forget that before Owens joined the team, McNabb averaged a paltry 6.16 yards per attempt in his career. We'll see if he can keep up his play of the last two seasons. (Of course, McNabb had below-average receivers early in his career...but a) so did Tom Brady, and b) what do you think he's left with now?)
McNabb was mobile before T.O. came to town, but he's hurt now and probably won't be running much.
But this isn't about McNabb. Terrell Owens definitely crossed the line with his attitude and words, though not often with his actions. While his performance in last year's Super Bowl wasn't as incredible as some made it sound, he did make an incredible recovery from that disgusting ankle injury. He's been in top form all year despite being on the wrong side of 30 in a very young man's game.
However, he does make himself bigger than the team, got in a fistfight with Hugh Douglas (whose job title of choice is the best part of this whole story), and blasted the organization recently for not giving him his props. Let's not forget his constant McNabb-bashing, which is odd considering how badly he wanted to play with McNabb after years of teaming up with Jeff Garcia (in other words, never let Terrell Owens be your general manager). He probably deserved to get suspended, though the forever thing seems a little over the top.
He's a big distraction. But last I checked, the NFL is all about winning. And getting rid of maybe the league's most dangerous receiver isn't a good step towards that goal.
Are the Eagles better off without him? Unquestionably, no.
The Eagles got to the Super Bowl without Terrell Owens on the field in the playoffs, you say. That's true. But it's not like Owens didn't contribute-the team got home-field advantage and got to rest their players for the postseason in large part due to Owens' play.
And you've got to think the attitude he brought to the team last year helped them get over the NFC title game hump.
Without Owens, Philadelphia's passing attack becomes weaker, and its pathetic run game will be even more exposed. Philly's offense is somehow eighth in the league, but don't expect that to last.
Of course, off the field, the Eagles have improved. It will be nice for the players not to be distracted. It must be so annoying being asked all those questions. I'm sure McNabb will enjoy returning to his criticism-free lifestyle. And the Eagles will return to what they do best, and that's the business of winning football games.
I hope my tone tells you I don't think it'll help to have him gone. What do you think?
6 comments:
I'll spare you the indignity of having to campaign, because I guess it's you.
I should have laid in to the Eagles more. What a bunch of losers. I don't mean that in the pejorative sense, just that winning is far from their top priority. I think the Eagles' ownership and management have proven they'd rather make money than win.
Who's greedy now?
as broncos fans, we aren't as experienced with the hyper egos of players, although we did have a couple of hyper mouthed players, sharpe and romanowski. so we know what kind of attention they can bring to an organization.
the eagles made a tough decision... "what doth it profiteth a man if he gaineth the world but lose his soul."
i think that by keeping him, you show that you are willing to get walked all over by a classless man. somewhere you have to the rule of law, team governance. it's not anarchy. there are rules here. he agreed to abide by them, conduct HE signed on to. he then broke those rules.
i think you have over-looked that fact.
but yes they'd be better with him obviously
maybe shanahan's impregnable ego can tangle with TO? we'd be a great fit for him... why not?
I didn't forget that T.O. signed his deal; rather, I think that equating terms of NFL employment, which can end at any second an employer wishes, with a real-life contract is absurd.
It's not like T.O.'s crappy attitude is new, that's what's so weird. If they were really principled about this, they wouldn't have signed him in the first place. Now they just want to scapegoat him.
Obviously, T.O. has been a terrible teammate in an attempt to force the Eagles' hands. I go overboard defending him, but it's just frustrating to me that he gets ripped by everyone in America, while the Eagles, whose unwillingness to use all their cap room has probably already cost them a championship, are seen as noble and somehow less greedy. As a sports fan, it really, really pisses me off when teams don't do all they can to win.
Just because the organization is what we call a team doesn't mean it always acts in a good-teamwork kind of way...does that make sense?
First of all, McNabb is not the most overpaid player in the NFL. Tom Brady's temporary backup, Drew Bledsoe is (in my opinion). McNabb is a better qb than you are giving him credit for; his numbers are impressive until the pressure is on. Remember, he did lead his team to the NFC Championship 4 years in a row, and even though he did not win, it was impressive. The only qb in the league who true accomplished more in that time was Tom Brady.
I think Philly has often skimped on salaries leaving cap room open, but they have still been willing to pay for an impressive team: talented qb, top secondary in the league bar-none, and the best receiver in the league. If money was truly as much of an issue as you have made it out to be, why would the Eagles have not traded highly paid players to other teams for less expensive players as the Clipper did and proved a team could still make money in the mid-80's?
TO bothers me still. Mayabe he should have listened to the union when they told him not to sign his contract; I guess he's smarter than the union. Further, he was still, with his current contract, one of the top two or three paid receivers in the entire league plus all of his endorsements deals and potential endorsements he had. Those are gone now, and so is his contract. If that's what he wanted, he got it.
What do you think of Drew Rosenhaus's involvement in the entire controversy? I was interested to find out that he was the inspiration of Jerry McGuire and the coined phase "Show me the money."
Guess I forgot Drew Bledsoe was in the league! If he's still on that $103 mill or whatever deal he's definitely more overpaid.
Your argument is exactly why I think McNabb's overrated-they've had a top-flight defense (especially the first couple trips to the NFC title game) lead them, yet the best you can say about McNabb is that he's had good team success. Perhaps that's because the rest of the team is so good, which means he doesn't deserve much credit.
Especially before they got T.O., he was comically inaccurate. Philly would run screen after slant and he could still barely throw a catchable ball. Not to be a stats geek, but Mike Vick is constantly blasted for being a bad passer. Well, despite a higher completion percentage, McNabb's career yards-per-attempt is more than a full yard less than Vick's (11.34 to 12.62). McNabb's inability to hit a receiver forces the Eagles to throw really, really short.
You're right, the Eagles aren't as disgustingly cheap as theoretically possible, but they're still cheap. The team has always looked like a runner (and maybe a QB) away from a title. And they never got one. Despite filling holes elsewhere, they had enough money to fill that one and didn't. That is cheap. The Broncos might always pick the wrong person to fill a hole, but at least they'll drop the dough.
I don't think T.O. had any leverage last year when he signed his deal, as Philly had to fight so hard just to have a chance at him. I didn't realize a player had to be blindly obedient to the union for any of his gripes to be legitimate.
As for Drew Rosenhaus, I'd like to invite the response of the actual lawyer here, but I don't think he's done anything but his job. Why would he care about team chemistry or even take it into consideration? That's the coach's job. Drew's job is to get his client money, and there's a decent chance he'll do that this offseason. But the jury's still out.
Funny point about Rosenhaus-I agree. I was going to say that part of the reason T.O. signed a somewhat below market value deal last year is because he didn't really want to take much more of a PR hit than he already had...if you recall, he was just getting destroyed for what was a pretty bogus situation. But this year's actions make it seem like he couldn't care less. Wonder if that's due to Drew.
I am very curious to see what kind of cash T.O. will get next year. How many teams will be willing to pay him all that money? Right now, it looks like not many, though I'm sure a lot of teams will be lining up to sell their souls to thIS SELFISH SELLOUT JERK TEAM-WRECKING PILE OF HATE!
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