Posted on 03/18/2006 10:25:32 AM PST by mainepatsfan
I see what you mean and I totally agree with you about local sports media and hysteria. It's been my observation that sports "journalists" are the even less informed than hard news journalists. This is ironic as sports "journalists" are also the most outspoken and show the most (ignorant) conviction.
It is totally understandable that you wouldn't know that Parcells doesn't attend any free agent signings but the sports "journalists" should as it is their job to know. If they didn't know then they shouldn't have passed it off as some sort of sign.
I have listened to a lot of sports talk radio around the country and watched a lot of local and national sports analysts and I've yet to ever hear one that knew what he was talking about.
Owens is a the top receiver in the league (Harrison gets shut down in physical games too easy) and one of the top 10 players in the league. His signing with one of the most prominent teams in any sport is big news. It is laughable that anyone in sports media would find the situation overhyped.
Yeah kinda agree with you there... but I really can't believe Bill Parcells really wanted this.
Nah, no tampering there...
Parcells will need to make his mark on T.O. very early on.
He'll especially be bitter if he doesn't reach one of his contract incentives.
Ah this is going to be quite the Cowboys training camp.
I've TRIED to listen to local sports media here. I absolutely love sports....Mavericks and Stars especially. But I think the local shows are geared towards 18-25 year old males. Since I'm not young or male, I avoid the shows.
Neither his individual numbers, nor the winning percentage of the teams he plays on supports that theory.
Terrell Owens is a 32 year old rent-a-star with a serious mental disorder that cost him 9 games last year and forced two teams in three years to dump him for nothing (though, the Eagles shouldn't have, IMO). Most gifted does not equal "best". Unless you consider tearing up locker rooms, attacking quarterbacks and creating media sideshows to be critical functions of a starting wide receiver.
Right now, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Harrison, Santana Moss, Hines Ward and Reggie Wayne are all better players than Terrell Owens -- all things considered.
Owens is easily the top receiver in the league. The one thing that all NFL analysts will agree on is that he is in at least the top three - the other two recievers listed vary.
The ones are listed are certainly top tier but all of them are either have unproven longevity or deeply flawed in other areas.
Harrison who puts of lot of numbers (Owens still matches those or is close) disappears anytime a physical defense shows up or in a playoff game. Wayne is not yet a premier receiver.
Hines Ward doesn't put up great numbers is very much a possession receiver along the lines of Keyshawn Johnson. Steve Smith had a great year but lets see if he can keep it up.
Santana Moss is a player and is probably the best player you listed but lacks size. Chad Johnson has potential but lets not get carried away yet - lets see how he does of an indicative span.
BTW, weren't you the poster that said that the Eagles held all the cards in the Owens situation and were being smart by holding out for 2nd or 3rd round pick for him? I told you that teams would just wait until he was cut and sign him a week later. That is what happened.
The Eagles were fools the whole way with the Owens situation. They should have dealt with the situation decisively during last year's offseason. They should have either given him more money or parted ways. By going to war with one of their own players they may have hurt Owens but they shot themselves in the foot as well.
At that time they could have gotten some top tier talent for Owens in a trade. Instead, they threw away a season, paid Owens anyway and got nothing in return.
You may like the eagles, but in this situation they completely blew it and trying to diminish Owens' talent is not going to help matters.
It's simple, T.O. isn't a team player. He's just happy he's in Dallas so he can play football once again, otherwise, he'd have no skills for any other job in "the real world".
Parcells is very unhappy with the progression of the team as it is and if anyone chooses to sulk then they will find themselves cut. I am sure that Jones feels the same way.
That works for any team in the NFL, or any business in this world. T.O. is the icon of self-centeredness in the NFL. He placed his football career in Jones' hands. His future in Dallas rests in the top right hand drawer of Jones' desk.
I avoid sports talk shows religiously. Most of the callers are idiots, and the hosts are incompetant.
That was me. The Eagles did hold the cards. All they had to do was pay him the five million dollar roster bonus (they still have $25M in cap room), eat a portion of it, and trade him for a pick. His trade value would have gone up exponentially if they had absorbed the bonus and his '06 cap value, they easily could have worked out a deal with Denver or Miami under those conditions.
Teams didn't sit back and wait for Owens to be cut. The Dallas Cowboys had a deal in place with him since November of 2005, and everybody knew it (Jerry Jones said as much on Sirius Radio during the season). That's why he was wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey in the Eagles locker room while he was still on the team. That's why he had a rap song with his contract figures in the lyrics already on his newly-designed blue & silver website within of hours of his signing. The Dallas deal was in place for a long, long time.
The Eagles had the cards. They didn't have to release him. They had more than enough wiggle room to take the one-time cap hit and pay him the roster bonus. The fact that they chose not to play the cards they were dealt and played this thing right into the Cowboys' hands is on them.
Nobody's trying to diminish his talent. He has it, in adundance.
He also has a ten-cent head and severe, deep-seated emotional problems that factor heavily into what kind of player he can be. You choose to ignore those issues, because you're a fan of the guy. That's fine. But the issues are still very real.
Steve Smith has had a number of terrific seasons. The receivers I listed as better than Owens were based on their production over the last three years, combined with the lack of emotional baggage and locker-room killing tendencies that Terrell Owens has displayed consistently thoughout his career.
But here are the three year numbers for the best receivers in the game. Tell me again why Terrell Owens is far and away THE best?
Torry Holt: 313 rec/4399 yards/31 TD
Chad Johnson: 282 rec/4061 yards/28 TD
Marvin Harrison: 262 rec/3531 yards/37 TD
Anquan Boldin: 259 rec/3402 yards/16 TD
Hines Ward: 244 rec/3142 yards/25 TD
Reggie Wayne: 228 rec/3142 yards/24 TD
Mushin Muhammed: 211 rec/2992 yards/23 TD
Owens: 204 rec/3065 yards/29 TD
Santana Moss: 203 rec/3426 yards/24 TD
Steve Smith: 197 rec/2733 yards/19 TD
Keyshawn's stats last year really don't do him justice. He has fantastic hands, and will make the tough catch over the middle. As a Cowboy fan I am sad to see him go.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.