Posted on 10/03/2006 10:13:09 AM PDT by Dysart
Gentlemen, start your homophobic slurs and personal insults.
Don't hold back, Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb. Tell us what you really think of each other.
It's Cowboys-Eagles week. Let it all hang out.
"It'll probably be bigger than last week," Cowboys' nose tackle Jason Ferguson said of the hoopla he expects as these two NFC East heavyweights prepare for battle Sunday at Lincoln Field. "I'm ready for it.
"It's big any time [Owens] is around. We'll be all right, but that's going to be a big circus."
Complete with calliopes, clowns and a potential thunderstorm of empty pill bottles raining down at The Linc come Sunday.
What better way to kick off Cowboys-Eagles week than an old-fashioned slur-off featuring former teammates-turned-adversaries T.O. and McNabb?
This is the Eagles' quarterback who, according to T.O., personally insulted him when he told him to "shut the [bleep] up," in the huddle late in the 2004 season.
This is the wide receiver who took a deliberate jab at McNabb by telling an ESPN.com football writer, "I wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl."
That shot eventually brought this rebuttal from McNabb to Owens:
"Just keep my name out of your mouth. Don't try to throw names or guys under the bus to better yourself."
Not exactly the kind of a cuddly relationship that's just filled with warm feelings, is it?
But then Owens, who once implied that then-49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia was gay, has a history of touchy relationships with his quarterbacks.
Interestingly, this week is not even all about T.O. and Donovan, though Owens might have a hard time believing that. This will be a measuring stick game for both teams, one of which will likely emerge as the NFC East favorite.
Of course, you won't get Bill Parcells to admit that.
"It's a little early in the season for that," Parcells said when asked what this game would tell him about his team. "We've got four of the next six on the road and we're obviously going to have to win some of those.
"I have already looked at three or four films of them and they are moving the ball better than anybody in football right now. We are going to have our hands full."
Their ears, too.
T.O.'s return to Philadelphia will be viewed like Sherman deciding to vacation in Georgia the year after he burned Atlanta to the ground. The Philly fans will be in full riot mode.
"There's a lot of history behind this game and with one of their former players being on our team here now, it'll be very emotional," linebacker Bradie James said. "We'll definitely see what we are as a defensive unit and as a team.
"We've kind of had this game on our schedule -- I'm not saying circled because I don't want to give them extra fight -- but we knew it was coming up early."
The Cowboys have clearly bounced back from a disappointing, season-opening loss at Jacksonville with easy victories over Washington and Tennessee. Neither provided much of a test for the Cowboys, either offensively or defensively.
That's not likely to be the case in Philly. The Eagles look much more like the team that went to the Super Bowl two years ago than the one that collapsed under the T.O.-McNabb controversy last season and finished 6-10.
"I don't think there's any secrets defensively," James said. "Donovan has had his way with us from an offensive standpoint, so it'll be a big challenge. He makes plays.
"We're very familiar with this team, with all their players and personnel. It's going to be one of those classic 15-round bouts."
Added Ferguson: "They're going to come with everything they've got. We beat 'em twice last year. They're definitely going to come out fighting."
And expect the fans to be fighting mad. The Cowboys do that to them anyway. But a Cowboys' team with T.O. on it, returning to Philadelphia for the first time since he almost singlehandedly destroyed a Super Bowl team?
The vitriol alone might qualify as a weapon of mass destruction.
Fans in Philadelphia even held a mock funeral to bury Owens' jersey last season. Their reaction the first time they see him in a Cowboys' uniform could register on the Richter scale.
Barnum and Bailey would envy this circus.
"Well, what do you think it was around here last week?" asked Parcells, referring to Owens' accidental overdose of pain pills.
So will this week be even more of a distraction?
"I don't know," Parcells said. "It's only Monday."
Good point. Owens usually addresses the media on Wednesday, which, coincidentally, happens to be the same day that McNabb will be on a conference call for the opposing city's reporters.
You might want to circle Wednesday on your calendars.
And cover your ears.
Homophobic slurs AND personal insults! At, of all things, A FOOTBALL GAME! Imagine that! Oh, the humanity!
Both teams are loaded with crack smoking thugs. They need to shut the hell up and play ball - and thank God they get millions to do it.
Love to watch this guy play.
I had an easier time picking somebody to root for in the Iran/Iraq war.
I just added Owens to my FF team. Hope he has a great game against the Eagles!
Welcome to the City of Brotherly Love, baby!
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