Friday, August 12, 2005

T.O. in T.O.

OK, so Andy Reid put Terrell Owens in timeout (in the Bahamas. Where was that option when I was a kid?), and the Eagles are hurtin'. Please tell me you aren't surprised.

The NFC entry in last year's Super Bowl is having a "What to do with T.O." crisis and everybody's talking about it, and everyone has an opinion. So do I, and that shouldn't surprise you either.

The vindictive opinion is that the Eagles can win without T.O. They proved that during the playoffs last year. Send the boy packing.

That was last year. That was before Brian Westbrook let his ego get in a wad and refused to come to camp. It was before they let Fred Mitchell go and Todd Pinkston ended his upcoming season in injury. Westbrook is back in camp, but the other two, while not superstars, carried a lot of the load last year when Owens was hurt. They aren't there now, and really, Owens has the Eagles right where he wants them. If they dump him, that leaves things really thin at wide receiver and no, I don't think they can win that way. Of course, when you look around the NFC and ask, if not them, then who, there aren't a whole lot of answers. The Falcons are there, but they more than any other team (except maybe the Colts) go the way of their quarterback. When you count that much on one guy, bad things tend to happen. So are the Bucs, the Panthers, the Seahawks maybe. I don't see a whole lot coming out of the NFC North yet, so maybe the Eagles do still stand a chance. Maybe that playing field has leveled itself in mediocrity enough that everyone involved has a real shot. Even the Arizona Cardinals. Still looking at the bigger picture, whatever team comes out of the NFC going to the Super Bowl is like the Jamacian bobsled team at the Olympics. They'll get pounded by whoever the AFC sends. (It's a little like the National League and the American League in baseball.) In fact, the list of AFC teams that wouldn't beat the NFC champion will probably be shorter that the list of those that would. That much hasn't changed from last year. I know me saying that is going to piss off the legions of fans from NFC teams that come here daily to sip from the cup of my knowledge, but the truth is what it is. Carnac has spoken. If I'm wrong in February, skewer me, but I don't think that'll happen.

Still Owens is bad news. The Eagles will probably try to deal him to another team and they'll find out just how bad when they see how little anyone is willing to part with to get him. It's a bit like the Randy Moss situation in Minnesota, but they're a day late and a dollar short. The league only has one Raiders, and they have now filled their high priced problem child position. No other team in the league that has that package in their playbook. If and when they do manage to get rid of him, the team will probably suffer short term. In the long term, it's probably the best move they've got.

2 Comments:

Blogger Rebecca said...

TO is a self-absorbed, egotistical prick. Winning is not a good enough reason for And Reid to put up with his BS on that team this year. He's doing the right thing, and I hope he can get rid of him.

But hey, I'm a patriots fan (since 1985) and completely mesmerized by the Belichick way, so I understand that some people are going to disagree.

Thanks for the link, John. Unfortunate timing; see post on Reb Sox.

12:20 PM  
Blogger John said...

Speaking of self absorbed egotistical pricks, the rumor here is the Dolphins will try to deal Ricky Williams to the Jaguars.

Back away from the bong Shack. We don't need that distraction here. Even if Fred Taylor needs some time to get healthy, I'd rather make due with what we have than go there. If that's the only outside option there is, just stay with what we got.

12:51 PM  

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