The Terrell Owens Experience

Terrell Owens (TO) has been such a prominent figure in the NFL over the past decade – both on and off the field. The Dallas Cowboys who just cut TO (before Buffalo just signed him yesterday), had just signed Owens to a massive extension back in June (reports range from $27 million to $34 million), telling us that something had changed drastically in the nine months or so since the deal was struck. Like maybe team owner Jerry Jones got a clue or something. The move jumps out because TO is the Jimi Hendrix of modern pro football. He was (and is) a virtuoso genius with talent the likes of which we’ve rarely if ever seen – but who lets it all go to waste in the end thanks to self-destructive behavorial issues.

In the case of Hendrix it was drugs and alcohol that left us wondering what might have been. In the case of Owens, it’s an inability to shut his mouth, an inability to be a good foot solider for any length of time, a seemingly insatiable appetite to be the center of attention, even if it makes him a court jester, a lack of leadership - especially being now 35 years old in the NFL, and an unending need to shoot his way out of every town foolish enough to first take him in.

On the field, Owens is one of the most prolific receivers in history. Off the field, he’s been an emotional train wreck of a teammate, throwing more people under the bus than – to use a purely hypothetical example – a presidential candidate who suddenly realizes his professed “spiritual leader” is a racial supremacist.

Here’s a look at great steaming paradox of douchery that is the TO experience:

The virtuoso talent
It’s simply not possible to dispute Owens’s production on the field, just like it's not possible to dispute Hendrix's talent on stage or in the studio. Owens is likely one of the best on-field WR's to play football.

The self-destructive behavior
The problem for Owens is that he was never able to pull it all together anywhere else but on the field, whether on the sidelines, in the locker room, or in his hyperbaric chamber at home. Quite simply, he was a disaster of teammate and probably the last guy you’d want in your foxhole when the sh*t gets heavy. The second that times turned tough, Owens was the first guy pointing fingers.

Owens ripped Jeff Garcia when times got tough in San Francisco, even publicly questioning the quarterback’s sexual orientation at one point. Garcia, you might be interested to know, boasts the 11th best passer rating in NFL history and had a Playboy Bunny girlfriend at the time. He’s not a Hall of Famer, but his production has exceeded his lightweight reputation and he’s a guy most receivers would be happy to play with.

Owens ripped Donovan McNabb when times got tough in Philadelphia, hastening his exit from Cheesesteak Town. McNabb has had his own rocky career, but his production has been fairly prolific (14th all time in passer rating) and he’s made the Eagles probably the premier NFC franchise of the 21st century. He’s a guy most receivers would be happy to play with.

And, as we saw last year, Owens ripped Tony Romo when times got tough in Dallas, apparently upset – we can’t make this second-grade stuff up – because the quarterback had a better relationship with tight end Jason Witten. Apparently Tony sent Jason a note in study hall ... and then somebody told Terrell, and Terrell got mad ... so he yelled at Tony ... TO ... such a child.

The juvenile behavior finally forced Jerry Jones to cut Owens yesterday. This was very hard for Jerry, someone with huge ego, to do. It’s a public admission that the decision he made last year – the decision to hand Owens so much money that he could fill his pool with hundred dollar bills – was a big mistake. Jerry Jones has so much pride that the fact he cut TO proves just how much of a cancer TO is to a team.

But the QB controversies – typically a no-no for wide receivers – were only part of the story. Here’s just a short list of other incidents (and believe me, I have a much longer list of TO's incidents that I've posted on my blog before, but I don't want this post to go on forever, so we'll keep the list short for now...).

October 2001 – Owens cries to the media and calls out San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci after the 49ers blow a big lead and lost to the Bears in overtime.

Off-season 2004 – Owens and his representatives screw up free-agency paperwork, so the 49ers – a team he desperately wants to leave – retain his rights. San Francisco, at this point, desires the wide receiver about as much as it desires anal warts. So the 49ers try to trade Owens to Baltimore, (because he asked to be traded to Baltimore) but then later he refuses ... and then files a grievance. What a double standard. He ultimately ends up in Philadelphia, playing with his new BFF McNabb.

April 2005 – Owens hires snake-oil entrepreneur Drew Rosenhaus and tells the media that he needs a new contract “to feed his family”. Owens at the time made about $7 million per year. Remember, he had fought for that $7 million-per-year deal and he had even personally chosen to take it against the advice of his own union.

August 2005 – Owens was told to leave training camp after a verbal altercation with Eagles head coach Andy Reid. He’s soon seen lifting weights and doing sit-ups for the cameras during an impromptu press conference outside his house.

November 2005 – Owens gets into a locker room altercation with Eagles teammate (and classy NFL representative) Hugh Douglas.

November 2005 – Owens rips the Eagles organization for not acknowledging his 100th touchdown catch, saying the team showed a lack of class. Funny how the pot can call the kettle black...

November 2005 – Soon after the Douglas fight, Owens tells the media that the Eagles would be better off with Brett Favre at quarterback instead of McNabb. (The interest of full disclosure forces us to reveal that Favre threw a horrendous 29 picks that season – only seven players in the history of the NFL have ever thrown more and none in the last 20 years; so it’s unlikely there’s a career in talent evaluation for Owens after his playing days are over). But TO is a pro when it comes to undermining teammates and coaches.

November 2005 – Owens is suspended for four games by the Eagles.

November 2005 – Following the suspension, in one of the most bizarre moments in recent NFL history, Owens and Rosenhaus host a Q&A with the media at the receiver's home in which the agent failed to offer any A in response to the Q. As reporters fired off questions, Rosenhaus repeatedly fired back, "Next question!"

September 2006 – Owen’s career with the Cowboys gets underway in true prima donna fashion, with one of the most curious stories in recent NFL history. He was rushed to the hospital after reportedly overdosing on painkillers in a suicide attempt. He returned to play two weeks later.

October 2006 – Owens admits to a tirade following a Dallas loss in his return to Philadelphia. During the game, the famously hospitable Eagles fans welcome Owens with a good-natured sing-song chant of "O-D. O-D. O-D."

October 2006 – Owens gets into an altercation with Dallas receivers coach Todd Haley.

December 2006 – Owens spits in the face of Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall.

Need we re-hash the most recent Dallas years? We think you get the point. Just ask Romo, Witten, Garrett, Phillips, Carpenter, etc...etc...

And his persona has led to little team success. In 13 NFL seasons, for example, Owens has enjoyed just four playoff victories. And in the case of Owens, the relatively low impact of the position has stood in sharp contrast to his high production his high-impact off-the-field antics.
Teams have had to pay a high price to deal with Owens, to gain that historic production. But teams rarely gain a whole lot from big-production receivers, other than flash and pizzazz. In the case of Owens, what they mostly gained were headaches and turmoil.

The Bills with no GM or true offensive coordinator, a 90-year old senile owner, a soft head coach, a young QB and team in the making are likely the worst type of team to take on TO. So...go figure. I could possibly see TO playing for a team like Jacksonville, who have discipline, a strong head coach, etc. but no, the Bills are suckers and now I can't cheer for them anymore for selling out and being fools. In the end, San Francisco, Philly and Dallas couldn't wait to get rid of this immense talent. That pretty much says it all, doesn't it? Apparently not for Buffalo.

Maybe that's what they should put on his display in Canton someday: "So good ... so productive ... but nobody could stand him." And maybe Jerry Jones and the Dallas brain trust should have known it was going to end this way when they signed him back in 2006. What's worse is Buffalo should know better.

After all, the Terrell Owens Experience always ends the same way.