12/03/24
July 15, 2010
Terrell Owens Worried He's Perceived as Troublemaker: Unsigned free agent receiver Terrell Owens is concerned teams are swayed by the perception that he's a troublemaker. "I've never been in any trouble," he said. "I know right from wrong. I try to make the right choices and judgments when I'm out in the public."
Yes, TO - you're that big of an asshole that it doesn't matter that you're a law abiding dude.
Actually, my completely asinine and unsubstantiated theory is that TO is, in fact, a gay superstar who is generally overcompensating in the locker room. I have no proof of this. It's just a favorite explanation for his strange, strange career.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:28 PM on July 15, 2010
Owens has well documented disruptive episodes with each team he's played with. He's also older, slower, and has never had great hands. Not a good fit as a 3rd down possession guy or a mentor limits his value.
He'll land somewhere, Jets currently seem to have the highest tolerance for players with character issues.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:38 PM on July 15, 2010
Love to see TO join the Pats and join the list of aging, supposed troublemakers (Randy Moss, Corey Dillon) who came in and were productive without ever once providing cause for concern.
And TO is right (though it's hard to decipher given his butchery of the English language): his numbers from last year are deceiving in that Buffalo wasn't exactly an offensive powerhouse. And come to think of it I don't recall a single reference to his stone hands.
posted by MW12 at 07:09 PM on July 15, 2010
When you get Owens, you also get Drew Rosenhaus. Having to deal with one pathetic diagnosable hand wringer is bad enough.
posted by beaverboard at 08:53 PM on July 15, 2010
Hey Terrell, you just aren't worth $5M a season. Check your ego at the door and I'm sure you'll find a taker.
posted by tselson at 10:32 PM on July 15, 2010
Of course, Roy Williams isn't worth $9M a season either. Maybe you will find a taker. My hunch is that if you get down to say the league minimum plus incentives, you can be a...Bengal!
posted by tselson at 10:35 PM on July 15, 2010
T.O. should sign with the Bears. Cutler has a big ego, plus a big arm, and needs a receiver with some experience to work with. Last year with the Bills was a tough situation on which to judge what Owens may or may not have left. The Bills suck, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and their quarterback play is offensive, though not in a good way.
posted by dyams at 10:51 AM on July 16, 2010
I hope we are not at the point in the NFL where we are giving people credit for not getting into trouble. Only a handful of players get into trouble. Most players don't cause problems at all. TO has caused quite a lot of grief for more than one team. I don't see as how he is worth the trouble anymore.
posted by bperk at 11:11 AM on July 16, 2010
I think T.O. gets a bad rap. He's a diva and has the occasional personal drama, like that weird pill thing in Dallas, and he bitches about getting the ball more. But he doesn't deserve the troublemaker tag. I'd love to see him end up in Jacksonville.
posted by rcade at 11:23 AM on July 16, 2010
He singlehandedly imploded the Eagles. During the season, he bashed the team, the quarterback, other players, and the fans. Then, he proceeded to behave bizarrely, including an overdose (that involved bashing the police officers that responded). Further, he always complains about how many times he catches the ball. He cares more about that than team success. I think he has well-earned the bad rap he has gotten.
posted by bperk at 11:35 AM on July 16, 2010
Philadelphia was also when he finally became a pretty good receiver. I have no idea how he built up a reputation as a good receiver in SF, but it was with the Eagles that he finally produced.
posted by bender at 12:45 PM on July 16, 2010
I have no idea how he built up a reputation as a good receiver in SF
He dropped 2 out of every 3 passes thrown his direction in SF, but a few of the balls he caught were big ones. He was very lucky to have played in SF opposite Jerry Rice, not many teams game planned around stopping TO which gave him many opportunities to become successful. Being a receiver in a pass oriented offence with Steve Young slinging balls did'nt hurt his cause either.
posted by cixelsyd at 01:11 PM on July 16, 2010
He dropped 2 out of every 3 passes thrown his direction in SF
I'm no T.O. apologist, but do you have a citation for that? I remember him being a hell of a receiver in SF from the start of his career. I only remember because, as a Bengals fan living on the west coast, the 49ers were the team I loved to hate, and he was one of the most hateable players on the team, more for his skill than anything else. The drops that plagued him were later in his career, in my recollection. Like post-Eagles later.
posted by tahoemoj at 02:01 PM on July 16, 2010
TO career stats may not include dropped passes but let's review:
* 1000+ yds receiving in 5 of 8 seasons w SF, 1 of 2 seasons w Philly (the other he played just 7 games but still had 763), and all 3 seasons w Dallas * averaged 100+ yards per game twice (and for sake of comparison: Jerry Rice did this just once) * has fumbled the ball just 10 times in his career (six of which came in his first five years in the league)
But yeah - if you take away the stats, and overlook the fact that he's one of those guys that forces the defense to change their game plan, then I suppose you could argue that he's not very good.
Oh - and everyone was bashing Donavan McNabb when TO was an Eagle (as did they since until last year).
posted by MW12 at 02:39 PM on July 16, 2010
TO career stats
Most interesting are his Dallas numbers : 3 years, 3500+ yards, 38 TDs.
Still, Cowboys got rid of him as quickly as they could knowing they would have more success without TO around.
posted by cixelsyd at 04:22 PM on July 16, 2010
I'm with you MW12, but the fact Jerry Rice only had one season averaging 100+ yards per game feels misleading. Playing in the West Coast Offense, he caught a lot of short slants. Not everyone got turned into a 20 yard gain.
posted by yerfatma at 04:53 PM on July 16, 2010
Fair point Yerfatma, so let's try this...
Here is one sites list of the top ten wide receivers of all time (not saying I endorse it but let's look at these ten players) - again looking at number of times they have averaged 100+ receiving yards per game in a season:
* Jerry Rice - noted above - 1 time
* Randy Moss - never
* Marvin Harrison - twice
* TO - noted above - twice
* Michael Irvin - 1 time
* Steve Largent - never
* Lance Alworth - 3 times
* Lynn Swann - never (nor did he ever have a 1000 yd season)
* Chad Johnson - never
* Chris Carter - never
posted by MW12 at 05:43 PM on July 16, 2010
Randy Moss averaged 102 YPG in 2003...just sayin...
posted by MeatSaber at 06:44 PM on July 16, 2010
Moreover, Moss averaged 93 yards per game in 2007 when he and Brady combined for the best arial show I've ever seen. Not that I wanted to derail your point, I just think 100 ypg is an arbitrary stat that doesn't mean much. How many of the players in MeatSaber's list played for championship teams? Owens is/ was a fantastic receiver who has/ had an almost unparalleled ability to get open regardless of how many bodies were on him. He combined the best of a tight end with the best of a wide receiver with an enormous gaping asshole whose insecurity, whatever its origins, requires him to draw attention to the detriment of his team.
posted by yerfatma at 08:30 PM on July 16, 2010
Well put, sir. Absolutely couldn't have said it any better.
posted by tahoemoj at 09:39 PM on July 16, 2010
All true, Yerfatma. And wasn't suggesting the 100 yd per game benchmark was the ultimate stat defining greatness at the position - just that it's a very rare feat and TO is one of the very few who have achieved it multiple times. And to me, that trumps all the haters who talk about his stone hands and make up stats about his drop rate as if that will be his legacy.
On the field, he's one of the greats. In the media, he may be a bonehead (and that may unfortunately taint his legacy). But let's agree that the media has a tendency to blow these matters out of proportion, while the players that do their job are able to compartmentalize the BS - and if Tony Romo and Donavan McNabb had lived up to their own expectations in the post season then TO might have two rings in the last five years for two different teams and his legacy would be that of a great champion, rather than a jobless buffoon.
posted by MW12 at 08:35 AM on July 17, 2010
Unfortunately people don't seem to keep very good records (or at least don't post them online) of dropped passes. As such, I can't link to anything and can only rely on anecdotal evidence, but more than anything else, I remember TO as a 49er for dropping passes. Now either that's because he dropped a lot of passes or his drops were particularly egregious or on passes that would have been for lots of yards or touchdowns, or both. I'm not sure which is the case, but I don't think I just fabricated that picture of him in my mind.
I think that he started turning it around in Philly (and was a big reason why they got to the Super Bowl), and he was very good in Dallas. I can't argue the numbers, but only think what they could have been if he didn't drop all of those other balls.
posted by bender at 12:27 PM on July 17, 2010
I remember TO as a 49er for dropping passes Same basis used for my earlier post, as a Niner fan it was frustrating as hell to watch. Had become accustomed to shure handed receivers and backs at the time TO appeared on the scene. His weakness was pretty much anything over the middle, particularly slant routes.
posted by cixelsyd at 10:18 AM on July 19, 2010
I never considered TO as a troublemaker off the field, it's his on the field demands and his mouth that gets him in trouble. He's older now, still takes care of his body so is in great shape but has had trouble holding on to the ball the last few years. If put on a team like let's say the Patriots, Ravens or Jets where he isn't necessarily the focal point of the offense, I think he can still provide a spark for the team. All in all, I believe he'll be signed soon by a NFL squad.