I don’t know how else to say it except to be brutally honest, particularly when that’s
exactly who I am deep down inside.
I don’t like people that can’t forget the past and want to hold a grudge against a guy
for either a real or perceived ‘offense’ that he may or may not have committed
in their own judgmental eyes, even if it wasn’t an offense against them
personally.
In this case, I’m talking about future Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens and his
attempt to get back in the NFL.
That’s right gridiron lovers, I am now officially sick and tired, not only of most
GM’s overall attitude towards Owen, but more so, that of my own foolish media
brethren.
To be up front (once again) you’d think that Owens went out and personally assaulted
many of my sports-writing counterparts that want to continually bash Owens for
his colorful past.
While other sports columnists choose to constantly look back and harp on Owens’
well-known past, I choose to judge each man on his current merits and recent
behavior – and Owens’ act has been cleaned up the last two seasons to the point
where there shouldn’t be any shred of doubt that he really wants to win and be
a good teammate in the process.
To recount, Owens accepted a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills in 2009 and went
to upstate New York and performed with the efficiency
of a player half his age. Owens caught 55 balls that season for 829
yards with five TD grabs, including one that went for 98 yards. More importantly, Owens did not
make one single problem in the Bills’ locker room that season.
Just last season, Owens accepted a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals and
performed even better than he did the previous season. Owens nabbed 72 balls
last season for 983 yards with nine touchdowns, including
one that went for 78 yards. Again, Owens did not make a
single wave with the Bengals, despite the fact that they struggled to a pitiful
4-12 finish.
At this stage of his career, I fully believe that if Cincinnati’s four-win massive implosion last
season didn’t get Owens to ‘act a fool’ then I don’t believe anything will.
Even Owens himself admitted in a recent interview that he’s worked hard to change his image
the last two seasons.
“I've tried to do some things differently the last two years,” Owens told the Los
Angeles Times. “When I was in Buffalo you didn't hear a peep. When I was
in Cincinnati you didn't hear much.”
Now, the thing that really bothers me is the fact that, while Owens is still clearly
better than 75 percent of the wide receivers in the league, many teams that
could desperately use help at the wideout position (Chicago, Kansas City,
Washington and Tampa Bay come to mind) have chosen not to investigate the
possibility of signing the 37-year old wideout – to their own foolish
detriment.
In the case of the Bears, Chiefs and Buccaneers in particular, Owens would be an
upgrade over every wide receiver on all three teams (except K.C.’s Dwayne Bowe)
and could literally be the player that puts them over the top in their quests
for a division title or playoff berth. Besides, any 37-year-old that can keep
himself in better shape than most 25-year-olds, has my respect.
Love him or loathe him, Terrell Owens is a still-gifted wide receiver that could help a
bunch of teams across the league. Whether he’ll get the chance or not, is
beyond me, but really, it’s a damn shame that some folks don’t want to let go
of the past when Terrell Owens has clearly turned over a new leaf the last two
years!
Don’t ask
me why I have this secret love affair going with the Buffalo Bills (even though
I really hated them in the 90s) that likely stems from my childhood days when I
was running around the asphalt-paved streets of Philadelphia pretending I was
the legendary, Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson.
