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He Made the Difference
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Friday, November 12, 2004
By JOHN NALBONE
Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA - The self-proclaimed sharpest weapon in the NFL apparently is one its most victimized as well.
By the media, of course.
For the fourth week in a row, Eagles' wide receiver Terrell Owens attempted to portray himself as a casualty of an overzealous press corps before yesterday's practice at the NovaCare Complex.
Tied for second in the NFC with nine touchdowns, Owens once again directed the volume of his ire at ESPN and its NFL correspondent, Sal Paolantonio, for only using select clips of a Nov. 3 press briefing, which focused primarily on Owens' reaction to comments first made by Pittsburgh's Joey Porter regarding the positive perception of Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis following his double-murder trial in the summer of 2000.
"(ESPN) displayed to the whole world what I said without showing the whole (press) conference," Owens said. "They edited it ... and made me look like the bad guy. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and the way they did it was wrong. If you are going to do that, play the whole press conference. Don't edit it out and make me look like a bad guy, like a jerk, because I'm not that type of person."
Owens continued to lash out upon being asked if he was being unfairly portrayed by the media in Philadelphia, particularly in the aftermath of last Sunday's sideline "pep talk" with quarterback Donovan McNabb - a demonstrative sequence caught on camera during a 27-3 loss to the Steelers.
"The media ... they're crazy. It's utterly ridiculous, to be honest," said Owens, who, along with McNabb, reiterated that Owens merely was trying to fire up his struggling quarterback.
Whatever Owens did say, McNabb appeared to be in no mood to listen last week as the Pro Bowl quarterback repeatedly turned his back, said nothing and attempted to walk away from his No. 1 receiver on more than one occasion during the encounter.
"He was frustrated and I think I've been in situations where you just want to tune people out," Owens said of McNabb, who played his worst game of the season against the Steelers. "But I was adamant and persistent about trying to get him to respond to me because I felt we needed him at that point and time. Don was down on himself and I just tried to pick him up."
The same television cameras Owens knows were on him when he (twice) celebrated on the Dallas Cowboys' star near the 50-yard line at Texas Stadium as a member of the 49ers, or when he whipped out that Sharpie in the end zone, or this past Halloween when he mocked Lewis' pregame war dance after scoring the deciding touchdown in a 15-10 win over the Ravens at Lincoln Financial Field, are the very same lenses that captured his little motivation speech to McNabb at a time when things were going terribly awry at Heinz Field.
In Philadelphia, Owens may be learning the hard way that such publicity cuts both ways.
"I know all eyes are on me, so I'm pretty sure I'll probably take a different approach because I think the media is really looking for something to talk about," Owens said. "We lost (the game), but they probably talked about me going at Don more than they did about the actual loss, so I have to be conscious that the cameras are on me."
Although countless print media outlets reported the Owens-McNabb scene exactly how the Eagles all said it went down - with Owens trying to pump up, not chastise, his quarterback - Owens nonetheless continued to fire away with guns blazing yesterday.
"The media doesn't see me as a leader," Owens said. "Up until this point, I really don't feel like I've really done anything wrong. Up until this point, I've done things so well and I haven't strayed out of line, that it's almost like they want me to. It's almost like they are trying to separate me from the team.
"But I think the guys on this team understand what the media is trying to do. They have a lot of love for me and they understand what I bring to the game and to the locker room. It's just people trying to fish and fish and fish to try and find something."
Oh, by the way, the Eagles (7-1) play the Cowboys (3-5) Monday night.
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By JOHN NALBONE
Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA - The self-proclaimed sharpest weapon in the NFL apparently is one its most victimized as well.
By the media, of course.
For the fourth week in a row, Eagles' wide receiver Terrell Owens attempted to portray himself as a casualty of an overzealous press corps before yesterday's practice at the NovaCare Complex.
Tied for second in the NFC with nine touchdowns, Owens once again directed the volume of his ire at ESPN and its NFL correspondent, Sal Paolantonio, for only using select clips of a Nov. 3 press briefing, which focused primarily on Owens' reaction to comments first made by Pittsburgh's Joey Porter regarding the positive perception of Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis following his double-murder trial in the summer of 2000.
"(ESPN) displayed to the whole world what I said without showing the whole (press) conference," Owens said. "They edited it ... and made me look like the bad guy. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and the way they did it was wrong. If you are going to do that, play the whole press conference. Don't edit it out and make me look like a bad guy, like a jerk, because I'm not that type of person."
Owens continued to lash out upon being asked if he was being unfairly portrayed by the media in Philadelphia, particularly in the aftermath of last Sunday's sideline "pep talk" with quarterback Donovan McNabb - a demonstrative sequence caught on camera during a 27-3 loss to the Steelers.
"The media ... they're crazy. It's utterly ridiculous, to be honest," said Owens, who, along with McNabb, reiterated that Owens merely was trying to fire up his struggling quarterback.
Whatever Owens did say, McNabb appeared to be in no mood to listen last week as the Pro Bowl quarterback repeatedly turned his back, said nothing and attempted to walk away from his No. 1 receiver on more than one occasion during the encounter.
"He was frustrated and I think I've been in situations where you just want to tune people out," Owens said of McNabb, who played his worst game of the season against the Steelers. "But I was adamant and persistent about trying to get him to respond to me because I felt we needed him at that point and time. Don was down on himself and I just tried to pick him up."
The same television cameras Owens knows were on him when he (twice) celebrated on the Dallas Cowboys' star near the 50-yard line at Texas Stadium as a member of the 49ers, or when he whipped out that Sharpie in the end zone, or this past Halloween when he mocked Lewis' pregame war dance after scoring the deciding touchdown in a 15-10 win over the Ravens at Lincoln Financial Field, are the very same lenses that captured his little motivation speech to McNabb at a time when things were going terribly awry at Heinz Field.
In Philadelphia, Owens may be learning the hard way that such publicity cuts both ways.
"I know all eyes are on me, so I'm pretty sure I'll probably take a different approach because I think the media is really looking for something to talk about," Owens said. "We lost (the game), but they probably talked about me going at Don more than they did about the actual loss, so I have to be conscious that the cameras are on me."
Although countless print media outlets reported the Owens-McNabb scene exactly how the Eagles all said it went down - with Owens trying to pump up, not chastise, his quarterback - Owens nonetheless continued to fire away with guns blazing yesterday.
"The media doesn't see me as a leader," Owens said. "Up until this point, I really don't feel like I've really done anything wrong. Up until this point, I've done things so well and I haven't strayed out of line, that it's almost like they want me to. It's almost like they are trying to separate me from the team.
"But I think the guys on this team understand what the media is trying to do. They have a lot of love for me and they understand what I bring to the game and to the locker room. It's just people trying to fish and fish and fish to try and find something."
Oh, by the way, the Eagles (7-1) play the Cowboys (3-5) Monday night.
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