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Owens takes off on familiar pattern: ripping Garcia
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
If Jeff Garcia hadn't had enough controversy this week, he received more bashing from Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens, who plays here next week.
Speaking to HBO correspondent Peter King on this week's edition of "Inside the NFL," Owens used every opportunity to blast his former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
Asked why he predicted his current success, Owens, who's tied for second in the NFL with six touchdowns, said, "Just me having a lot of faith in myself, my ability. Knowing what I could've accomplished had I had a guy like Donovan [McNabb] for four or five years, if I'd had a strong-armed quarterback.
"He [Garcia] threw the ball behind me, out of bounds. I left a lot of touchdowns on the field throughout the last two or three years. So when everybody makes that comparison about [Randy] Moss and I . . . I know had I had a strong-armed quarterback, a guy who can get the ball down the field, there wouldn't be any kind of comparison."
Owens was asked why he's working so well with McNabb.
"Just his versatility when he's out there on the field," he said. "It's like two great basketball players playing two-on-two. You can kind of ad-lib, you can run the plays and if something breaks down you have that athletic ability to still make something happen."
But Garcia has that athletic ability, King countered.
"True," Owens said. "But . . . just going to the first game against the Giants, where Donovan scrambles, he makes [Michael] Strahan miss for a second, he almost goes out of bounds and throws the ball across the field . . . you get Jeff Garcia in that same situation, he don't make that play."
Owens' comments came on the heels of his remarks in the September issue of Playboy magazine, in which he insinuated that Garcia is gay.
"Like my boy tells me: If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat."
Garcia, who's dating Playmate of the Year Carmella DeCesare, denied that he's gay, but refused to retaliate against Owens. He's consistently said that Owens went to four Pro Bowls when they were together and that he has nothing bad to say about him.
Friday, Garcia was not available to comment on Owens' latest criticism. He talks to the media only on Wednesdays and after games.
Earlier this week, Owens declined an interview request by The Plain Dealer.
In a week during which Garcia has been questioned for scrambling too early by some and for being "skittish" in the pocket by Browns coach Butch Davis, Owens has echoed some of those sentiments to reporters in Philadelphia.
"For years, I'd repressed most of my feelings about Jeff," he said. "I thought he played his heart and guts out for the Niners, but he was injury-prone and seemed too quick to tuck the ball under his arm and run with it, which was dangerous for a guy his size."
In his recently released autobiography "Catch This," Owens wrote of his 49ers days with Garcia, "Our offense obviously catered to his strengths. We couldn't do a lot of things the West Coast is designed for because of his weaknesses. . . . I remember when Steve Young was there, Elvis Grbac, all those guys, we ran slants and square-outs religiously.
"When Jeff got there, I think we were playing in Atlanta, and Jerry [Rice] was running a comeback or square or something. And the ball wasn't thrown on time, Jeff threw it and it got picked for a touchdown. Ever since then, we didn't run no more of those."
In regards to his much-hyped battle with Moss over who's the better receiver, Owens, who caught 51 touchdown passes from Garcia since 2000, said, "Had I had a guy like Donovan [McNabb] or Daunte [Culpepper] throughout my career, I'm pretty sure my stats would be outstanding as well."
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
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Saturday, October 16, 2004
Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
If Jeff Garcia hadn't had enough controversy this week, he received more bashing from Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens, who plays here next week.
Speaking to HBO correspondent Peter King on this week's edition of "Inside the NFL," Owens used every opportunity to blast his former San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
Asked why he predicted his current success, Owens, who's tied for second in the NFL with six touchdowns, said, "Just me having a lot of faith in myself, my ability. Knowing what I could've accomplished had I had a guy like Donovan [McNabb] for four or five years, if I'd had a strong-armed quarterback.
"He [Garcia] threw the ball behind me, out of bounds. I left a lot of touchdowns on the field throughout the last two or three years. So when everybody makes that comparison about [Randy] Moss and I . . . I know had I had a strong-armed quarterback, a guy who can get the ball down the field, there wouldn't be any kind of comparison."
Owens was asked why he's working so well with McNabb.
"Just his versatility when he's out there on the field," he said. "It's like two great basketball players playing two-on-two. You can kind of ad-lib, you can run the plays and if something breaks down you have that athletic ability to still make something happen."
But Garcia has that athletic ability, King countered.
"True," Owens said. "But . . . just going to the first game against the Giants, where Donovan scrambles, he makes [Michael] Strahan miss for a second, he almost goes out of bounds and throws the ball across the field . . . you get Jeff Garcia in that same situation, he don't make that play."
Owens' comments came on the heels of his remarks in the September issue of Playboy magazine, in which he insinuated that Garcia is gay.
"Like my boy tells me: If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, by golly, it is a rat."
Garcia, who's dating Playmate of the Year Carmella DeCesare, denied that he's gay, but refused to retaliate against Owens. He's consistently said that Owens went to four Pro Bowls when they were together and that he has nothing bad to say about him.
Friday, Garcia was not available to comment on Owens' latest criticism. He talks to the media only on Wednesdays and after games.
Earlier this week, Owens declined an interview request by The Plain Dealer.
In a week during which Garcia has been questioned for scrambling too early by some and for being "skittish" in the pocket by Browns coach Butch Davis, Owens has echoed some of those sentiments to reporters in Philadelphia.
"For years, I'd repressed most of my feelings about Jeff," he said. "I thought he played his heart and guts out for the Niners, but he was injury-prone and seemed too quick to tuck the ball under his arm and run with it, which was dangerous for a guy his size."
In his recently released autobiography "Catch This," Owens wrote of his 49ers days with Garcia, "Our offense obviously catered to his strengths. We couldn't do a lot of things the West Coast is designed for because of his weaknesses. . . . I remember when Steve Young was there, Elvis Grbac, all those guys, we ran slants and square-outs religiously.
"When Jeff got there, I think we were playing in Atlanta, and Jerry [Rice] was running a comeback or square or something. And the ball wasn't thrown on time, Jeff threw it and it got picked for a touchdown. Ever since then, we didn't run no more of those."
In regards to his much-hyped battle with Moss over who's the better receiver, Owens, who caught 51 touchdown passes from Garcia since 2000, said, "Had I had a guy like Donovan [McNabb] or Daunte [Culpepper] throughout my career, I'm pretty sure my stats would be outstanding as well."
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
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