Word Comes Down: Owens Suspended
November 5, 2005
Nov. 5, 1:30 p.m. -- Andy Reid slept on his decision. Presumably, he tossed and turned and when he awoke on Saturday morning, he decided that the best thing for the Eagles moving forward was to do so without Terrell Owens.
And, so, as the team gathered at the NovaCare Complex early in the afternoon on Saturday, they did so without Owens, who has been suspended by the team for conduct detrimenal to the team, according to the statement the Eagles issued.
Thank goodness.
Reid made the right call here, cleared the air of the putrid, me-first cloud Owens has carried since that wonderful performance in the Super Bowl. Since that time, he has been all about Terrell Owens, and having a player dominate the aura of a team as he has done is absolutely counterproductive to an effort that requires every person in the building to move in the same direction ... The Eagles will refrain from commenting further on the matter until after the game in Washington, but I will offer some of my opinions here. As you know -- if you've been reading this space since Friday morning -- Owens' comments to ESPN on Thursday night were the final straw for me.
Hey, I understand that the Eagles accept the responsibility of knowing the risk they took when they acquired Owens in 2004. Agreed. They made a deal with Owens, and he lived up to his part of the bargain last year. He was wonderful. He played great football. He was good within the organization.
Owens, last year, worked as part of the T-E-A-M.
And then, after the Super Bowl, he went into his contract snit and has since proceeded to forget about the rest of the players in the locker room, his coaches, and the staff that helped promote him and aid him in any way he needed last year.
I can tell you that I've taken it personally every time Owens has gone off with his selfish actions. He turned his back on the Eagles because he wants more money. Now he has put his future in the NFL in jeopardy because of his greed.
Did the Eagles make a mistake, looking back, when they added Owens? I won't say that. His time as an Eagle may or may not be over, but I will consider the good times of last season as a great highlight of my years here. I will also consider his petulance of this year as one of the lowlights.
Reid did what he needed to do. Does it hurt the Eagles on the field? That remains to be seen, of course. Owens is a marvelous talent, a great wide receiver. But there are other players who have talent and ability and the chance now to step up and play. Instead of Owens catching his 7 or 8 passes a game, L.J. Smith may get a few more passes. Reggie Brown will have his role expanded, something I am excited to see. Billy McMullen, in his third year as an Eagle, has a chance to prove he can play and play well at this level. Darnerien McCants will play on Sunday night. We'll learn more about him.
Now that 70 percent of the offense doesn't go through Owens, maybe the Eagles will get back to more of the essence of spreading the ball around in the West Coast offense.
I certainly think Donovan McNabb benefits from Owens' suspension. I spoke to former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski on Saturday after news of Owens' suspension came down and the first thing he said was that it is a good thing for McNabb.
"How can Donovan even look T.O. in the face any more, much less work with him in the offense?" said Jaworski. "Owens showed Donovan another blatent lack of respect with his comments. He's been doing it all along. You risk losing the locker room. Had it been me, I would have immediately confronted T.O. in a man-to-man manner. What he did was deal Donovan the ultimate lack of respect."
"I think the Eagles are going to be fine. From a mental standpoint, it had to happen. Otherwise, it would have again been all about T.O. Now the players know he's not around and they have to respond. I think it will bring the team together. Andy has always been able to scheme to get his players open. He'll do the same here."
Nobody knows how the team is going to react against the Commanders. This has been a tumultous period for the Eagles, a wild ride. It could be that Owens has played his last game for this team. Who knows?
I have to admit that, before news of Owens' suspension broke, I was battling the idea of Owens wearing an Eagles uniform. I can tell you -- as I confided to many friends and workers -- that I didn't want to cheer for Owens against Washington. Isn't that sad? I actually wondered how I would react if he scored a touchdown. Instead of giving fist bumps in the press box to my co-workers -- under the guise of "No celebrating in the press box, a professional edict which I break -- very quietly -- when the Eagles score -- I imagined feeling little elation had Owens scored.
Now I don't have to worry.
He's not an Eagle. When you join a team, you pledge to do whatever it takes to win the Super Bowl. You sacrifice individual accomplishments to win games.
I felt Owens did that last year. I applauded him for that. Since the Super Bowl, he didn't care about the Eagles. He cared about catches and touchdowns and his contract.
For one game, at least, the Eagles enter an NFC East game without Owens. I am elated he's not part of the team against the Commanders.
Should he come back, hey, I will trust Andy Reid and his decisions. He is the leader. He is the head coach. He is the one who took the Eagles to the Super Bowl last year and who will win a Super Bowl this season. And if Owens returns, I would expect him to be part of the team again, to work with the organization to try and win a Super Bowl. If he can't do that, he shouldn't come back.
The Eagles march on, a team again, everyone pushing together, everyone working for the common goal. I think it's a monumental challenge to overcome the last few days of headlines, but the Eagles have a better chance to do so -- this is my opinion, of course -- with the 52 players they have on the active roster right now.
Hard to replace a talent like TO, warts and all.
