Why TO would not be a problem here

[Smashmouth24]

I don't know if anyone has heard of Bill Simmons, but he's a very good columnist for ESPN page 2. He wrote an article about receivers and how they're all obsessed with their image. Here's an excerpt mentioning TO and Keyshawn, just something to think about when declaring TO is completely crazy and irrational.

Me me me me me. That's how you have to think. Two of the most successful modern receivers, Keyshawn and TO, are also two of the savviest. They know which buttons to push, how to keep their names in the limelight, how to make sure the Kornheisers and Wilbons will always be arguing about them and, most of all, how to keep footballs coming their way. With Owens, at least, it's definitely an act. Behind the scenes, he's soft-spoken, even a little shy. I met him while working on Jimmy Kimmel's show and couldn't believe he was the same guy who once played part of a game with a Sharpie embedded in his sock.
And you know what? He's probably not the same guy. Like it or not, receivers have evolved into pro wrestling characters, borderline villains who never stop working the crowd, like Triple H or Rowdy Roddy Piper. When one of them lacks the talent or charisma to pull this off, it's pathetic. Just ask Freddie Mitchell.

Now all you have to do is get the other 51 players their psychology degrees, and you're all set.

 

[Tricky-22]

With as much as has been made about TO's attitude problems, I don't see them being a problem if he comes to Dallas (or for any other team he could sign with) and here's why:

TO is the second most publicly ridiculed athlete in all of sports to Barry Bonds. People will be waiting for his first outburst or foolish comment in a press conference to jump all over him. TO knows how quick and harsh any reaction will be to any mistake he makes. All he wants (besides money, but what athlete doesn't) is for people to recognize him as one of the all-time great receivers, and his talent and production are worthy of that distinction. However, he will always have a cloud over his head because of his off the field issues.

His last season in Philly could be described as nothing short of a disaster, and it tainted his public image worse than anything that ever happened in San Francisco. If he comes to Dallas, he knows it's his last chance to get the love he's always wanted as a professional athlete. Otherwise, he'll go down as "the second biggest jerk to ever play sports who was very good on the field." Do you think that's what he wants? I don't think so, and I think he'll behave just fine if he comes to Dallas.

He is TO, and TO is a cancer. A zebra can't change his stripes, and TO can't be anything but a polarizing, me first, cancer. I would love for him to come to Dallas and be a model citizen, but it isn't going to happen.

TO is a cancer to any organization that he plays for. That is what he is, and its never going to change.

The Cowboys will implode within two years of TO coming here. This board will probably implode within a year.

 

[nathanlt]

This isn't about controlling TO. This is about TO realizing this is his last chance and he'd better not screw up anymore. I realize only TO controls TO. But TO realizes TO will go down in football history negatively, and I think he turns things around himself - for his legacy's sake.

T.O. is a 10 year vet.... A 10-YEAR VET!!

Why would he change his ways now? He has immaturity ingrained into him, and will not change that for anyone or anything!!!

 

[Jimz31]

Anybody that thinks T.O will change just cuz he comes here is CRAZY! He has been like this his ENTIRE career....and it DID NOT just start when he entered the NFL.

Kicked off of his first collegiate team when he was in college for example.

Get real....T.O. Change? Did Mike Tyson change? People were watching him alot closer than T.O. ever has been. T.O. is a zebra...one who lines remain the same.

 

[ddh33]

All of this stuff is overrated.

Will TO be a distraction? I think it depends on how you define "distraction". He's probably going to say one or two things that may ruffle some feathers this year. But when the lights come on and the ball is kicked off, TO is going to play his butt off and produce. There won't be anything distracting about that.

I know that everyone wants to bring up the past, and I suppose that's fair, but I don't think you can just squeeze it into a short statement like, "TO is a cancer, " or "TO won't ever be a good teammate anywhere."

If you are an NBA fan then you may remember that Scottie Pippen was one of the greatest teammates in the league. Many of his former teammates have gone on record as saying so. After Pippen left the Bulls he played one year in Houston with Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. He was miserable. After the season was over, he went on ESPN and did nothing but bash Barkley. He said he was fat, called him a ballhog, said he would never win a championship, and he said that even Michael Jordan (Barkley's best friend) said the same thing. You know why he said it? He wanted out, and that was the best way to do it. He was traded to Portland within a week.

In San Francisco and Philly, TO wanted out. He wanted out for reasons that shouldn't be an issue here. But teams don't just go around trading star players. TO had to make a huge scene to get out, and it worked. It won't work here, and I don't even think it will be necessary.

Expect some things that you may not love. Prepare yourself for a media circus, but enjoy the show on Sunday.

 

[Cochese]

All of this stuff is overrated.

Will TO be a distraction? I think it depends on how you define "distraction". He's probably going to say one or two things that may ruffle some feathers this year. But when the lights come on and the ball is kicked off, TO is going to play his butt off and produce. There won't be anything distracting about that.

I know that everyone wants to bring up the past, and I suppose that's fair, but I don't think you can just squeeze it into a short statement like, "TO is a cancer, " or "TO won't ever be a good teammate anywhere."

If you are an NBA fan then you may remember that Scottie Pippen was one of the greatest teammates in the league. Many of his former teammates have gone on record as saying so. After Pippen left the Bulls he played one year in Houston with Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. He was miserable. After the season was over, he went on ESPN and did nothing but bash Barkley. He said he was fat, called him a ballhog, said he would never win a championship, and he said that even Michael Jordan (Barkley's best friend) said the same thing. You know why he said it? He wanted out, and that was the best way to do it. He was traded to Portland within a week.

In San Francisco and Philly, TO wanted out. He wanted out for reasons that shouldn't be an issue here. But teams don't just go around trading star players. TO had to make a huge scene to get out, and it worked. It won't work here, and I don't even think it will be necessary.

Expect some things that you may not love. Prepare yourself for a media circus, but enjoy the show on Sunday.

Football and basketball is no comparison. I vehemently disagree with this, and if you want to get into No-Tippen Pippens antics off the court, I will be happy to enlighten you. Pippen had that in ONE situation. He was angry at one situation, unlike TO who has never been content in his entire life and even took the time to piss on a city and a team who he never even suited up for (Baltimore).

Secondly, I dont buy the excuse that TO wanted out. Not even a year before he 'wanted out' he was spouting off to the media about how happy he was and how much he wanted to go to Philthy. What makes you think this will be any different? The fact is, is that Philly wanted TO out, not the other way around.