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!