Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

View from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • View from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    Pretty low-key article, doesn't really offer an opinion.

    -----------------------------------------------------------

    Take a T.O.

    Book 'explains' what went wrong with Eagles

    By MAC ENGEL
    Star-Telegram Staff Writer

    Terrell Owens doesn't offer an apology or a defense, but in his words, his new book is "an explanation."

    The Cowboys receiver's 242-page book T.O. was released Thursday, five days ahead of schedule.

    The $21 book mostly covers Owens' version of his two tumultuous seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He writes that he felt victimized by the media and "penalized more harshly than any player in the history of the NFL."

    The book was written with Jason Rosenhaus, the brother of Owens' agent, Drew. It offers brief histories of Owens' youth, his time with the San Francisco 49ers, his zeal to become an unrestricted free agent, and his recovery from a severe leg injury to play in Super Bowl XXXIX.

    Owens mentions the Cowboys briefly in the final pages, and says that he hopes to reward coach Bill Parcells and owner/general manager Jerry Jones with a Super Bowl trophy. He also trumpeted the fact that he received a three-year, $25 million contract from the team in March.

    Owens delivers his side on his fractured relationship with Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. "He is one of the most likable guys I know and can really have a fun personality," he writes.

    A call to McNabb's agent seeking comment was not returned.

    Owens writes that his relationship with McNabb soured during a game against the New York Giants in Week 12 of the 2004 season. He said he was open on the play designed and called by Eagles coach Andy Reid but that McNabb did not throw him the ball.

    Owens said he returned to the huddle and said, "I was open....Dude, you missed me."

    "I never thought in a million years [McNabb] would say, 'Shut the [bleep] up!'"

    As Owens saw it: "The problem was that I was becoming the new favorite son of Philadelphia. The Eagles were no longer the Donovan McNabb show -- he had a co-host. I was happy to share it with him."

    Owens writes that he tried to talk to McNabb after the game but the quarterback appeared confrontational.

    "This was crazy! Here I was standing toe to toe with a guy I considered my friend."

    He said the behavior was similar to that of a school-age bully he remembered during his days growing up in rural Alabama.

    "When I think back on it now, though, I did know that person," Owens writes. "He was the same bully that spat in my mouth."

    "I want to make one thing clear: I was not angry because Donovan threw the ball to someone else and cost me a shot at glory. I am not a selfish player....I was angry because I went to talk to my quarterback as my team leader and my friend and he completely shut me off, shut me down. He insulted me in front of my teammates in the huddle."

    Owens said he tried to reach out to McNabb on the field early in the '05 season, but he "never did anything to try to reconcile things off the field. To be fair, neither did I....It was a battle of wills when it should have been water under the bridge."

    In an interview with ESPN last season, Owens was critical of the Eagles and said they would be undefeated if Brett Favre was their quarterback.

    "I'm a grown man and I'm responsible for what I say," he writes. "This was completely my fault....I shouldn't have said that about the Eagles or even answered the question on [Michael] Irvin's comments about Donovan."

    "I had no idea that what I said would be newsworthy or problematic. I was shocked and I didn't understand why my comments caused such drama."

    Reid, whom Owens admires, asked him to apologize to McNabb. Owens said he didn't because "I didn't think I owed him an apology for what I said."

    Owens said he was suspended for the remaining nine games of the 2005 season because of his interview with ESPN, his failure to apologize in a satisfactory manner for Reid, being late to a mandatory offensive team meeting, failure to comply with team rules regarding travel attire, parking in a reserved handicap parking spot and fighting with a team employee [former linebacker Hugh Douglas].

    On his fight with Douglas: "Hugh wanted to fight because of rumors going around in the media that I was faking [an injury]....In slow motion we looked into each other's eyes and knew it was going down....I stood in front of the whole team and furiously challenged anyone else who wanted a piece of me."

    Owens said that he called Reid to apologize. In that discussion Reid told him "to learn to focus on the positives of people, instead of the negatives. He was right. I never let go of Donovan's negatives."

    An overall view of his time with the Eagles last season: "I accept that I played a role in tearing apart the Eagles' season, but the blame was not all mine." And he adds, "When I have to play against the Eagles this season, it will be with a heavy heart."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "I was trying to pump up my team -- we were 0-3 and facing the Cowboys on the road."

    On his celebration on the blue star


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "I have to admit I felt a little betrayal by the way the team left me hanging out to dry ....To be perfectly honest, I can't help suspect that many of those calls were from racists who were angry to see a pretty blond woman throw herself at a black jock."

    On the "Monday Night Football" sketch with "Desperate Housewives" star Nicollette Sheridan


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "He is one of the most likable guys I know and can really have a fun personality."

    On Donovan McNabb


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "If you'll forgive my saying so, the effort I gave to rehabilitate my leg during that six-and-a-half week period was nothing short of heroic."

    On his efforts to rehab from serious leg injuries to return to play in the Super Bowl
    "Philly fans are great....It's the only place where you pull up on the bus and you've got the grandfather, the grandmother, the kids and the grandkids - everybody flicking you off. At other stadiums, they give you the thumbs-down. Here, they give you the middle finger.”
    — Michael Strahan

    "No one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us, we don’t care, we’re from Philly, F—-ing Philly, No one likes us, we don’t care!”
    - Jason Kelce with the best championship speech ever

  • #2
    Next question................

    Comment


    • #3
      lol, good point, MD
      "Philly fans are great....It's the only place where you pull up on the bus and you've got the grandfather, the grandmother, the kids and the grandkids - everybody flicking you off. At other stadiums, they give you the thumbs-down. Here, they give you the middle finger.”
      — Michael Strahan

      "No one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us, we don’t care, we’re from Philly, F—-ing Philly, No one likes us, we don’t care!”
      - Jason Kelce with the best championship speech ever

      Comment


      • #4
        Nothing new here. That's the good news. Nothing he says in this book is really new.
        Carson Wentz ERA


        NFC East Titles:
        Playoff Appearances:
        NFC Title Games:
        Super Bowl Titles:

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by BIGPHILLY
          Nothing new here. That's the good news. Nothing he says in this book is really new.
          I learned something new about Owen's from this article. He cleared up a big misunderstanding I'd had about him for years when he stated persuasively, "I am not a selfish player..."

          And to think I'd misjudged him so.

          I hope his book becomes gospel for Dallas koolaid consumers who want to delude themselves. It will make the inevitable meltdown all the more enjoyable.

          Comment


          • #6


            Sums it up pretty good.
            www.disciplerocks.com

            Comment


            • #7
              I bought his act when he was coming to Philly, I admit it. Hook, line and sinker.

              But one thing that I believed then, and still believe now is that Ownes has no concept of the things he says, and why they are wrong or "mis-interpreted". I believe that he generally thinks he is justified, in his own mind. He has a persecution complex, and is not a rational thinker.

              Too bad, for a guy who is such a special PHYSICAL talent. He could have owned Philadelphia after the SuperBowl.......alas, his mind/personality/complex/insanity got in the way.

              I will never fault Reid for bringing him in, as I would have done the exact same, no bones about it. Not gonna be two-faced about that now. And I'm not going to fault his handling of Owens issues, because I don't feel qualified to pass judgements on how to handle a crazy person.
              http://shop.cafepress.com/content/global/img/spacer.gifOK, let's try this again...

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by FRESH
                I bought his act when he was coming to Philly, I admit it. Hook, line and sinker.

                But one thing that I believed then, and still believe now is that Ownes has no concept of the things he says, and why they are wrong or "mis-interpreted". I believe that he generally thinks he is justified, in his own mind. He has a persecution complex, and is not a rational thinker.

                Too bad, for a guy who is such a special PHYSICAL talent. He could have owned Philadelphia after the SuperBowl.......alas, his mind/personality/complex/insanity got in the way.

                I will never fault Reid for bringing him in, as I would have done the exact same, no bones about it. Not gonna be two-faced about that now. And I'm not going to fault his handling of Owens issues, because I don't feel qualified to pass judgements on how to handle a crazy person.
                There was good reason to buy into the TO acquisition for the Eagles. Everyone deserves a second chance. Lots of guys have been malcontents that simply needed a change of scenery. It's that third chance that comes with the real red flags.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Fool me once shame on you,,,, fool me twice...................

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by MDFAN
                    Fool me once shame on you,,,, fool me twice...................
                    And when a team get fooled the 3rd time...?

                    I wonder what team will take Numbnuts in from the cruel, uncaring world after Parcells escorts him politely to the door.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Did he provide any new info on that waiver the Eagles "made him sign" prior to the Super Bowl?

                      Thanks in advance, and pardon me if I don't hold my breath waiting for T.O. to bring that up again.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by BIGPHILLY
                        Nothing new here. That's the good news. Nothing he says in this book is really new.
                        That is huge news. My biggest fear was that there would be things in the book that we had never heard before that would open up a huge heaping can of worms, and new controversies would develop and that's all we'd hear about through training camp - which would suck. Sounds like the book just rehashes everything we already knew, and based on the general lack of big red sirens going off with the media, it sounds like even they are growing a little board of those old stories - thank god.

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        X