Shots From The Darkside

So it’s been a couple of years, and Eagles fans across America are finally facing some awful truths.

The Eagles don’t pay for players. They released T. Spikes after he finished the season #2 in tackles. Looking at the history of the Eagles when it comes to talent, they bleed it from every pore. It’s not strictly an Eagles thing, many teams let talent go a season or two early. It’s the new NFL where a guy can make the Pro Bowl one season and be let go in the offseason.

They should have listened to Terrell Owens. Let’s be clear, thru all the hub-bub, the Owens Saga was never about more money - it was about getting the money he signed for. In this situation, I see fans go thru degrees of separation just to stay on the right side of the argument.

• First they say T.O. signed the contract and should have played - a contract is a contract, right? Wrong, the Eagles don’t allow anyone to finish a contract. Even D-Mac is on the chopping block. T.O. was asking for the Eagles to guarantee his 49 million dollars, which they wouldn’t. Then they laid back and allowed T.O. to be T.O. His antics covered up the fact that the Eagles really never intended to pay him all 49 million. They signed that deal and then hypocritically cried foul when he demanded to paid. I don’t see the issue: he agreed to play for 7 seasons, they agreed to pay him for 7 seasons. Anything else is a lie.
• Then, they say that T.O. should have known better when he signed the contract - we live in a work at will country. Ethical issues aside, this statement is a cop out. Sure, a player is responsible for his own decisions… but a player is also responsible for his own life. Owens wasn’t asking for money on par with the QB he outplayed all season and the Super Bowl. He wasn’t asking for a raise, he wanted a guarantee that his kids’ kids would be going to college on his dough, just like every other elite player in the NFL. I don’t have a problem with that.
• Then, fans say they’re tired of hearing about T.O. This is dumb statement. T.O. didn’t make the rule that all players owe the media 50 minutes a week. He didn’t tell jack ass reporters to as jackass questions that provoke issues, either. He simply answered them. I don’t have issues with him refusing to dodge questions. I’m an honest guy, myself. If you ask my opinion, you might leave the room pissed at me, too. I only have one life to live and I refuse to spend it kissing ass and dancing around subjects.
• But look at Westbrook, that’s how it should be done. That’s an untruth. Westbrook came into his contract season injured. The Eagles had no intentions of paying him either. If so, why did they wait until the T.O. thing blew up in their faces before signing him?

Now look at the T.O. Experiment in Dallas. Google all the haters and mal-wishers who expected the T.O. thing to blow up. Watch all the broke-dick commentators wax haterific and predict a meltdown in Dallas. What has he done so far? He’s kicked ass and taken names. What did the haters do?

1. They invented the drop category to make T.O. look bad. You won’t find that stat in any database on any site anywhere. It’s purely imaginary. When the seaons ended, I recall a commentator saying that Marvin Harrison was tied for Terrell for drops. The Marvin dropped like 4 more balls - never heard anything about that drop category again. This did, however, solidified my love of Owens as a baller: his hand was broken in 2 places and had torn ligaments. A receiver’s hands are his prized possessions… they are WHY he’s on the field. T.O., determined to prove himself, played thru the pain and dominated… that’s when Bill Parcells bothered to throw the ball his way.
2. They blew his attempted suicide out of proportion. If it was a suicide attempt, the reaction from Philly fans was disgusting and uncalled for. Go fuck yourself, City of Brotherly Love. I don’t wanna hear any excuses, either. I can’t respect a city that brags about dicing up a perfectly good steak, mixing it with cheese and putting it on bread - it just ain’t right.
3. The Seahawks put up 29 unanswered points on the Eagles and the fans blamed it on T.O. Apparently, his powers for discord are so great, he caused DBs making millions to forget what they’ve been doing for decades.
4. No one noticed that the first football player to help with the Katrina catastrophe wasn’t the Manning Boys - who are from the area - or Brett Favre. Terrell Owens auctioned his championship rings and donated the money to Katrina. He was there handing out food to victims. Google it, you can’t find it anywhere. I only know because I subscribe to the feed from his site. I saw Favre and the Manning Boys on commercials, T.O. did his work quietly and only published a small article about it.

As a lifelong Dallas fan, I am supremely satisfied with Owens’ performance. I must admit that I preferred him with Donovan McNabb, though. If there was ever a passer whose skill set complimented Terrell’s talents, it was McNabb. I have to admit that I loved to watch them play together. I wish I could have seen them a little long. I wish I could have watched then in Dallas silver in blue. It’s really too bad that Donovan will never see another Super bowl - I’m actually a D-Mac Fan.

T.O.’s stat line since he got a completely guaranteed contract? 28 Touchdowns, 2500+ yrds, 166 receptions. Eagles fans need to stop whining on the radio and the forum boards and lynch management if they make Donovan walk the plank after this season. You guys ain’t even trying to win anymore.