T.O, Romo and McNabb
An insight from the Cowboys rings true.
T.O, Romo and McNabb
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
There's a story on Yahoo! about Terrell Owens and his exit from the Cowboys. It quotes Stephen Jones, son of owner Jerry and the guy who runs a lot of what goes on in Dallas these days. It seems to me, Jones hits it just right -- because it sounds so much like the reality the Eagles faced back when T.O. was here.
The operating shorthand is that Owens is a pain in the ass, such an organizational irritant that it isn't possible for a team to survive his nonsense over the long term. There is truth to that, no doubt. There is absolutely truth to that. But when you really look back on it, the issue for the organization is different, deeper, more nuanced. In Dallas, as in Philadelphia, the real issue was the way that Owens divided the locker room and prevented the quarterback from leading. The problem was not that he tore down the organization. Instead, it was that so many of the players were attracted to him.
Listen to Stephen Jones:
“It’s hard to take over leadership when you’ve got a strong personality like Terrell,” Jones said. “If you look back at our old teams [from the 1990s], a lot of people would say maybe Michael [Irvin] was the leader. Then you might say, ‘He was a receiver. What about Troy [Aikman]? He was the quarterback. Wasn’t he the leader?’ And the answer is, yeah, Troy was a leader. But if Michael wasn’t supportive of him, Troy would’ve had problems.
“A lot of our players thought the world of Terrell – they still do. They loved the way he prepared and how hard he played, and everybody respected his skills and what he’d done in the league. And with him here, I think he was always going to carry that kind of weight.”
It is exactly what happened here. The whining about his contract was the pain-in-the-ass part, a splendid sideshow. But in the end, the Donovan McNabb part of it was what drove everything. It was the potential division of the locker room. It was the impediment that placed in the quarterback's way. And while he is declining now, and the Cowboys do have other receivers -- led by Roy Williams -- that wedge in the locker room is why Owens had to leave Dallas and go to Buffalo, just as he had to leave Philadelphia.
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who cares? old news....and we can only hope the cowgirls have many problems and disintegrate........— nuggett
I wonder if TO would be the same on a Team/QB that had already won a SB or several (like NE or Pittsburgh), perhaps in a place like that he may have respect for the team/QB?— Ohmy- I hate cancer metaphors— T3rdEyevisual
- Romo has no one to blame now. Put up or shut up. No more scape goats left.— ClarkU
- Romo has no one to blame now. Put up or shut up. No more scape goats left......I agree. So the Cowgirls let him go to allow Romo to be a leader? This is a make or break year for Romo and I hope it ends horribly.— chasing history
- Ohmy, T.O. played with Steve Young on a good 49ers team. The problem with T.O. is that once Jerry Rice left SF, he was 'the man' on every team he's played. He's at the point where he thinks he still is 'the man' even though he's on the downside of his career. Right now, Buffalo should be worried about his effect on Lee Evans.— psv
Quote: "prevented the quarterback from leading." It seems to me that neither McNabb nor Romo are the team leaders.- Too bad T.O. didn't go to the Giants. Would love to see him destroy that organization also.— psd
- Fredclaims: McNabb IS the leader of the Eagles. You may not like him, but he is the Eagles' leader. As for T.O., it's part of his job to realize that you don't join a team and immediately demand to be leader, especially when you play wide receiver. WRs aren't handed the ball on every play, QBs are. And I don't buy that T.O. is a leader. He has a personality that fascinates people and he draws attention to himself, but that's not leading.— p-diddy
- Its crazy with all this talk about T.O. still, I even heard Mike Missanelli is having T.O. on today around 5, on 950 ESPN.— seaneb429
- Good points, getting at the heart of the matter. T.O. is not only not a bad guy. He's a good guy. He's very honest, except in evaluating himself. His popularity becomes a problem when he focuses on the quarterback or team's weaknesses.— tacklinjoe
Bottom line is that he hasn't won a playoff game since the miracle in san fran led by garcia. The eagles made their stretch run with him out injured.— burholme- T3rd, I'm with you...no cancer-references, no war-references, when talking about fun and games!— JBP
- san fran philly dallas, all have one thing in common - him. say what you want, he's not a winner, and is possibly one of the most immature top notch professional athletes ever.— ag
- I give absolutely full support to what JBP says. Those metaphors abound in every-day life though. But I think people use them because they associate them with sports! Calling a player a "warrior" grates on my nerves, and all the parents, relatives, loved ones and friends of our TRUE warriors serving our country around the world. And it also grates on those of us older folks who have been there and done that.— TBear
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- Still the intriguing thing to me is that Dallas released Owens despite the fact that he engaged in none of the acts that he did in Philadelphia (publicly demanded a contract re-negotiation two months after the first year ended, got sent home during training camp for insubordination, including refusing to speak to the offensive coordinator, and then going on a national sports program and saying that the .500 team would be undefeated if a different player on another team was the QB). T.O. did none of those things in Dallas, yet he still got released. There is more to this than an outsider (one not in the locker room or the organization) can appreciate.— citizenkane
- The real evaluation of Tony Romo begins now. It will be interesting to see if the similarities between us and them continue into the aftermath. Particularly, will Romo be plagued in the years to come with the same kind of public doubt and scrutiny as McNabb had thanks to T.O.? And come to think of it, why hasn't Romo been scrutinized as much as McNabb already? I mean, that botched place kick hold in the playoffs? Philly could never let something like that go if it happened here. Never. As not possible as a square circle. Could you even imagine if McNabb had done that? This town would build a catapult and launch him out over the Atlantic.— Coniglio101
- T.O. is selfish - that is where his problems start. Talent, hard work and humility come together for a good TEAM player. T.O. should play golf or tennis if he wants to do it alone. Anyone who leads a team (sports or work) knows how impossible it is to have a primadonna smile and divide the team. T.O. is talented and probably fun to hang out with...but, a team player he is not!...his actions show it. NE wouldn't pick him up - even with a strong coach and QB it isn't worth the drama.— ziggy
- rich, you've been around a long time. when are you going to figure out that mcnabb just isn't a leader. never was never will be. being a QB doesn't make you a leader. thus, the whole premise for this story falls apart and you get a D- for this blog or whatever it is called these days.— dval
