Reid's biggest regret: Owens and McNabb?
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Reid's biggest regret: Owens and McNabb?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Part of my duties here at philly.com include "producing" one of our sports shows: That's What He Said with Bob Ford of the Inquirer and Marcus Hayes of the Daily News.
I put the word producing in quotes because all I really do is come up with some topics for them to talk about and arrange a time when we can all shoot.
But the reason I'm bringing this up today is because a recent episode (which will go live on the site in the next couple weeks) centered around Andy Reid's tenure here and what he would change about it if he had the choice.
The idea was this: If you hooked up Reid to a lie detector and asked him what his biggest football-related regret would be (leaving the family stuff out of it), what would he say?
I'd argue it'd be finding some way to resolve the Terrell Owens/Donovan McNabb saga in the months following the Birds' trip to the Super Bowl.
I know - easier said than done. And maybe, ultimately, that would have proved impossible. I was in college at the time, following the situation with great interest from afar. You could certainly argue that there was nothing Reid could have done, that it was a bad mix of personalities, that Owens had issues at pretty much every stop during his NFL career.
But it's still one of the great what-ifs in Philadelphia sports. What if the Owens situation could have been salvaged? What if he had played more than 21 games in an Eagles uniform?
McNabb started just 19 games in 2005 and 2006 combined, finishing both seasons on the sidelines because of injuries. And the Eagles missed out on the postseason in two of three seasons following the Super Bowl.
Owens' teams, meanwhile, never won a playoff game after he left Philadelphia.
As you've likely heard by now, T.O. tore his ACL this offseason at the age of 37, leading many to wonder whether he's played his final game in the NFL. Agent Drew Rosenhaus said today that his client is not retiring and will be ready for the start of the 2011 season.
The real question might not be about Owens' injury (although a September return would normally seem far-fetched), but rather which team would take a shot on him. Owens had to settle for the Bills a couple years ago and caught on with the Bengals in 2010. He played well (72 catches, 983 yards, 10 touchdowns), but it's hard to imagine a team thinking he's worth the trouble coming off a knee injury (he turns 38 in December). Then again, it only takes one of them to be interested.
Owens' overall legacy is a topic that will be debated for years to come. The numbers are pretty staggering. He ranks fifth all-time with 1,078 catches and second with 15,934 yards. Only Jerry Rice (197) had more career touchdowns than Owens (153).
His first season with the Eagles was an all-timer. Owens set franchise records with 14 receiving touchdowns and seven 100-yard games. His 1,200 yards ranks fifth in the Birds' record books.
Yet, after spending his first eight seasons with the 49ers, Owens spent his next seven seasons with four different teams, rarely leaving any one of them on good terms.
With that being said, I leave you with two questions:
1. How will you remember T.O. - both as an Eagle and overall?
2. Do you agree with me about Reid's biggest regret? If not, what would you say?
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— skapadia..feelings mutual, you bring it with your columns. I'm gonna go with a more recent and bit of a strech regret ...not signing a kicker before this year's wildcard game against the Pack.- One thing that doesn't seem to be much remembered about the Eagle's trip to the Super Bowl is that they went 2-0 in the playoffs without Owens and 0-1 with him. Factor that in when deciding how much credit he deserves for that year's success.— HorshamGuy
- amazing how two quarters of one game ruined the hall of fame sure ballots for two really good (but ultimately not great) football players. if the eagles hadn't been punked by the hoodie's cameras at practice, and they won we'd probably still be cheering them all. T.O. might have still flamed out the following year, but we wouldn't care. if we dance with the devil and we win, then we made a good deal. mcnabb would most likely still be around, as the only superbowl winning eagles' QB. and we wouldn't be hoping andy got out of town just yet. amazing that 30 minutes has such a long impact. i wonder what happens if we get plaxico dumas, and puppy lover vick winning the big one instead. i think we're all about ready to double down with satan (actually WAY ready)— Evilvet
- I agree with the earlier comments of tunde also. I mean, extensions and renegotiations happen all the time in pro sports, especially when you have a Super Star player. They knew the psyche of TO before they signed him. Eagles management dropped the ball with this, and Reid probably regrets not pressing Banner/Laurie to negotiate a better contract for TO>— watsonmr
- It's easy to pick some bad calls out, the guy had to make hundreds of decisions over the years, some were going to flop. I think the front office's collective decision to not tender Dawkins a more honorable contract was one of the worst mistakes. Dawkins wanted to stay, and I don't think he needed the numbers Denver offered to do it. They lowballed him and told him it was the final offer after they told him when he signed his previous contract that there would not be another one. He was understandably angry, as we all were, and went out to find a team that appreciated him and was signed in less then a week. It wasn't until last year that we even began to fill the hole he left, and we lost games with our poor secondary play. He was Lurie's favorite player, our team leader, a Hall of Famer, a fan favorite, able to still play at a high level and the emotional spark plug of the team. He deserved better, and I hope he rejoins the organization when he is done playing ball.— PHLtoLAX
Correct me if I'm wrong, but TO never won a playoff game with the Eagles either. He was injured for the playoffs before returning for the superbowl.- I never understood why TO--wasn't there any other less talented but still star quality WRs but without the mental problems of TO?— Jim C.
- Signing jevon kearse seemed to be a pretty big bust.
I really hope moving Castillo to D-coordinator doesn't become the top of the list.
— djack10 - I loved Trotter but I think that was a huge money saver, then they resigned him when he was a little healthier and squeezed another year out of him.— Jim C.
- Letting Trot walk....With Trot in the middle, they win the 2002 Super Bowl... No doubt in my mind.— albertpa
- Got to go with letting Trotter walk. BONEHEAD move. TO signed for money that he couldn't live with for even 2 years? Can't blame Reid for that.— JamesSeitz
- Bringing in Owens was absolutely his gutsiest decision. The way he handled it was his most gutless. I don't think anyone had any concept of how upset Owens was about his contract and McNabb's "we can win without him" comment until he started doing push ups in the driveway in Moorestown.— thefadd
Comment removed.- All McNabb had to do was say publicly prior to the Super Bowl that TO was important piece in their chances to win and to publicly back TO's request for a contract extension. Even if these two actions would have been insincere, #5 should have done it to placate TO's ego and #81 would have been a happy puppy— Ashburn072
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