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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Joe and Andy screwed it up when they would not rework TO's deal after he came back from the surgery and played well in the SB....and then instead of adding to a SB team, they tore it apart.......and the organizations biggest regret is failing to win the only thing that counts for 12 years.....but since Jeffery does not care.....there is probably no regrets to always finishing out of the SB.......— nuggett- They should have set them both in a room and said: "Work out your differences, and don't come outta here until you do!" In my opinion, ALL of them are to blame! Even TO said that on his show.— madaboutit
Biggest regrets:
1) Not making adjustments during the Super Bowl and letting your QB get hammered 30 times
2) Not having a hurry up offense
3) Not having a good OL for the past 5 years
4) Not knowing the overtime rules (twice)
5) Not being able to draft a single, good, stand up LB in 11 years.
6) Not being able to make game time adjustments (see #1)
7) Not realizing that running the ball consistently keeps your smallish defense rested (see #'s 1, 5 and 6)
8) Drafting Freddie Mitchell
9) Keepin Reno Mahe on the team for longer than a pre-season
10) Thinking you can win the SB with Todd Pinkston, James Thrash, Freddie Mitchell and Gregg Lewis
We won't even get into TO, McNabb, Trotter or Dawk. And I am just getting warmed up!- Draft choices baby draft choices. Some real winners but not enough to make up for losers. Especially with offensive and defensive lines.— martyhenry
- The defence hasn't been the same aggressive self since Dawk left (and of course since JJ passed away), the offence has righted itself and has a bright future but we're still struggling to find an identity on defence. If Dawk were still here he would be a player/coach that could have taught the youngsters what Eagle D was all about, sadly we are now leaderless on defence without any identity.— northeagle
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
- Comment removed.
- 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
- 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
- Letting Trot walk....With Trot in the middle, they win the 2002 Super Bowl... No doubt in my mind.— albertpa
- 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.
- 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 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.
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.- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- — 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.
- You all are bringing it with the comments on this post. Nice job. Lots of good choices to think about. Keep 'em comin... -SK— skapadia
- TO could've had numbers close to Rice had he stayed with the Birds.
Too many regrets for Big Red to count.— beerflow - Not running a hurry-up offense in the waning minutes of the Super Bowl. He's never really explained it, or even tried, and has let #5 take the rap for it.— jmk1512
- Not running the ball more...especially against Tampa in NFC championship when Duce had a big TD run early on and then to finish with about 12 carries— mikeyhigs
- Agreed, not having any big time receivers really hurt us in the Tampa Bay and Carolina NFC title game losses, especially the Carolina one. Those were our prime years; we were the best team in the NFL both years but the receivers killed us. And anyone who says Donovan is a moron.— JCKevo
- oh, add not having a real #1 WR in the McNabb days outside of TO and Djax (combined 3+ years). Drafting Fred-Ex was a disaster.— palmyra21
- No, any receiver or group of receivers would not have been enough to overcome the weaknesses of Low Throw McBlow. — Voytas
- Evidently, McNabb connected on enough passes to make the Eagles' a winning team for most of his time as QB. However, lowball types like boytoy here keep it coming with the same lame comments. If you are going to blame anyone for the Eagles' lack of a championship, blame Fat Andy and the rest of the front office kingpins who continue to hold back on doing what it takes to make a successful franchise, mostly, spend the money. McNabb should have had the luxury of top notch weaponry to accommodate his skillsets from the very beginning of his career. Andy Reid's success can be deemed accidental at best, and mostly from McNabb's performance at QB. — lalaw9833
- jimmy d, Trotter blew out his knees in those two years in Wash. I would argue that signing Mike mcmahon as the backup was a complete failure. OMG, that was horrible to watch. TO shouldn't have signed the contract if he wanted it redone after 1 year.— palmyra21
- 204 tackles in 28 games (150 solo)in 2 seasons doesn't exactly sound like he blew his knees out. The middle of the D was patchwork for 2 seasons and second only to wideouts for the weakest link on those early 2000 Eagle teams. He never should have let him walk, Jeremiah was still in his prime. — JIMMY D
- I agree with tunde25798. SuperJive could have went to Andy and said take care of TO, but he didn't. SJ was jealous of the love Philly should TO, they all knew what they what they were getting into. I will always lay this on McNabb....all 3 of them have blood on their hands. I love me some TO
— Clarkeisgod - I blame the eagles\Reid totally for the T.O. drama ....because 1) We signed T.O. knowing that he was a problem child of the NFL.....and the Eagles didn't handle him like a problem child, they handled him like a normal person......they knew what they were getting into when they signed him so to simply ignore his request was thier mistake....2) it wasn't like he didn't deserve the money anyway....— tunde25798
- Letting Jeremiah Walk the first time. We were completely exposed in the middle following the season he left. Those 2 seasons would have been prime years.— JIMMY D
- His biggest regret without question would have been to close off the practices the week of the superbowl and not allow a Patriots scout to record them. The TO drama would have happened regardless of his contract, as we see now, hes more interested in himself and reality tv, than football. No different then, he created the drama and did situps in his driveway for no other reason than to bring more attention to his name/brand. After all these players are small corporations these days and he was smart on the publicity front.— peteike
- Pats would have won that game no matter what, quit using that as a crutch to justify the loss. Guaranteed Reid or McNabb would have choked no matter what the Patriots knew. Plus, last I checked, the leaugue didn't revoke the Pats championship, so, the so called cheating remains nothing much. As far as T.O., all they had to let him do was be the team jester and took what he said with a grain of salt. A small price to pay for the talent he provides, but that would have required players and coaches to change a little bit.....boo hoo, we have to change a little. Andy's biggest regret has to be all the food he shoved into his face. — Voytas
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