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2008-2009 Offseason: Addition By
Subtraction - Cowboys Ponder The Release Of T.O.
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- January 11,
2009 At
11:49 PM EST
- By
Eric M. Scharf
“Terrell Owens is an extremely talented player, an incredible
physical specimen, and a great wide receiver.”
You hear everyone say it – from people within the Dallas Cowboys
organization to the reporters and prognosticators throughout the
sports world.
What is not to like about the abilities Terrell Owens brings to an
NFL offense? His statistics over the past three regular seasons with
the Cowboys (within an offense that included multiple viable
receiving threats) were generally better than over 90% of the other pass
catchers in the league.
In 2006, Terrell had 69 catches for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns
while sharing most of the reception load with Terry Glenn and Jason
Witten, over 15 of 16 games. That season represents the first
opportunity for Tony Romo to start, about halfway through the
season, as he stepped in for a fading Drew Bledsoe.
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- You can imagine
what Terrell’s numbers might have been with a full season alongside
a starting Romo (who has received all of the practice reps as well).
In 2007, Terrell had 81 catches for 1,355 yards and 15 touchdowns
while sharing most of the reception load with Terry Glenn and Jason
Witten, over 15 games. So far, this has been Terrell’s best season
with the Cowboys and his first opportunity to play with Tony Romo
for almost an entire season.
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- Ask anyone in the NFL and they will
tell you the rapport between a starting QB and his star receiver(s)
is core to their success. A successful pitch-and-catch routine that
can occur between a QB and a receiver, who are unfamiliar with each
other, happens oh-so-rarely.
In 2008, Terrell had 85 catches for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns
over 15 games. This particular season was largely forgettable by the
entire Cowboys organization and fans alike, and, yet, Terrell had
more catches, with a reasonable yardage drop-off, and nearly as many
touchdowns as the previous “What Could Have Been” 2007 season.
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- Terrell still had to share the available pass allotment with
multiple receiving threats, but that is where the similarities stop.
Romo went down after the first third of the season. Felix Jones went
down about the same time and, after a few weeks of tinkering, was
shut down and placed on injured reserve. Roy Williams (the would-be
production replacement for Terry Glenn) arrived on the scene from
Detroit with no practice and, really, no chance.
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- The offensive line
imploded almost every other game. Brad Johnson’s rust turned into
disastrous old age over night. The third QB was just as dreadful as
Johnson. The back-ups, at all but one position (running back),
played like back-ups. The offensive game plan, through all of this
misery, seemed stuck in neutral, even with the return of Romo for
the last handful of games. And, yet, Terrell still delivered most of
the goods on his end.
Now, if you discount the unreasonable number of dropped passes over
the past three years, the growing problem of being unable to fight
off a jamming defender at the line of scrimmage, and the
well-intentioned but poorly-timed comments on the status of the
team’s offensive game plan, QB, and other star receiver, the tight
end, then, people are correct, and Terrell is as good as his numbers
indicate.
Success in today’s NFL, however, requires more than just raw
numbers. You need to be able to gel with your teammates as well,
even at the worst of times, because, at the best of times, with a
team as talented as the Cowboys, you do not want to be left off of
that bandwagon.
A lot of people, in general, are still awaiting some kind of
transformation in Terrell, where he wakes up one morning and has
become Michael Irvin. That kind of expectation has led to the
current rumor that Terrell may be cut this off-season.
Experts and fans alike need to remind themselves of some general
facts regarding T.O., pertaining specifically to his time with the
Cowboys).
Terrell practices his butt off in preparation for games.
Terrell has mentored his other less-experienced receiver teammates
in practice as well.
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- Terrell wants to be involved in as
much of the game plans and game day plays as possible. Terrell
will get in his QB’s ear, and, eventually, his head, about receiving
more and more passes.
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- Terrell will be satisfied with a
productivity drop-off through play-calling, and increase in
downfield blocking assignments, as long as someone else is getting
the receiving job done and the Cowboys are winning.
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- Terrell will complain if he is
sacrificing catches only to see other receivers drop them.
Terrell will complain if he is wide open and his QB sees him and
does not respond. Terrell will complain if he is wide open and
his QB throws an inexcusable interception.
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- Terrell will
complain and display the biggest set of “gator arms” you have ever
seen when, for all intents and purposes, his QB has thrown a pass to
him that will end in the collision of all collisions. It was not so
incredibly long ago that, as a dreaded 49er in a playoff game
against the Packers, he caught a pass over the middle and just
inside of the end zone, from Steve Young, that almost got him killed. Terrell hung
on for dear life and lived to cry about it, too.
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- Terrell will
complain, often and publicly, about an apparently stagnant offensive
scheme, if he has already done so privately and professionally (as preferred by the
team), and, in his estimation, nothing has changed . . . and losses
continue to pile up.
While there are certainly similarities between what Michael Irvin
brought to the Cowboys, in the past, and what Terrell Owens brings
to the Cowboys in the present, there are a few notable differences
that further contribute to this idea that Terrell may not be with
the team much longer.
Michael was willing to sacrifice his body in return for one more
chance to win . . . a game, a division, a conference championship,
or a Super Bowl . . . as much for himself as it was for his
teammates and the Cowboys organization.
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- Michael had that innate ability to
command the respect of everyone within the organization (even when
he was having his own off-the-field problems), because he would
never throw anyone under the bus in such a team sport. Everyone knew
he simply wanted to win all the time, win big, encourage his
teammates when they performed, and give them a healthy kick in the
pants whenever they fell short of the excellence everyone wanted and
expected.
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- Michael had a QB, who, regardless of
his eventual Hall of Fame induction, could and would stand up to
Michael, command the same respect, and demand the same top-level
performance from him. This just made the bond and respect Michael
and his teammates had for each other that much stronger.
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- Michael had an Offensive Coordinator
and Head Coach who encouraged Michael and his teammates to strive
for perfection and continue to develop and hone the killer instinct,
at every turn. Furthermore, his Head Coach, at the time, had known
Michael his entire college career, and they had a mutual
understanding and level of expectation that few player-coach
relationships have ever experienced.
Terrell is far from perfect, however, the decision to keep or
release him will have a lot less to do with any diminishing skills
on his end. The focus of this potential decision involves the mental
toughness of Terrell’s star offensive teammates, his Offensive
Coordinator, and his Head Coach.
How would Terrell have accomplished with the strong-willed cast of
coaches and players Michael had?
How would Michael, conversely, have accomplished with the current
crop of coaches and players who are still attempting to find their
identity as a team?
We will never know, and it is unfair to compare two similar players,
two different teams, and two different eras, but, at the end of the
day, the decision to cut or keep Terrell very well may come down to
such a comparison.
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- And, if the decision to cut Terrell does come to
pass, let us hope it does, in fact, result in a simple case of
addition by subtraction, rather than subtraction of the drama while
the problem remains.
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- We shall see. We always do.
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