RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS

By now I am sure that everyone who lives on the planet Earth has heard the news out of Dallas Texas. The Dallas Cowboys have released the most controversial figure in the NFL today. I’m not talking about Pacman Jones (who is probably posted up at a strip club as I am writing this) or the safety Roy Williams (who routinely gets beat deep by the kids in his neighborhood playing street football). I am referring to the great Terrell Owens. He is in the conversation as the best receiver in the game today, and IS the conversation as the worst teammate in the game today.

I’ve never seen another athlete who destroys the team chemistry of every locker room that he sets foot in. He publicly humiliated his quarterback while he was a 49er, he was jealous of his quarterback in Philadelphia, and he was just an all-around “ME-FIRST” distraction in Dallas. The football gods must be counting Dallas as his third strike, because his terrible behavior and reputation has earned him a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills. Some might say that he’s still the winner because he is still in the NFL and making $6.5 million. For any other NFL player, that would be the case, but for Owens this deal shows that he is quickly running out of options.

When was the last time that a top-flight (potential Hall of Fame) player ever decided to sign with the Buffalo Bills as a free-agent? You don’t have to answer now (because you can’t), take your time and just shoot me an email sometime in the future if the answer ever comes to you. Buffalo isn’t a dream destination for any player in the NFL. The Bills are rarely on national television, they do not have a national fan base, and the last time I checked the social scene in western NY wasn’t exactly jumping. As a matter of fact, just to remain viable the Bills have to play one home game a year in Canada. They’re not exactly the Dallas Cowboys when it comes to popularity. He essentially went from “America’s Team” to “Erie County’s Team.”

Now let’s take a look at the football aspect of this acquisition. The Bills have some good young talent in Marshawn Lynch, Donte Whitner, and Lee Evans. That being said they also have a very young player at the position that T.O. envies the most. That would be quarterback. Their quarterback is Trent Edwards, who is entering his third year in the NFL. Although they have some talent, the Bills will finish no higher than third, and quite possibly last in their division this upcoming season. That is because they are simply not better than New England. They will battle for second with Miami and the New York Jets, but won’t be able to overtake both teams. Since this is his first year on the team and he is only on a one year deal, I expect big things from Owens this season. He will being playing alongside the best receiver (excluding Jerry Rice) that he has ever played with in Lee Evans. They will be a dangerous duo. In addition to that, we must remember that he has perfected the art of not allowing the real T.O. to show until his second year on a team. He was a model citizen for one year in Philly and Dallas, so I wouldn’t expect him to act a fool until his second year with the Bills (which will likely never happen).

The fact that a player of his caliber is playing on a one year deal with a small market team tells you everything you need to know about T.O. as a teammate. If he was even an average teammate, contenders would be lining up for his services. That won’t happen because contenders know that they are contenders because of great play on the field and good team chemistry in the locker room (which he would destroy). He could easily replace Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis, or even provide San Diego with a great deep threat. The Giants are also in the market for a receiver, and the Titans haven’t had a good receiver since Derrick Mason or possibly even Yancey Thigpen (depends on what you consider good). But all of these teams know that T.O. will definitely do them much more harm than good. As a matter of fact, if he was simply an average teammate he would probably still be catching balls from Donovan McNabb. But instead he is a thirty-five year old wide receiver that is basically playing in a city that no one pays attention to and on a team that no one watches.

If T.O. scores 15 touchdowns this season and no one sees it, did it really happen?


AND NOW FOR MY BALLER & SCRUB OF THE WEEK!

BALLER: Jery Jones (Owner Dallas Cowboys) - He realized that his team was to talented to miss the playoffs last season. He has manned up and corrected some of his personnel wrongs this off-season. He has already jettisoned Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson. This week he did what he really needed to do and got rid of Roy Williams (the safety) and Terrell Owens. I guarantee that the team although less talented, will win more games next season than it did last season.

SCRUB: Billy Gillispie (Head Coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats) - I have made no bones about it. I have hated this guy from day one. He is in WAAAAYYYY over his head at UK. My beloved Wildcats are currently 19-12 overall and 8-8 in the SEC. They are also on a 4 game losing streak. That is unacceptable. HE IS A SCRUB!!!!

THEY AIN'T DEAD

Imagine this, it is 2nd and 4 and you are a defensive coordinator. On the other side of the line of scrimmage you see Tony Romo in the shotgun flanked by Marion “the Barbarian” Barber and Felix “Catch me if you can” Jones. You immediately start to scratch your head wondering how you are going to stop these two. Then you notice that Terrell Owens (whom I hate) and Roy Williams are lined up at wide receiver. That causes even more concern, but just when you think you know what defense to call to stop them you take another look from the booth and notice that Jason Whitten is flanked out on the side with Roy Williams. At that moment you realize that you are facing your worst nightmare and that you just wet your pants. So Mr. Coordinator, what do you call? Do you double T.O. and leave Whitten and Williams one-on-one on the other side (with a linebacker or safety covering Whitten)? Do you put eight in the box and play the receivers one on one? Do you play Cover 2 and give Barber and Jones all kind of running lanes? What do you do?

This is the problem that the Dallas Cowboys will pose to all defensive coordinators when they get their full complement of skill players healthy. There is no doubt that the Dallas Cowboys are struggling. There are many causes, but no excuses for their current struggles. They are currently dealing with the consequences of making a deal with the devil and signing Pacman Jones. The real T.O. is starting to rear his ugly head, and they have been ravaged by injuries to such players as Tony Romo, Felix Jones, Roy Williams, and Terrance Newman. Looking at their current situation, plenty of people have decided to jump off of their bandwagon and leave them for dead. There are some people that I know that are saying things like they are not going to make the playoffs. Prior to the start of the season, they were my pick to be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. Although their recent struggles have puzzled me, unlike most people, I AM STANDING BY MY PICK! Now don’t get me wrong, I realize that they are not playing up to their potential. There is also a chance that they won’t make it to the Super Bowl. However, saying that they won’t even make the playoffs is absolutely ludicrous. Due to the overwhelming amount of offensive talent on this team I can see them getting everyone healthy and turning it around in time to go on an insane winning streak. When that happens, I don’t want to see anyone trying to jump back on the bandwagon and saying that they knew all along that they would make the playoffs.

I am by no means a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. I am simply looking at the situation as a person that knows a little something about football. Looking at this team objectively, I see a team that has some holes in their defensive secondary. These holes came from injuries to Terrance Newman (one of the best corners in the game) and Roy Williams (although he can’t cover his bed with a blanket, he is a devastating hitter that make receivers think twice about coming across the middle). We can also contribute some of the secondary problems to the Pacman Jones experiment. In case you didn’t hear, he was suspended again. Is anyone surprised? I guess we can now safely say that he wasn’t worth the risk. Their defensive line and linebackers are playing pretty well. They are led by DeMarcus Ware (my pre-season pick to lead the NFL in sacks) who is currently leading the NFL in sacks.

The offense is only being held back by injury. When they get everyone healthy they should be fine. We have not seen this group play together yet and when we do, they will be a treat to see. My real question to all of the naysayers is, ‘Where were you when they started 3 – 0 with three impressive showings?’

Picking the two teams in the pre-season that will play in the Super Bowl is very difficult. If you don’t believe me just think back over the past couple of years. Raise your hand if you picked the Giants to go to the Super Bowl last season, or better yet if you had the Seahawks or Steelers a couple of years ago. So there is a chance that my pick of the Cowboys could prove to be incorrect. But saying that they aren’t making the playoffs is just stupid.

The Cowboys currently have a record of 5-3 and will probably have all their key players healthy a week or two after their bye week. Therefore, we can safely say that the best is yet to come. I’m even going to go as far as to say that they will finish the season with a better record than the Giants, who are the defending Super Bowl Champs and currently leading their division. That being said if you really don’t see this team making the playoffs, please comment and name the six teams in the NFC that will make it over them. Remember your comments will be posted on this blog forever, so think carefully before counting them out and naming your six teams.

Oh, I almost forgot about my original question, ‘What defense would you call?’

I look forward to hearing from all of the doubters.

****COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY****
WE ARE NOW 9 DAYS AWAY FROM ELECTING THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. NOW THAT EVERYONE IS REGISTERED TO VOTE, BE SURE TO GET OFF YOUR BUTTS AND ACTUALLY VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4TH. SPEAK NOW OR SHUT UP FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS!!!!