| Matthew Gordon. 15th October, 2009 - 11:02 am
 Terrell Owens is approaching his 36th birthday. He is on his fourth NFL team (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo). Aside from his first five years in the league, when he was John Taylor’s replacement as the #2 receiver playing with Jerry Rice, Owens has been his team’s primary threat every season of his career.
Sure, some seasons have been better than others. He led the NFL in receiving touchdowns from 2001-2002, for instance, the last time the 49ers were good before this season. His Eagles days will be best remembered for the improbable comeback he made, far ahead of schedule, to participate in Super Bowl XXXIX. His nine receptions for 122 yards led the team in that game, just as his 1200 yards receiving on the season were almost 500 more than second-place Brian Westbrook. Owens led the team that season with 14 receiving touchdowns.
All of this is telling of a legitimate go-to guy, a #1 receiver who’s been dependable throughout his career. He makes catches, he breaks tackles and he uses his physicality in blocking – not enough receivers block well, but Owens is one who does. He’s a model player at a position that often isn’t as integral to a team’s performance as, say, quarterback or middle linebacker, simply because of where he lines up on the field.
This season, Buffalo is 1-4. Owens had his first game without a reception in 85 appearances against the Saints in Week 3, but that was bound to happen sometime. The Saints game was as good a time as any; New Orleans has arguably the best team in the NFL right now, the Saints’ defense is suffocating, and the Bills only managed seven points. Trent Edwards completed 20 passes, but Buffalo’s only touchdown came from Brian Moorman, the punter. Nothing Owens could have done would have reversed a 20-point blowout from a powerhouse team, nor can Owens realistically vault the hapless Bills into playoff contention.
Owens’ antics are, like everything else he’s done in a memorable but not Earth-shattering career, overblown. He’s squabbled with teammates, especially when losing, as when the 49ers were falling apart following the inexplicable firing of head coach Steve Mariucci. Plenty of losing locker rooms are infested with ill will – for example, nothing Owens has done in this respect has outdone the last few seasons’ worth of Raiders teams. Jeff Garcia’s harsh words about Oakland earlier this season, specifically that “they don’t seem to care about winning”, are far harsher than anything he ever said about Owens. At the very least, Garcia never doubted Owens’s drive to be one of the best receivers in the game and to help his team win. No one ever has or should.
His touchdown celebrations have been funny, even edgy, at times. Spiking the ball on the Texas Stadium mid-field star while a member of the 49ers was a kind nod to an old rivalry that, in 2000, had lost its relevance. Signing the ball with a Sharpie he had put in his sock was cute, but many receivers have outdone that stunt. Chad Ochocinco has received so many taunting-related fines from the league that he once held up a sign that said “PLEASE DON’T FINE ME AGAIN!” after a touchdown. Naturally, the league proceeded to dock him $10,000. Joe Horn once pulled a cell phone out of the goalpost after a touchdown. Even Wes Welker, quite possibly one of the least controversial receivers in recent NFL history, was fined $10,000 for doing a snow angel in the endzone. In this arena, Owens is merely one of many.
He’s been a good, even great, receiver, by any account. Every season since Jerry Rice’s migration across the Bay Bridge, Owens has led his team in almost every meaningful receiving statistic, and has shown up, prepared, for every game. His recently-broken 85-game catch streak, totaling over five seasons of play, underscores this. He was a key part of the 49ers’ playoff runs in the early 2000s, and he was on possibly the best Eagles team ever (13-1 in the regular season with him, and only a field goal away from what would have been their only Super Bowl).
His latest departure, from Dallas, has left that team with a far less consistent passing game. None of Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton or Miles Austin are as consistent as Owens, as evidenced in Austin’s two end zone drops during Dallas’s near loss to Kansas City on Sunday. (To be fair, Austin redeemed himself in overtime.) Now in Buffalo, Owens has been doing what he’s always done: being his team’s best wideout.
Locker-room bickering and touchdown celebrations are part of the game. Owens isn’t the only one who’s engaged in them, and he certainly hasn’t been the most bombastic about it. He’s just doing what top receivers who are on bad teams and who score touchdowns, respectively, do. Both have received him plenty of media attention, usually for the worse, but let’s put this in perspective. Owens hasn’t even had a brush with the law since arriving in the NFL. He’s appeared childish at times, but all in the context of playing a game.
Recently, a Toronto sports writer told me that “Terrell Owens has become one of the most talked about athletes of our time”. I sat down later that night and for the next few days, taking the time to really think about what that meant. I knew he was right; as a fellow Toronto resident, I’ve been pummeled with “TO in TO” ads for December’s Bills/Jets game at the Rogers Centre. The ads should start saying “Jenkins in TO”. A 360-pound monster powering one of the NFL’s scariest defenses is exciting. Owens is exciting too, but it’s tough to be exciting when you’re on a team that can’t score a touchdown (or, you know, win) against the Browns.
Owens has been one of the most talked about athletes of our time, but his stellar achievements, acidic arguments and hilarious stunts combined haven’t offered me one reason why he should be. He’s been a top-notch receiver who loves the game and works to improve his team, and that’s how he should be remembered. |
