Tuesday, December 26, 2006

11+0 = 11

The knives are out in Dallas. After yesterday's thumping at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, the usual suspect (Terrell Owens) and an unusual one (Terry Glenn) are doing some dynamite fishing, lobbing grenades over their shoulders in hopes of blowing the Big Tuna out of the water.

Owens griped about not getting the ball enough early (his two catches were in the first half), not being thrown the ball late, being thrown the ball late at the wrong time, and presumably having tiny square pieces of bread in the dressing room that the cold cuts in the pre-game spread won't fit on properly. Glenn, for his part, made a nonsensical ramble about how nobody on the offense is satisfied with the offense, even though they're the entire offense. To wit:

"I'm not alone. The whole offense is frustrated. They are looking around saying, 'Why can't we do anything when we have all these weapons?' "
Presumably, if the whole offense is frustrated because they're not being used, then Parcells needs to end his habit of playing "keep away" with the pigskin during Cowboys offensive possession, or something to that effect.

Owens didn't help his case by dropping another ball, something he's become notorious for this season. That, not Parcells or anything else, is what is finally hammering nails into Owens' career. All of the attitude and media hoo-haw and everything else could be tolerated as long as Owens performed on the field. Even the scraps with the coach, be it Reid or Pacells or the ghost of Pop Warner, could be tolerated because, hey, it's not the coach out there going deep for six, and if the guy's producing, what's the hassle?

Only he's not, and that lets the worm turn. Strike one was admitting he didn't try hard on every play, a cardinal sin to a fan base that wants to believe in the pure and unsullied work ethic of the guys wearing their team's uniforms. To fail is vaguely acceptable, to not try is heresy. And when that lack of effort is coupled with lack of results - with two-catch days and drops and tantrums and obsessive spotlight-seeking, well, that's when they start warming up the bus to throw you under. Sean Salisbury fired the first salvo last night, calling Owens "just another guy" and "not a superstar". There's going to be more where that came from, and when ESPN, the publicity machine that dumped buckets of kerosene onto every Owens-related fire it could find (How many times did we see those situps in his driveway?) is getting dismissive of him, it's clear that the Terrell Owens show has jumped the shark.

The Ghost of Football Future is waiting for Owens back at his place. It's going to show him a glimpse of a time when there are a lot fewer job offers, dollars, and media attention available. It's going to show him Dennis Rodman, and Mike Tyson, and John Rocker. Somehow, though, I don't think it's going to make a difference.

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