mark32esu 18 Posted March 23, 2006 Same old rap: We've really been here before with T.O. March 22, 2006 By Clark Judge CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Clark your opinion! My bad. This time I honestly believe Terrell Owens means what he says. Jerry Jones and Terrell Owens pose in a Dallas photo opp. (AP) Let's face it, everyone deserves a second chance, and Owens seemed earnest when he opened his news conference by thanking God, by promising to behave with his new teammates and by pledging allegiance to his new quarterback. Oh, wait a sec. I apologize. This text is two years old. I was looking at transcripts of the news conference introducing him as a Philadelphia Eagle, not a Dallas Cowboy. It's easy to get confused because the two sound so ... well, so familiar. There's T.O. sitting next to Eagles' owner Jeff Lurie on March 16, 2004, and there's T.O. sitting alongside Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones two years later. And there's T.O. opening his remarks two years by "thanking God for the opportunity Mr. Lurie has given me;" and then there's T.O. opening his remarks in Dallas by giving "all honor and praise and thanks to God for this opportunity." OK, so the guy knows a good line when he rehearses one. Nevertheless, I'm with him when he says he's a changed man; that "my character has definitely been an issue as far as whether I'll fit in or how I will mesh with the coaches and my teammates. I understand that." Uh-oh, I pulled a Billy Buck. That was the text from Owens' news conference two years ago. I wish someone would separate these danged transcripts. Let's fast-forward to last Saturday when he pledged to "be a better teammate, a better person, a better man in life" and said he "couldn't be more elated to be here." Now that's what I'm talking about. And that's what Dallas fans want to hear. Owens is the game's most misunderstood player, with his listeners eager to jump to conclusions and misperceptions about the poor guy. Nobody ever seems to get things straight unless he corrects them, which is why I'm glad he cleared the air at Valley Ranch. "This is America's Team," he said. "I'm a star among stars. My main focus is to win ball games and win a championship." Right on, T.O. I haven't heard anything that sincere since ... OK, since the Eagles signed him. But anything worth doing is worth overdoing, right? That's what Todd Rundgren once wrote, and maybe T.O. absorbed a little Todd when he was in Philly. So could you take us back to March of 2004 one more time, please, and read the record back? "I'm definitely feeling like I'm going to fit in real nice," he said. "My heart was in Philly and trying to get here. I was trying to get over that next hump and trying to get to the Super Bowl. ... I feel like I'm in a winning organization here. I just want to come in and add to the puzzle. Maybe I am the missing link. We'll soon see. I have that much confidence in myself and my abilities." Similar, but not the same. Satisfied? He wasn't a star among stars then. He was just a complicated All-Pro receiver looking to catch a break; not the disruptive force he was made out to be by the media. And some of his coaches. And some of his teammates. "I know what's expected of me," he said. "I won't let you down. (The owner) talked to people that know me on a personal level. He knows who I am -- not the person you read about." Shoot, there I go again. I switched the two texts. Sorry, folks. That was T.O. from last Saturday, and, man, did he sound as good as he looked. But, as I was saying, it was two years ago that he pleaded for patience from his new fans and new teammates, and it sounded like this: "This is a new beginning for me. It's a fresh start. Right now, I've got a clean rap sheet, so to speak. ... In my last two or three years it was some up and down times for me. But I've been able to weather the storm. I feel like I've always been able to come out on top, no matter what the situation was. No matter how bad the picture they wanted to paint of me, I feel like I always stood by what I had to say, and I always came out on top. I just put all that behind me." Now don't bring up Donovan McNabb. He couldn't handle T.O. because he just didn't understand him. Simple as that. But Owens' new quarterback, Drew Bledsoe ... now that could be a different story because he's dealt with difficult situations. Look how he handled his unexpected demotion in 2001. Class. Pure class. And look how he got along with Terry Glenn and Keyshawn Johnson, for crying out loud. He already said he's looking forward to playing with his new receiver, and his new receiver said he can't wait to get a load of Bledsoe. "Watching (him) play has surprised me at times," said Owens. "Even if he's coming out of the pocket he's looking downfield to make some things happen. I've talked to him. He basically called me to wish me well in the situation. I think everybody was aware of what was going on and me trying to get here." I don't believe it. I did it one more time. That was Owens on McNabb, not Bledsoe, and I'm tired of getting these two transcripts confused. Even I'm beginning to wonder whom T.O.'s talking about now. That's why I'm relieved to hear that he has a new book that will straighten out this mess, once and for all. It's called Ineligible Receiver: The Real Story of My Journey from the Super Bowl to the Sidelines. Just please, please, don't let me confuse it with Catch This! Going Deep with the NFL's Sharpest Weapon. He wrote that one two years ago, and he closed with that Philadelphia news conference that keeps getting in my way. "I'd have to prove myself once more to the doubters," he wrote, "and to those who said that I would bring more problems to my new team than I was worth. I've got just two words of advice for all of you: Watch me. Watch me, and see if history repeats itself." You tell 'em, T.O. http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9328496/2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t.j 35 Posted March 23, 2006 "I'd have to prove myself once more to the doubters," he wrote, "and to those who said that I would bring more problems to my new team than I was worth. I've got just two words of advice for all of you: Watch me. Watch me, and see if history repeats itself." You tell 'em, T.O. Classic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Portis26 0 Posted March 23, 2006 I heard on Sirius ... that the Cowboys "brash" are NOT happy that the day after he signed with the Cowboys, he annocunced his book. I think its starting already. I also noticed alot of "I's" in the article when quoting TO... I know whats expected of me... I'm a star among stars... I'm definitely feeling like I'm going to fit in real nice... I was trying to get over that next hump and trying to get to the Super Bowl... I won't let you down... I've got a clean rap sheet... I'm still jealous he is in Big D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raider 84 29 Posted March 23, 2006 I believe TO will change! The question is how long? Four weeks? Six weeks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eaglesalltheway 0 Posted March 23, 2006 I believe TO will change! The question is how long? Four weeks? Six weeks? TO won't change...he'll be a good teammate for the 1st season and do everything he's suppose to do and have an amazing year. Then in the 2nd season, he'll demand a new contract and ruin the team. He is a locker room cancer, there's no disputing that. The only question is whether Dallas' locker room is strong enough to deal with that or whether they'll cave like the Eagles did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Emoticon Only Poster Posted March 23, 2006 TO won't change...he'll be a good teammate for the 1st season and do everything he's suppose to do and have an amazing year. Then in the 2nd season, he'll demand a new contract and ruin the team. He is a locker room cancer, there's no disputing that. The only question is whether Dallas' locker room is strong enough to deal with that or whether they'll cave like the Eagles did. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
