T.O. makes Niners look like smartest team in NFL

The San Francisco 49ers were once a storied football franchise with five shining Vince Lombardi trophies in their collection. Since the late 1990s, however, the 49ers ownership has made numerous unintelligent decisions, transforming their dynasty into the laughingstock of the league. However, despite all the criticism the 49ers deserve for their failures, they did one thing right: they traded Terrell Owens to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now “T.O.” is Philadelphia’s problem; but he won’t be for long, as he will not suit up for the Eagles again this year and will most likely be traded to whoever will take an overpaid, arrogant playmaker as soon as the season is over. But until they find an owner dumb enough to allow Owens in his locker room, the Eagles are flying through a storm of epic proportions. The 2004-2005 Eagles era will be known as a soap opera that starred Owens, but got canceled after two seasons.

The soap opera took a turn for the worse over a month ago when Owens once again ignored the very clear boundary his team set for him while talking to the media. In an interview with ESPN, Owens whined about not receiving enough praise from his organization, then moved on to his favorite pastime of bashing Donovan McNabb by saying the Eagles would be better off with Brett Favre under center.

Although most are shocked by Owens’ new rant, anyone with any knowledge of his past could have seen this coming. When with the Niners, Owens criticized his quarterback and coaches just as he has done in Philadelphia. In September of 2003, Owens verbally attacked 49ers Offensive Coordinator Greg Knapp on the sideline of a nationally televised game and in August of 2004, Owens questioned former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia’s sexual orientation.

This all led to Owens’ off-season trade to the Eagles, who must now regret their decision to welcome Owens into the City of Brotherly Love. However, despite the Eagles’ mistake, they are doing the right thing now by suspending Owens for four games and then deactivating him for the rest of the year.

They have no other options. Owens’s playmaking ability does not make up for the damage he does to a team’s morale. Owens came to Philadelphia, a team that had had three straight NFC Championship Game appearances before he came, and turned them into a last-place team because of his antics. He forced his Pro-Bowl quarterback to tell the team to choose sides because McNabb felt his team was splitting and needed to know where loyalties belonged. When Owens forces his teammates into these situations, he disrupts the team. Many call him a “clubhouse cancer,” a fitting title for a man who can take a healthy winning team and, by the time he’s done running his mouth, convert it into a decaying loser.

Now, the question of the week is “Where will Owens go next?” The Eagles seem like they want absolutely no more part of Owens, leaving the rest of the league’s owners to debate whether they would allow the receiver near their own quarterback. It is an interesting debate because in turn you get a guy who had 124 receptions for 1,963 yards and 20 touchdowns in his one-and-a-half seasons in Philly.

Chances are there will be a team desperate enough to take in one of the best receivers of all time despite his busload of Louis Vuitton baggage. And, unless by some miracle Owens stops whining and becomes best friends with his next quarterback, it is fair to expect another soap opera next year with a new team.

And in a year, when the drama continues, the 49ers and the Eagles will be laughing, wondering when teams will start learning and give up on the most entertaining soap opera star this world has ever seen.