like sands thru an hourglass so are the days of TO's life

[hunt]

i was just gonna post that...sal-pal was talking about it on espn radio this morning.  what a punk.

[jeffreyjpa]

They were talking about the Owens to Childress exchange on WIP this morning, and using that as an example of the petulant and childish manner in which Owens has conducted himself throughout camp...and that Owens showing up Reid during his solitary practice yesterday morning and then challenging Reid in front of the team in a meeting yesterday leading to his suspension was just the final straw. Basically, TO has been needling Management and the Coaching staff in front of the rest of the team since he arrived.

If true, those types of actions cannot be tolerated on a football team, at any level...Childress isn't a ball boy, he's the fargin offensive coordinator.

PG has said she believes this can be worked out, and I hope she's right because they sorely need his talent (just not his head and mouth). But, I'm starting to move back to the "doubtful" camp, after this blow-up and the childish way in which TO conducted himself after his suspension.

Didn't look like a remorseful man doing sit-ups in his driveway for the benefit of the media yesterday...and, this is far worse than Reid and Trotter's blow-up, because it's all happened in the slobbering eye of the media. Reid would have to swallow a lot of pride to take him back, far more than he did with Jeremiah. TO may not have any other options, but Reid and the Eagles do...just coming back ain't going to be enough for TO going forward, he's going to have to be a bit repentant and I don't think he has it in him.

[PhillyPhreak54]

The Childress incident coupled with Domowitch's article have swayed my opinion of this. And several reporters have said that the players on this team are sick of him. Not all, but enough of the "veteran players" to make me think that maybe cutting the fat wouldn't be such a bad idea.

I hope Rosenhaus or someone can tell him that he's farging himself seriously. But I don't know if anyone on this planet other than his momma can do that.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Paul Domowitch | BIRDS NOT DOOMED WITHOUT T.O.


MAYBE Terrell Owens will serve his 7-day suspension, realize the error of his ways, and return to the Eagles with a new, upbeat, there's-no-I-in-team attitude.

And maybe Kim Jong-il will give George Bush a buzz and tell him North Korea is dismantling its nuclear weapons program, and, hey Dubya, why don't you stop by the palace for a drink next time you're in Pyongyang?

Unless Drew Rosenhaus or somebody else in his post card-small inner circle can convince Owens that he's committing career suicide with his unwinnable war against Andy Reid and the Eagles, the Pro Bowl wide receiver probably has played his last game for the Birds.

And while most of you probably are pleased that Big Red put this fruit-loop egomaniac in his place yesterday, you're probably also wondering whether a team that already has lost one starting wide receiver for the season (Todd Pinkston) possibly can make it back to the Super Bowl if Owens doesn't play this season.

Right now, in a T.O.-less world, the Eagles' top three wideouts are Greg Lewis, Billy McMullen and rookie Reggie Brown, who collectively have 27 regular-season NFL receptions. Their fourth and fifth receivers are, well, we won't even go there.

Eagles fans being Eagles fans, concern will turn to panic Monday night the first time the offense goes three-and-out against the Steelers. WIP's phone lines will be jammed Tuesday morning with people calling from the railing of the Walt Whitman Bridge, pleading with the Eagles to do something, anything, to beef up their receiving corps.

• "I'm tellin' ya, we need to make a freaking trade right now. My buddy, who used to live a couple of blocks over from Tom Modrak, told me Buffalo's real hot for our fat-butt holdout defensive tackle and would be willing to swap Eric Moulds for him.''

• "A guy I work with has a buddy whose mailman went to Roman Catholic with Marvin Harrison, and he says the kid wants to come home to Philly in the worst way. Give the Colts T.O. and throw in Hugh Douglas and they won't be able to say no.''

• "I read on the Internet that Javon Walker took a swing at Brett Favre in the locker room the other day and has demanded a trade if the Packers don't give him a new contract. Let's give them our unhappy Drew Rosenhaus client for theirs.''

I hate to bust your bubble, but the chances of the Eagles being able to make a trade for a top-of-the-line wide receiver right now is practically nil. This is the NFL, not baseball. Blockbuster trades are few and far between. And when they do happen, it's usually in March or April, not mid-August.

Right now, NFL teams are focused on evaluating their own talent and aren't interested in wheeling and dealing.

Sign a free agent? Well, as Joe Namath was fond of saying when he would walk out of a bar at closing time with a woman who wasn't up to his usual standards, "It's 2 a.m. and Miss America just ain't gonna be comin' in.''

The two best wide receivers without a home at the moment are Curtis Conway and Tai Streets. Conway is 34 and running on empty. Averaged just 10.6 yards per catch for the 49ers last year. Streets, who played for Eagles assistant head coach Marty Mornhinweg in San Francisco, is a possibility. But he's a No. 3 or 4 receiver. He's not going to make you forget Owens, or even, gulp, Pinkston.

If Owens' suspension turns into a seasonlong dishonorable discharge, the Eagles eventually will do something. Maybe they'll sign Streets or maybe they'll wait until early next month and see what shakes out when teams make their roster cuts. Or maybe Reid will get on the phone and call a pal of his, like the Ravens' Brian Billick, who is flush with wide-receiving talent these days after signing Derrick Mason and drafting Mark Clayton, and make a minor deal for a decent backup like Randy Hymes or Pat Johnson. But that's about it.

The point I'm trying to make is that if you're holding out hope the Eagles are going to acquire somebody of a similar pedigree to Owens between now and the Sept. 12 opener against the Falcons, forget it.

Not going to happen.

Does that mean all is lost?

Absolutely not. With or without Owens, the Eagles probably still are the best team in the NFC. The gap just isn't as great without him.

Keep in mind that 5 years ago, the Eagles won 11 games with Torrance Small and Charles Johnson as their starting wide receivers and a ground game that didn't have a running back with more than 344 rushing yards.

Keep in mind that the Eagles went to three NFC Championship Games with Pinkston and James Thrash as their starting wideouts.

If Owens doesn't play this season, Reid and offensive coordinator Brad Childress simply will shift the focus of their offense and play to the strengths of the personnel they have available.

That means flexing out running back Brian Westbrook even more than they have been and giving the kid a chance to prove he really does have 20-touch-a-game durability. That means maximizing tight end L.J. Smith in the passing game. That means encouraging Donovan McNabb to run a little more than the career-low 41 times he took off last year.

And that means keeping their fingers crossed that Lewis will continue to improve and Brown won't play like a deer-in-headlights rookie.

These are the exact reasons why I do not think the end of the world is upon us Eagle fans should something happen and TO is no longer an Eagle.

This team has other options. They have a coaching staff who knows how to use its talent. They have a more mature Donovan McNabb, in his 7th season now. They have a nasty-ass defense. They have a top-of-the-line special teams unit.

Michael Clayton had a great year last year. Is it too much to think Brown could duplicate or surpass the 80 catches 1,193 yards and 7 TDs? Probably. But if he can contribute on a zesty ass team, why can't Brown do it on a good team?

Why can't Greg Lewis step up? AJ Feeley stepped up three years ago.

Remember our thoughts after we lost the NFCCG to Carolina? How many of us said "If only Brian Westbrook was healthy...." A ton of us said that.

I'm not a dumbass and I know TO's presence on this team makes them a much better team. But the thought that this team is doomed sans TO is crazy. I am convinced that with the reasons I stated coupled with Domo's that they are not done.

[Pats and Sox]

Viewing this as an outsider, it may be worth noting the one visible bright side of this incident: the positively Belichickian resolve of Andy Reid and his staff. One of the main sources of the gobs of man love that Belichick receives is his determination to make sure no one player is above the team. It would have been easy for Reid to appease T.O. in order to keep his star receiver happy. Had he done so, he probably could have justified it for the good of the team, but it would have sent such a terrible message. Good for him for standing up to his player.

[PhillyGirl]

Phreak, you're letting a guy like Domowich sway your thoughts? Shame on you.

What more can we honestly all do other than sit back and wait for next Wednesday to see what happens?

[rjs246]

farg TO. Period.

[T_Section224]

i'm in the camp of douse TO in kerosene and light him on fire.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Phreak, you're letting a guy like Domowich sway your thoughts? Shame on you.

What more can we honestly all do other than sit back and wait for next Wednesday to see what happens?

I actually like Domo. I thnk he's one of the better writers in this city. Not as good as Reuben Frank, but I like him. And those things he highlighted are not too far fetched. Plus:

1. A more mature McNabb
2. Nasty-ass defense
3. great STs
4. Westbrook

My opinion is changing...

GCobb reporting that one of the players wanted to FIGHT TO....speculating that it was Hugh who wanted to throw down with him.

[PhillyPhreak54]

In addition to GCobb reporting that someone wanted to bust TO's ass, he said Reid spent 10 minutes talking to Morningwood this morning. Marty was supposed to be TO's babysitter...

[T_Section224]

hugh is now a company man in TO's mind, wouldn't surprise me at all.

[PhillyGirl]

That Hugh thing was from last week.

But I know the things the Domo said, I just don't really care. Yes, we got to the NFCCG without a top 3 WR all of those years, but we didn't win and the WRs were the reasons why. Yes, we won without TO last year, but we had 2 WRs who had played in the system for years and knew it well enough to be serviceable. I dont' think Lewis/Brown/McMullen can do that. Sorry, I just don't. Even with what we have around them, sorry....those 3 as our WRs for the season won't cut it.

[PhillyPhreak54]

That Hugh thing was from last week.

But I know the things the Domo said, I just don't really care. Yes, we got to the NFCCG without a top 3 WR all of those years, but we didn't win and the WRs were the reasons why. Yes, we won without TO last year, but we had 2 WRs who had played in the system for years and knew it well enough to be serviceable. I dont' think Lewis/Brown/McMullen can do that. Sorry, I just don't. Even with what we have around them, sorry....those 3 as our WRs for the season won't cut it.

I know the Hugh incident was from last week, but he is reporting that the fight thing came out recently. He didn't say it was Hugh but the radio peeps were speculating it was him.

If TO is Keyshawn'd they'll pick up a veteran WR, I'm sure of that. And a veteran WR/Lewis/Brown/McMullen...combined with the 4 reason I gave I think are enough.

Who was David Patten, Bethel Johnson, Deion Branch and the other guys in NE before they won?

[PhillyGirl]

Again, I don't think he'll suspend him past this week. I am telling you now, his mama is going to (if she hasn't already) give him an earful. They won't pay him to sit.

[PhillyPhreak54]

If they won't pay him to sit or release him or trade him what are they going to do if the situation within the team is as bad as being reported?

If he comes in here and acts like an ass again, what do you thik they'll do? Do you think Reid will sit back and let TO ruin his team and what he's built? That wouldn't be fair to the other 52 guys on the team and it would cause Reid to lose this team, IMO.

If he comes back after Wednesday and acts a fool again, he will be suspended. They will pay him to sit just like TB did with Keyshawn. They'll put him on one of the lists they have at their disposal and go get another WR.