Ike Reese: TO Feud A Passing Situation

[PhillyPhreak54]

Paul Domowitch | Reese: T.O. feud a passing situation

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Nineteen days ago, a defiant Terrell Owens sat in front of an ESPN camera in the living room of his Moorestown, N.J., home and warned the Eagles that kicking him out of training camp for a week wasn't going to make him any easier to live with.

He left the team with fists balled and vowed to return the very same way.

"As far as me going and changing," he said, "nothing's going to change."

But the truth is he did change. The Terrell Owens that returned to the Eagles on Aug. 17 wasn't the same one that had been tossed by head coach Andy Reid a week earlier. No, he didn't suddenly become Mr. Team Guy. No, he still wasn't talking to his quarterback. But the fists weren't balled anymore. He reduced his anger over the Eagles' refusal to renegotiate his 1-year-old contract from an out-of-control boil to a manageable simmer.

What happened? Well, money - or rather the possible loss of it - probably had a little something to do with it. His continued defiance almost certainly would have led to the Eagles' reclaiming nearly $2 million of his signing bonus. And if the Eagles suspended him for the season, his chances of getting a big-money contract from someone else next year would be almost nil.

But Ike Reese thinks it was more than that. The former Eagles linebacker thinks that a light finally went on inside Owens' head that made him realize he was fighting his contract battle all wrong.

"I think that week away from the team gave T.O. a chance to step back and listen to some of the things that were being said and gave him a chance to review some of the things he said leading up to that," said Reese, who spent seven seasons with the Eagles before signing with the Atlanta Falcons in March. "Maybe something finally clicked on in his head to where he realized that maybe he had gone overboard and that maybe there were things he should have said and done differently."

Reese, who still talks often with many of his former teammates, said some of them almost certainly helped Owens see the light.

"I'm pretty sure somebody talked to him and made him realize that they love him and want him there," Reese said. "Because he came from another team and hadn't been around those guys very long, I think he felt he didn't have the trust of his teammates. He felt he was going at this [contract] thing alone. Which he's not.

"Those guys want him there. But they made him realize they're not about to take on the organization because of his own personal contract situation. They can't just go out and fight against coach Reid and Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner over his situation because that's not the way they're going to win a Super Bowl."

Since returning to the team, Owens clearly has been a lot more communicative with most of his teammates. Most, but not all. He and quarterback Donovan McNabb still aren't speaking. That didn't seem to matter in Friday night's preseason win over the Bengals when the two connected on five passes for 131 yards and one touchdown in just one half of work. But Reese thinks their relationship needs to eventually improve if the Eagles hope to make it back to the Super Bowl.

"It's definitely been a distraction for them," he said. "The only positive about the whole thing is that it occurred in the offseason and in training camp. There's still time for those guys - and by those guys, I mean Donovan and T.O. - to sit down with each other when nobody else is around and hash things out.

"One guy has to be the bigger man of the two. It looks like Donovan is the guy who is willing to move forward and try to resolve the situation. But he can't do it through the media. He has to either call him up or pull him to the side after a position meeting or whatever and talk and get this thing hashed out.

"In my opinion, [the Eagles] are the most talented team in the NFL, with the possible exception of the New England Patriots. It would be a shame to let one guy's personal problems linger on and be a hindrance to the rest of the team."

When asked after the Bengals game about the silent relationship between himself and Owens, McNabb said, "It's still early. We'll communicate."

While Reese still has feelings for his old team, he hopes those lines of communication don't re-open until after the Sept. 12 season opener between his new team and his old team.

"The bottom line is we play this game to win," he said. "You play the game for the money, but nobody puts our bodies through what we put them through to lose football games. Both of those guys want to win. The only decision that has to be made is, 'How long do I plan on being selfish? Do I wait until October after maybe we've put ourselves in a hole? Or do we squash this thing now and get off to the kind of start we had last year.'

"That doesn't mean they have to be best friends off the field. But there has to be some type of cohesiveness on the field, on the practice field, in the meeting room. They have to want to win for each other.

"When tough times come up late in games, late in the season, and you have guys with personal agendas who don't put the team first, they're not going to be able to get over those tough times because, now, you don't have any character, any chemistry, to fall back on to pull yourself through the tough times."

I always like to hear what Ike has to say about stuff. I know it doesn't matter in regards to this topic, but I'm going to miss Ike Reese here. I've said it a lot, but he was one of my all time favorites.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Move to Falcons paying off for Reese

By PAUL DOMOWITCH
pdomo@aol.com

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Ike Reese signed with the Atlanta Falcons in March for two reasons. One was financial security. The other was an opportunity, after seven NFL seasons as a valuable backup and special teams ace with the Eagles, to finally become a starter.

For the time being, it looks as if he's going to have to settle for one out of two. The 31-year-old linebacker finally got a set-for-life NFL payday when he accepted a 4-year contract offer from the Falcons during the offseason. But he won't be in the Falcons' starting lineup when they face the Eagles in the Georgia Dome on Sept. 12.

While Falcons coach Jim Mora hasn't officially announced the team's season-opening starter at strongside linebacker, second-year man Demorrio Williams is expected to get the nod over Reese.

"I think they may go with the young guy," said Reese, referring to the athletic Williams, who was the club's fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft and is nearly 7 years younger than him.

"My play on special teams is definitely needed because we lost a lot of [special-teams] guys here. And our [linebacker] depth isn't where it needs to be. So they need a guy who can play both sides just in case something happens. I'm the one who can do that. They haven't told me that for sure. But I'm smart enough to read things."

While Reese would love to be in the starting lineup when he faces his old team next week, he'll get plenty of playing time on both special teams and as a nickel linebacker.

"I'm OK with it," he said. "I'm at a point in my career where I just want to win the big game. I'm going to do whatever they want me to do and play hard."

Reese already was playing for a Super Bowl contender in Philly. But the Eagles weren't willing to compensate him nearly as well as the Falcons were.

"I knew after the Super Bowl that I probably wouldn't be back," he said. "The opportunity for financial security was more at the top of my list, even ahead of starting. I knew the Eagles were going to be going with younger guys [as backups]. Coming off a Pro Bowl year, I knew it probably was my best chance to get that big payday. I knew some other teams probably would be willing to pay me a little more than the Eagles could."

Reese lined up at both strongside and weakside linebacker in the preseason and could also play in the middle if the Falcons needed him to.

"Ike's been a great pickup for us," Mora said. "He's a versatile player who can play all three [linebacker] spots. Sometimes, though, that can be a curse because coaches move you around.

"But regardless of whether he starts or doesn't start, he's going to be an important part of this team. He provides veteran leadership. He's one of the league's best special-teams players. And he can play any of those spots."

Reese still keeps pretty close tabs on the Eagles. He talks every few days to linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, safety Brian Dawkins, defensive end Hugh Douglas and others. Has watched all three of the Eagles' preseason games.

"It's going to feel strange playing against those guys," he said. "But I'm anxious for the game. I'm also anxious to see them. I'll never erase the memories or the feelings I have for those guys. But at the same time, I'm with a new regime.

"Those guys are still the guys in the NFC to knock off. Anybody who wants to go to the Super Bowl in the NFC has to go through Philly. They're the best team. Have been for the last 4-5 years."

[Geowhizzer]

Always liked Ike.  I hope he does well with Atlanta. 

After the first game, of course. 

[MURP]

good reads.   Especially about the veteran Eagles having talked to Owens and changing his attitude on things.

[Larry]

I hear Hugh can be quite convincing once he has you in a headlock.

[PhillyGirl]

I hear Dawkins can be quite convincing just by looking at you.

[Phanatic]

Someone tell the guys on the Eagles that Ike is talking too that loose lips sink ships..

Wish there was a way that he could have stayed on the roster. I'd wish him well but he plays for the Falcons now...

[Rome]

I think the Eagles are going to miss Ike in more ways than just his play on the field.

It's too bad he couldn't have been one of those "Eagle for life" kind of players but I guess the money that the FaLLLLLLLLLLLLLcons were offering was just too much to turn down.

Meh.  I'll always consider him an Eagle just like I'll always consider Troy Vincent an Eagle.

[PhillyGirl]

I think the Eagles are going to miss Ike in more ways than just his play on the field.

Just like they were going to miss Hugh, Trotter, Vincent, Duce? That's the same stuff that is said every year when a locker room presence leaves and its never the case. Someone picks up. They'll miss him, but there are enough guys to take his place.

[Rome]

Ummm... the Eagles did miss Trotter and they did miss Duce, PG.  They also missed Hugh in the locker room.

There's no denying that.

As for someone taking his place on the field, I'll agree with you there.  I don't know if a guy who is as universally respected as Ike will ever be easy to replace in the locker room, though.

[PhillyGirl]

Did the missing trotter and Hugh and Duce in the locker room reflect on the field? Nope. Because the chemistry is there and they have enough guys to take Ike's place in that chemistry.

PS...how would you know as a fact that they were missed in the locker room?

I am getting images of that guy that hides in the dirty laundry and the blocking sled thingy....

[Rome]

Hugh was missed in the locker room and Duce & Trotter were clearly missed on the field.

Are you denying that?

As for me hiding in the dirty laundry, only in the cheerleaders locker room, babe.

[MDS]

I've got a feeling that Ike will be cut within the next couple of years and wind up here again.....

[Wingspan]

I think the Eagles are going to miss Ike in more ways than just his play on the field.

Just like they were going to miss Hugh, Trotter

um...apparently they did

[PhillyGirl]

Missing the point Rome.

In the seasons that Trotter and Hugh weren't in the locker room, they got on just fine and went to the NFCCGs. So them not being in the locker room didn't reflect on the field as you are making it seem like it will now that Ike is gone.