bdoughty wrote:Forbidden love
dbdynsty25 wrote: "I know you stuck that trojan in me the other night (Norton told me), now it's time for you to enter through the backdoor"
NFL Week 9 Discussion - Indy/Pats and no TO
Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady
[img]http://www.ideaspot.net/flags/Big_10/small/mich-sm.gif[/img][img]http://www.ideaspot.net/nfl/NFC_North/small/pack1-sm.gif[/img]
Pretty much can't sum up the situation any better than this. Courtesy of Pro FootbalL Talk:
ALL PARTIES ARE TO BLAME IN T.O. FIASCO
We've watched the press conference. We've had time to ponder what we
saw and heard. And now we're ready to dish out the blame to all of
the folks involved in the Terrell Owens debacle.
And all of the folks involved in it deserve blame.
Culprit No. 1: David Joseph.
Joseph is the guy who screwed up T.O.'s shot at unrestricted free
agency in 2004 by failing to properly trigger a clause in Owens'
contract with the 49ers. If he properly submits the paperwork to win
Owens' freedom, T.O. has no basis whatsoever to complain that the
contract he signed with the Eagles was worth less money than it could
have been, if he truly had been on the open market.
Culprit No. 2: The 49ers.
After Joseph blew the deadline for getting T.O. out of San Fran, the
49ers should have excused the technicality. They knew that Owens was
going to leave, and the Niners should have just let him walk at that
point, without trying to trade him for a low-round pick and/or a
washed-up player.
Culprit No. 3: T.O. (Part I).
If Owens wasn't such a jerk during his final years in San Fran, the
team might have been more inclined to forgive Joseph's error.
Culprit No. 4: The League Office.
The league office should have realized that the 49ers' failure to
allow Owens to become a free agent was going to result in a big mess,
and the Commish should have leaned on Sgt. York/Dr. Dork to let T.O.
go.
Culprit No. 5: The Ravens.
We haven't yet made it to the portion of John Feinstein's book
chronicling the Ravens' experiences in 2004, but we still can't figure
out why Brian Billick and/or Ozzie Newsome would have wanted to bring
a guy like Owens to town absent a clear indication from T.O. that he's
ready and willing to embrace an offense with a young, unproven
quarterback.
And it was the trade that the Ravens worked out with the Niners --
without Owens' approval -- that brought the legal issues regarding
Owens' status to a head. If the thing hadn't blown up, the eventual
trade of Owens to the Eagles might not have occurred at a time when it
seemed clear that T.O. was on the verge of winning his freedom through
the grievance process.
Culprit No. 6: The NFLPA.
Though there have been plenty of reports that the union advised Owens
not to sign the contract with the Eagles at a time when it appeared
that Owens was poised to win his grievance and become an unrestricted
free agent, the fact is that the union failed to persuade him. Yeah,
he's a big boy and he can make his own decisions. But we'd like to
think that one of the 20-plus folks getting paid more than $100,000
per year in the union offices would be able to lay out for Owens the
reality that, if he waits a little longer, he'll put himself in
position to make a lot more money. It's not a very difficult concept
to grasp.
Culprit No. 7: The Eagles (Part I).
Sure, Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner have done a great job managing the
cap. But counting beans and making guys happy are two different
things, and the trick for every team is to make a player conclude that
he got a good deal even if the front office secretly believes that it
got the better end of the bargain.
Why is it that when agents crow about the terms of a contract,
routinely overstating the money, the team remains silent? Because the
team wants the player to think he got a good deal. Guys who think
they got good deals are more likely to focus on football and not on
bitching about the fact that they didn't get good deals.
By pushing the back end of Owens' $16 million in bonus money into
2006, with no guarantee that he'll ever get the money, the Eagles set
the stage for an eventual conclusion by T.O. that he really didn't get
a good deal.
Culprit No. 8: Roy Williams.
We know we're stretching here, but work with us.
If Williams hadn't horse-collared Owens in December 2004, Owens might
not have realized that the team can choose not to pay him the $7.5
million in bonus money come March 2006 if,he doesn't return to a high
level of play after, say, getting his leg broken by a horse-collar
tackle.
Culprit No. 9: The Eagles (Part II).
Despite all of the talk of secret waivers and doctor's orders, the
Eagles should have known that, by not placing Owens on injured reserve
after he broke his leg, the organization was setting the stage for a
miraculous return by T.O. in the postseason.
And just as Owens gambled with his long-term health by pushing through
rehab and playing before he was fully healed, the Eagles gambled by
letting him do it. The Eagles wanted to win the Super Bowl, and the
gamble almost paid off, for both sides.
The Eagles' decision to keep T.O. on the active roster and to allow
him to play (and play well) in the Super Bowl transformed Owens into a
heroic figure, in Philly and beyond. He was regarded as the best
receiver in the game and (albeit briefly) as the ultimate team player.
The team surely recognized this potential outcome when he wasn't
placed on IR. And when the facts played out as they did, that's when
the team should have stepped in and taken care of him financially.
Sure, they weren't required to do it. But neither was Owens required
to bust his ass and take a chance by playing less than two months
after an injury that plenty of other guys would have justifiably
relied upon as a ticket out of the fire for the remainder of the
season.
We're not suggesting that the Eagles should have given him a truck
full of money. We're just saying that the organization should have
been, after the Super Bowl, sensitive to the entire set of
circumstances and pushed the money around just enough to keep him
believing that he'd gotten a good deal.
Based on his performance of a year ago, the Eagles surely got one.
Culprit No. 10: Drew Rosenhaus (Part II).
We've heard various rumors regarding the genesis of the relationship
between Rosenhaus and T.O., which in less than a year has prompted
Drew to declare publicly that he has developed a case of platonic (we
think) man-love for Owens. Plenty of agents believe that the
ever-relentless Rosenhaus actively recruits players who are
represented by other agents. There are rumblings that Rosenhaus
client Hugh Douglas helped deliver Owens to Rosenhaus, which would be
ironic to say the least in light of subsequent events.
Regardless of how the relationship came to be, Rosenhaus undoubtedly
promised Owens that he'd get a new contract, despite the fact that six
years remained on the deal that T.O. signed in March 2004.
And in Drew's apparent zeal to use his representation of Owens as a
gateway to luring even more clients, Rosenhaus erred badly by taking
the issue to the media. He forced the Eagles against the wall, and
the matter quickly became from the team's perspective not an analysis
of whether it made sense to tweak T.O.'s contract but a test of the
organization's will.
In contrast, consider the manner in which Vikings quarterback Daunte
Culpepper sought an adjustment to his contract. Neither Culpepper nor
agent Mason Ashe said a word about the matter publicly, and their
strategy eventually resulted in a technically undeserved windfall for
a guy who already had signed a deal tying him to the team for many
years into the future.
So the Eagles never got the chance to take a step back and look at the
situation from a broader perspective. If Rosenhaus had handled the
situation differently, the Eagles might have responded more favorably.
But that, of course, would have prevented Drew from getting his face
and voice on ESPN as a free advertisement to all of those other
players out there who might be looking for a new agent.
Culprit No. 11: The Eagles (Part III).
Even though Rosenhaus initially handled the situation poorly, team
president Joe Banner shouldn't have slammed the door on Drew's
dingleberry when Rosenhaus arrived in Philly for what turned out to be
a very short meeting regarding Owens' deal.
Yeah, Drew backed Banner into a corner. But Banner should have
thought this thing through more thoroughly before kicking Drew in the
derriere.
Does Owens make us better? Absolutely.
Do we have the cap room to give this guy his $7.5 million in bonus
money this year instead of next year? Yes.
Can we push some of the salary from the out years of the deal into
2006 and 2007, when the salary cap will be a lot higher anyway? Sure.
But instead of engaging in analysis, Banner apparently concluded that
he needed to be a tough guy. So he told Drew that T.O. would get
nothing and like it, and the game was on.
Culprit No. 12: T.O. (Part II).
Owens never, ever, ever should have opened his mouth after Banner
politely told Rosenhaus to get the hell out of his office. At a bare
minimum, T.O. should have zipped his lip regarding quarterback Donovan
McNabb.
This situation wasn't personal until Owens made it that way. And once
Owens declared that he wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl,
we knew that the thing was not going to end well for anyone.
Culprit No. 13: Drew Rosenhaus (Part II).
If Drew advised Owens to publicly throw McNabb under the bus, then
Drew is just plain stupid. If Owens did it on his own, then Drew
should have told him, one time and one time only, that if he ever does
it again, Rosenhaus would no longer be his agent.
It's a conversation that lawyers and agents have with clients all the
time. If the client fails to conduct himself in a manner that the
lawyer or agent advises, then the lawyer or agent will spend his or
her time working for clients who will.
Culprit No. 14: ESPN.
We know, we know. The Boys in Bristol never took an active role in
this mess. Still, they fueled it by giving Owens and Rosenhaus air
time, pretty much whenever they wanted it.
Really, did anyone in an editorial capacity ever ask at any time the
question of whether further on-air discussions with T.O. or D.R. were
newsworthy?
So there was ESPN, whenever Owens or Rosenhaus wanted to talk. Part
of the reason here is that Drew has ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli at the
top of his call list whenever one of the 90-plus Rosenhos out there
signs a new contract or otherwise is in a position to make news.
Thus, some of the folks at ESPN now believe that Drew needs to be
appeased when he asks for a favor.
Sure, Owens said stupid things. Sure, Rosenhaus foolishly believes
that any publicity is good publicity. But someone within the network
should have stood up at some point and said, "Why in the hell are we
continuing to give these guys a microphone simply because they've
asked for one?"
Does anyone think that boy wonder Graham Bensinger scored that
Thursday sit-down with Owens because Bensinger diligently dogged Drew
to give him the access? It's far more likely that T.O. actively was
looking for an outlet in the wake of the locker-room fight with Hugh
Douglas, and Rosenhaus thought that Owens couldn't be duped into
saying something stupid by a 19-year-old interviewer who would merely
be happy to add Owens' name to his list of interviewees.
Oops.
Culprit No. 15: Hugh Douglas.
Regardless of whether he was acting on his own or was nudged by the
front office, Douglas never should have confronted Owens in front of
other players regarding the question of whether T.O. was "faking" an
injury. After news of Owens' ankle injury initially broke last week,
there some was confusion as to when and if the injury actually
occurred. But it then became fairly clear that he had indeed injured
his ankle -- even coach Andy Reid acknowledged that it was legit.
And even if T.O. was lollygagging, the way to deal with the problem
isn't to send in a goon from the bench to check Owens into the boards.
Culprit No. 16: Michael Irvin.
A reader has suggested that Irvin was constantly prodding Owens in a
backward effort to help Irvin's beloved Cowboys. Given that T.O. is
now out for the year, the possible strategy was effective. Our guess,
however, is that Irvin is the kind of guy who secretly prefers that
the organization with which he played never again reaches the heights
it enjoyed under his stewardship, thereby expanding his importance and
further cultivating his legend.
Still, Irvin had no business getting personally involved in this.
Given the audacity of his remarks on the air, we can only imagine the
"advice" that the Playmaker was feeding to T.O. behind the scenes, a
la Paula Abdul and the dude she was doinking (allegedly) from American
Idol.
Culprit No. 17: Terrell Owens (Part III).
True apologies, as many other folks already has observed, are not read
from a prepared text written by someone else. T.O. had multiple
chances to get it right and save his ass, and he just plain blew it.
Culprit No. 18: Drew Rosenhaus (Part III).
His performance at the Tuesday press conference was, frankly, one of
the worst we'd ever seen. He was too loud, too squinty, too flashy,
too over-the-top, too everything that turns normal people off.
Unfortunately for Rosenhaus, he has gotten his wish. He currently has
the highest profile of any agent in all of sport.
And everyone thinks he's a buffoon.
So that's the full story, as we see it. And we'll say nothing more about it.
At least until noon.
ALL PARTIES ARE TO BLAME IN T.O. FIASCO
We've watched the press conference. We've had time to ponder what we
saw and heard. And now we're ready to dish out the blame to all of
the folks involved in the Terrell Owens debacle.
And all of the folks involved in it deserve blame.
Culprit No. 1: David Joseph.
Joseph is the guy who screwed up T.O.'s shot at unrestricted free
agency in 2004 by failing to properly trigger a clause in Owens'
contract with the 49ers. If he properly submits the paperwork to win
Owens' freedom, T.O. has no basis whatsoever to complain that the
contract he signed with the Eagles was worth less money than it could
have been, if he truly had been on the open market.
Culprit No. 2: The 49ers.
After Joseph blew the deadline for getting T.O. out of San Fran, the
49ers should have excused the technicality. They knew that Owens was
going to leave, and the Niners should have just let him walk at that
point, without trying to trade him for a low-round pick and/or a
washed-up player.
Culprit No. 3: T.O. (Part I).
If Owens wasn't such a jerk during his final years in San Fran, the
team might have been more inclined to forgive Joseph's error.
Culprit No. 4: The League Office.
The league office should have realized that the 49ers' failure to
allow Owens to become a free agent was going to result in a big mess,
and the Commish should have leaned on Sgt. York/Dr. Dork to let T.O.
go.
Culprit No. 5: The Ravens.
We haven't yet made it to the portion of John Feinstein's book
chronicling the Ravens' experiences in 2004, but we still can't figure
out why Brian Billick and/or Ozzie Newsome would have wanted to bring
a guy like Owens to town absent a clear indication from T.O. that he's
ready and willing to embrace an offense with a young, unproven
quarterback.
And it was the trade that the Ravens worked out with the Niners --
without Owens' approval -- that brought the legal issues regarding
Owens' status to a head. If the thing hadn't blown up, the eventual
trade of Owens to the Eagles might not have occurred at a time when it
seemed clear that T.O. was on the verge of winning his freedom through
the grievance process.
Culprit No. 6: The NFLPA.
Though there have been plenty of reports that the union advised Owens
not to sign the contract with the Eagles at a time when it appeared
that Owens was poised to win his grievance and become an unrestricted
free agent, the fact is that the union failed to persuade him. Yeah,
he's a big boy and he can make his own decisions. But we'd like to
think that one of the 20-plus folks getting paid more than $100,000
per year in the union offices would be able to lay out for Owens the
reality that, if he waits a little longer, he'll put himself in
position to make a lot more money. It's not a very difficult concept
to grasp.
Culprit No. 7: The Eagles (Part I).
Sure, Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner have done a great job managing the
cap. But counting beans and making guys happy are two different
things, and the trick for every team is to make a player conclude that
he got a good deal even if the front office secretly believes that it
got the better end of the bargain.
Why is it that when agents crow about the terms of a contract,
routinely overstating the money, the team remains silent? Because the
team wants the player to think he got a good deal. Guys who think
they got good deals are more likely to focus on football and not on
bitching about the fact that they didn't get good deals.
By pushing the back end of Owens' $16 million in bonus money into
2006, with no guarantee that he'll ever get the money, the Eagles set
the stage for an eventual conclusion by T.O. that he really didn't get
a good deal.
Culprit No. 8: Roy Williams.
We know we're stretching here, but work with us.
If Williams hadn't horse-collared Owens in December 2004, Owens might
not have realized that the team can choose not to pay him the $7.5
million in bonus money come March 2006 if,he doesn't return to a high
level of play after, say, getting his leg broken by a horse-collar
tackle.
Culprit No. 9: The Eagles (Part II).
Despite all of the talk of secret waivers and doctor's orders, the
Eagles should have known that, by not placing Owens on injured reserve
after he broke his leg, the organization was setting the stage for a
miraculous return by T.O. in the postseason.
And just as Owens gambled with his long-term health by pushing through
rehab and playing before he was fully healed, the Eagles gambled by
letting him do it. The Eagles wanted to win the Super Bowl, and the
gamble almost paid off, for both sides.
The Eagles' decision to keep T.O. on the active roster and to allow
him to play (and play well) in the Super Bowl transformed Owens into a
heroic figure, in Philly and beyond. He was regarded as the best
receiver in the game and (albeit briefly) as the ultimate team player.
The team surely recognized this potential outcome when he wasn't
placed on IR. And when the facts played out as they did, that's when
the team should have stepped in and taken care of him financially.
Sure, they weren't required to do it. But neither was Owens required
to bust his ass and take a chance by playing less than two months
after an injury that plenty of other guys would have justifiably
relied upon as a ticket out of the fire for the remainder of the
season.
We're not suggesting that the Eagles should have given him a truck
full of money. We're just saying that the organization should have
been, after the Super Bowl, sensitive to the entire set of
circumstances and pushed the money around just enough to keep him
believing that he'd gotten a good deal.
Based on his performance of a year ago, the Eagles surely got one.
Culprit No. 10: Drew Rosenhaus (Part II).
We've heard various rumors regarding the genesis of the relationship
between Rosenhaus and T.O., which in less than a year has prompted
Drew to declare publicly that he has developed a case of platonic (we
think) man-love for Owens. Plenty of agents believe that the
ever-relentless Rosenhaus actively recruits players who are
represented by other agents. There are rumblings that Rosenhaus
client Hugh Douglas helped deliver Owens to Rosenhaus, which would be
ironic to say the least in light of subsequent events.
Regardless of how the relationship came to be, Rosenhaus undoubtedly
promised Owens that he'd get a new contract, despite the fact that six
years remained on the deal that T.O. signed in March 2004.
And in Drew's apparent zeal to use his representation of Owens as a
gateway to luring even more clients, Rosenhaus erred badly by taking
the issue to the media. He forced the Eagles against the wall, and
the matter quickly became from the team's perspective not an analysis
of whether it made sense to tweak T.O.'s contract but a test of the
organization's will.
In contrast, consider the manner in which Vikings quarterback Daunte
Culpepper sought an adjustment to his contract. Neither Culpepper nor
agent Mason Ashe said a word about the matter publicly, and their
strategy eventually resulted in a technically undeserved windfall for
a guy who already had signed a deal tying him to the team for many
years into the future.
So the Eagles never got the chance to take a step back and look at the
situation from a broader perspective. If Rosenhaus had handled the
situation differently, the Eagles might have responded more favorably.
But that, of course, would have prevented Drew from getting his face
and voice on ESPN as a free advertisement to all of those other
players out there who might be looking for a new agent.
Culprit No. 11: The Eagles (Part III).
Even though Rosenhaus initially handled the situation poorly, team
president Joe Banner shouldn't have slammed the door on Drew's
dingleberry when Rosenhaus arrived in Philly for what turned out to be
a very short meeting regarding Owens' deal.
Yeah, Drew backed Banner into a corner. But Banner should have
thought this thing through more thoroughly before kicking Drew in the
derriere.
Does Owens make us better? Absolutely.
Do we have the cap room to give this guy his $7.5 million in bonus
money this year instead of next year? Yes.
Can we push some of the salary from the out years of the deal into
2006 and 2007, when the salary cap will be a lot higher anyway? Sure.
But instead of engaging in analysis, Banner apparently concluded that
he needed to be a tough guy. So he told Drew that T.O. would get
nothing and like it, and the game was on.
Culprit No. 12: T.O. (Part II).
Owens never, ever, ever should have opened his mouth after Banner
politely told Rosenhaus to get the hell out of his office. At a bare
minimum, T.O. should have zipped his lip regarding quarterback Donovan
McNabb.
This situation wasn't personal until Owens made it that way. And once
Owens declared that he wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl,
we knew that the thing was not going to end well for anyone.
Culprit No. 13: Drew Rosenhaus (Part II).
If Drew advised Owens to publicly throw McNabb under the bus, then
Drew is just plain stupid. If Owens did it on his own, then Drew
should have told him, one time and one time only, that if he ever does
it again, Rosenhaus would no longer be his agent.
It's a conversation that lawyers and agents have with clients all the
time. If the client fails to conduct himself in a manner that the
lawyer or agent advises, then the lawyer or agent will spend his or
her time working for clients who will.
Culprit No. 14: ESPN.
We know, we know. The Boys in Bristol never took an active role in
this mess. Still, they fueled it by giving Owens and Rosenhaus air
time, pretty much whenever they wanted it.
Really, did anyone in an editorial capacity ever ask at any time the
question of whether further on-air discussions with T.O. or D.R. were
newsworthy?
So there was ESPN, whenever Owens or Rosenhaus wanted to talk. Part
of the reason here is that Drew has ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli at the
top of his call list whenever one of the 90-plus Rosenhos out there
signs a new contract or otherwise is in a position to make news.
Thus, some of the folks at ESPN now believe that Drew needs to be
appeased when he asks for a favor.
Sure, Owens said stupid things. Sure, Rosenhaus foolishly believes
that any publicity is good publicity. But someone within the network
should have stood up at some point and said, "Why in the hell are we
continuing to give these guys a microphone simply because they've
asked for one?"
Does anyone think that boy wonder Graham Bensinger scored that
Thursday sit-down with Owens because Bensinger diligently dogged Drew
to give him the access? It's far more likely that T.O. actively was
looking for an outlet in the wake of the locker-room fight with Hugh
Douglas, and Rosenhaus thought that Owens couldn't be duped into
saying something stupid by a 19-year-old interviewer who would merely
be happy to add Owens' name to his list of interviewees.
Oops.
Culprit No. 15: Hugh Douglas.
Regardless of whether he was acting on his own or was nudged by the
front office, Douglas never should have confronted Owens in front of
other players regarding the question of whether T.O. was "faking" an
injury. After news of Owens' ankle injury initially broke last week,
there some was confusion as to when and if the injury actually
occurred. But it then became fairly clear that he had indeed injured
his ankle -- even coach Andy Reid acknowledged that it was legit.
And even if T.O. was lollygagging, the way to deal with the problem
isn't to send in a goon from the bench to check Owens into the boards.
Culprit No. 16: Michael Irvin.
A reader has suggested that Irvin was constantly prodding Owens in a
backward effort to help Irvin's beloved Cowboys. Given that T.O. is
now out for the year, the possible strategy was effective. Our guess,
however, is that Irvin is the kind of guy who secretly prefers that
the organization with which he played never again reaches the heights
it enjoyed under his stewardship, thereby expanding his importance and
further cultivating his legend.
Still, Irvin had no business getting personally involved in this.
Given the audacity of his remarks on the air, we can only imagine the
"advice" that the Playmaker was feeding to T.O. behind the scenes, a
la Paula Abdul and the dude she was doinking (allegedly) from American
Idol.
Culprit No. 17: Terrell Owens (Part III).
True apologies, as many other folks already has observed, are not read
from a prepared text written by someone else. T.O. had multiple
chances to get it right and save his ass, and he just plain blew it.
Culprit No. 18: Drew Rosenhaus (Part III).
His performance at the Tuesday press conference was, frankly, one of
the worst we'd ever seen. He was too loud, too squinty, too flashy,
too over-the-top, too everything that turns normal people off.
Unfortunately for Rosenhaus, he has gotten his wish. He currently has
the highest profile of any agent in all of sport.
And everyone thinks he's a buffoon.
So that's the full story, as we see it. And we'll say nothing more about it.
At least until noon.
-
ScoopBrady
- DSP-Funk All-Star
- Posts: 7781
- Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2003 3:00 am
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