Owens Can Blame The Man In The Mirror

So, I'm sitting at home and watching coverage of Terrell Owens' release by the Dallas Cowboys. It dominated the news cycle on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and six more ESPN channels that haven't even been invented yet. And then it happened. An interview with Stephen A. Smith.

Now, I've always been a big Stephen A. fan. I get a kick out of his histrionics. But when you get beyond all of his screaming and yelling, what you have is a very good journalist. So, that's why I was surprised by what I heard come out of his mouth.

Smith has been a friend of T.O.'s since Owens was an Eagle and Smith was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Relationships between a reporter and the athletes/coaches/executives they cover have been known to happen (there really isn't anything wrong with that). I expected that Smith would have some new information on T.O.'s release because of that relationship. Instead, Stephen A. morphed into a PR lackey for Owens instead of giving football fans information they wanted.

All Smith did in his interview on ESPNEWS (which I caught at about 4:30PM Eastern) was do a T.O. infomercial. There was little, if any light shed on the situation. What there was, was mud slinging. Smith went on the air and said that Owens (through his friends because T.O. didn't actually speak to him) felt he wasn't part of the problem, that he was part of the solution. Smith indicated that T.O. thought the bigger problem resided on Dallas' coaching staff (if you read between the lines Smith meant offensive co-ordinator Jason Garrett). Smith also went out of his way to fire up the whole Tony Romo only likes Jason Witten controversy from last season as well.

When you get beyond the whole Smith shilling for T.O. thing, you find that nothing has changed with the wide receiver. Apparently, Owens thinks that he's currently unemployed because of some grand conspiracy against him. Nothing could be further from the truth. T.O. doesn't have a job right now because of T.O.

That's actually the story of Owens' entire career. He talked his way out of San Francisco. He screamed his way out of Philadelphia. And now his mouth has cost him another job.

Owens crossed a line when he said that Romo and Witten conspired to freeze him out of the offense. He may very well believe that. And, if he does, that's okay. But, keep it to yourself or try to hash it out without getting the media involved. However, T.O. couldn't keep quiet. Not that he went to the papers with it. No, he just moaned and groaned to any teammate that would listen to him. Those teammates (or teammate) gave the story to Ed Werder last season. Either because they felt bad for Owens, or that had had enough of T.O.'s crap, and decided to torpedo his future in Big D by making his gripes public.

Whatever the motivation was, the end result is that Owens is out of a job. And, according to Smith (through Owens' friends - because Owens did not talk to him directly according to Stephen A.), Owens wants to play for a team that has a "great quarterback."

Well now, let's see where that could be? New England? I don't think the Patriots would ever take that risk. It was one thing to take on Randy Moss, but it's an entirely different thing to consider bringing Owens in. Besides Moss and T.O. couldn't co-exist. They don't like each other, and my bet is they'd have a physical confrontation over who would get to wear No. 81.

The Colts have a need for a wideout since Marvin Harrison asked for, and got, his release. But, Owens and Peyton manning would be about as good a marriage as, well, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. If Tony Dungy were still around, it's a possibility. But asking first year head coach Jim Caldwell to handle a guy like Owens is just asking for trouble.

I doubt that the Eagles and Donovan McNabb would entertain a reconciliation. There's just too much water under the bridge there. Owens isn't a Tom Coughlin kind of guy, so the Giants are out (and besides, don't they still have Plaxico Burress to deal with?). I doubt that Arizona (with Kurt Warner) would pay Owens the kind of money he wants, and besides, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald are better than T.O. at this point anyway.

If you put Matt Hasselbeck on your list of great quarterbacks, then maybe Seattle is a possibility. They have a need for a wide receiver, and Jim Mora is a lot more lenient than Mike Homlgren was. But considering how bad the Seahawks were last year, I doubt Owens would want to go there.

Drew Brees and Sean Payton could always use another weapon in New Orleans, but would Owens be okay with being the number two receiver behind Marques Colston? I don't think so. San Diego and Philip Rivers could use another receiver, but A.J. Smith won't bring a problem child like T.O. in. It's just not his nature.

After that, there is probably just one more team that has the 'great quarterback' Owens desires. That would be Pittsburgh. And there's no way in hell that Owens will ever wind up playing for that organization. They're too classy to ever entertain the thought of Owens.

So, where does that leave him? Outside of the Raiders, my guess is Washington will take a look (Dan Snyder can't help himself). Minnesota may have some interest (Owens does have history with Brad Childress). Other than that, I just don't know.

But there is one thing I do know. If Owens wants to blame anyone for his current situation, he should stop pointing fingers and just look in the mirror.

Check out today's podcast. Will you be disappointed if the Bucks fail to make the playoffs?