More on TO
Here's the full article referenced in an earlier post about TO's "frustration" with his late season drop in production. You know an interview doesn't go well when Stephen A. Smith has to write an article in today's paper about how misunderstood TO is. Amazing the team has avoided a TO tempest all year and now they get one during the playoffs and while TO is hurt.
January 6, 2005, Philadelphia Inquirer
Inquirer Columnist
He had 14 touchdowns this season before a Cowboy came along and nearly squelched his championship aspirations. He was mentioned in the same MVP talk as Colts quarterback Peyton Manning before limping off Lincoln Financial Field while Eagles fans cringed, wondering whether their luck would ever change.
That's why Terrell Owens has the hyperbaric chamber just a few inches from the crutches that remind him of his debilitated state, while he reminisces about his stellar season and prays that the Eagles will remember those moments, too.
Still toned, chiseled and "ready to play in the Super Bowl," Owens sat in his house Monday night, television blaring, appearing as focused and determined as he is on the field.
He lifts towels with his toes now, part of his rehabilitation after ankle surgery that includes daily workouts in the NovaCare Complex pool.
Owens says that the Eagles' trainers are excited about his progress, that X-rays last week showed bone healing just eight days after surgery, and that he feels no pain when putting his foot on the floor.
Hope about returning during Super Bowl week has been replaced by confidence.
"It's looking better and better," Owens said, beaming.
Then he lowered his voice. His smile disappeared. He began reflecting.
"I reached a point where I didn't want to think about why this happened and just accepted it as God's way of telling me something," Owens said. "Maybe it was His way of making me appreciate the game more, because I've always said I really didn't like the game... that I just played it because God had given me the talent to play it.
"Maybe it's a situation where I was just frustrated; toward the end of the season, I was really frustrated as to how my production had gone down. And it wasn't due to a lot of double coverage.
"A lot of people may want to say it was double coverage, but if you break down the film and see where the balls are going and where I am, I tended to get frustrated."
Not getting the ball got to him, Owens said, "so maybe me being out right now is another way for [the Eagles] to see my value to this team."
He wasn't finished.
"I don't know what the reason was for my lack of production; I don't have a definitive answer for that," he continued. "And I definitely don't want to seem like the person who's never satisfied. But, dude, I know what I bring to the table. I know what I do when I get out on that field.
"You can't tell me I'm not open more than half the time when I'm out on that field. I don't care if it is double coverage.
"I think if a lot of people were to break down our game film and watch the actual game film instead of highlights from television, they'll see what I'm talking about."
Will they see Donovan McNabb looking in other directions? Will they see coach Andy Reid making the quarterback do so, to avoid a spandex moment?
Owens wouldn't say. In fact, he went out of his way to give both McNabb and Reid credit, intimating that his lack of production was "probably part of Coach Reid's game plan to prepare others for playoff competition."
But Owens' frustration was too obvious to ignore.
Despite adding a fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season to his resume while breaking the Eagles' season record for touchdowns by a receiver, he isn't satisfied.
"I could've done more and I could've said more, too," said Owens, who entered this season with 8,572 yards after eight years with the 49ers. "But this isn't San Francisco. We're winning here.
"And, believe it or not, we're a team in everything we do, in every sense of the word."
Yet that has little to do with the feeling of resignation he's experiencing.
Owens is resigned to missing the divisional playoffs, along with another potential NFC championship game for the Eagles. He believes that if the Eagles miss out on a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., everyone will blame his injury.
But he never was resigned to missing out on numerous touchdown opportunities, to other receivers' complaining about the number of balls that weren't thrown in their direction, and Reid, McNabb or somebody else's penchant for hearing the violins and failing to exploit the opportunities opponents handed the Eagles on many Sundays.
And now that the playoffs are beginning without him, Owens feels the need to remind everyone to "be careful what you ask for."
"A number of those guys have wanted an opportunity to get more playing time and more balls thrown in their direction," said Owens, who is concerned about some of those dropped passes. "It's no secret that [Freddie Mitchell] has wanted the ball more, that [Todd] Pinkston wants to be more involved in the offense, etc. So now these guys will get a chance to show what they can do - without me.
"Hopefully, it won't be a repeat situation of pre-T.O. But, God, I hope not," he said, aching at the thought of another missed opportunity.
Then he began his exercises, repeating "Super Bowl... Super Bowl" under his breath, relishing the thought of walking out on the field in Jacksonville on Feb. 6 and hoping that his teammates share his hunger.
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