Curses!
He’s finally done it.
Terrell Owens has finally burned almost every bridge that he can—the one named Drew Rosenhaus is still standing, unfortunately—killed his team, and incurred the wrath of millions of frenzied Philadelphia Eagles fans. With all due respect to T.O., he is not the major cause of the Eagles’ problems. EA Sports is.
Although I am joking, there is a certain stigma that accompanies the honor of being selected as the cover athlete for the bestselling football game, Madden NFL 2006. Dating back to 2001, every athlete to grace Madden’s glossy box was either injured later that year or put up substantially worse numbers; in addition, their career was never the same. Some even argue that this trend extends to 2000, claiming that John Madden himself actually started the curse.
Turducken or not, the fact remains that every player has seen their career plummet afterwards. Eddie George had a solid year in 2001 but followed that up in 2002 with an awful year in which Tennessee won six fewer games than 2001. The same fate befell Daunte Culpepper in 2002 (1300 yards and 19 TDs less than the previous year) and Marshall Faulk in 2003 (430 yards and 4 TDs less). Michael Vick continued this evil trend, settling for missing 11 games of the regular season. Ray Lewis played hurt last year, although not to usual Madden Curse numbers.
However, the most horrifying part of the curse is what has happened to those players’ teams since their appearance. George is currently out of football and the Titans have been painfully rebuilding for four years. (A distinction needs to be made between the Titans’ rebuilding and the Texans’ ineptitude.) The Vikings, a popular preseason Super Bowl pick, have never lived up to their potential in an impressive variety of ways. The Rams turned from the “Greatest Show on Turf” to “Air America,” with similar results. The Falcons have escaped the curse so far, but Atlanta’s offense is still quite feeble. And the Ravens are starting year four of the experiment known as Kyle Boller at quarterback. I’m going to swallow the cyanide for head coach Brian Billick now and say that they’re officially on the decline.
Currently, Madden 2006 cover boy Donovan McNabb is afflicted with a sports hernia and T.O., although the second affliction is more like a team epidemic. Somewhere, George, Culpepper, Faulk, Vick, and Lewis are waiting to receive McNabb into the “Madden Curse Alumni Association” as soon as the season is over. However, before half the campus leaves to attack John Madden, a couple other possible causes for the T.O. fiasco should be considered.
Some people will claim that all Philadelphia sports teams are doomed, because of “William Penn’s Curse.” Since 1987, when the Liberty Plaza became the first building taller than William Penn’s hat on the top of City Hall, no major Philadelphia sports team has won a championship. (The minor league Philadelphia Phantoms have won titles during these years, as have the National Lacrosse League’s Wings.) In fact, since 1993, all major sports teams have played in a championship series, but none have been able to snag that elusive prize.
But before we get too caught up in the notion that these curses have caused the demise of the Eagles, we also remember two things. First, the Red Sox were cursed for eighty-six years and they still won the World Series. Second, it might just be time to deport T.O.
No other NFL franchise has done as well with developing and turning over players in recent years than the Eagles and the Patriots. Obviously, the Patriots have won two titles, but the Eagles accomplishments are impressive also. They have dealt with multiple holdouts (Corey Simon, Jeremiah Trotter, and, to a degree, Brian Westbrook) upgraded the team while maintaining salary cap flexibility, and made most fans forget the 1-15 Rich Kotite years. The Eagles, as we now see them, are a model of stability in the NFL of the past five years.
When the Eagles needed a receiver, they pulled an amazing deal for a great receiver. On top of that, they acquired the big, physical receiver that their West Coast offense needed so desperately. And, for the first year, T.O. was every bit as good as expected. He appeared to submit his ego to the team, and even made a quick return in time for the Super Bowl, in which he had a lesser but important role. Of course, this was almost exactly what happened with Terrell Owens in San Francisco also.
And, paralleling San Francisco, T.O. felt that he should be the leader of the team, even though it was clear it was McNabb’s team. Ironically enough, McNabb developed as a leader through all this, giving a sense of stability to the volatile situation, contrasting to the increasingly childish Terrell Owens. Finally, the Eagles have decided that they don’t want any more of his trouble. Quite frankly, neither would I.
For all the talent that Owens possesses and all the numbers he puts up, there is simply no place for him on most teams. What teams have a collective ego larger than T.O.’s? The teams that need him don’t have room for his pride. The teams that do have room for his ego and its sideshows aren’t anywhere close to competing or have a need for him. And after seeing his problems with the Eagles and 49ers, would you take him?
T.O. was drafted in the third round of a deep 1996 draft. That draft produced some forgettable players (ladies and gentlemen, Tim Biakabatuka!) and some very good players (Joe Horn in the 4th round, Keyshawn Johnson as the first pick). Speaking of Keyshawn, a very interesting parallel can be drawn. After Keyshawn wore out his welcome with the New York Jets, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Chucky clone Jon Gruden eventually got fed up with Keyshawn’s antics last year and benched him for the remainder of the schedule.
The fallout between Gruden and Keyshawn was due to Keyshawn’s incessant demands for the football and his attitude over his role in the offense, and the punishment was unprecedented yet fair. What Terrell Owens has done in Philadelphia is both unprecedented and inexcusable. Could the team have won more games with another quarterback? Maybe, but there is no reason to suggest that and get into a fight in the locker room as Owens did—an incident which probably was the main factor behind his suspension and benching.
The entire Eagles organization deserves as much credit as it has received for its excellent management of a cancer. Although there is room to criticize their naivety in acquiring the powder keg, they have done everything they can to try to make this work. Unfortunately, it has not been reciprocated.
ESPN writer Bill Simmons wrote about Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez’s temperamental nature using the words “Manny being Manny.” But Ramirez, although equally talented and similarly volatile, does not challenge every inch of leadership on his team. Owens, on the other hand, is a prima donna’s prima donna—the kind that leaves you eagerly anticipating their swan song. Until Owens learns to control his ego, there is no room for him in such a team-oriented sport as football—except maybe on the cover of Madden.
Terrell Owens has finally burned almost every bridge that he can—the one named Drew Rosenhaus is still standing, unfortunately—killed his team, and incurred the wrath of millions of frenzied Philadelphia Eagles fans. With all due respect to T.O., he is not the major cause of the Eagles’ problems. EA Sports is.
Although I am joking, there is a certain stigma that accompanies the honor of being selected as the cover athlete for the bestselling football game, Madden NFL 2006. Dating back to 2001, every athlete to grace Madden’s glossy box was either injured later that year or put up substantially worse numbers; in addition, their career was never the same. Some even argue that this trend extends to 2000, claiming that John Madden himself actually started the curse.
Turducken or not, the fact remains that every player has seen their career plummet afterwards. Eddie George had a solid year in 2001 but followed that up in 2002 with an awful year in which Tennessee won six fewer games than 2001. The same fate befell Daunte Culpepper in 2002 (1300 yards and 19 TDs less than the previous year) and Marshall Faulk in 2003 (430 yards and 4 TDs less). Michael Vick continued this evil trend, settling for missing 11 games of the regular season. Ray Lewis played hurt last year, although not to usual Madden Curse numbers.
However, the most horrifying part of the curse is what has happened to those players’ teams since their appearance. George is currently out of football and the Titans have been painfully rebuilding for four years. (A distinction needs to be made between the Titans’ rebuilding and the Texans’ ineptitude.) The Vikings, a popular preseason Super Bowl pick, have never lived up to their potential in an impressive variety of ways. The Rams turned from the “Greatest Show on Turf” to “Air America,” with similar results. The Falcons have escaped the curse so far, but Atlanta’s offense is still quite feeble. And the Ravens are starting year four of the experiment known as Kyle Boller at quarterback. I’m going to swallow the cyanide for head coach Brian Billick now and say that they’re officially on the decline.
Currently, Madden 2006 cover boy Donovan McNabb is afflicted with a sports hernia and T.O., although the second affliction is more like a team epidemic. Somewhere, George, Culpepper, Faulk, Vick, and Lewis are waiting to receive McNabb into the “Madden Curse Alumni Association” as soon as the season is over. However, before half the campus leaves to attack John Madden, a couple other possible causes for the T.O. fiasco should be considered.
Some people will claim that all Philadelphia sports teams are doomed, because of “William Penn’s Curse.” Since 1987, when the Liberty Plaza became the first building taller than William Penn’s hat on the top of City Hall, no major Philadelphia sports team has won a championship. (The minor league Philadelphia Phantoms have won titles during these years, as have the National Lacrosse League’s Wings.) In fact, since 1993, all major sports teams have played in a championship series, but none have been able to snag that elusive prize.
But before we get too caught up in the notion that these curses have caused the demise of the Eagles, we also remember two things. First, the Red Sox were cursed for eighty-six years and they still won the World Series. Second, it might just be time to deport T.O.
No other NFL franchise has done as well with developing and turning over players in recent years than the Eagles and the Patriots. Obviously, the Patriots have won two titles, but the Eagles accomplishments are impressive also. They have dealt with multiple holdouts (Corey Simon, Jeremiah Trotter, and, to a degree, Brian Westbrook) upgraded the team while maintaining salary cap flexibility, and made most fans forget the 1-15 Rich Kotite years. The Eagles, as we now see them, are a model of stability in the NFL of the past five years.
When the Eagles needed a receiver, they pulled an amazing deal for a great receiver. On top of that, they acquired the big, physical receiver that their West Coast offense needed so desperately. And, for the first year, T.O. was every bit as good as expected. He appeared to submit his ego to the team, and even made a quick return in time for the Super Bowl, in which he had a lesser but important role. Of course, this was almost exactly what happened with Terrell Owens in San Francisco also.
And, paralleling San Francisco, T.O. felt that he should be the leader of the team, even though it was clear it was McNabb’s team. Ironically enough, McNabb developed as a leader through all this, giving a sense of stability to the volatile situation, contrasting to the increasingly childish Terrell Owens. Finally, the Eagles have decided that they don’t want any more of his trouble. Quite frankly, neither would I.
For all the talent that Owens possesses and all the numbers he puts up, there is simply no place for him on most teams. What teams have a collective ego larger than T.O.’s? The teams that need him don’t have room for his pride. The teams that do have room for his ego and its sideshows aren’t anywhere close to competing or have a need for him. And after seeing his problems with the Eagles and 49ers, would you take him?
T.O. was drafted in the third round of a deep 1996 draft. That draft produced some forgettable players (ladies and gentlemen, Tim Biakabatuka!) and some very good players (Joe Horn in the 4th round, Keyshawn Johnson as the first pick). Speaking of Keyshawn, a very interesting parallel can be drawn. After Keyshawn wore out his welcome with the New York Jets, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Chucky clone Jon Gruden eventually got fed up with Keyshawn’s antics last year and benched him for the remainder of the schedule.
The fallout between Gruden and Keyshawn was due to Keyshawn’s incessant demands for the football and his attitude over his role in the offense, and the punishment was unprecedented yet fair. What Terrell Owens has done in Philadelphia is both unprecedented and inexcusable. Could the team have won more games with another quarterback? Maybe, but there is no reason to suggest that and get into a fight in the locker room as Owens did—an incident which probably was the main factor behind his suspension and benching.
The entire Eagles organization deserves as much credit as it has received for its excellent management of a cancer. Although there is room to criticize their naivety in acquiring the powder keg, they have done everything they can to try to make this work. Unfortunately, it has not been reciprocated.
ESPN writer Bill Simmons wrote about Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez’s temperamental nature using the words “Manny being Manny.” But Ramirez, although equally talented and similarly volatile, does not challenge every inch of leadership on his team. Owens, on the other hand, is a prima donna’s prima donna—the kind that leaves you eagerly anticipating their swan song. Until Owens learns to control his ego, there is no room for him in such a team-oriented sport as football—except maybe on the cover of Madden.
posted by Ty at 8:58 PM
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