Post by prossman on Mar 7, 2009 10:09:50 GMT -7
Owens, Williams Can Only Blame Themselves
Spagnola: Owens, Williams Can Only Blame Themselves
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mickey Spagnola - Email
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
March 5, 2009 7:45 PM Change Font Size A A A A
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IRVING, Texas - The Ides of March arrived 10 days early here at The Ranch.
The first to be eliminated was Terrell Owens. T.O. Mr. icomplain. Somewhat surprising.
Next to go was Roy Williams. Not surprising. Inevitable. Getting what he wished for. His surprise is yet to come.
Wonder if T.O. found comfort in his exile by text messaging this to Roy, among all the others he instantly began texting in search of sympathy after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen delivered his walking papers in person while in Florida for some NFL committee meetings with his agent Drew Rosenhaus at his side:
Et tu, Roy?
They can commiserate with each other. Shakespeare only wishes he were around to document this tragic-comedy.
Each only has himself to blame, the tragic part, both setting their own NFL careers on fire. Yet each are probably still laughing after checking their bank accounts, the comedic part since both were handed the type of money that sets you up for life they did not earn.
That is the shame in this cautionary tale, one surely to give owners around the league brief pause, maybe for today, maybe as long as tomorrow, but by the March 15 anniversary of Caesar's fall, selective amnesia will strike again, and you watch, they will carelessly resume handing some Albert Haynesworth $42 million of guaranteed money in the never-ending pursuit of victory.
There is no need to debate the merits of Roy's release. He has long been unworthy of his base salaries, and if you remember, as far back as 2006 when I began pointing out his inability to cover, his unwillingness to tackle yet his distasteful habit of not holding himself accountable for any of this, all back then to the passionate protests of many of you. Hmmm.
As for T.O., we can, and I'm telling you three years ago, when the Cowboys initially signed him to that three-year, $25 million deal frankly I'd be shocked that I'm saying as much since I wouldn't have paid him a wooden nickel with his background. And say what you want three years later, here is what I know:
Owens is the first Cowboys receiver since Bob Hayes strung together four consecutive double-digit touchdown-reception seasons his first four in the league (1965-68) to record even three consecutive such years, going for 13, 15 and 10 his three seasons here.
No Cowboys receiver, not even the Hall of Famer Hayes, nor the Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, ever had caught as many as 38 touchdown passes over three straight seasons.
Owens is the only Cowboys receiver to catch as many as 15 touchdowns passes in a single season.
Owens in the only Cowboys receiver to string together three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons while catching at least 10 touchdown passes in each of those years.
None of that should be taken for granted. No matter his drops, no matter his poor routes, no matter his inability to properly execute a slant pattern some 13 years into his NFL career - hell, no matter his mercurial manner and at times rampant nonsensical complaining - the Cowboys will be hard-pressed to find another receiver to produce as he has produced.
The other Roy Williams or not, and that's not a knock on him.
But, real or imaginary, this combustible aura Owens permeated in the locker room, the insecurity he passed off as being the one unafraid to speak the truth - in his mind - began to suffocate this team, heck, this entire 49-year-old franchise like no player ever had before him. Others, guys like Hollywood Henderson or Irvin, were self-destructive. But their nocturnal missteps did not incinerate a locker room the way Owens proceeded to do this year.
Not surprising, though, for a guy who became a pain in the ass, who never met a bus he wouldn't throw someone under for his own sake. My guess is most of his teammates will be politically correct in saying how "shocked" they are Jones released him or what a good "teammate" he was. With the exception of Donovan McNabb, the same thing happened when he was run out of Philadelphia.
Funny how some guys will drink his Kool-Aid.
But see, unlike Roy's release for basically minimum-wage production, T.O.'s is debatable.
Nevertheless, the reason neither is here today is the same:
To me, money.
Roy, paid an $11.1 million signing bonus that summer of '06, lost his incentive to excel. He was never the same player, starting that very season, one former coach telling me signing Williams to that extension a season before his contract expired was the worst thing the Cowboys did.
He'll never admit it, preferring to blame scheme or where he was lined up, but he became fat (figuratively) and happy, never again that guy who would light up a ball carrier with what Larry Lacewell once described as "suddenness." What good is a strong safety susceptible in coverage who has lost his passion to tackle, his worst offense since Lacewell was the one who told me when Bill Parcells moved this team into a 3-4 defense, the strong safety would be the key to stopping the run, and in this gap-responsible defense, if everyone did what they were supposed to do in the front seven, the last gap would belong to the strong safety?
The thought-to-be perfect plan turned imperfect by a safety gone soft.
Be interesting to see where he lands and for what, that is if he lands, although at least he has going on just 29 to his advantage.
Now then, Owens. If you think about it, what caused things to sour in San Francisco? Money. He wanted more than the Niners were willing to give him, and realized he needed to bully his way out of town to get his.
Philadelphia? Money again, realizing the Eagles never were going to pick up, what was it, that $13 million roster bonus after his second year, so again, he bullied his way right into suspension and then off the team after a rift-free first year.
So the Cowboys did a real clever thing when they signed him on March 18, 2006, to that three-year, $25 million deal. They only gave him $5 million up front. He had to work, ostensibly behave, even with Parcells around, to earn the $5 million base that year. Do that, and he makes another $3 million roster bonus in 2007, which he did. Do that again, and there was another $3 million roster bonus due in June of '08. He had his best season.
What was the behavioral carrot? Money.
But with two mostly smooth seasons on the record, save the overdose and bike-riding incidents, the Cowboys decided to sign Owens to a three-year extension, thus giving him a four-year deal. And while there were a few roster bonuses included, the $3.1 million due June 3 of this year was minimized once they handed him the $12.9 million signing bonus last year.
He had his money this time. He grew comfortable. The system provided that since who in their right mind was going to pay even a productive receiver $13.73 million for one year's work and then take a $9.675 million hit against the cap the next year if he was released?
So again, to me, Owens felt empowered to do and say whatever. What were the Cowboys going to do if they didn't like it, cut him? He had his money.
Maybe I've oversimplified all this. Sounds as though Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might think differently, having told the NFL Network Thursday from Florida when asked if Owen's behavior had anything to do with his release, "I think that's the easy place to go because of his personality and because of the visibility, but that's too easy. If it would have been that easy, that would have been a decision that I would have made 60 or 90 days ago. That is just not a part of why I ultimately made the decision."
Evidently, Jones did not just toss a coin on this decision one lonely night in his office. He talked to a whole lot of people is my understanding. He asked a whole lot of talent evaluators. And while Owens' irritating ways and commanding media presence no doubt weighed in here, that wasn't the whole enchilada.
If the Cowboys were going to turn this team over to Romo, then Owens had to go. They worried his skills might be declining, and like a true wide receiver, he would have been the last to admit that - or know. And the Cowboys just didn't frivolously trade for the other Roy Williams. They did so with the idea of him becoming the team's No. 1 wide receiver.
Thursday's moves were the culmination of three years evidence on Roy and multiple reasons, tangible and intangible, on T.O.
So it's times like these players will tell you such moves only make them realize the business side of the NFL. The irony is, had each taken care of their own business, these moves would not have come to pass.
Spagnola: Owens, Williams Can Only Blame Themselves
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mickey Spagnola - Email
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
March 5, 2009 7:45 PM Change Font Size A A A A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRVING, Texas - The Ides of March arrived 10 days early here at The Ranch.
The first to be eliminated was Terrell Owens. T.O. Mr. icomplain. Somewhat surprising.
Next to go was Roy Williams. Not surprising. Inevitable. Getting what he wished for. His surprise is yet to come.
Wonder if T.O. found comfort in his exile by text messaging this to Roy, among all the others he instantly began texting in search of sympathy after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and son Stephen delivered his walking papers in person while in Florida for some NFL committee meetings with his agent Drew Rosenhaus at his side:
Et tu, Roy?
They can commiserate with each other. Shakespeare only wishes he were around to document this tragic-comedy.
Each only has himself to blame, the tragic part, both setting their own NFL careers on fire. Yet each are probably still laughing after checking their bank accounts, the comedic part since both were handed the type of money that sets you up for life they did not earn.
That is the shame in this cautionary tale, one surely to give owners around the league brief pause, maybe for today, maybe as long as tomorrow, but by the March 15 anniversary of Caesar's fall, selective amnesia will strike again, and you watch, they will carelessly resume handing some Albert Haynesworth $42 million of guaranteed money in the never-ending pursuit of victory.
There is no need to debate the merits of Roy's release. He has long been unworthy of his base salaries, and if you remember, as far back as 2006 when I began pointing out his inability to cover, his unwillingness to tackle yet his distasteful habit of not holding himself accountable for any of this, all back then to the passionate protests of many of you. Hmmm.
As for T.O., we can, and I'm telling you three years ago, when the Cowboys initially signed him to that three-year, $25 million deal frankly I'd be shocked that I'm saying as much since I wouldn't have paid him a wooden nickel with his background. And say what you want three years later, here is what I know:
Owens is the first Cowboys receiver since Bob Hayes strung together four consecutive double-digit touchdown-reception seasons his first four in the league (1965-68) to record even three consecutive such years, going for 13, 15 and 10 his three seasons here.
No Cowboys receiver, not even the Hall of Famer Hayes, nor the Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, ever had caught as many as 38 touchdown passes over three straight seasons.
Owens is the only Cowboys receiver to catch as many as 15 touchdowns passes in a single season.
Owens in the only Cowboys receiver to string together three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons while catching at least 10 touchdown passes in each of those years.
None of that should be taken for granted. No matter his drops, no matter his poor routes, no matter his inability to properly execute a slant pattern some 13 years into his NFL career - hell, no matter his mercurial manner and at times rampant nonsensical complaining - the Cowboys will be hard-pressed to find another receiver to produce as he has produced.
The other Roy Williams or not, and that's not a knock on him.
But, real or imaginary, this combustible aura Owens permeated in the locker room, the insecurity he passed off as being the one unafraid to speak the truth - in his mind - began to suffocate this team, heck, this entire 49-year-old franchise like no player ever had before him. Others, guys like Hollywood Henderson or Irvin, were self-destructive. But their nocturnal missteps did not incinerate a locker room the way Owens proceeded to do this year.
Not surprising, though, for a guy who became a pain in the ass, who never met a bus he wouldn't throw someone under for his own sake. My guess is most of his teammates will be politically correct in saying how "shocked" they are Jones released him or what a good "teammate" he was. With the exception of Donovan McNabb, the same thing happened when he was run out of Philadelphia.
Funny how some guys will drink his Kool-Aid.
But see, unlike Roy's release for basically minimum-wage production, T.O.'s is debatable.
Nevertheless, the reason neither is here today is the same:
To me, money.
Roy, paid an $11.1 million signing bonus that summer of '06, lost his incentive to excel. He was never the same player, starting that very season, one former coach telling me signing Williams to that extension a season before his contract expired was the worst thing the Cowboys did.
He'll never admit it, preferring to blame scheme or where he was lined up, but he became fat (figuratively) and happy, never again that guy who would light up a ball carrier with what Larry Lacewell once described as "suddenness." What good is a strong safety susceptible in coverage who has lost his passion to tackle, his worst offense since Lacewell was the one who told me when Bill Parcells moved this team into a 3-4 defense, the strong safety would be the key to stopping the run, and in this gap-responsible defense, if everyone did what they were supposed to do in the front seven, the last gap would belong to the strong safety?
The thought-to-be perfect plan turned imperfect by a safety gone soft.
Be interesting to see where he lands and for what, that is if he lands, although at least he has going on just 29 to his advantage.
Now then, Owens. If you think about it, what caused things to sour in San Francisco? Money. He wanted more than the Niners were willing to give him, and realized he needed to bully his way out of town to get his.
Philadelphia? Money again, realizing the Eagles never were going to pick up, what was it, that $13 million roster bonus after his second year, so again, he bullied his way right into suspension and then off the team after a rift-free first year.
So the Cowboys did a real clever thing when they signed him on March 18, 2006, to that three-year, $25 million deal. They only gave him $5 million up front. He had to work, ostensibly behave, even with Parcells around, to earn the $5 million base that year. Do that, and he makes another $3 million roster bonus in 2007, which he did. Do that again, and there was another $3 million roster bonus due in June of '08. He had his best season.
What was the behavioral carrot? Money.
But with two mostly smooth seasons on the record, save the overdose and bike-riding incidents, the Cowboys decided to sign Owens to a three-year extension, thus giving him a four-year deal. And while there were a few roster bonuses included, the $3.1 million due June 3 of this year was minimized once they handed him the $12.9 million signing bonus last year.
He had his money this time. He grew comfortable. The system provided that since who in their right mind was going to pay even a productive receiver $13.73 million for one year's work and then take a $9.675 million hit against the cap the next year if he was released?
So again, to me, Owens felt empowered to do and say whatever. What were the Cowboys going to do if they didn't like it, cut him? He had his money.
Maybe I've oversimplified all this. Sounds as though Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might think differently, having told the NFL Network Thursday from Florida when asked if Owen's behavior had anything to do with his release, "I think that's the easy place to go because of his personality and because of the visibility, but that's too easy. If it would have been that easy, that would have been a decision that I would have made 60 or 90 days ago. That is just not a part of why I ultimately made the decision."
Evidently, Jones did not just toss a coin on this decision one lonely night in his office. He talked to a whole lot of people is my understanding. He asked a whole lot of talent evaluators. And while Owens' irritating ways and commanding media presence no doubt weighed in here, that wasn't the whole enchilada.
If the Cowboys were going to turn this team over to Romo, then Owens had to go. They worried his skills might be declining, and like a true wide receiver, he would have been the last to admit that - or know. And the Cowboys just didn't frivolously trade for the other Roy Williams. They did so with the idea of him becoming the team's No. 1 wide receiver.
Thursday's moves were the culmination of three years evidence on Roy and multiple reasons, tangible and intangible, on T.O.
So it's times like these players will tell you such moves only make them realize the business side of the NFL. The irony is, had each taken care of their own business, these moves would not have come to pass.