When someone who uses so few words actually speaks, you listen. I read an interview with Cowboys RB Marion Barber about the release of his teammate and neighbor, Terrell Owens.
"Once you know who he is, he's a great guy", Barber told the Dallas Morning News.
It amazes me to hear such differing views of T.O. In San Francisco, he was a cancer. In Philadelphia, he was a cancer. In Dallas, he's a "great guy". It takes an incredibly gifted person to create such dissension on a team and still be so well regarded. To hear some of his teammates tell it, Owens is the victim. He "just wanted to win".
How can someone so selfish be so well-liked by teammates? I guess I'll never understand.
This I do know. I'll take the word of the likes of Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Dan Reeves, Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia, Jimmy Johnson, Drew Pearson, and countless others who have actually accomplished something on the field over the word of a bunch of talented, yet gutless players who have yet to win anything except tags like "underachiever", "over-rated", "fraud", and "disappointment".
All of the aforementioned players and coaches, either with their words or their actions, agreed that you can't have such a divisive force as Owens on your team and expect anything to happen except dissension and conflict. Owens' defenders say you have to learn how to put up with a certain amount of conflict and disagreement. To that I say WHY?
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't. The New England Patriots didn't. The Indianapolis Colts didn't. The Dallas Cowboys of the 90's may have had plenty of off-the-field problems, but when it came to football, that team was unified. They had each other's backs. They and the others were a TEAM. No one person was more important than the group. Winning was all that mattered. And if anyone had tried to backstab players and coaches like Owens has, he would have been dealt with very quickly. There would have been no tip-toeing around. My guess is if he had called out Aikman or Staubach the way he did Tony Romo, he would have been slammed up against a locker and warned to shut up or never see another ball come his way.
The fact that Owens' Cowboys teammates could look at film of Owens busting routes, dropping passes and acting like an ass on the sidelines and still call him a great teammate just speaks to how little these guys understand what TEAM and winning is all about.
Owens' release was a very welcome bit of news. But if the Cowboys don't get some leaders in that locker room who understand what it takes to win championships, they won't get in the playoffs again next season. The mere fact that they can't recognize a rat when they see one shows most of these Cowboys don't get it.
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