Terrell Owens is getting some well-deserved recognition from the national media after his brilliant performance against the Redskins. Even the most true-blue Terrell Haters are having problems coming up with something bad about him this week. I’m sure they’ll be back on the bandwagon of hate sometime in the near future but they are becoming irrelevant voices in this debate. Some are very slow in recognizing the obvious change in Owens this season, but even Chris Collinsworth had to admit that T.O. is a different guy this year and is the perfect complement to QB Tony Romo.
Is it a coincidence that on the day T.O. puts four TD’s on the board that Randy Moss does the same in New England? Probably, the Patriots seem to have blinders on when it comes to the rest of the NFL as they pursue perfection. But I can’t help believing that Brady and Moss were aware of T.O.’s day and secretly decided to do something about it. With most teams I would say this is a ridiculous notion, you take TD’s wherever you can get them. But the Patriots are capable of scoring at will against overmatched opponents so just maybe Brady said I’ll throw it and you catch it and we’ll show everybody which diva-turned-model-citizen-receiver is the best in the NFL. Whatever the case, the case of T.O. and Moss having similar seasons both on the field and off after years of turmoil is striking.
I don’t know about the inner-workings of the Patriot’s team, but I do know that Owens has now become a bona fide leader in the Cowboys locker room. After the game when he received the game ball he gave a speech to the team that was about the team and not about Owens. Even the bitter-one, Peter King, had to acknowledge the Owens transformation.
Dallas WR Terrell Owens, whose eight catches for 173 yards and four touchdowns drove a stake through the Redskins' hearts in Dallas.
His impact goes far beyond scoring all the TDs in the Cowboys' 28-23 victory. He's become a beacon and a leader in a locker room full of young players, and in 26 games in Dallas over the last two years, he's scored 25 touchdowns.
And those sideline rants that caused so much consternation over his career have a different feel this year. After Andre Gurode kept sending footballs over Tony Romo’s head, Owens took a moment to get Gurode’s head straight.
"Hey, we're a family," Gurode said. "He came over and said, 'We need you,' and 'I know you can play, so start doing it.' "
Now, I will grant you that all of this is probably a result of the constant winning for the Cowboys, if the team was struggling, things might be different. But for the time being, I’m jumping on the Owens’ bandwagon, both as a player and a teammate.
Tony Romo needs to take care and not hurt the head coach. After Owens put another TD on the board, Wade Phillips offered his hand for a high-five to Romo – big mistake.
After the play, television cameras caught Romo slapping Phillips' hand so hard that the coach winced and had to shake it off.
"He busted me," Phillips said. "I can't believe they got that on camera."
Don’t hurt the coach, Tony!
A blog post over at SI.com contends that while they won’t win the NFL MVP award - Tom Brady has a lock on that - the conversation about MVP’s should include Owens and Moss.
The NFL Network provides some highlights of the Cowboys/Redskins game.