Shhhhhhh...If you are quiet you can still hear it. Say his name five times in the mirror and he just might appear before your very eyes. Terrell Owens! Terrell Owens! Terrell Owens! Terrell Owens! Terrell Owens!
Though still relatively fresh in his Cowboy grave, the ghost of Terrell Owens is already beginning to loiter around Valley Ranch. When a big-name player is released from any team, it is common for players to be asked for their reaction. A month after Terrell Owens' release, some Cowboy players are speaking out about the controversial wide receiver without even being prompted by the media.
Patrick Crayton is talkin' T.O.
"All of that is in the past," receiver Patrick Crayton said. "As a group, there are no more excuses, no more scapegoats to put the blame on. It’s all on us that are here to get the job done. There is nobody here to point the finger at. You understand the business. They made it more [offensive coordinator] Jason Garrett and [quarterback] Tony Romo friendly. Again, no more excuses."
Greg Ellis is talkin' T.O.
I don't think it was a good move. Yeah, to me I'm disappointed in it. When I see T.O. - and you've got to watch people, not necessarily what they say but watch their actions. And, I mean, to me when I seen T.O. that day, that football game in Dallas, on our sideline, Patrick Crayton got the ball and T.O. comes out of nowhere and throws a block. That guy wants to play football. That guy cares and wants to win football games. When things aren't going his way and the ball isn't coming his way and all that kind of stuff, to me he was just saying, 'Man, I want to get more balls.' And I heard him say, 'When I get my numbers, when I get the numbers, we win football games.' And that was true."
Tashard Choice is talkin' T.O.
"I'm going to miss him," Choice told Dallas TV station Fox 4. "I think he was a good person in the locker room, to be honest. He was somebody I could count on, if he was just being a friend or a big brother or on Sundays. I could always count on him."
Hell, I wasn't sure Marion Barber could speak, but even he's talkin T.O.
"[Critics] are trying to make [Owens] into something he's not," Barber said. "I felt the same way like everybody else, but then I met the man. Once you know who he is, he's a great guy." Barber later called the move a "shock."
In my opinion, this is just a part of the healing process for a bunch of guys who just lost a very popular teammate. The comments do however give the impression that there is quite a bit of anger and disappointment in the locker room over Owens' release. It would be easy to assume that some of the players in the Cowboys' locker room may blame other players or coaches for Owens' release. Let's hope that no one holds a grudge. How ironic would it be if T.O. proved to be a divisive force even after being released?
Hopefully everyone will get their grieving out of the way before camp. Let us also keep in mind that this is Terrell Owens we are talking about. Isn't Donovan McNabb still answering questions about T.O.?
Trust and believe this. If Tony Romo and Jason Garrett do not flourish, now free of the "burden" of getting T.O. the football; if Roy Williams and Miles Austin disappoint; if the Cowboys go in the tank in December again; this will not be the last we hear of the ghost of Terrell Owens.