What did they expect?

Wow. The magnanimous Terrell Owens has said he would be at the Philadelphia Eagles training camp. Once again - Wow. Of course, it wasn't too hard to figure that would be the result once I read that his contract says Owens could be fined most of his signing bonus (about $1.8 million) if he didn't report. It's perfectly understandable that Terrell Owens would want a new contract. After all, it's been a full year since he signed the $49 million deal. Now, he's got super-agent Drew Rosenhaus. Actually, he might want to take a look at what another Rosenhaus client did. Mike McKenzie held out for the preseason and first game for the Packers last year because he hated his contract and wanted to be traded. He did get traded to the Saints, but only after he reported to the game. The Saints aren't giving him a new deal, so he basically lost his entire preseason of pay plus a game check to force a trade from a playoff team to an also-ran, which means he dropped a playoff bonus check.

The big question is - is Owens worth the money? He might not be paid "market value" as Rosenhaus says, but so what? He knew what he was doing when he signed the contract. Don't penalize the Eagles because he was stupid. I'm sure Rosenhaus is quick to get his clients to pay money back to teams when they under-perform their salary. The fact of the matter is that Owens was signed to get the Eagles to the Super Bowl, and he wasn't even necessary. The Eagles got into the Super Bowl while Owens was hurt. The only playoff game he was in was the loss to the Patriots. The Eagles also had the best record the previous two years, so it wasn't like he made that much of a difference before his injury. Some have said he was the Eagle's best player in the Super Bowl, and it was such a gutty performance to come back from a broken leg. Yes, he came back early from his broken leg, but I saw Byron Leftwich finish a game in college after his leg was broken. He had to be carried to the line of scrimmage by his linemen which was much more impressive than coming back six weeks later. Besides, everyone knows that there was no way Owens was going to take the chance that Philly would win the Super Bowl without him. As for him being the MVP, I don't buy that either. He caught 9 passes because New England played way off him. Why wouldn't they? It was like when UK played Jared Lorenzen at receiver, you knew even if he caught it, you could run him down. There was one play where the defensive back fell down, and yet Owens still only got about 36 yards. You notice when they got deep into New England territory, Donovan McNabb looked to other players like Greg Lewis and Brian Westbrook. Plus, the whole week leading up to the Super Bowl was one giant Owens' centered distraction. Who knows how that affected the Eagles' preparation.

The real problem with Terrell Owens is that I have never seen such a classless individual in any sport. Everything has to be about him and if anything goes wrong, it's someone else's fault. He seemed to be more concerned with his touchdown celebrations than he did about winning. The one play I will always remember Owens for in San Francisco was when he bobbled a pass against the Bears while anticipating a hit. The Bears intercepted it and returned it for an overtime touchdown. Frankly, I don't know where this concept of Owens' toughness came from. With the 49'ers, the rep was that he would alligator arm passes if you took a shot at him. Yet, he would turn around and trash teammates like Jeff Garcia who he blamed for that interception against the Bears. I guess he wasn't expecting the pass to hit his hands. Garcia takes the high road by not responding as he leaves town, so Owens decides to call him gay in an interview. He jilted the Ravens before going to Philly, and then blames Ray Lewis and Ozzie Newsome for it. He then makes a late touchdown catch and mocks Lewis probably because he knew he wouldn't have to go back on the field. Then he defends himself against accusations that he's a colossal dick by accusing Lewis killing people (for the record, there is no evidence Lewis killed anyone or even knew about it until after the fact, in fact he testified against two friends who were the likely suspects). Owens did this even though he considered Lewis a friend. A friend like Donovan McNabb. A guy who stood up for Owens all season and covered for his sideline temper tantrum. How did Owens pay him back? Made a crack about McNabb getting tired in the Super Bowl. As usual, it's always someone else's fault. Team chemistry had always been one of the reasons for the Eagles' recent success. Why bring in a cancer? Now, they're stuck with a prima donna who has just compared himself to Jesus (apparently that crucifixion was over a demanded pay raise) while at the same time insinuating that his unhappiness could cause problems. Kind of makes you realize why the only team with the talented Mr. Owens to win two playoff games in one year was this year's Eagles team. And he didn't play in either game. He's supremely talented, but I don't think the rest of him is worth it.