Terrell Owens needs the Patriots…and the Patriots need him
Earlier this month, unrestricted free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens made it clear that he would be willing to “pull a LeBron” and join a high-caliber team like the New England Patriots for less money than he might demand elsewhere. This statement has had a polarizing effect on the football community, with some claiming that signing Owens could be the spark that propels the Pats towards their 5th Super Bowl appearance in ten years, while others believe adding his well-documented “persona” to the locker room would upset the team chemistry the club has been diligently honing this offseason.
But here’s a fact that cannot be overlooked: an NFL team is like a puzzle, and all the pieces of that puzzle have to be perfectly in place in order for it to be a success. Chemistry is a part of the picture, but a much smaller one than, say, talent. If someone were to objectively determine that the St. Louis Rams possessed the best team chemistry of all 32 NFL teams, does that suddenly make them a contender? Will it cause the Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff to start suffering night sweats, wondering how they will protect their division title against this group of totally harmonious football players? No. Because chemistry is just a piece, a very small and a far less important piece, of the greater football puzzle. In the words of third year Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, “winning cures everything” and winning is done best with talent.
As it stands right now, a week from training camp, the Patriots receiver position looks as such: Randy Moss, Wes Welker (add obvious question mark in regards to rehab progression), Julian Edelman, Torry Holt, David Patten, Brandon Tate, Sam Aiken, Matthew Slater, Darnell Jenkins, Buddy Farnham. In a nutshell, you have one elite receiver, one elite receiver with questionable health, two second year players with sporadic experience last season, two aging receivers who have long since eclipsed their prime playing days, two special team aces and two guys no one has ever heard of. Wow. This is the group meant to terrorize Rex Ryan’s #1 ranked defense next season?
Perhaps Bill Belicheck has become an optimist. Maybe he believes that Tate and Edelman can avoid the sophomore slump and truly break out this year and that Holt still has a 50 – 60 catch season in him and that Welker can be on the field and be productive from week one. If all of that happens, then, perhaps, the Patriots’ offense will be more 2007 than 2009 in 2010.
> Find New England Patriots jerseys & hats online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!
But why chance it when you have the opportunity to bring in a future Hall of Fame receiver who has the skill set to help your team right here, right now? Owens may not be as dominating as he was five years ago, but he proved last year in Buffalo that he still has something left to offer. And the antics that have gotten him in heaps of trouble over the years were all but non-existent. Having played the Bills twice last season, and narrowly escaping with victories both times, Belicheck must be willing to acknowledge the role Owens played in making a far superior team like the Patriots work for their W’s.
And consider this: Torry Holt, at age 33 last year, caught 51 passes for 722 yards and 0 TDs with the Jacksonville Jaguars (who finished 7 – 9 in 2009, 4th in the AFC South). Owens, at 36, caught 55 passes for 829 yards and 5 TDs for the Buffalo Bills (who finished 6 – 10, 4th in the AFC East). If the Patriots were willing to bring Holt aboard, despite the fact he scored no points last season at all, with a team that was at least statistically better than the one Owens played on, how can it be justified that T.O. should not be given a chance as well? That doesn’t even take into account the QB turmoil that plagued Buffalo last year; Holt knew, week one to week seventeen, who would be throwing him the ball, but Owens was faced with a rotating crop of signal callers, which made it hard to establish a rhythm and chemistry.
With Tom Brady under a centre, a quarterback known to bring out the best in the receivers around him, Owens could be magic with the Pats, experiencing the kind of late-career resurgence that he tried to find with a fresh start in Buffalo last year. What do the Patriots have to lose? They are one of the richest football clubs in the NFL and bringing Owens in on a salary slightly above the veteran minimum and containing escalators based on his performance is win-win. If he delivers on the field and keeps his mouth shut off it, the team wins games and Owens gets paid. If he can’t find a niche in Foxborough, they cut him loose. Simple. Clean. Plus, they’ve done it before (see Joey Galloway in 2009). And really, with a lack of suitors wooing him, Owens would be hard pressed to find himself in a better situation.
Randy Moss was once considered a “cancer” just like Terrell Owens. In the past, he’s been chided for unsportsmanlike conduct (pretend mooning incident in Green Bay in 2005), quitting on his team (he left the field before the end of a 2004 game because he didn’t believe his Minnesota Vikings could win) and a lack of effort (by former Oakland Raiders coaches). Not exactly the kind of player you’d want in your locker room. But now, ask any New England sports fan and they’ll tell you that Randy Moss is a beloved part of that franchise’s history. He knew that the Patriots offered him a great chance to win so he put up and shut up.
Terrell Owens may not be a saint. He may not be the kind of guy you’d vote to be team captain. He may not have been the best teammate in the past. But you can’t deny his love of the game. Certainly he’s made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a chance. Talent is talent, regardless of the package it comes in.
By:
Kristen Shilton
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent