Well, well, well, what do you know? Just when you begin to wonder just what the hell Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys are doing at Valley Ranch, the worst kept secret is finally revealed today, March 18, 2006. The 2006 NFL Free Agency period finally got started after the players and owners finally agreed on their new labor deal. At 12:01 a.m. on March 11th, the free agency period finally kicked off after being put on hold twice because of the ongoing negotiations. Teams could "officially" start negotiating deals with this year's elite players who had expiring contracts. Of course, as usual, The Washington Redskins were out of the gate first with their owner, Little Danny Snyder, throwing around money like it grows on trees. Anyone familiar with the Skins under Snyder's ownership knows that he does this every year and wins the "Super Off-Season Bowl". Once the real season starts that crazy spending often goes for naught.
For a couple days, we had to sit back and watch this crazy spending on above average players, only to see my Cowboys do nothing more than sign an Offensive Lineman that most of us never heard of from the Detroit Lions. I mean, Jerry did open his wallet during free agency last year. However, things have been very quiet over in North Irving at Valley Ranch this year. I live literally 10 minutes from Cowboys headquarters and have contemplated riding over there and giving Mr. Jones a shake! What the hell is going on Jerry!
Finally a couple weeks ago we started hearing grumblings that the Cowboys could be interested in controversial Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, Terrell Owens, who was basically fired last year. He quickly wore out his welcome in Philly after just one season and was deactivated for most of the 2005 season. One does not even have to be a football fan to know who the man called T.O. is. Wifey isn't into football at all and knows who T.O. is. Anyway, we knew that Philly had been shopping T.O. hoping to get something in return instead of letting him go for nothing. Well, no other team took the bait. I mean, why would they? T.O. was due a $5 million dollar roster bonus on March 15th. Everyone knew that Philly wasn't going to pay him that bonus and was going to cut him to avoid doing so. As expected on the day before that bonus was due, Philly finally divorced themselves from Mr. Owens making him a free agent, thus, allowing him to sign with any team that wanted his services.
Here's where it gets interesting, to coincide with Mr. Owens pending release, out of nowhere came the rumors that there was a possibility that Cowboys wide receiver, Keyshawn Johnson could be released. He too, had a roster bonus due for $1 million. Now paying that the bonus to Key wouldn't have been a big deal as that is pocket change for Owner Jerry. Where it could've gotten dicey is the fact that Keyshawn would be going into the last year of his contract next year and probably would seek an extension and a raise. While having a reputation of being a malcontent in the past, Keyshawn Johnson has been nothing but a model citizen since being a Cowboy. He's had a few minor spats but for the most part I've enjoyed Key. He's made some big catches and has been our best receiver the past two years. The only problem I have with Key is that he is not as good as HE thinks he is. Mind you, I would've love to have Keyshawn back as a Cowboy, I could not help but ponder, what if we did cut him and made at T.O. That would be interesting. I quickly got rid of that thought as I thought that would never happen because Keyshawn Johnson is Coach Parcells' boy.
Well, on Tuesday, I'm sitting at work doing my thing and I decide to check up on the Cowboys via
http://www.cowboyszone.com, to see if there was any new free agent news. Much to my surprise, I see a thread that read "Keyshawn Johnson Cut"! I say Oh my god, I can't believe it. Immediately, I start thinking, we're going after Terrell Owens. I start to go nuts, enough to get my co-workers' attention. Anyways, later on, both the Boys and Drew Rosenhaus, T.O.'s agent both have no comment on the matter.
Fast forward a couple days later, a story breaks in the west Texas city of Lubbock, that the Cowboys and Terrell Owens have agreed to terms on a multi-year deal. I could not believe that they would sign him to multiple years. Again, both Drew Rosenhaus and the Cowboys deny such an agreement had been reached. It became quite obvious in the city that an announcement for something huge could come next week, especially with Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells both being on vacation. Well, I woke up this morning to find out that a press conference had been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Everyone knew what it was for. Jerry Jones had done the unthinkable. Jerry Jones had signed the "cancer". Jerry Jones had brought "Terrible" Owens to America's Team. Jerry Jones is a billionaire. He didn't attain billionaire status without taking a few risks. This is just another one. He's taking a chance to have the Cowboys first #1 wide receiver since Michael Irvin layed motionless on the hard Veterans Stadium turf back in 1999.
I have to be honest here, in the beginning, I was a little skeptical about having a guy like T.O. coming to my Cowboys. I mean, this guy has left two franchises in shambles. However, no one can deny the guy's talent. He's arguably THE best wide receiver in the game today. Over the last couple days, I'd put all my concerns to rest and am fully on board with the T.O. signing. There's just something about playing with fire that always intrigued us as kids. Remember Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit? There's just something about the forbidden fruit that is so enticing. Here, it's Mr. Owens. I must say, as the press conference kicked off, I had a huge "Kool-Aid Smile" on my face. I mean, I was grinning from ear to ear. I was glad that the league best owner, MY owner, had stepped up to the plate when no other owner would. Of course there were other teams interested but they weren't seriously interested. Read: they didn't want to pony up the cash. I really believe that this time, T.O. will be different. First, Jerry Jones sold me on the deal. Who am I kidding? Mr. Jones could sell an eskimo a snow-cone! I was also impressed by Mr. Owens. Sure, he probably deserves an Oscar for his press conference performance, but I believe this time it will be different.
It is my Hot Sports Opinion that this T.O. thing is not a bad idea and it WILL work. For one, he'll have the best support system he's had. He'll have Jerry Jones who players, current and former, absolutely love. It appears that Mr. Jones takes the father-son approach to star players. Add to that, we still have, future HOF'er, Bill Parcells, who is the best in the business at dealing with guys like Terrell. If nothing more, I'm hoping they both develop a mutual respect for each other. Lastly, he'll have the guy who was in his corner when every one of the "talking heads" on tv bashed him every opportunity they got, Micheal Irvin. They are friends and I'm sure that Irvin had a little bit to do with T.O. signing in Dallas. Just T.O. loves him some T.O., Irvin loves him some Dallas Cowboys. Irvin will help keep his buddy's head on straight.
From my point of view, the biggest issue in Philly was money. Sure, most players in the league would give their right hand to have the contract that T.O. had. However, with most, athletes it's all about ego. Terrell, had just came back from what should've been a season-ending injury and caught 14 balls in the Super Bowl. He was the best receiver in the league and he wanted to be the highest paid receiver in the league. I'm not going to argue either way but he did go about it the wrong way. I can't discount the fact that his agent, Rosenhaus, had more than a little bit to do with how it was handled. I mean, they are supposed to do what's in their client's best interest, right? Clearly, Rosenhaus failed in that area. T.O.'s feelings were also hurt when he Philly teammates didn't feel like they could make it to the Super Bowl without him and didn't need him. These big buff jocks sure are sensitive aren't they? Well, T.O. finally got his money, albeit, in Dallas. Well, it's here if he wants it. He got a 3-year deal with only the first year guaranteed. He'll have to be on his best behavior to see all $25 million. This is his last shot. If the T.O. experiment fails here because of T.O., he won't see another payday from anyone!
The bottom line is, I didn't like the guy, but I'm glad his on my team now. Drew Bledsoe, Jason Witten, Terry Glenn, and Julius Jones should all be giddy after yesterday. All should put up good numbers this year and get us back to the playoffs. I can't wait to see Terrell catch one over the middle and take it 60 yards and running back to midfield to as he said, "Embrace the Star". This is a good situation for all parties involved.
"Get your popcorn, it's about to be a show!"-Terrell Owens.
