Nearly everyone has taken Dallas to beat San Francisco on Sunday, which gives us plenty of reason to worry about the game. On paper, Dallas matches up well against the 49ers, but of course, we can’t go one flipping week without some sort of controversy.
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There are times I don’t agree with Jean-Jacques Taylor, but I agree with his assessment of Terrell Owens’ role in the Dallas offense.
Terrell Owens’ pedestrian numbers – 40 catches, 505 yards, six touchdowns and no 100-yard games – don’t lie.
Not after 10 games.
You expect more from a player who received a $12 million signing bonus and contract extension before the season. Maybe we shouldn’t have.
Perhaps T.O. simply isn’t as good as he used to be.
We all know T.O., who turns 35 on Dec. 7, will never admit to that. Nor would he ever admit to losing a step. The great ones rarely do.
That’s among the reasons Jerry Rice’s career ended in a Denver Broncos training camp, and why Emmitt Smith finished his career as a plodder in Arizona, averaging significantly less than 4.0 yards per carry.
What is more disturbing to me is that I agree with Jennifer Floyd Engel as well. Yuck.
Is T.O. done, an aging receiver in free fall? Or done in by The Redheaded Genius?
One guess as to how Terrell Owens rolls on this question.
Blame, whine, blame. Repeat.
He told his BFF Deion Sanders on an NFL Network telecast Thursday that he’s discouraged and frustrated by his lack of involvement and production and, of course, none of it is his fault.
“I can’t throw it and catch it,” he said. “It’s not that I can’t play. It’s the system which I’m in.”
Give T.O. credit for at least reinventing himself.
He’s done blaming a QB. So Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has become his Donovan McNabb/Jeff Garcia this go-round. Of course, he didn’t even have the guts to call out RHG by name instead hinting around and blaming that darn system, a system that coincidentally he loved, loved, loved a year ago.
Apparently, the system drops balls, can’t get off the line in press coverage and can’t make plays when he catches the ball. T.O. is right. The system does stink.
I still don’t think it is merely a coincidence that nearly every receiver in NFL history (who lasted that long) has started to slow down around the age of 35. And I don’t care that Owens stays in shape. It has more to do with a little bit less spring off the ball, a little less of a burst when running routes, a little less strength to break tackles for longer gains.
Deion (the interviewer in the NFL Network interview) should know this. He was still the greatest corner in the game in 1998, but he fell to earth by 1999. With the Redskins in 2000, he was a shell of his former self, leading to his first retirement. And Deion was a better athlete in his prime than Owens and was younger than Owens when he retired for the first time. I know Deion had injuries, but at that stage, it was more about the excuses than it was about performance on the field. Just like our friend T.O.
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Back to the game. . .
All eight Dallas Morning News reporters picked Dallas to beat San Francisco.
Likewise, the five ESPN experts picked Dallas.
At ESPN’s Football Today podcast, the entire staff took Dallas. Here is the clip:
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Accuscore
The Cowboys won 74% of the simulations on Accuscore by an average score of 27.5 to 19.3. Our friend Owens caught an average of four receptions for 68 yards in the simulations, which is an improvement from the past many weeks.
What If Sports
Dallas won 82.1% of the WhatIfSports simulations by an average score of 29-15. Owens will be happier if these results are accurate, as he averaged 6 receptions for 80 yards with a touchdown.
