Edwards says he won’t talk to former teammates about t.o.

BasX · Mar 10, 2009

Bills quarterback Trent Edwards undoubtedly has heard the talk about receiver Terrell Owens being hard on his quarterbacks (except when tearfully defending them).

It started in San Francisco, when T.O. strongly implied that Jeff Garcia is gay.

In Philly, Owens eventually took aim at Donovan McNabb, chiding him for being fatigued in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXIX.

Then, last season in Dallas, Owens reportedly kicked up the internal dust storm that surely fueled his exit by alleging that Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten were conspiring to keep the ball away from T.O.

But Edwards doesn’t plan to do any homework on Owens.

“I have not spoken with anyone who has played with him,” Edwards said at a Monday press conference. “I don’t know if I really plan to do that, I don’t really know him all that well, I don’t really know the type of person he is, and that’s kind of what this offseason is going to entail is getting to know him, and getting to know all of the other receivers as well. . . .

“I’ve never had to do that with any other players that I’ve played with. I don’t take this situation any differently than if it would be someone else that we’re bringing in here. . . . I’ve been in touch with [quarterback] Ryan Fitzpatrick, but I’m not going to call Carson Palmer or Marc Bulger to see what they think of Ryan Fitzpatrick. I’m just going to take it at face value and build from here.”

Oh, to be young and naive.

Really, why wouldn’t Edwards want to find out whatever he can learn about his new teammates? Good, bad, or otherwise, former teammates are fountains of useful information about likes, dislikes, and potential eccentricities of players. It would be crazy, in our view, not to do it.

Especially when dealing with a polarizing figure like T.O.

If Edwards had conducted any research on Owens, Edwards might have realized that it’s not wise to say something like this: “I feel like we’re focusing a lot on him. We need to focus a lot on the other receivers, too. We’re bringing back a healthy James Hardy, we’re going to bring back Steve Johnson, we’re bringing back Lee [Evans], and Josh [Reed], and Roscoe [Parrish]. I was sitting up there, meeting with [offensive coordinator] Turk [Schonert], and going over personnel groupings and we were putting numbers on the board of a variety of our different players, our offensive weapons, and I was just getting excited just going through the plays and drawing them up and it’s going to be a battle now to get guys the ball.”

The battle won’t be to “get guys the ball”; the battle will be to get T.O. the ball as often as possible.

Owens genuinely and legitimately believes (as demonstrated in that 2008 interview with Deion Sanders in which T.O. wore a green shirt with an eagle on it and Deion Sanders donned a sweater that reminded me of when we used to put crayons on the radiator in grade school . . . OK, law school) that the path to victory is paved by throwing the ball to him on every play, even if from time to time his hands are roughly as soft as fully-cured asphalt.

So, yeah, T.O. just wants to win. But, in his mind, a team that wants to win will realize that T.O. needs to be the centerpiece of the offense.

Edwards seems to understand the connection between T.O.’s honest desire to win and his skewed beliefs as to how to make it happen. “You know what, the thing I like about him, and what I think that all stems from, is him wanting to win,” Edwards said. “If you keep that mind, and that’s something I’m going to keep in mind, that’s why I spoke with him on the phone briefly while he was here and told him that I don’t want to sit at home in January, I don’t want to sit at home in February, I want to play football. I want to be out there in the playoffs. I want to take this team to that level and I know he’s taken those teams that he’s played for in the past to that level, and I’m hoping that I can do the same.”

Um, Trent? You might want to double-check T.O.’s January resume. He hasn’t contributed to a postseason victory since the 39-38 bocce ball game against the Giants in January 2003.

Unless waving a towel in street clothes for two games in early 2005 counts as “contributing.”
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http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/03/10/edwards-says-he-wont-talk-to-former-teammates-about-to/

Chutney · Mar 10, 2009

This kid's in way over his head.

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Edwards says he won’t talk to former teammates about t.o.

BasX I Win

Chutney MON-STRAWRRR!!1!

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Edwards says he won’t talk to former teammates about t.o.

BasX I Win

Chutney MON-STRAWRRR!!1!

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