Now that Terrell Owens is gone from Philadelphia, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie says it was a mistake to sign the outspoken wide receiver.You sir, are an idiot. In retrospect, having gone to a Superbowl (and almost won it due to one of the more legitimately inspiring comeback performances of recent times) you wouldn't do it all again?
"I would not do it again," Lurie said Wednesday in his annual state-of-the-team address. "You look back on it - one year great, the second year a disaster. Nobody should be able to be as disruptive and really cut the energy of the team down.
To quote my guy, Hermy Edwards, "You play to win the game," and with T.O. you did just that, and are now one of only 4 teams to have played in the championship decider in the space of the last two years. 28 other teams have, er, not made it that far.
Show me an executive who would not take a deal where I guaranteed him one year of that level of success followed by a year of turmoil and I'll show you an executive who should not remain employed as he cleary fails to apprehend the risks and rewards inherent in decision making.
Lurie seems to get this...almost:
However, Lurie won't let the Owens experiment make him more cautious.I'll never do it again. Except when I will. And even then, I might not. With such a strong hand at the rudder, how could the good ship Eagle possibly veer off-course?
"I'll always try to be aggressive and take risks and be willing to make mistakes," he said. "Yet at the same time when we're in the draft room or approaching free agency or picking up players or trading for players, character is probably No. 1."
2 comments:
I don't buy it that TO got them to the Super Bowl. As during the previous season, they coasted into the playoffs. Unlike the three years before, they won the NFC Championship Game ... which TO did NOT play in. Nor did he play in the other pre-SB playoff games. He did put on a fantastic performance in the SB, but the Eagles got there by winning big games without him.
(Incidentally, the second and third happiest moments in my life as a Tampa Bay Bucs fan came from games played in Philly.
The second happiest occurred in the NFC title game where the team went to Philly and killed them. The game ended with the Philly fans booing their old team off the field in the final game at Veterans Stadium. Typical Philadelphia, The City That Loves You Back!
The third was the first game of the next season when once more the Bucs got screwed by the NFL front office when we had to open up the season on the road in Philadelphia, in the first game at their new stadium. (So much for the honor of being a SB Champion. It was something like the fourth year in a row where we had to go to Philadelpiha.) That game ended the same way the previous game had, with Philly fans booing their team off the field of their new stadium. Ahhhhh!)
I love TO. He brings the circus to town. Teams like the Eagles get all sorts of favorable press for be ungrateful pricks and treating players ruthlessly. I'm glad he tore the Eagles apart. They deserved it for being greedy and standing on the principle of not paying players anything beyond the one-way contract. I thought TOs efforts in 2004 earned him a raise or a bonus.
I think Deion Branch deserves to make more money (currently about $1 mill/yr) and I'm glad he's holding out this year. Kraft thinks he's another of these toughguy owners.
Just Karl
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