That Did Not Last Long

Owens released by Seahawks

 

 

Back on August 6th the Seahawks signed Terrell Ownes to a 1-year contract, at that point I expected the whole thing to go badly and T.O. to be gone in Week 1 of the NFL season. I will admit that I was wrong, he didn't even make it to the regular season but was cut today when the Seahawks made their first round of cuts. He was cut for his inability to play at a consistent level and not for being T.O. as I initially expected. He will end his triumphant return to the NFL with 2 receptions for 41 yards.

 

In other Seahawks news another Pete Carroll project, Tarvaris Jackson, is being traded to the Buffalo Bills. Not everything has been finalized but it is expected that the Bills are sending Seattle a late round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

 

I had high hopes for Jackson, I think he is another player that has been hurt by Pete Carroll's coaching style. Hopefully Russell Wilson, who was just names the starter for the final pre-season game and for Week 1 of the regular season, is not another footnote in Carroll's destructive coaching ways.

The Seahawks Go Dumpster Diving

Earlier today ESPN announced that TO was in discussion with the Seahawks, I think I threw up a little in my mouth when I read it. Now as I head to bed and take a quick look at the news I come across this headline:

   Terrell Owens signs with Seahawks

Two months I said TO would only end up being a side show for a team and I stick by that. The Seahawks are going to have a locker room that will be polarized before mid-season. I know TO says he has been humbled, but he has said that with each team he joined. He was humbled in Philly, he was humbled in Dallas, he was humbled in Buffalo, he was humbled in Cincy, he was humbled with the arena team Allen Wranglers and he is humbled coming to Seattle. This crap is all lip service. This is the guy who was on Dr Phil and blamed all his baby-mommas for the problems with not seeing his kids in May, this is also the guy who didn't show up for a trial a few weeks ago dealing with his missed child support payments and now may face jail time. This is the same guy who owned part of an arena football team and still refused to play games and show up at team events which led to being fired (from a team he partially owned mind you) and having his owner stake revoked. I am sure that this time will be different... right?

Pete Carroll has proven to be a mediocre coach at best, besides his two winning (barely) seasons with Patriots he has shown that at best he is a below-average NFL coach and a NCAA coach willing to by-pass rules and regulations and take off once sanctions are about to be dealt out to his school for his indiscretions.

In his time with the Seahawks he has shown he has limited coaching ability, he has proven time and time again that he will go after players he has a prior connection with and he is now handing over the reigns to a new starting QB for the third time in his three seasons. If he remains with the team, expect him to trade away the current season plus future draft picks and possibly even some young talent for the possibility of drafting USC QB Matt Barkley in the NFL Draft next April.

Again he is now showing that he has no concern for the future of the team. In the past three years so many receivers have passed through the Seahawks locker room. You have to begin to look at the cause, why are so many QBs, TE and WR coming and going? Now I wont touch on the rotation on the Defense, but everything keeps going back to one problem... Carroll. His system is obviously flawed since no players seem to excel.

How many more sub-.500 seasons are we going to have before the allure of his tainted college career has finally worn off?

Jim Mora? Well, he was kind of dealt a bad hand in 2009 and went 5-11

Dennis Erickson? Three seasons and went a reasonable 31-33

Tom Flores? Three seasons and went an unspeakable 14-34 following up the Seattle God-like Chuck Knox

This should stand as a warning to Carroll, quit the shenanigans and play the damn game right. Don't move players like you are trading cards, build a damn team and stick with them. Don't let a player fear loosing their job over a bad game or even a season (Mike Williams, you kicked ass with Hasselbeck, it was Carroll who screwed you). Pete, this is your third season in Seattle, history may be about to repeat itself when another Seahawk coach gets the boot following three crap-tastic seasons.

Personally I hope this TO crap blows up in Week #1 and Paul Allen decides he has had enough of this shit and puts Petey boy on the unemployment line with TO.

In case you are wondering, I am a tad bit upset.

UPDATE 8/9:
Not huge news but Carroll has already shown that he is willing to flaunt rules again. In T.O.'s first practice today Carroll had him wearing shoulder pads, which is a violation of the NFL's CBA. The agreement requires newly signed players during the pre-season to have a 3-day acclimation period and can not wear pads until the fourth practice.

As I said, not really a big deal but it shows that Carroll feels his personal beliefs trump any NCAA or NFL rules that he does not agree with. The NFL has not made a decision on whether to discipline the team, but I would not expect anything beyond a warning or slap on the wrist.

The question stands, with a player like T.O., who has the media following every step he takes, why would Carroll be willing to bypass a small rule that will now draw the NFL's full attention?

T.O. Going...Going...Gone?

Is this the end of the road for Terrell Owens?  Yesterday he was cut by the IFL (Indoor Football League) Allen Wranglers, a team that he signed with before the season which included a six-figure salary plus an ownership stake.

He was cut for being T.O., he began by refusing to play in two upcoming road games and then he did not show up for a team appearance at a local children’s hospital add this all to his missing practices and his “me-first” attitude and you can understand why the team stepped away, including revoking the ownership stake. When you get cut from a team that you are a part owner, you know there is a serious problem.

When Owens signed with the team in February he was hoping to use this as a jump off point back in to the NFL, this was following getting no attention from any NFL team since his time with Cincinnati even though his agent Drew Rosenhaus has attempted to turn him in to a one-ring circus with his nationally televised workout, when not one single scout or team official showed up.

He may have a number of records and a notable career, some may even argue a Hall of Fame career, but he has polarized teammates, coaches, owners and fans. He is egotistical and difficult to work with and at 38 years old you have to come to the conclusion that he may be done playing serious professional football at any level. I can see him signing on with some local semi-pro team as a promotional gimmick but I think he can remove any illusions of returning to the NFL.

In the end I do not think this will affect his card prices, his attitude alone has made him a pariah among collectors. You can find some of his better rookie cards, like 1996 SP Premier Prospect and 1996 Finest, for under $10, his jersey/relic cards can be had for a dollar or two with patches around $20 and some decent autographs for another $10-15 each. It is just one of those times where you wish them well and hope they finally accept that they are no longer relevant.