Terrell Owens

Terrell Eldorado Owens, sometimes called T. O., (born December 7, 1973, in Alexander City) is a a football player, currently with the Dallas Cowboys. He was deactivated for most of the 2005 season by the Philadelphia Eagles due primarily to behavior stemming from a contract dispute and conflicts with Donovan McNabb and other Eagles' players.

Although Owens is recognized as one of the most dominant receivers in the NFL today, he is also known for being a troublesome, high-maintenance player on and off the field. He has developed a reputation for causing controversies with teammates, coaches, opposing players, and fans. Even so, after banishment from the Eagles in 2005, many teammates came forward voicing support for Owens and campaigning in vain for his reinstatement with the Eagles.

Until recently a resident of Moorestown, New Jersey; Owens also owns a home in Atlanta.

Biography

Owens was born into a troubled home in Alexander City. He immersed himself in sports from an early age, idolizing San Francisco wide receiver Jerry Rice. He was a four-year letterman in football and track at Benjamin Russell High School and also lettered three times in basketball and once in baseball. His high school career was not stellar. He didn't even start for the Wildcats until his senior year. He was not heavily recruited and chose to accept a scholarship from Tennessee-Chattanooga because they would allow him to play multiple sports.

Owens came into his own playing basketball, track and football for the Moccasins. He played in the 1995 NCAA Tournament in basketball and anchored the school's 4x100 relay team. Like his idol, Rice, Owens wore #80 on the football field. As a freshman, Owens was used sparingly by coach Buddy Nix, catching 6 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown. In his sophomore year new head coach Tommy West promoted him to starter. He caught 38 passes for 724 yards and 8 TDs in his second year, including a school record 4 touchdowns against Marshall. Playing for his third coach in three years, Owens anchored the offense during his junior year and caught 58 passes for 836 yards and 6 TDs. He was named to the Southern Conference All-Conference second team. In his senior year Owens faced double coverage every week and was limited to 43 receptions for 666 yards and one touchdown.

San Francisco 49ers

Based as much on his size and speed as on his demonstrated ability, Owens was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1996 draft, as the 89th overall pick. The chance to play alongside Jerry Rice thrilled the rookie. He stayed quiet in practice and made his first impact on special teams, recoding three tackles in a game against the Atlanta Falcons.

In the 1997 season, Terrell Owens became a big name for the 49ers, when Jerry Rice went down early in the season with a torn ACL. He and quarterback Steve Young helped the 49ers win 13 games that season. In a 1998 wild card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers were trailing 27-23 with eight seconds left. Owens caught a 25 yard touchdown pass while surrounded by four Packers defenders that lifted the 49ers to a 30-27 victory. This catch became known as "The Catch II" among Niners fans.

The following season was a disaster for the 49ers as they fell to 4-12. Young retired after the 1999 season and Jeff Garcia was named the starting quarterback. In 2000, although Owens put up very productive individual statistics, the Niners still only managed to win six games. In 2001, the 49ers rebounded to 12-4 before losing to the Packers in the wild card playoff round, but by then, Owens was having widely documented feuds with Garcia and head coach Steve Mariucci. Sportswriters reported that Owens would refuse to even speak to the coach. At the conclusion of the 2002 season, Mariucci was fired and replaced by Dennis Erickson. In 2003, the 49ers fell back to 7-9 and Owens constantly was openly critical of Garcia's play and personal life.

As an NFL player, Owens became notorious for his flamboyant and inflammatory celebrations after touchdowns. Of special note are the times he danced on the start at Texas Stadium (September 24, 2000) and pulled a sharpie out of his sock to sign a ball (October 14, 2002).

Philadelphia Eagles

Although Owens was eager to leave the 49ers organization, his then-agent, David Joseph, missed a deadline to void the final years of his contract with the team. On March 4, 2004, San Francisco traded Owens to the Baltimore Ravens for a second round pick in the 2004 draft. Owens challenged the team's right to make the deal, assuming that he would become a free agent on March 3. He has already reached a contract agreement with the Eagles. The NFL Players Union filed a grievance on Owens' behalf.

The NFL and the three teams involved in the controversy reached a settlement on March 16, 2004. The Ravens got their second-round pick back from the Niners, and the Niners in turn received a fifth-round pick and defensive end Brandon Whiting from the Eagles in exchange for the rights to Owens. Owens's contract with the Eagles was reported to be worth $49 million for seven years, including a $10 million signing bonus.

In September of 2004, Owens released his autobiography, Catch This! Going Deep with the NFL's Sharpest Weapon. The book is 288 pages and was ghostwritten by Stephen Singular. Owens later admitted in 2005 that he has never actually read his own "autobiography". The book appeared on the New York Times best-seller list briefly.

On November 15, 2004, Owens appeared with popular Nicolette Sheridan (from the ABC series Desperate Housewives) in an introductory skit for "Monday Night Football". The skit was widely condemned as being sexually suggestive and ABC apologized for airing it.

The 2004 season got off to a great start for the Eagles, who won 13 of their first 14 games with Owens averaging a touchdown catch per game. On December 19, 2004, Owens severely sprained his ankle and fractured a fibula during a home game against the Cowboys, apparently ending his season. The Eagles managed to win their first NFC title since 1980 without Owens. He announced unexpectedly that he intended to play in that year's Super Bowl, even though team doctors were still saying that his injury would take several more weeks to heal. Owens did, in fact, start the game, catching 9 passes for 122 yards in the loss to the Patriots.

In April 2005, Owens hired Drew Rosenhaus as his agent and indicated that he wanted to renegotiate his contract with the Eagles. At the same time his public comments seemed to pin the blame for the superbowl loss on quarterback Donovan McNabb. His relationship with the team seems to have been permanently strained from then on. Owens and Rosenhaus met with Eagles head coach Andy Reid and president Joe Banner, but no agreement was reached, leading Owens to threatened a holdout from training camp until a deal was reached. He did not make good on his threat and did not receive a new contract. He did receive a two-week suspension on August 10, 2005 after a heated exchange with Reid. The Eagles mailed Owens a Notice of Unsatisfactory Work Performance, stipulating expectations for his behavior when he resumed playing August 17.

In a November 3, 2005 interview, Owens said he thought the Eagles would be undefeated if Brett Favre were on the team instead of Donovan McNabb. He also criticized the Eagles organization for not publicly acknowledging his 100th career touchdown catch. Owens was given a 4-game suspension on November 5 for conduct detrimental to the team, which allegedly included a physical fight with team official and former teammate Hugh Douglas earlier that week. Following the suspension he was deactivated and released from the team. In a later interview, Owens apologized to the team (including Donovan McNabb) and the fans.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 18, 2006, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced that they had signed Terrell Owens to a 3 year, $25 million deal, with a $5 million signing bonus.

NFL year by year statistics

Year	Team	G	GS	Rec	Yards	AVG	LG	TD
1996	SF	16	10	35	520	14.9	46	4
1997	SF	16	15	60	936	15.6	56	8
1998	SF	16	10	67	1097	16.4	79	14
1999	SF	14	14	60	754	12.6	36	4
2000	SF	14	13	97	1452	15.0	69	13
2001	SF	16	16	93	1412	15.2	60	16
2002	SF	14	14	100	1300	13.0	76	13
2003	SF	15	15	80	1102	13.8	75	9
2004	PHL	14	14	77	1200	15.6	59	14
2005	PHL	7	7	47	763	16.2	91	6
Tot.	N/A	142	128	716	10535	14.7	91	101

• Rushing Totals: 24 attempts 157 yards 6.5 average 2 TDS
• Pro Bowl selections: 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 (Total: 5)
• All-NFC Pro Selections: 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 (Total: 5)
• ALL-NFL Pro Selections: 2001 · 2002 · 2004 (Total: 3)

References

• Detailed biography at Jockbio.com
• "Terrell Owens." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Mar 2006, 01:22 UTC. 28 Mar 2006, 01:26 [1].

External links

• Terrell Owens Official Website
• ESPN.com Terrell Owens Profile