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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Talk About It ...
Playing T.O.'s Advocate Cudda-wudda-shudda is a loser's game. But that won't stop me from playing it. I can't help but think that a team that obsessively controls information and money shouldn't have signed a guy who's compulsively outspoken and selfish. If this team was more self-critical -- like being open about what happened at the end of the Super Bowl -- maybe T.O.'s potshots wouldn't have nicked so many nerves. The coach isn't candid at press conferences. The quarterback's a master of meaningless cliches. And when T.O. demanded more money, what did the Eagles do? Ignore him. How was that smart management? Call the guy in. Let him vent. Maybe he'll feel respected. Maybe you'll find out something simple -- like shifting some chump change around, or honoring him with some bobbleheads -- would appease him. If the junkyard dog barks at your door, you don't throw it a bone? And when T.O. scored his 100th TD? Same approach: Ignore it on the field. Funny, but Owens proved, intentionally or not, how "zip your lip" fuels tension when he refused to talk to McNabb during training camp. Sorry, but the Buddy Ryan teams, with their loudmouth, critical ways, seemed more to live the competitive, aggressive spirit of football. Over time, underreacting leads to overreacting. Maybe even underachievement. At least for this season. Finally, is it just coincidence that the team's most publicized divorces -- Jeremiah Trotter, Corey Simon, now T.O. -- save the team lots of money? What do you think? Are there two sides to this divorce? Or was T.O. too high-maintenance a bride? Is the organization partly to blame?
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