Terrell Owens is a great receiver -- no doubt about it -- but he is also misguided, has his priorities out of whack, and is generally considered an enigma. USAToday.com has a story detailing all the adjectives commonly used to describe TO -- and one that is rarely used: loyal. The article is referring the loyalty TO has to David Joseph, his woebegone agent, widely blamed for TO not becoming a free agent and subsequently becoming a Raven (when of course, he really wanted to become an Eagle). This is what TO had to say:
"It's been frustrating...I think the most important thing was for me to have my agent's back. I think he's really taken a big hit and he's probably been the most tarnished one. I had to call him a couple of times to keep his spirits up. I was pretty confident in the case that I had."Here's the thing, since when did TO have anybody's back? And why is it the one time he does have someone's back, it's his agent -- who just screwed him out of a couple million? Why not have Steve Mariucci's back or Jeff Garcia's back? It seems to me that sticking up for these guys can be just as lucrative as having a competent agent to negotiate your contract. The funny thing is, TO neither stuck up for his coach/teammates nor had a competent agent. It's obvious he lost a few bucks because of his agent's latest gaffe, and antagonizing his former organization probably hurt him more than it helped him (maybe other teams would have been interested in his services if he wasn't considered such a pain in the arse).
And I don't buy the "NFL didn't have a leg to stand on" argument as to why David Joseph shouldn't be the scapegoat. This guy has one job and that is to do what's best for his client. It shouldn't be the other way around -- unless of course, you're in the bizarro world of Terrell Owens.
And another thing
I mentioned a few days ago that I thought the Ravens got the better end of the TO deal, but there is a strong argument for why they got the shaft (other than the obvious reason of not having TO).
