Getty Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens seemed to cause drama everywhere he went. Now his absence is doing the same thing.
Owens, arguably the greatest receiver not named Jerry Rice, was shockingly left off the NFL 100 Team. NFL Network has been slowly revealing the roster all month, position by position.
On Friday, the station shared their picks at wide receiver and caused quite a stir. They selected the following 10 players: Rice, Lane Alworth, Raymond Berry, Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, Elroy Hirsch, Don Hutson, Steve Largent and Paul Warfield. No Owens.
Consider the numbers for a minute. Owens ranks third all-time in receiving yards (15,934), third in touchdowns (153) and eighth in receptions (1,078).
To slightly put that in perspective, Don Hutson ranks 100th all-time with 7,991 yards and Elroy Hirsch ranks 139th with 7,029 yards. Former Eagle Harold Carmichael tops both of them. Snubbed again.
Owens Calls Out Skip Bayless & Steve Mariucci
Why wouldn’t Terrell Owens be on a list of the 100 greatest players in NFL history? Well, it seems his attitude (or perceived attitude) had a lot to do with it.
Owens, who spent two productive-yet-controversial seasons in Philadelphia, helped get the Eagles over the Super Bowl hump in 2004.
He came back from a sprained right ankle and played in the Super Bowl with two screws in his leg. But the lasting images turned out to be him doing sit-ups in the driveway and feuding with Donovan McNabb. Oh, what could have been.
.@TomBrady played in the Super Bowl with stitches in his hand and according to some that was remarkable. I played in a Super Bowl on a broken leg, 2 screws and a plate and got labeled selfish for it? Hmmm 🤔 So who’s following me here?! #mystory @playerstribune
The seeds for discontent were planted long before Owens’ arrival in Philly, though. Owens took to Twitter on Friday to pin them on loud-mouth analyst Skip Bayless for “painting false narratives” by listening to “shady coaches” like Steve Mariucci. He accused Bayless of “creating lies about my character” stemming back to his days in San Francisco.
Hope you’re proud @RealSkipBayless for creating lies about my character. Yes I’m naming u because it started with you. Doesn’t matter what u say now because the damage was done for creating false narratives about me from shady coaches in @49ers organization like @SteveMariucci
Owens wasn’t done, though. He was re-tweeting like rapid-fire as hundreds of fans rushed to defend him for being snubbed on the NFL 100 Team. He wasn’t going to take this lying down, not the guy who boycotted his own Hall-of-Fame ceremony to prove a point. Owens should have been a first-ballot selection, but the league made him wait until his third attempt.
Owens Shares Personal Story on Players’ Tribune
The timing was absolutely priceless. Earlier in the week, The Players’ Tribune debuted their new video series entitled “So..You Want the Real Story” and Terrell Owens is one of eight featured athletes.
In the 15-minute episode, Owens takes viewers back to his hometown of Alexander City, Alabama and what it was like growing up in near-poverty. (For example, his mom stitched the “Guess” logo on his overalls so he could fit in at school). He also talked about his controversial stints in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas, in candid detail.
Some of his former Eagles teammates, like Hugh Douglas and Todd Pinkston, chimed in. Remember, there was a rumor that Douglas and Owens got into a physical fight in an elevator at the Eagles’ practice facility in 2005.
@Bighugh53 @terrellowens Have to ignore people like that Hugh. They just want something to talk about. Hugh talking bad about people on radio/social media. TO selfish when voices his opinion when been asked a question. Don’t entertain nonsense Unk.
So, what exactly went wrong in Philadelphia? According to Owens, Donovan McNabb got jealous of the attention he was getting. Owens said he is “95 to 100 percent sure” that the quarterback asked the organization to get rid of him. It was a real-life Shakespearean tragedy. One that may never really end.
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