Dontpush's Blog

Black on Black crime

I'm going to say it - Terrell Owens is right. Set aside the fact that he's annoying. Set aside the fact that he's an egomaniac. Set aside the fact that he shouldn't have said what he did, whether or not he's right. Forget everything that gets under your skin about his personality and look at the facts: Donovan McNabb isn't a leader. He's a slightly above average quarterback whose record in big games is shoddy, and who doesn't have the tenacity or mental strength to win it all.

First, let's examine the assertion that he's not a leader. T.O. divided the clubhouse, right? Yes, T.O. was the cause, but he was just throwing stones at a glass house. Okay, you've got a wide reciever that's a loose cannon. He publicly implicated McNabb in the Superbowl loss, that wasn't such a smart move. But in that superbowl, Owens came back a early to play in it after no doctor cleared him to play. He signed a waiver before the game saying he wouldn't hold the Eagles responsible for any injury, had 100 yards in catches in that game, and was playing on a broken foot because he wanted to win so badly. He brought the Eagles within inches of victory, and yet, in the second half, McNabb threw two INTs in Patriots territory, looked terrible in the two minute drill and threw up in the huddle. McNabb was almost solely responsible for the Eagles choking.

If you're McNabb, maybe you put yourself in T.O.'s shoes, see how badly he wanted it and that he was just frustrated that he put himself out on the line and you let him down. Or maybe, you're so offended that you don't talk to him all summer and brood until he apologizes. Sure, it was wrong for Owens to chew out McNabb in public, and if Owens was the QB and McNabb was the wide reciever, it would be inexcuseable. But if you're the team leader, you don't wait for somebody to come to you. You go out and mend that fence. You try to put yourself in the your teammate's shoes and you take the burden on your shoulders. If you're a QB, you have to be the bigger man. That's your responsibility. This is why McNabb is not a leader. He acts hurt. He calls criticism against him "black on black crime." Sure, T.O. was such a racist when he said Favre would be a better quarterback for the team. Give me a break. McNabb likes to cast himself as a victim. That's why the lockerroom was divided.

Don't take my word for it, listen to Hugh Douglass, who fought T.O. to defend McNabb in the lockerroom. "Keep in mind that McNabb doesn't want to lead," Hugh Douglass said today. Hugh Douglass is an employee of the Eagles. Hugh Douglass had McNabb's back a few months ago. A quarterback needs to be a leader, and if an employee of the franchise who typically defends McNabb says he isn't, he isn't.

McNabb isn't physically tough either. He sat out the season with a sports hernia. Funny how it comes out today that Brady played the second half of the season with one, and the Patriots were successful. Favre would've been a better leader of the Eagles.

Maybe Rush Limbaugh was right. I'm sick of the media getting on the moral highground, defending McNabb and trashing T.O. It's easy to like McNabb and hard to like T.O., but if you look at the facts, Owens is right.

posted by dontpush @ 3:17 PM