Owens’ PR efforts frittered on Twitter

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, May 27, 2009  |  Comments( 43 )

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Twitter users can say so much even though the Web site lets them say so little. It may seem tricky to express something meaningful in posts restricted to 140 characters. But many make themselves clear despite the networking/blogging site’s mandatory succinctness.

For example, Twitterer and Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens needed less than the maximum space to throw an ex-teammate and offensive coordinator under the bus. His concise update also unwittingly contained regrettable news for those who hope Owens is past feuding with everyone who’s not him.

Just as in real life, @terrellowens81 likes complaining about coworkers. Recently, he took on employees of the Dallas Cowboys, his previous team. In response to a user who directed a message at him that read in part, “I was not happy the Cowboys cut you,” Owens posted a fractured tirade at 11:03 a.m. on May 19: “neither ws i, blame the OC & romo!! but i'm happy 2 b where i am but i miss the other guys tht were & r true teammates!!” Yes, that’s unedited.

For the record, his proclamation is 120 characters long; it’s odd that he included two exclamation points yet left out the a’s in “was” and “that.” He also could have spelled out “to,” be,” and “are,” but he made his point clear. Unfortunately.

Owens’ declaration means he sadly hasn’t changed. It’s bad enough that he’s complaining about Tony Romo, his last quarterback. But worse is what this means for his current quarterback; as feared, Trent Edwards will with certainty be verbally assaulted by Owens before the latter’s tenure in Buffalo ends.

Consider Romo’s superior comparative numbers: His career passer rating of 94.7 dwarfs the middling 79.1 put up by Edwards. Plus, the Cowboy has managed 81 touchdowns to just 46 interceptions, while Edwards has thrown 18 of each. If Owens found a reason to dislike his previous signal-caller, he’ll have remarkably little trouble manufacturing contempt for his new guy.

Edwards’ defenders will justly point out that he’s a younger quarterback on a relatively inferior offense. But those circumstances don’t matter to a receiver who has 139 touchdown receptions and about the same number of incidents involving antisocial conduct.

It’s a bad omen for a passer entering his third season who’s been uneven in the first two. Edwards must brace for what’s going to be unleashed upon him. The same goes for his new coordinator: If the highly regarded Garrett isn’t good enough for Owens, what level of attack can the Bills' Turk Schonert expect?

Owens can’t avoid picking arguments even while he’s allegedly trying to improve his image. He may act graciously in front of his VH1 reality program’s cameras when he’s, say, searching for a residence in Buffalo. The same goes for when he’s getting a key to a city for which he’s done nothing. It’s highly dubious whether an athlete deserves such an honor; regardless, Owens should have first played at least one game for the area’s franchise. Locals should lock screen doors just in case the mayor’s gift is a citywide master key, lest they want an uninvited Owens crashing on their couch.

Regardless, he’s still pulling the same divisive junk while not being filmed. It would be easier to offer Owens a fresh start if he didn’t insist on wallowing in the same confrontational behavior that got him exiled from Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Next time, he should take care not to vent about ex-teammates through a forum accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. A player with such a quarrelsome reputation still hasn’t learned when to stay quiet -- or stop typing. At least Owens, who tore open a healing wound while keeping 20 characters under limit, is efficient.
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CommentsComments: 43  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Kegman		08:50 AM
05/27/2009
The Bills' offense has some great story lines going into the season, no doubt. And the O could explode or implode and T.O. will...
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No.2
Goose		09:54 AM
05/27/2009
HERE"S HOPING... 1) TO hasn't lost the majority of his skills 2) Evans takes advantage of TO drawing coverage 3) TO takes...
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No.3
ddd		09:58 AM
05/27/2009
There shouldn't be any rift between TO and Lee Evans. Lee is a quiet soft-spoken mellow guy so no problems there. Same for...
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