Owens is to Evans as. . .

By Anthony Bialy  |   Sunday, June 07, 2009  |  Comments( 57 )

Buffalo Bills
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Can Terrell Owens play well with others? It’s not about proving that he’s just been the victim of dozens of misunderstandings about why his shrieking or choreographed nonsense doesn’t represent who he is. Rather, it’s getting along in terms of how well other receivers do when he’s around.

Some, although certainly not all, of the other top wideouts on Owens’ previous teams have prospered alongside him. He played alongside a collectively motley bunch over the nine seasons during which he’s broken the 1,000-yard barrier. The other catchers range from the all-time greatest to guys who belonged in either an arena or Canada. Seeing what other wideouts at his side have accomplished could help show what Buffalo Bills teammate Lee Evans will accomplish this year.

Last season with the Dallas Cowboys was like many of Owens’ other seasons in that his 1,052 yards led the squad. Tight end Jason Witten was next with an impressive 952 yards of his own, with receiver Patrick Crayton trailing severely at 550. Owens put up 1,355 yards in 2007; Witten similarly finished second best with 1,145, while Crayton’s 697 yards means he again landed far behind as the No. 2 wideout.

He got the most help from a fellow wideout in his first year as a Cowboy, which was 2006; then, Owens managed 1,180 receiving yards, while Terry Glenn got close with 1,047. That season offers the best evidence for those hoping Evans and Owens can mutually prosper.

On the other hand, the reason he may have been so fantastic during his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles is because he had little choice; in fact, nobody else did anything. Running back Brian Westbrook was second in catches, 73, and yards, 703, that season, while the second-best receiver was Todd Pinkston thanks to his wholly unremarkable 36 grabs for 676 yards. Unlike that season, Owens won’t have to do it alone this year as a Bill.

Things weren’t much better in his late seasons as a San Francisco 49er. Tai Streets was twice the second-best receiver to Owens, while J.J. Stokes fell into that role once. Owens got to four-digit yardage each season between 2001-03 on his own. The biggest disparity was in 2001, when Owens got 1,412 while Stokes amassed roughly 41 percent of that at 585 yards. He could have phrased it more nicely, but Owens had the right to be upset about his level of assistance.

Of course, by that time the best receiver ever had moved along to the Oakland Raiders. Before then, Jerry Rice racked up 1,157 aerial yards in 1998 to Owens’ 1,097; in 2000, Owens’ 1,451 exceeded Rice’s 805. The closest parallel to Owens/Rice that season is Evans/Owens this year.

It’s of course not fair to compare either player to the undisputed greatest wideout ever, but the fact remains that Rice was concluding his 49er career as Owens was simultaneously ascending. In that light, Evans is a unique partner for Owens because the younger player is a star entering his prime.

Owens has coped with a wide-ranging group of sidemen in his most successful campaigns, and he’ll have to learn to share with a fantastically talented wideout who’s peaking. The future Hall of Famer infamously generates excessive personality conflict; will he be OK if Evans posts larger gains in most games? Owens will get significant help on the other side, and the question is whether he’ll be happy to take it.
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