Owens’ present obsession with the past is sinking his future

By Anthony Bialy  |   Sunday, June 28, 2009  |  Comments( 16 )

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The dream of an 18-game regular season in the NFL may come true in the near future. Of all the wonderful things about two extra contests per year, the best may be that Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens will have two fewer weeks during the offseason to complain about former teammates. He recently once again took on former teammate and passer Tony Romo, continuing a persistently unsurprising trend. Owens will focus on winning football games when he’s done winning an old argument.

Owens recently took a break from teaching children to play football at a Texas camp to call out Romo for not leading the Dallas Cowboys properly. His relationship with his last quarterback didn’t just pass away; it continues to decompose. And that’s once again rotten news for Owens' current passer, Trent Edwards, who’s facing more evidence that dealing with the one player who’s supposed to make his life easier will be a toxic experience.

Edwards may well emerge as a quiet force in the locker room who guides his team with actions, not quotes. But a nuanced explanation of why such a style of leadership could be effective won’t matter to a wideout as subtle as a Motörhead concert at St. Peter’s Square.

It’s too bad, because Edwards’ taciturn nature is working well in Western New York. Despite his California roots, he seems like he fits the mold of a Buffalo-type person who is more concerned with results than pretenses.

Meanwhile, Owens can’t even find a place to live in Western New York. He’s literally not settling in, and at this rate he’s going to be shacking up in a hostel or squatting in Jason Peters’ empty residence.

Ironically, Romo is the anti-Edwards. He naturally took to the spotlight aimed at his team and adopted city, most famously by dating a lady as attractive as she is untalented. He and Dallas seem to mutually take to each other, as he’s naturally adapted to the area’s inherent glitziness.

It seems as if the former Cowboy teammates would have gotten along quite easily. If anyone would have sympathized with Owens for, say, getting hollered at by a vapid model on a silly reality show, it would have been Romo. Of course, being outgoing differs from being a leader, but that’s irrelevant if Owens equates ostentation with guidance.

The guiding rule of existence is that humans sometimes don’t get along, although Owens seems to be unnaturally good at bad relations. But his true problem is never dropping any issue. Instead of devoting the whole of his energy to being enthusiastic about present opportunities Andrew W.K.-style, Owens bitterly obsesses with past disappointments. He can’t party hard in the meantime.

The only hope for this upcoming campaign is that Edwards balances out Owens. Romo may have just been a more subtle version of the expressive receiver, which may have led to a clash of flashy individuals. On the other hand, Edwards could be a more sober Dean Martin who serves as a straight man to Owens’ Jerry Lewis-esque antics.

Everyone connected to the Bills must dream that the third-year quarterback can help the 14th-year Owens lighten up, settle down, and make the best out of what’s thrown his way, either during games or life. It’s the best-case scenario for dealing with a football player, and human being, who needs to learn to move forward.
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