While perusing the usual stomping grounds for items that then can be stomped out on my keyboard, I took a closer look at one of the articles regarding receiver Terrell Owens’ return to football as a member of the IFL’s Allen Wranglers.
Yes, he had three catches for three touchdowns in the second quarter, after failing to get away from press coverage in the first quarter. No, he had no catches in the entire second half.
But here’s the tidbit that puts his comeback in the proper perspective: Owen is under contract only to play in the Wranglers’ home games, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com.
That’s right. Owens is a member of the team. But only when the team is playing at home. Not when the team is playing on the road.
Unless, of course, the home team for the road games gives him some “financial incentives.” (Will the road team also have to promise not to put a defensive back in his face so he will be able to get off the line?)
It would be a surprise if anyone does it. In his IFL debut not far from Dallas, where Owens spent three seasons, there were plenty of empty seats in the Allen Event Center.
At a time when most if not all NFL teams have concluded that Owens wasn’t, isn’t, and never will be a good teammate, the notion that he won’t make road trips with his new team is all the confirmation anyone in the NFL needs to justify never giving him another shot.
But he’ll continue to have opportunities to prove his worth as a football player. Beginning with the Wranglers’ next home game.
On March 31.
