Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Views and Personal Photos on the Vikes from the Inaugural Hall of Fame fan.
Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to theThe Philadelphia Eagles have ended their marriage with Terrell Owens. And I applaud them for it. I'm glad that NFL teams are finally taking a stance against people who disrupt other people's lives and livelihood. The Eagles acted as would any CEO in a Fortune 500 company. "Pack up your stuff. You are gone by the end of the day."
Owens was in a great situation. The Eagles organization treats its players very, very well. In conversations with Eagles fans over the years, I can tell you hardly any team in the NFL takes better care of its players than Philadelphia.
2005 is the fourth year in a row that Philadelphia leads the league in the number of players who are on at least their second contract with the team. Players are eager to re-sign with the Eagles, and the team makes a strong effort to re-sign its own players. In each of the last four years, at least 13 of Philly's 24 front-liners (22 starters, punter and kicker) have been on at least their second Eagles' contract.
Philadelphia's four-year total is 58 players on at least their second contract with the team. Green Bay is closest at 51. Even three-time Super Bowl champ New England had only 44 players in that category over four years. The 49ers had 38 (including 11 this year), the Raiders 34 (including 5 this year).
Further, four starters in recent years who left Philadelphia as free agents later returned to the Eagles, including middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and defensive end N.D. Kalu, who are current starters.
The Eagles manage to do this because they operate at such a highly professional level, both on the coaching staff and in the front office. They don't let contract talks get personal, and they don't let them deteriorate to the point where a breach becomes so irreparable that a player who leaves can never come back.
And it wasn't good enough for Owens. If Owens wasn't happy enough in Philly, where the league standard for player happiness is golden, what makes you think he will be happy anywhere else?
There will be discussions amongst many bottom feeding NFL teams about trying to make a play for Owens. I just hope the Vikes aren't in line.
Here is your fun poll for the day. Enjoy!
Stat of the Week
Big Blue at the Meadow Lands this year: Giants have scored 146 points. The opposing teams 66. Boiled down Big Blue has averaged 36.5 points per game at home while the opposing stiffs have averaged 16.5. Well, maybe stiffs is a strong word considering that Denver, Washington, and the Rams could be considered good offensive teams. The Giants defense held Mark Brunell to 65 passing yards a few weeks back.
So why am I so confident the Vikes will make a game of it this Sunday? Is there such a thing as Old Man intuition? I just have a feeling....or is it that double burrito I had late last night talking?
The Eagles is a franchise I would like to see the Vikings emulate. They are a class organization which produces winning teams year after year. The one mistake they did make was T.O.
I do believe a bunch of teams will be in line for T.O. BUT don't expect the Vikings to make a play for him.
As far as the Vikings making a game of it this weekend. There is nothing in the recent past history to suggest it will be anything other then a blowout for the Giants, but if our defense can continue to create turnovers who knows. Don't want to get my hopes up.
I don't think Owens is even a passing thought at Winter Park, at least I hope he isn't.
The game this week will resemble the NFC championship game. I hope I can post monday telling you how good this crow tastes but I don't think I will. The G men are good but they seem to have our number even when their bad.
Posted by: Lonnie at November 8, 2005 11:54 AMIf eating a burrito makes you think we can stay in the game this week, I hope you bought enough for the whole team...they will need them...gotta go .. i'm running out to Taco bell for one of those "magic Burritos" so I can start beleiving too...lol
Posted by: Jay at November 8, 2005 12:09 PMYou may applaud the Eagles for getting rid of T.O., but I'm gonna laugh at them for shooting themselves in the foot and putting themselves in danger of missing the playoffs. And they don't have a chance at the Super Bowl anymore. Good job, Eagles! Way to follow the VIKINGS example of getting rid of your superstar wide reciever in return for nothing. Well done!
Posted by: tootie at November 8, 2005 02:53 PM36 v 16 sounds about right!
I'm afraid!
Posted by: Kevin Brady at November 9, 2005 03:58 PMWhile they would never express it in these terms, the T.O. thing is essentially an exercise in cost/benefit analysis. On the one hand, T.O. is unquestionably a great player. On the other hand T.O. is unquestionably a jerk who insists that the rules on behavior be different for him than for everyone else. Therefore, you have to look at whether the benefit of putting up with him is greater than the cost.
Last year, this was true, because they believed he was the player who could take them to the Super Bowl. In football, this trumps everything else, so if putting up with a jerk will get you to the Super Bowl, you'll do it. This year, however, the Eagles don't appear headed for the Super Bowl with or without T.O. Therefore, it isn't worth putting up with him any more.
If the Eagles were 7-1, both the team and Owens would have figured out a way to work this out. As they are, however, what the Eagles are saying is "If we're going to be mediocre anyway, we're going to do it without you."
Posted by: Jeff at November 12, 2005 12:13 PM