Saturday night, March the 7th. Arash Madani and I are about to wrap up our Prime Time edition of Connected when producer Paul Bromby tells us on our talk-back that the Buffalo Bills have signed Terrell Owens to a one-year contract. What? What the heck did you just say? T.O. is going to the Bills?
Needless to say -- Arash and I and the entire Sportsnet newsroom were floored by the news.
To truly understand this deal you have to look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the controversial receiver.
The good
Owens has 139 career receiving touchdowns, second all time in NFL history to Jerry Rice. Owens has scored a whopping 38 touchdowns the past three seasons.
Here's the stat that really jumps out at you when you consider why the Bills signed T.O. in the first place: the Bills receiving corps only scored nine touchdowns in 2008. T.O. has scored more than nine touchdowns in eight of his 13 seasons in the NFL. Say what you want -- when T.O. is on his game, he can be a dynamic, game-breaking playmaker.
The bad
Terrell Owens leads the NFL in dropped passes over the past two seasons with a mind-boggling 27. Part of that is due to the fact that Tony Romo threw the ball in his direction on nearly every passing down.
Having said that, there's no way an elite receiver of T.O.'s calibre should ever drop that many passes.
The ugly
T.O. can rip apart an NFL locker room with the greatest of ease. From the 49ers to the Eagles to the Cowboys, Owens has a disturbing track record of tearing apart his team's chemistry with an "it's all about me" attitude. Heck, Ed Werder of ESPN made his career reporting on T.O.'s latest meltdown.
Ultimately, Owens is a combination of all three. Now the challenge for Dick Jauron and the Bills coaching staff is to make sure there's more good T.O. and a lot less bad and ugly.
The Bills have a pretty solid locker room and Trent Edwards is a smooth, easy-going dude. I am willing to give Owens the benefit of the doubt and see how well he can fit in with his new teammates. However, NFL reporters from across North America will be camped out at One Bills Drive just waiting to see if Owens trips up.
For all his meltdowns and on-the-field antics, Owens has never been arrested. He was never in a brawl at a strip bar. He's never been busted for a DUI. To top it all off, Owens always keeps himself in incredible shape.
The Bills haven't been in the playoffs in nine years. What do they have to lose? If Owens doesn't implode, he might be the difference in the Bills making the post-season. If it doesn't work out, at least Russ Brandon and Bills management can look to their fans and say "we tried our best."
Although the NFL hasn't released their official schedule yet, we do know that the Bills' opponents for their home games are as follows: the Texans, the Colts, the Saints, the Bucs, the Browns, the Patriots, the Jets and the Dolphins.
I haven't heard any rumours yet, but my guy instinct tells me the Bills home game in Toronto this year will see them playing either the Browns or the Colts.
Either way, T.O. will love it in T.O.
