Last month saw the new class of inductees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced. The seven inductees that will enter the hallowed halls at Canton, Ohio this August are Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, running back LaDanian Tomlinson, kicker Morten Anderson, quarterback Kurt Warner, defensive back Kenny Easley, defensive end/outside linebacker Jason Taylor, and running back Terrell Davis. And in this list of new busts that will be prepped for this summer, there is one obvious omission.
For 15 years wide receiver Terrell Owens was a problem for opposing defensive backs, his head coaches and teammates alike, but it was real hard to look past his talent. Owens’ 15,934 career receiving yards are second to only Jerry Rice, his 1,078 were fifth at the time of his retirement in 2010 and his 153 receiving touchdowns are third behind Rice and Randy Moss. Owens led the National Football League in touchdown receptions on three separate occasions and he was a six-time Pro Bowl selection. But with all of these accolades that Owens possesses, he has been denied access to Canton twice, and it might not get better for him anytime soon.
Throughout Owens’ career, he was known to express his opinion while also wearing his emotions on his sleeve. Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals. And at each stop along Owens’ journey in the National Football League, teams couldn’t wait to show him the door.
Following the retirement of quarterback Steve Young in 1999, there wasn’t a quarterback in the National Football League that was able to be on the same page with Owens. During the rest of Owens’ time with the Niners, he was always known to bicker with quarterback Jeff Garcia when he didn’t get the football. This led to Owens being traded to the Eagles in 2004. And after Owens helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl at the conclusion of that season, he clashed with quarterback Donovan McNabb. The Eagles would part ways with Owens in 2005 which saw him find a new team in the Cowboys in 2006. But by 2008, Owens wore out his welcome in Dallas after he became critical of quarterback Tony Romo which would see him join the Bills in 2009. After one season with the Bills, Owens would give the Bengals a try. At the age of 37, Owens racked up 72 receptions for 983 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns with the Bengals. Owens showed that he still had plenty in the tank, however the headache wasn’t worth it.
Owens has never been a guy that would blame himself as it was always someone else’s fault. If a quarterback didn’t throw Owens the football enough, he would pout and throw a tantrum on the sideline. And at each stop along the way, he knew how to divide a locker room.
Owens’ stats scream of him being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but for many people he does not have an attitude that is worthy of Canton.
Since being snubbed for induction into the Hall of Fame for a second consecutive year, Owens has gone on the offensive to criticize the process. And even though that I was not a fan of some of Owens’ antics during his playing career, he does make a point about the selection process.
46 media members and then two Hall of Famers decide who gets inducted. And just like it has been in baseball, some of these writers tend to hold grudges against players. Ron Borges of the Boston Herald went out of his way that to point out that Owens once led the National Football League in drops as to his reasoning for not voting for him, while others simply weren’t fans of his antics. And it doesn’t make it any better when a kicker in Anderson, a running back in Davis who had his career cut short due to injury, and an owner in Jones whose team hasn’t done anything in two decades all got in before which only piles on to the issue. And once you factor all of this in, this situation will get worse before it gets better.
Whereas Owens does deserve enshrinement into Canton, it might be awhile before he gets there. Fairly or unfairly, Owens has publicly criticized the people who operate the process of whether or not that he’ll get voted in. And if Owens is the still the same person that he was during his playing career, he will never forget the snubbing that he has received. If and when Owens does finally get in, there is a good possibility that he’ll give a speech criticizing the enshrinement process, along with his critics which is something that the National Football League doesn’t want.
But make no mistake about it that process is a joke. All of the finalists are asked to be in attendance during Super Bowl weekend even if they don’t get selected which is a waste of time for those who don’t get in, while it can also take a toll of their families. And the fact that Owens hasn’t gotten in has done a good job of bringing this to the spotlight.
We’ve seen in the past where some of football’s great have been unnecessarily put through the ringer and denied access to Canton. When wide receiver Art Monk retired from the National Football League in 1995, his 940 receptions were more than any other player in league history. But it wasn’t until 2008 that he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Defensive end Jim Marshall set an NFL record by appearing in 282 consecutive games which stood from 1979-2005 when it was broken by punter Jeff Feagles. But Marshall has only been a finalist once as his wrong way touchdown run 1964, along with playing alongside Hall of Fame defensive tackle Alan Page and defensive end Carl Eller with the Minnesota Vikings has been held against him. However where other guys have taken the process in stride, Owens is of a different breed.
I doubt that Owens will check his ego at the door anytime soon and the same can be said in regards to the selection committee. Owens has played for five teams and since I don’t see any of those organizations going to bat for him, he currently is a man without a country. The National Football League continues to expand as more of a pass happy league on a yearly basis which means that Owens’ stats could continue to be diminished as the seasons go by. Anyone with half a brain knows that Owens belongs in the Hall of Fame as he was one of the better players of the 2000’s, but with all of his excess baggage, it maybe a long period of time before he ever gets fitted for that illustrious gold jacket.
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