T.O. speaking out against McNabb?

[Blade]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2035146

SNIP:

For the title matchup, Owens made a comeback some considered miraculous, playing nearly the entire contest only 6½ weeks after sustaining a broken right ankle in a Dec. 19 outing against the Dallas Cowboys. Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards in the Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots.

"There are a lot of people who said that me playing in that game was an inspiration to them," Owens said. "Hey, the only person I was trying to inspire was myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. But why did I want to do it? To win a Super Bowl for the team, for the fans, for the city. I did everything they asked me to do. I played every snap they allowed me to play. I wasn't even running until, like, two weeks before the game. But I made sure I was in the best shape possible. I wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl."

Asked to whom he was referring, Owens laughed, then changed the subject. It has been widely reported that McNabb was either ill or fatigued late in Super Bowl XXXIX. The star quarterback has denied either was the case.



Can T.O. ever learn to shut up?

[NoMyths]

And the over-under on him ranking out his current QB just expired.

[Franklinnoble]

There's no cure for cancer.

[rkmsuf]

He's right though.

[maximus]

There's no cure for cancer.

lol

[WSUCougar]

He's right though.
Yup.

I think the media is blowing this one out of proportion. Now there's a shock.

[NoMyths]

Yup.

I think the media is blowing this one out of proportion. Now there's a shock.Not sure that a handful of sentences in a two-page article is considered blowing it out of proportion...probably is the correct proportion for the value of the quote.

[WSUCougar]

Not sure that a handful of sentences in a two-page article is considered blowing it out of proportion...probably is the correct proportion for the value of the quote.
Naw, it's been splattered all over websites, too.

[EagleFan]

That's not really attacking Donovan. It's not like he said "Donovan sucked and cost us the game". If any other player said it, it wouldn't even be a blurb.

[Travis]

The way he says it implies that he feels McNabb didn't prepare in the best way possible for the game.

Saying, "But I made sure I was in the best shape possible. I wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl." is a pretty obvious reference that he is intending for even the most dense viewer to understand.

It's not like he said, "If it walks like a rat and tires out like a rat", but still pretty much a slap in the face to McNabb on a national platform.

[rkmsuf]

Good, McNabb deserves it if he takes it that way.

You could also interpret that as "I wasn't tired due to my superb conditioning but some others may have been."

"I wasn't the guy" in no way infers that there was 1 guy that was. He just wasn't a tired guy.

[Desnudo]

Except McNabb wasn't tired in the traditional athletic sense that Owen implies. It's impossible to get tired during the Super Bowl, with all the commercial breaks and extended halftime.

I think he has some sort of anxiety disorder. Someone should give him a joint before the last quarter of big games.

[Blade]

I also should point out that he did not specifically mention McNabb...that is just the Media speculation based on the quote...

[QuikSand]

"I wasn't the guy" in no way [implies] that there was 1 guy that was. He just wasn't a tired guy.

I disagree. To me, the strong implication is that there was one tired guy.

I'm not inclined to make a big deal of this, but I disagree with your reading. I think he is absolutely singling out one player, though technically an unnamed player, for what that's worth.

[rkmsuf]

But I made sure I was in the best shape possible. I wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl."

Taken without the visual of his statement this phrase in no way says there was a guy who got tired.

Based on that, Pinkston could have said to him on the sidelines that he was winded. Maybe Randall Gay looked spent to him.

You can guess what he meant and maybe the Owens laughed, then changed the subject influences the opinion but it's a big stretch to say he has an issue with McNabb or is calling him out.

He probably should be that's a different thing.

[Glengoyne]

I think it is pretty clear he is singling out the one guy who has gotten press about "running out of gas". While I think it is clearly a shot at McNabb, and the fact that it was done in the media is an indication that T.O. is every bit as much a cancer as a cure, I do agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment. McNabb should be taken to task. He is supposed to be a professional, and he really shouldn't be gassed to the point it effects his play at the end of the biggest game of the year.

[larrymcg421]

Maybe McNabb should be taken to task, but not by a teammate. I have absolutely no respect for someone who complains about their teammates in public.

[Glengoyne]

Maybe McNabb should be taken to task, but not by a teammate. I have absolutely no respect for someone who complains about their teammates in public.
I agree. I'd have a lot more respect for T.O. if he had done this in private. If he is going to bag on a team-mate, then have the class to do it to the guy's face.

[Desnudo]

I think it is pretty clear he is singling out the one guy who has gotten press about "running out of gas". While I think it is clearly a shot at McNabb, and the fact that it was done in the media is an indication that T.O. is every bit as much a cancer as a cure, I do agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment. McNabb should be taken to task. He is supposed to be a professional, and he really shouldn't be gassed to the point it effects his play at the end of the biggest game of the year.

I think the fatigue is more in his mind than his body.

[Eaglesfan27]

I agree with the last 3 posters. I've lost respect for TO because of the mode of delivery of the message. I think the message is correct, but deliver it to the guy's face in private. Now, I'm so mad at TO that I almost hope the Eagles trade him.

Of course, Andy Reid knew TO would have personality issues before he brought him onto the team. Hopefully, Reid can handle this well and not cause it to be a source of dissension this year.

[judicial clerk]

I think TO does say these things to guys faces. I don't think TO has any problem getting in McNabb's face. Now, I agree with Glengoyne and Larrymcg241 that this stuff should be kept private. TO reminds me of Deion Sanders. They are a distraction for the team and they have a me first attitude, but they get the job done on Sunday.

[Alf]

yep, judicial clerk, but that's what is called a "team cancer"...

[KeyserSoze]

1 year to bashing a teanmante. TO is growing up

[MIJB#19]

But was McNabb really "the guy who got tired"?

It should be obvious that the interviewer is trying to talk Owens into bashing McNabb and failed to get a line like: McNabb played like horseshit. Not even a: McNabb played worse than in the regular season. And everybody saw how much McNabb struggled to reach his regular season form in the Super Bowl.

[Ragone]

Bottom Line

If mcnabb had even an average mcnabb game.. philadelphia would have won that game.

[Raiders Army]

Bottom Line

If mcnabb had even an average mcnabb game.. philadelphia would have won that game.
Really.

How was it not an average mcnabb game?

Take a look at his average stats for 2004:

Comp/Att Yards TD Int
20/31 258 2 1

Superbowl:
30/51 357 3 3

I see he had a better day statistically in yards and touchdowns, but worse in Interceptions. But wait, what are his stats against the AFC? (3 games)
20/33 235 2 1

Pretty in line with his average stats for 2004, but what about on grass? (5 games)
21/34 245 1 1

I guess I dug far enough and found something that supports the fact that the Superbowl was his "average" game in 2004. Interestingly enough, the "big" MNF games his QB rating was 139.8 throwing 7 TDs and 0 INTs. On Sundays he was worse, with a QB rating of 99.7, throwing 24 TDs and 8 INTs.

*shrug*

I believe he does get gassed though, since his QB rating over the 4 quarters was:

1st QTR: 139.7
2nd QTR: 119.1
3rd QTR: 73.1
4th QTR: 89.2

It's even worse in OT, with a 71.3 rating.

[condors]

as far as i know he got "gassed" in 3 games so far in his career.

It is definatly a mental thing probally something of a panic attack.

He is unable to catch his breath and throws up in the huddle.

That being said, i still am glad to have him as our quaterback.

[rkmsuf]

any qb who throws up in the huddle adds character to your team.

[JasonC23]

any qb who throws up in the huddle adds character to your team.
Cade McNown?

[rkmsuf]

Cade McNown?

If he's a chucker he's ok in my book.

[Franklinnoble]

any qb who throws up in the huddle adds character to your team.
Willie Beamon.