SCOTT JACOBS

They say in sports that if your talent is as big as your ego most teams will let it slide.  But when your ego becomes bigger than your talent, most teams will steer clear of you like the plague.  Terrell Owens learned that lesson the hard way after the Cowboys cut him yesterday, ending a tumultuous three year relationship that was rockier than Shaq’s recent ‘hate tour.’

The mantra goes like this: the guy is very talented, but now 35 years old and on the downside of what has been a “Real World-esque” career (drama anyone).  He drops a lot of passes, says some really stupid things, and seems to have a will to cause problems even when things are going well. As soon as things fall apart he is the first to implode.

Some people are shocked by this, others caught off guard.  I’m happy about it.  Goodbye T.O., don’t let the door hit you on the way out.  Guys like T.O. shouldn’t be relevent.  He’s a jerk, incredibly egotistical, and he comes first before his team.  T.O. is the anti-role model.  He calls team-mates gay, calls out his quarterback for wimping out on him, and he always has that inconvienently timed sideline blowup. Everywhere he goes they hate him at the end.  And the feelings seem to be mutual the other way around.

No one denies T.O.’s talents, but its about time the Cowboys finally came to their senses.  After all that controversy what did T.O. really accomplish in Dallas?  He didn’t help them win a playoff game, and the duo of him and Roy Williams, well let’s just say it didn’t work out.  And he called out Jason Witten.  Great team-mate, sure hands, T.O. is neither of those things.

I’d like to see him remain on the open market so he has a chance to think over how royally he’s screwed up what should have been a surefire Hall of Fame career.

Now some of the things he did were funny. Taking out a sharpie and autographing a football after scoring a touchdown: that was funny.  I remember hearing about that, and cracking up (of course the No Fun League didn’t agree).  Other things he did though were downright stupid: like when he stomped on the star as a 49er against the Cowboys.

I remember the first time he truly exploded onto the scene:  it was in that spectacular 1998 Wild Card game against the Packers, with San Fran trailing 27-23 and 25 yards separating the 49ers from a win or a loss.  Well, T.O. got in between coverage, Steve Young threw a perfect pass, and Owens caught it for a stunning touchdown with just three seconds left to put the 49ers up for good.  That was T.O.’s coming out party.

”I have never made a bigger catch in my life, never played in a bigger game and never been more thankful to the Lord that I got a chance to redeem myself to my teammates,” said Owens that day, referring to the four dropped passes and one fumble he had earlier in the game.

That was good Owens, likeable Owens.  He was in just his third season then and the football field looked like his oyster.

But then in his eigth season Owens asked to be dealt from the 49ers, and got his wish when the Ravens agreed to send their 51st pick  for the disgruntled, all world talent.  But confusion ensued, Owens refused to take a physical with Baltimore, and an arbitrator ruled T.O. could become a free agent.  The Ravens got their second round pick back, and a three team trade involving the 49ers, Eagles, and Ravens was worked out to send Owens to the Eagles.

Owens and Donovan McNabb were supposed to be the perfect match, but it never quite worked out that way.  The Eagles made Super Bowl XXXIX despite the fact that Owens was hurt, and T.O. “bravely” came back to play in the Big Game, even though the Eagles lost to New England 24-21.  Owens played well, catching nine balls for 122 yards, but he ruined his good name once again by taking shots at McNabb after the game, when he said that McNabb didn’t have anything left in the tank in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

On March 14, 2006 after a reality TV like two seasons with Philadelphia, Owens was released.  The move was inevitable after the Eagles kicked him off their team back in November following a plethora of incidents and infractions.

NFC East rival Dallas signed him to a deal that offseason, with the thinking that Bill Parcells could discipline T.O. But that didn’t come to fruition.  After Parcells retired Wade Phillips had the fun task of keeping T.O. happy.  That didn’t work either.  Spats between team-mates, complaints about not getting the ball enough, and Ed Werder around Cowboys camp so much one offseason that SportsCenter became OwensCenter, were just a few of the lowlights during a bizzare three year stint with Dallas.

Well, that’s done with now.

So, Owens is now looking for team number four, and the only team believed to be interested is the only team that is seeminly never scared off by anyone: the Oakland Raiders.

Well, have fun in the Black Hole T.O.  They’re the only ones that want you, and it’s not like winning is that important to you anyways right? (You’ve already screwed up with three winning teams!)  Besides, just think of all the passes JaMarcus Russell will throw your way!

Photo: Getty Images

1. I really think Mike Singletary is going to be a phenomenal coach.  I have no idea if San Fran’s interim coach will be kept around after this year, but man do I like this guy as a coach.  He is so honest, and so intense that I think he will do very well… eventually.  Singletary expects his team to give a great effort, he isn’t proud of it when he gets it.  And that’s what I like.  Look, they had 10 penalties, crucial turnovers, a few baffling calls in the last 40 seconds, but hey, that happens.  So yeah 0-2 looks like 0-2 any way you look at it, but I think Singletary is a better coach then his record suggests.

2. Arizona’s running ills are alive and well.  Look, I didn’t expect the rookie from Richmond to run over the 49ers, but he didn’t really do anything tonight.  Instead, on 13 carries Hightower finished with 22 yards.   That just won’t get it done.  And the crippling play (or what almost became a crippling play) where he lost four yards on a crucial 3rd and one, just won’t get it done when the competition gets stiffer.  Though you could argue, that Arizona plays better against better competition.  They are afterall a few plays in that crushing Carolina loss a few weeks ago, frombeing 7-2.  In the meantime, they’re just one game out of the second best record in the NFC.  But if they want to be a true contender they have got to get more production on a consistent basis from Timmy.

3. Kurt Warner sure is a treat to watch.  He’s so accurate, so calm under pressure, and when he holds onto the ball, he’s arguably the most dangerous QB in the NFL.  The guy gets it.  He has great footwork, and remarkable vision.    Tonight’s 32-42, 328 yards, and three touchdowns were the stuff that MVP’s throw up.  And he certainly is an MVP candidate.  So, we’ll see how he does as the season goes along, but the numbers so far are there: 19 TD’s and 6 picks.  Not bad for someone who many thought was, ‘washed up.’

SCOTT JACOBS

Are you kidding me?

What a wild, ridiculous finish to the Cardinals-49ers battle at the UOPS.

With a huge goal line stand, including a defensive stand on the final play of the game the Cardinals hold off the pesky 49ers, and climb above three games above .500 for the first time in a long, long time.

Epic, incredible, ‘wow’ game of the week.

The Cardinals made so many mistakes, and so many critical penalties, as well as a horrible 3rd down play in which Tim Hightower lost four yards on 3rd down.  The 49ers went down the field and got all the way to the 2, including a wild play in which Frank Gore lost his balance, failing to sneak into the endzone.  This was a wild, sloppy win.  But guess what?  For once, Arizona wins a game it’s supposed to win.  For once, the Cardinals don’t blow the game that will break their spirits and crush their dreams.  For once, Arizona held.  And they held on for dear life.

Arizona is 6-3, and basically has the NFC West sewn up, but this game showed two things: 1) The Cardinals are different this year, and 2) The Cardinals have a ways to go before they become a legitimate contender.

Still they’re up four games on an NFC West that may be the worst bottom-heavy division in football history.  The Cardinals are good.

The rest of the division: 2-7.  It’s not even close.  Whether you look at coaching changes, injuries, or whatever it might be, the division stinks.  But you think the Cards care?  No!  They haven’t had a winning record since 1998, when they won three games in a row to close the season, netting them a 9-7 record, and a playoff berth where they beat the Cowboys.

They proved tonight that they’re young, often stupid, and that their running game is far from solved with the rook from Richmond.  But boy are those Arizona receivers special.  And what can you say about Kurt Warner that hasn’t been said?  He went over 300 yards again, and threw three scores and no picks.  This guy is not only a legit MVP candidate, I think he is the MVP right now.

With just 9 games played Arizona has a four game lead.  The Titans are perfect, and they have the same lead.

Perspective in a place where sometimes its hard to find something.