T. O. cut

[nfoligno]

Okay a few points. First, I watch a ton of Cowboys games. I have a brother that is a Cowboy fan, so I have to keep up with them in order to squash any hopes he has (same goes with Chargers and Colts). IMHO, I think that T.O. is one of those players that needs a change of scenery every few years to keep him sharp. It prevents him from being content. I would attribute any drop in production to a lack of concentration more than any deteriorization in skills. That's why you still see the high-end production in the red zone. He's a playmaker. Also, he keeps himself in tip-top physical shape. He may be 32. But again, I'd put his skills up there with anyone in the league......

 

I agree his play is as much about attitude and mental makeup as skill. More than simply saying he needs a change of scenery every few years, here is an analogy I would throw out there for you.

 

Think about when you buy a new car. At first, you just love it, and the world is good. You are taking it to the Car Wash often. You are getting it waxed. You part in the deep reaches of the parking lot to avoid dings. You care for it like a baby. After a couple years, it isn't so shiny. It now has some dings in it. It may even have some new smells. The new feeling is gone, and you really start to sour on your car. You slam the doors shut. You squeez into tight parking spots because you just don't care. You know what i mean.

 

Ditto for TO. When he first got to Phily, it was like a shiny new car, and TO was very happy. Before long, the new wore off, and so did his happyness, and when TO isn't happy, well, we have all seen when TO isn't happy. Same happens in Dallas. Once the new wore off, so did the good boy attitude.

 

Now, I can see how you would take this argument and say we should bring in TO on a short term deal that would not outlive the new feeling. Problem is, I would argue joining the bears would be more like buying a used car, rather than a new one. In Chicago, it would be a matter of games and not seasons before we saw TO unhappy. How many times do you think Orton could miss TO before TO began to go off on him? I just don't think we have the offense, QB or coaching staff to (a) keep TO happy and/or ( prevent the total collapse once he isn't happy.

 

...which leads to my next point. How could you possibly say that guys like Marques Colston, TJ Housh, Dwayne Bowe, Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, Gennings etc are "absolutely better" than TO? Gimme a break dude. Really?? TJ may be debatable. But, what have the others done to justify such lofty status? Most of these guys are only a couple years out of college and have done very little in this league. Maybe they had ONE better than average season. But, c'mon. Better than TO??!! Clearly, I think you are reaching in order to justify your point.

 

Which of the above listed players had ONE better than average season?

 

Colston had two 1,000+ seasons, and saw the numbers go down this year w/ injury, but when on the field, was an elite WR IMHO.

TJ has been pure consistent for some time now.

Bowe - Basically two 1,000 yard seasons on a bad offense, w/o a QB. That is impressive in my book.

R.White - 1,200 yards, followed by nearly 1,400 yards.

Gennings - 630 - 920 - 1,300 yards. That is what I call development.

Calvin Johnson best fits your comments, as he has only had one great year, but I simply would say he has developed into an elite WR.

 

You say I should not count these guys because they don't have the long standing productivity of TO, but by your logic, you would rank Harrison and Holt over these guys. Really? I understand that TO has many years of elite play, but I think it well w/in question to ask whether his skills today are what they were. While he has gotten older and his skills have diminished, other young Wrs have stepped up to the front. Yes, I think all these guys would be considered better than TO. No, they may not have the long history TO does, but I think all have passed him.

 

A point that I would agree with you on is how he would respond to Orton's failures. He will cut him very little slack when he leaves plays on the field. But hey, that may work to our advantage by forcing us to get serious about the QB position. How frustrating was it to watch Orton over/underthrow Devin Hester all last year? JA talked a good game after the season. But, now it looks like he's content to go back into next year with Orton as the unquestioned starter. Unbelievable.

 

Not sure I understand your point here. You don't think Orton is trying his best, and TO berating him would up his level of committment? Or is it that you think having a WR like TO would hasten Orton out of town and make us look to a new QB. Either way, I do not see this as a good situation.

 

T.O. is a longshot. But, he could help our team. We'd immediately be a better, more competitive team. That's really all that I care about. What makes T.O. so "out there"? Media interviews?? Gimme a break.

 

No, it isn't the media interviews. Its not the sharpie or pom poms after a TD. These are things I would say are not that out there, especially when it comes to the prima dona position of the WR. What I call "out there" is how he treats his own teamates. Maybe it is because I am in Dallas and get more local stories, but I honestly do not think most realize the extent of what went on here. I am not going to pretend I am at Valley Ranch, but I do hear the "reports", and that is all any of us have to go off of. Per the reports/stories, TO this past season would go out of his way to rip the hell out of Romo all the time in film sessions and meetings. In practice, TO was often seen ripping into Romo. He would call him out and show him up any time he made a mistake, but if anyone was to question him on a play, he would go nuts. He started making a big deal about how Romo was favoring Witten, even though the stats proved Romo threw the majority of balls TO's way. The difference was, a much greater ratio of balls thrown to Witten we caught. There were many studies done, and it was shown that Romo did throw the ball often to TO, but a combo of drops and inability to get open led to a lower number of catches, which was the opposite situation w/ Witten. But all TO cared about was, at the end of the day, he would have X number of catches on the stat sheet, which meant he wasn't getting the ball enough. Never mind that he would catch 3 out of 10 passes that went his direction.

 

And that was Dallas. His antics w/ McNabb in Phily are legendary. Per the reports, he did in Phily what we saw in Dallas too. He created cliques in the locker room, and used that as a wedge against the QB. People talk about a player being a cancer, but I don't think they realize how much a player like TO truly tears a team apart. And that doesn't even touch his calling his QB gay in SF. I just do not understand how anyone can believe TO would be happy w/ Orton when he was so unhappy w/ Garcia, McNabb and Romo, three QBs few could say are anything but better than Orton.

 

Heck, I say bring him in and go hire a counselor if coaching/management can't take the other stuff.

 

Since he tried to kill himself, a counselor would be a good idea, but let another team deal w/ it. Honestly, I just do not think many realize the extent he tears teams apart. You know how Benson used to talk about how Thomas Jones was popular w/ a group of players, and he pitted them against Benson? I have no idea how true that was, but would state that is exactly what TO has done w/ the three teams he has been part of.

[jason]

If you don't think Chad Johnson is a locker room cancer, and a spotlight hog, and in the same mold as TO...you're crazy.

 

Also, as I mentioned, his "drops" are highly over-publicized. I watched several Dallas games this year, and many of the "drops" he was credited with came as a result of being double covered, and a pass coming in less than a perfect spot. I think we'll all see next year that Romo won't be as good, and Trent Edwards will be better.

 

I was really hoping that the Bears would do something daring for a change, make a splash and attempt at being one of the top offenses in the league. TO would have been a big step towards making that happen. He's still one of the best WRs in the league, arguably top five, and his "demise" is greatly overstated.