Terrell Owens. There is a lot we can say about him. We can talk about how productive of a football player he was and how he was the guy that was literally the talk of defensive meetings and was always the guy that you had to try to take away but it seemed impossible or, we can talk Terrell Owens, the guy that was labeled as an issue in the locker room, the guy that bashed his teammates, talk down on his quarterbacks, be outspoken which would get him into trouble and he would also be labeled as a cancerous guy in the locker room. There’s no denying the great player he was. Now, the big question is this: Is he worthy of an induction into “Football Heaven” as Cris Carter called it?
I do feel Terrell Owens deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. The numbers don’t lie and they never will. He’s a six-time pro bowler and he’s second all-time in receiving yards with 15,934 and he’s third all-time in touchdowns by a receiver with 153. He was a 6’3, 220-pound receiver that was as complete of a guy playing the position that I’ve seen play the position of a receiver. He was quick guy that was a threat whether it was short, intermediate (over the middle) and he could affect the game and have an impact as a deep threat and no matter where the ball was placed or what down it was, once the football was in his hands, he always made some noise with it. He was very attentive to his craft and his route running and he always wanted to run his routes perfectly and consistently. He had some of the best hand-eye coordination I’ve ever seen for a wide receiver and he was as sure-handed as they came. T.O. was the number one option for a majority of the quarterbacks he played with and rightfully so because you knew something big was going to happen when he touched the football. I was really impressed with how he had the ability to make defenders miss in the open field and how he turned his speed up in space. He always wanted the football and was always a big impact on an offense. From 2000-10, the man who seemed to be unstoppable caught 856 passes for 12,627 yards and 123 touchdowns; during his incredible seven-year peak between his age 27 and 34 seasons, he averaged 82 catches, 1,220 yards, and 12 touchdowns per year.
Terrell did have the “diva attitude” and the touchdown celebrations could be the reason why he isn’t enshrined in Canton but to me, those actions off the field shouldn’t have anything to do with what he accomplished on the field. He’s by far the most dominant receiver I’ve seen next to Randy Moss who will probably be inducted into the Hall next summer. Terrell Owens deserves it. The numbers are there and he was by far the best wide receiver once he hit his prime.
