Terrell Owens was wearing a red buffalo, not a silver star, on his helmet during Sunday night's Hall of Fame Game, but his mind hasn't quite made the connection yet. In an interview with Albert Breer of the Sporting News, T.O. said that "it was like I was supposed" to be in Dallas and that he felt like everything could have worked out for him if he returned to the Cowboys. What he didn't count on, though, was Jerry Jones feeling otherwise.
"You feel like you're being lied to, it's just disappointing," Owens said. "I think he knows what he did. We had a conversation earlier, when I first got there, and he had some story he had told me. And all I can say is, 'Jerry, you ran for the woods.' "
Asked to explain, Owens repeated himself: "Jerry, you ran for the woods."
The clear implication is that when Double J tells a story you don't want to be the guy described as running for the woods. Breer writes that Jones grimaced when told of T.O.'s words, and then went into his spiel about creating opportunities for other receivers. That's not quite the truth, because Jones did run for the woods. But it bears mentioning that no man should ever be complimented for doing something stupid when turning and running is a perfectly acceptable choice.
Why wouldn't Jones be terrified by the thought of another season with Owens? This year's Cowboys may be a little low on wow factor, but, win or lose, they aren't likely to embarrass the owner in his new palace. The idea that this wasn't about Owens is silly, not when he remains a drag on cap space and when his issues with his teammates have been as well documented as Tony Romo's breakup with Jessica Simpson, but it is the smart way of handling T.O. questions and moving on in one fell swoop
Owens would be wise to take the same course. He's in a different situation now, and, even come winter, Buffalo's not a bad place for him to be. They're desperate for the attention that he's brought with him, they're willing to ignore every black mark on his resume and there's no chance they won't devise their offense around him. That's all a guy in his position could hope for right now, which to his bizarre way of seeing the world, means that Dallas is all you think about.
