T.O. A big boost for Ravens,Shouldnt cause Problems!!

[ravens_beat_you]

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Last week in this space, we suggested that one remedy for the possible loss of tailback Jamal Lewis to federal drug charges would be the upgrade of the Baltimore Ravens' passing game, specifically in the addition of wide receiver Terrell Owens.


Uh, you're welcome, Ozzie Newsome.


Just kidding, of course, since Newsome is a whole lot smarter than are we. But the acquisition of Owens by The Wizard of Oz in a Thursday afternoon trade clearly is a sign the Ravens intend to better balance their offense in 2003, whether Lewis is around or not. The team's wide receiver corps ranked among the worst in the NFL, filled with retreads and young players who had not fulfilled their potential, and Owens is a pretty dramatic way to elicit a quick fix.



If quarterback Kyle Boller shows improvement in his second season, and Owens shows he can behave himself, the Ravens can be Super Bowl contenders. Of that double-edged sword, the latter part of the equation is the more essential, and that's where the veteran leaders on the Baltimore roster, like Ray Lewis, will be key.


Any team that dealt for Owens -- and the only other franchise believed to have been in the hunt was Philadelphia -- had to be convinced of the structure in its locker room and the collective strength of its character. From talking with some Eagles officials and coaches, it's clear they believed that quarterback Donovan McNabb and others would help control the well-documented Owens petulance. And, obviously, the Ravens feel the same way.


Said one team official: "Everybody knows who runs the show here. This is still Ray Lewis' team and Terrell can't be dumb enough to think otherwise. He's going to now be surrounded by strong-willed people. He doesn't have to be the leader here. All he has to do is follow the lead and make plays."


There are certain to be times when Owens, who has averaged more than 80 receptions over the past five seasons, won't be happy not getting the football. Even with Owens on board, the Baltimore offense isn't suddenly going to become a latter-day version of the run-and-shoot and, let's face it, Boller remains in his apprenticeship. But the Ravens, who had more than enough salary cap room to take on Owens' current contract as is, will quickly demonstrate their ardor by opening negotiations on a long-term deal. They will do everything in their power, but only within reason, to make Owens feel at home.


Most important, they will subtly hint as to who runs the locker room, and let Owens know in their own way precisely what is expected of him.


Getting a playmaker of Owens' stature for a second-round draft choice is a steal. But the 49ers were hell-bent on ending the tempestuous relationship and, when the Eagles would not deal their first-round pick, the huckstering of Owens became essentially a giveaway. But even at a bargain price, the deal only works if Owens works to exorcise his demons, to allow the spotlight to find him rather than forever seeking it out.


We've got a hunch that, if the heretofore incorrigible Owens doesn't commit himself to snuffing out those demons, the Ravens won't have to hire an exorcist. Ray Lewis, either literally or figuratively, will knock them out of his new teammate. There are precious few personages in the NFL who draw the kind of respect that the Ravens passionate middle 'backer merits from everyone around him.


Owens would be wise to assimilate that lesson the easy way






Its a obvious improvement....numbers dont lie ...just dont look at the Ravens as a easy to beat team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/images2/teaser_pics/3831mm.jpg

[Penny]

yah ravens good now

[UcanHateMeNow]

According to the ESPN interview he had earlier tonight T.O. was quoted as saying..."Im not going to go to Baltimore and pretend like Im happy to be there when Im not..."


Well Well Baltimore fans looks like you've already bit off more than you can chew....*sniff* *sniff* whats that i smell ...thats a HOLDOUT....

[7 National Championships]

Who cares if Owens go to the ratbirds... TO got fed up with Garcia and he was a good QB. How will he react when there is NO qb?

[Penny]

yah i saw the interview on sportsceentre n he is NOT happy at all
i always liked him in philly

also baltimore said they would consider tradin him, but not for anyhting less than what they gave up!

[ravens_beat_you]

I saw a reprt on ESPN and it said Owens isnt unhappy about being in Baltimore he is unhappy he didnt get his big signing bonus....they also said nobody is going to give Baltimore a 1st rounder for him and there is a 99% chance Baltimore will offer him a big long term deal and he will be happy....

[Rebels10]

He is really upset! He really wanted to be the number 1 guy at Philly and does not like being in Balt.

[ravens_beat_you]

If you listen to him...this is all just a contract dispute.....He is stuck in Baltimore and he will report for training camp..or be fined, he might not realize it now but he is in a much better situation in Baltimore....he will be the go to guy in the passing game...and Baltimores QB isnt run crazy so more chances to catch a pass and Baltimore has a much much much better D then Philly and a more rounded Offence...they have a real running back instead of 6 as a commitee...this will all die down and he will be fine....bottom line Ravens are not gonna trade him for less than a 1st rounder and a player....quality WR .....thats not gonna happen....and TO stated Baltimore was an option and a top option at that......just because he is blowing smoke doesnt mean anything...come season time the Ravens fans will have forgotten about this and we will be better for it....

[7 National Championships]

You're right, the ratbirds QB isnt run crazy... hes not pass crazy either though

[b0s!]

he was going to the eagles, but the niners dealt him to the ravens. he wants out of bmore and in philly.

[Rebels10]

I really wish the Ravens would cut him--not bc i the for the Ravens, but i want TO out of the league...i know it will never happen, but i am sick of him.

He ran Mooch out of San Fran, then he pretty much runs Garcia out (i know the contract had a lot to do with it, but TO never said anything nice about him), screams at an o-cooridanator during the Vikes game (he dropped three balls and had one ripped out of his hands--ala...Moss). He complianed the entire year and i am just sick of him.

I loved it when his agent forgot to turn in the paperwork. I mean did he really think the niners were going to do something nice for him! HAhAhA....granted the niners should have fined and suspended him at least once this season. The niners went with the better deal...i know a 2nd round pick is not much, but they didnt care.

The Eagles offered a 5th and James Thrash...the Ravens a second round pick...i would have taken the second rounder too...esp with this years WR talent in the draft.

[Bears34]

It is much more than a contract dispute.


TO chose Philly over Bmore for a reason. He DIDNT want to go to Bmore. Bmore already said they would rework his deal ,but that isnt what he wants. He wants to play in Philly.

[ravens_beat_you]

He will for sure be playing in Baltimore Next year ,
And he will change his tune ...because Baltimore can ruin his carreer
He is under contract for 3 more years at a pitifull salary compared to other top WR's .....he is going to have to answer to his new teamates as well as the fans.....He also said Baltimore was a choice in where he wanted to go in the first place...i think he is most upset because he wanted the big payday and him and his agent thought he was about to get that from Philly...this will die down and everything will be fine...the Ravens are going to waive there right for a physical and the trade will not be recinded .....the Players asst. has never been able to overturn a ruling like this and it wont start now...T.O.'s agent messed up thats the bottom line.

[Revengel]

I'm just checking...

So why do you want this guy on your team? People thought Jeff George was bad... :roll:

[Bears34]

Thats my point also. He can never say he loves Bmore. He can never say Bmore was his first choice. He is always going to resent being there. And all of his teamates know he didnt even want to play with them until he was held hostage and forced to.

I dont think the Ravens will get his full potential.

[ravens_beat_you]

I think the players might understand the business part of it....it is all about money ....you get him a new contract thats like the one he was going to sign in Philly and you start fixing things from there....and lets not forget the big time cure for all the BS would be .....WINNING!!!!
If the Ravens come out of the Gates and start winning early that will solve alot of problems .....and T.O might be a bit of a head case but if you think Ray Lewis is going to take crap on his team you are crazy....He did say Baltimore was a choice for him....he was just upset because he thought he had this big payday with Philly...He didnt get along with Garcia because Garcia is set in his ways...he is 34 now and pretty much set ...while Boller is a young 22 year old guy and i think he can be tought all over again....and there is a old saying..."Great Receivers have a way of making average Quarterbacks look great" Im not saying Boller is Average but i seen the guy play and he has the tools...

[ambrosio4]

What "tools" specifically GM? I grow tired of people that act like GM's/scouts and know what to look for when scouting a team/player, just because they are inherently rooting for that player to do well. But since you see something, why don't you let the rest of us in on it? (hurry start looking on the web...)

That old saying? Where do you get this cr-ap from? You hear the old saying "Not guilty doesn't equal innocent"? or "a bad qb can make everyone look bad"?

If you are happy you got TO, then great, but quit trying to sound like an NFL insider in the process like that other Raven Jackhole that used to pollute these forums.

[rave_nomad]

Terrel Owens is a great WR..the numbers dont lie......Most people would agree jeff garcia is a pretty good QB....WHat if the only reason he was good was because of T.O.??? Maybe he is just an average QB?? I guess we will find out in Cleveland next year...when he wont have a T.O. To throw to... all i am saying is the Jury is still out on Kyle Boller....He was a rookie last year and he was showing some good stuff....a rookie had the Ravens in 1st place...b4 he got hurt...with the Ravens Running game they dont need a Joe montana.....You think in John Elways last years with the Broncos he was winning games for the team?? Nope ...look at the stats Terrell Davis was winning the games.....QB's with run support have a better chance at being great QB's.....when the Ravens Play next year and line up Terrell Owens and travis taylor and todd heap ...people will have to pay attention to the pass...all Boller has to do is get it there.....Jamal Lewis's Running should loosen up the passing game and vise versa....

I heard 5 different people on different Sports talk shows say the "Great receivers make average QB's look good".......alot of people say that ...its kind of a Mantra....but since we dont know if Boller is already a good QB without a guy like Terrell Owens ...it doent hurt to have a guy with his ability's on the team at the other end of those passes!!!

[ambrosio4]

rave_nomad, ravens_beat_you, dog trainer, whatever you're calling yourself today.....

Let me flip the script and what if TO was a product of the West Coast Offense, and Garcia, while disrespected, made terrell look better then he really was? Bill Walsh himself had disparaging remarks about TO, and before you say "well he' 49er Mgnt", he is ending his tenure with the club, so he has nothing to gain from it.

Now let's assume TO is this bigtime reciever you say he is, and you want to draw parallels with John Elway (please), who was John Elways big time reciever when he won superbowls? None, he had average recievers that he made look good. Point being, according to your logic, the Ravens don't need TO. Did he win games at the end of his career, see his infamous first down dive in the Super Bowl, and let me know how crucial that was....

You are right about one thing, All Boller has to do it get it there. That's all. But if it was that simple, you and me would just be "getting it there", and not posting on this forum.

I'm sure you hear a lot of that banter in Baltimore right now to the tune of the importance of a WR (did you last year, or during Lewis' run), but are you honestly keeping track of the number of times people say it? Do you have little lines keeping track? Or maybe little happy faces?

You better hope the Ravens, if they keep TO, hit the floor running and open up winning, because if they lose at the beginning of the year, and the finger pointing begins.... Well you know the old saying "Careful what you ask for, you might just get it".

P.S. I'll keep my ears pealed listening to espn radio/rome for that phrase.....

Oh yeah, I also heard something to the tune of how do you think current Raven players feel that can't get extensions, rework,etc. and here's TO with mgnt offering to rework his deal, and still openly turning his nose up at you guys....? Makes for great chemistry if you ask me....

[Bears34]

just because you are a great player doesnt mean your going to win anything anyway. No matter how talented you are some people just arent winners. Especially head cases like TO.


My prediction is his swollen head will nullify any asset he can be to the Ravens. Just wait till the first time he only gets 3 catches and Jamal Lewis carries the ball 30 times one Sunday.

[rave_nomad]

I think the Ravens will hit the ground running ..they have never not been ready for a season or game under billick...this is so passe ....I do beleive T.O. will catch alot of balls...and the Ravens will win early and often and this wont even be an issue....Shannon Sharpe is a big head case and he did well in Baltimore ...Ray Lewis is a head case and he excells in Baltimore..the point is Brian Billck doesnt take crap...and just because Jamal Lewis gets the ball 30 times doesnt mean T.O. wont get the ball 10 ....since Marcus Robinson was let go and signed with The Vikings i think the Ravens are heavily counting on Terrell Owens and he has stats to back up how good he is...I think if he shuts up and plays he will catch alot of passes...the teams the Ravens play are still going to have to focus on Jamal Lewis which will open up passing lanes and big gains for T.o.
I think winning cures all ...and this season the ravens will have alot of cure stock piled.....Good luck the rest of the NFL!! Look out!

[Revengel]

TO is now an Eagle.

So...did the Drama die down yet?