Terrell Owens Addition Means Bengals Are Going For It
The big news in the world of sports Tuesday was the announcement that perennial All-Pro wide receiver Terrell Owens has decided to join the Cincinnati Bengals. Outside of Cincinnati, the buzz was about how the at-times-fiery Owens will fit in on a team that has its share of players with “issues” in their past. Closer to the team, the buzz was the realization that the team that in the 1990s set a United States professional sports team record for futility over an entire decade is now actually “going for it.”
Owner Mike Brown indicated in a report on Bengals.com that the team’s interest in Owens, with undeniable “baggage” to go along with his Hall-of-Fame resume of on-field achievements, is in part because he and others in the organization have a legitimate belief that this is a team that could win the Super Bowl. For many teams, this is year-in, year-0ut business. For the Cincinnati Bengals, it is virgin territory indeed. Fans who have followed the team for a generation will tell you they have never heard or read such an optimistic outlook from the team owner. Brown acknowledges that the goal every year is to get to the Super Bowl, but during years when you have David Klingler or Akili Smith as your quarterback, deep down you know it isn’t going to happen.
This year, the team that led the NFL in rushing and was number four overall in defense a year ago now has perhaps the best set of receiving talent of any NFL team. Owens joins his reality show bud and homeboy, Chad Ochocinco, along with fellow free-agent newcomer Antonio Bryant. Don’t forget two outstanding rookies, tight end Jermaine Gresham from Oklahoma and slot receiver Jordan Shipley from Texas. On paper, the Bengals have become one of the teams to watch in 2010. The key to it all: quarterback Carson Palmer has to take charge of not only the playcalling and execution of the passing game, but he has to sit on Ochocinco and Owens when they inevitably begin to whine and complain about not getting the ball. He has to make it clear to them, in front of the rest of the team, that it is not about their personal stats and antics. If he can do that successfully, that may be the most important development of the entire year.
Adding a little drama to things: The Bengals open the pre-season on Aug. 8 against one of Owens’ former teams, the Dallas Cowboys. The Bengals hope the season ends near Dallas, where this year’s Super Bowl is being played in suburban Arlington. Is a Dallas-Cincinnati Super Bowl in Arlington a possibility? Perhaps now it is.
