T.O. IS HERE!

Nope, Terrell Owens isn't in town. Not in camp either, since it hasn't started yet. But will he be? Negative. Not happening. Why? Because the real T.O. has taken over, and is calling all the shots, through the media no less, which makes it that much worse.

There're a lot of people sitting back saying, "I told you so." Jeff Garcia... Steve Mariucci... and pretty much every football fan in the Bay Area. Oh, and Ray Lewis, too. But still, the Eagles did what they had to do in addressing probably the biggest weakness that kept them from the Super Bowl. Sure would have looked a lot better now had they won, because at this point, it's becoming more like a no-win. They're not paying him. They're probably not trading him. So he's either not playing, or coming late, probably half-hearted, ready to blame McNabb's velocity for the fact that he's rusty and dropping passes. Given his history, imagine what kind of locker room the Eagles will have after a loss (which is a 50/50 shot of happening on opening night in ATL). And given the Eagle's history, you know they don't do "against the grain" for too long (see Freddie Mitchell and John Welbourn).

Look around, T. There are bridges ablaze at each turn. And you running your mouth on ESPN every other night is a lot more like gasoline than water.

Flashback to a year ago this time. The tension surrounding his destination. The stubborn insistence to have his way, despite his own error, and the ultimate result... getting what he wanted. McNabb and Owens toured the sports channel circuit like 2 buddy-movie stars, doing impressions, on top of the world. McNabb, an easy-going guy in general, seemed extra carefree, even smiling on the field. It was a beautiful thing, finally removing some of the hopes and prayers of every Philadelphia Eagles fan from his shoulders. The big day came - "destiny" is what they called it here in Philly - and with it, returned the tension. Finally, after being so close the past seasons, they were there. You can't run from that kind of pressure, even if you can scramble like Randall (and especially not when you stay in the pocket so long). But Owens again defied the rules, declaring himself healed from an ankle fracture, and turned on one of the most remarkable performances in recent memory. Immediately after this, the finger pointing began, and the bottom slowly began to fall out. They say time heals. In this case, time's only made it worse.

I'm no psychologist, but it seems like when T.O. can't get his way (he really wanted to have his performance go down as one of the greatest Super Bowl victory stories of all time, which would have happened had McNabb not gotten tired, according to Owens), he lashes out at specific targets (the media, the QB, the management, etc). In doing so, he only ends up creating problems for himself. T, I think you need some counseling, brotha. And not the kind you're getting from your new agent. Remember, he gets 15% of that new contract that you're not going to get.