POSTED 10:36 a.m. EDT, October 5, 2006
"UNPRECEDENTED" SCENE COMING IN PHILLY
Since the official NFL-licensed buzzword as to the Albert Haynesworth suspension is "unprecedented," we're going to borrow it for a moment (and, hopefully, we won't have to pay a rights fee).
On Sunday, an "unprecedented" scene will unfold in Philadelphia.
Whether it's regarded as beautiful or hideous will be in the eye (or ear) of the beholder (or behearer . . . yeah, it ain't a word but wtf).
Regardless, it will be "unprecedented."
We did a spot earlier this morning with our friends at WIP radio regarding our "Tuna wanted to cut T.O. in September" story, and it's obvious to us that Eagles fans are gearing up for a display aimed at so thoroughly unnerving Owens that he'll ultimately do something that will prompt coach Bill Parcells to cut him in October.
Also, we suggest that the folks with the Guinness Book of World Records get to Philly right now, because on Sunday we'll see a new standard set for the most people ever to simultaneously chant profane and/or obscene words.
"T.O. swallows!" appears to be a popular sentiment, but our money is on a repeated mantra of "F--k you, T.O!" whenever he catches a pass, drops a pass, and/or takes a breath.
Given that the folks at the FCC got their knickers in a knot over a half-second glimpse of Janet Jackson's right breast during halftime of the SUper Bowl, we wonder what they'll have to say about the language that will be broadcast nationally on Sunday, if FOX doesn't take appropriate precautions to block it?
On one hand, the network can argue that it has no control over what members of the public say and do. On the other hand, the network reasonably can foresee that steps need to be taken to insulate viewers from having to hear that stuff.
In our view, FOX is on notice that salty language will be peppered throughout the game, so FOX should be taking steps to ensure that the audience isn't subjected to it. Whether that means leaving the field microphones in the truck or installing soundproofing in the booth from which Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the game is something that the folks at FOX will have to decide.
Then there's the FOX pregame show, during which we're convinced that there will be a few creative signs and a few compelling chants from the open-air throng of folks in the background, who'll surely be reprising some of the phrases heard during the ESPN pregame and postgame on Monday night in Philly, especially since former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson is one of the members of the FOX cast.
As to the folks who'll actually be at the game on Sunday, we strongly advise leaving anyone under 14 at home. In addition to the new vocabulary words that Junior might learn (then again, if he's gone to other Eagles games he already knows them), pills and pill bottles and all sorts of other stuff will be flying through the air. Plus, we believe that there's a legitimate risk of fans storming the field and/or various fights and riots throughout the stands.
As one league insider mentioned to us this morning, the dumbest move of all was the decision of the schedule makers to make the game a 4:15 p.m. EDT affair, giving folks an extra three hours to get lubricated in the lot before kickoff.
And because this promises to be one of the biggest regular-season NFL spectacles we can ever recall, we'll be breaking from our Monday night routine and we'll be charting every second of the broadcast, with smart-### comments from us and from our readers, via a special edition of the PFT Live Blog.
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POSTED 8:28 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 9:15 a.m. EDT, October 5, 2006
TUNA WANTED TO CUT T.O.
It's no secret in league circles that Cowboys coach Bill Parcells didn't want receiver Terrell Owens on his team. Like some of the other moves that have occurred since Parcells became the head coach in Dallas, the acquisition of T.O. occurred without regard to the Tuna's input.
We're now hearing that Parcells actually wanted to include Owens in the final cuts made on September 2, as the 53-man roster was being finalized.
The move would have avoided $5 million in salary owed to Owens for the 2006 season. And it would have made sense at the time, in light of Owens' chronic preseason hamstring issues that now seem like distant memories in the wake of more recent events.
The move also would have saved the team from the fiasco that unfolded last week regarding T.O.'s accidentally intentional drug overdose. And it almost certainly means that at least one of the two will be gone from the organization before next season.
If Owens creates any further distractions, we wouldn't be surprised by an in-season he-goes-or-I-go ultimatum from Parcells to Jones. At some point, Parcells' image and legacy will be tarnished by continuing to put up with the nonsense -- and at some point his legend will forever be cemented if he stands up and says, "I signed on to be the coach of this team, not the guy who carries the shovel behind the elephant."
If it bleeds (or in this case, yaps and OD's), it leads.
