Six months after the controversial commercial featuring Terrell Owens and “Desperate Housewives'” Nicollette Sheridan aired prior to ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” the Philadelphia Eagles find themselves in a position very similar to Sheridan’s.
Only they don’t seem to be as desperate to keep him, or as appealing to Owens.
The commercial shows Sheridan attempting to seduce Owens into staying with her rather than compete in the upcoming game.
It concludes as Sheridan removes her towel, much to the pleasure of Owens, and the two happily embrace.
Since his April announcement that he would hold out until his seven-year, $49 million dollar contract was re-worked, the Eagles have done very little to keep Owens satisfied.
Considering what he has done to help the franchise, Philadelphia should be desperate to keep him in an Eagles uniform.
In his 2004 debut as a member of the Eagles, he set franchise records for receiving touchdowns (14), 100-yard games in a season (7), as well as consecutive 100-yard games (5).
His ability to attract attention to himself against opposing defenses has made the formerly mediocre receiving unit of the Eagles appear to be respectable.
The 2004 Eagles offense, ignited by Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and the addition of Terrell Owens, noticeably raised their pass yards-per-game by 60 yards, from 188.8 in 2003 to 248.7 in 2004.
Owens is arguably the top receiver in all of the NFL. His 2004 stats were impressive-1,200 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns in only 14 games. Isaac Bruce collected 1,296 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games for the St. Louis Rams.
In 2004, Bruce made a $4.7 million base salary from the Rams. The $660,000 base salary Owens received from the Eagles is only 14 percent of Bruce’s, although their statistics are nearly equal.
The disruptive acts that sometimes overshadow his extraordinary talent seemed to only provide the Eagles with much-needed enthusiasm and personality, and Owens’ presence must be attributed to the Eagles finally getting past the NFC Championship and into the Super Bowl.
His dedication to the team was magnified when he chose to disobey doctor’s orders and play in the Super Bowl, despite breaking his leg only six weeks prior to the championship game.
Even with the pressure of performing at the top of his game and returning at full force so quickly from such a severe injury, along with the psychological concerns of re-injuring his leg, Owens still caught 9 passes for 122 yards, giving the Eagles a chance in their close loss to the Patriots.
Philadelphia needs Terrell Owens.
He was the missing piece they needed to get themselves to the next level. Negotiating to give him a more deserving contract should be the top offseason agenda item for the Eagles.
If they expect a return to the Super Bowl in 2006, they should do all they can to keep Terrell Owens on the field as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.