Eagles owner admits signing T.O. was a mistake
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) – Terrell Owens taught Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie a lesson: Character is as important as talent. In his annual state-of-the-team address Wednesday, Lurie acknowledged that acquiring Owens was a mistake.
“I would not do it again,” Lurie said. “You look back on it – one year great, the second year a disaster. Nobody should be able to be as disruptive and really cut the energy of the team down … . I think we all learned from that.”
In his first year, Owens helped the Eagles reach their first Super Bowl since the 1980 season. But in his second, the intractable wide receiver was a major disruption. The Eagles endured a dismal, injury-plagued 6-10 season, and Owens’ tenure in Philadelphia ended bitterly.
Lurie said he has also learned lessons from the previous two seasons, outside of the T.O. debacle.
Last year, the Steelers lost three straight – and were 7-5 – before winning their final four regular-season games. They followed by winning four straight in the playoffs, capped by a victory over Seattle in the Super Bowl.
The season before, the Patriots team that beat the Eagles in the 2005 Super Bowl went 14-2 that season, but had overcome key injuries in the process.
“It’s the high-character players,” Lurie said. “On paper you wouldn’t say they’d win Super Bowls like they did. … If you don’t have the chemistry, the talent and the help, with high-character people, you’re not going to survive those downturns in the middle of the season.”
However, Lurie said that doesn’t mean he will change his overall approach.
“I’ll always try to be aggressive and take risks and be willing to make mistakes. Yet at the same time when we’re in the draft room or approaching free agency or picking up players or trading for players, character is probably No. 1,” Lurie said.
“If you don’t get past the character test, the teamwork test, you’re not going to be on the Philadelphia Eagles.”
In 1994, Lurie took a risk when he bought Eagles for a reported $185 million, and he gambled when he hired Andy Reid – the Packers’ quarterbacks coach and had never reached the coordinator level in the NFL – to be head coach.
Other risks include drafting Donovan McNabb in 1999, despite the public’s clamoring for running back Ricky Williams. The Eagles’ first major free-agent signing under Reid was right tackle Jon Runyan, who hasn’t missed a game since he joined the team.
But Lurie knows every risky move won’t work out as hoped.
“If you want to be aggressive, you’re going to make mistakes,” Lurie said. “You don’t want to be a risk-averse franchise – that’s not how you win big. You take your shots. You just try to be smart, rational and hope you have a good batting average.”
NOTES: Eagles defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley is one of only four first-round picks that have yet to sign a contract. “There’s no excuse for an agent not coming to terms at this point,” Lurie said. “Most of the first-round picks are already signed. We always just give fair value of where the pick lies. It’s not rocket science. You just be very fair. That’ s always been the case.” … Running back Brian Westbrook and linebacker Shawn Barber were both sick Wednesday and did not practice. Other players who did not practice: receiver Todd Pinkston (Achilles’ tendon), running back Ryan Moats (knee) and receiver Jeremy Bloom (hamstring).