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I must have read at least a dozen articles the last couple of days that mentioned how T.Owens has thrown his last three starting QBs under the bus at some point. All of them wondering just how a young, inexperienced QB like Trent Edwards can possibly hope to deal with TO.
But, what none of them have mentioned is how, before he "threw them under the bus", TO also helped all three of those QBs become better than they were before their first year playing with him.
In San Francisco, TO was already an established starter when Jeff Garcia took over as the starting QB. Garcia wasn't exactly a kid at that point, but nothing in his career up until then suggested that he was going to be a quality starting QB, let alone a star in the NFL. Yet, within a couple of years, Garcia was a star and he and Owens were one of the most potent passing combinations in the NFL.
Philly fans had booed the selection of Donovan McNabb when he was drafted by the Eagles and it took a couple of years for McNabb to win them over. By the time TO arrived, McNabb had become a pretty good QB, but, despite his ability to produce in Andy Reid's pass-happy system, he hadn't been able to get the Eagles over the hump. With TO, McNabb got his team to the Super Bowl and nearly won it before their much publicized blow up.
In Dallas, TO couldn't help rescue Drew Bledsoe's fast fading career or make Drew Henson a starting caliber NFL QB--hey, the guy doesn't walk on water, even though it may appear that he sometimes thinks he does!--but he did take Tony Romo from being an inexperienced Bill Parcells experiment to a star that is going out with Jessica Simpson. With Romo throwing to TO and Jason Whitten, the Cowboys became one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL and many an "expert's" SB favorites.
Now it is true that TO's outbursts, antics and self-centered approach to the game divided the lockerrooms of all three of those teams and he publicly disparaged all three of those QBs before he left town. But, as many have pointed out, he didn't begin to start trouble until after his first year with those teams and, in each instance, he helped make his three primary starting QBs better than they had been, particularly in his first season working with them. And, all three of them are still pretty good.
Two of those three QBs were first time NFL starters when they played with T.Owens, Garcia and Romo. Despite their inexperience, they had good seasons their first year playing with TO.
In Trent Edwards, T.Owens will again be playing with a young QB who is still developing as a NFL starter. Even though he is older and perhaps has no longer quite as explosive or effective a receiver as he once was, if his previous pattern holds, Owens should help to make Trent Edwards a better QB for the Bills this season. If he does, Owens will be in a position to move on to a bigger contract and more glamorous venue the following year, leaving Edwards, like Garcia, McNabb and Romo, to be a pretty good NFL QB. If he doesn't, TO will be gone from Buffalo, his career pretty much over, and Edwards will be left with his career a questionmark.
However, if commentators are going to point to Terrell Owens' past history as evidence of the doom that now awaits Trent Edwards and his career, Bills fans should take some solace and hope from the fact that, in his first year of working with them, Owens also helped to make all three of his last starting QBs better than they had been previously. Let's hope that this part of TO's past history continues to hold and that he is in a position to move on to "greener pastures" after this coming season (which will mean that he and the Bills will have had a big season), before he can destroy the team and its QB another time.
But, what none of them have mentioned is how, before he "threw them under the bus", TO also helped all three of those QBs become better than they were before their first year playing with him.
In San Francisco, TO was already an established starter when Jeff Garcia took over as the starting QB. Garcia wasn't exactly a kid at that point, but nothing in his career up until then suggested that he was going to be a quality starting QB, let alone a star in the NFL. Yet, within a couple of years, Garcia was a star and he and Owens were one of the most potent passing combinations in the NFL.
Philly fans had booed the selection of Donovan McNabb when he was drafted by the Eagles and it took a couple of years for McNabb to win them over. By the time TO arrived, McNabb had become a pretty good QB, but, despite his ability to produce in Andy Reid's pass-happy system, he hadn't been able to get the Eagles over the hump. With TO, McNabb got his team to the Super Bowl and nearly won it before their much publicized blow up.
In Dallas, TO couldn't help rescue Drew Bledsoe's fast fading career or make Drew Henson a starting caliber NFL QB--hey, the guy doesn't walk on water, even though it may appear that he sometimes thinks he does!--but he did take Tony Romo from being an inexperienced Bill Parcells experiment to a star that is going out with Jessica Simpson. With Romo throwing to TO and Jason Whitten, the Cowboys became one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL and many an "expert's" SB favorites.
Now it is true that TO's outbursts, antics and self-centered approach to the game divided the lockerrooms of all three of those teams and he publicly disparaged all three of those QBs before he left town. But, as many have pointed out, he didn't begin to start trouble until after his first year with those teams and, in each instance, he helped make his three primary starting QBs better than they had been, particularly in his first season working with them. And, all three of them are still pretty good.
Two of those three QBs were first time NFL starters when they played with T.Owens, Garcia and Romo. Despite their inexperience, they had good seasons their first year playing with TO.
In Trent Edwards, T.Owens will again be playing with a young QB who is still developing as a NFL starter. Even though he is older and perhaps has no longer quite as explosive or effective a receiver as he once was, if his previous pattern holds, Owens should help to make Trent Edwards a better QB for the Bills this season. If he does, Owens will be in a position to move on to a bigger contract and more glamorous venue the following year, leaving Edwards, like Garcia, McNabb and Romo, to be a pretty good NFL QB. If he doesn't, TO will be gone from Buffalo, his career pretty much over, and Edwards will be left with his career a questionmark.
However, if commentators are going to point to Terrell Owens' past history as evidence of the doom that now awaits Trent Edwards and his career, Bills fans should take some solace and hope from the fact that, in his first year of working with them, Owens also helped to make all three of his last starting QBs better than they had been previously. Let's hope that this part of TO's past history continues to hold and that he is in a position to move on to "greener pastures" after this coming season (which will mean that he and the Bills will have had a big season), before he can destroy the team and its QB another time.
"Expect rejection, but expect more to overcome it." 
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