SIDELINE PATROL: Owens was not Cowboys' problem

Terrell Owens has been marked by controversy essentially since he entered the NFL.

Wednesday, T. O. was cut by the Cowboys because the quarterback he took up for couldn’t handle him continuing to be a bigger star than he and that means a lot in Dallas where you wear a celestial on your head.

Owens was released amid public differences with several teammates including quarterback Tony Romo. The Cowboys failed to make the playoffs last season and many blame it on friction in the locker room. It was said that Romo had a closer relationship with tight end Jason Witten and looked to him as a better option in the passing game causing Owens to bring teams’ dispute into the media spotlight.

That is something Owens is used to doing. This is a man that probably owns half of ESPN’s greatest touchdown celebrations. T.O. always knows where the camera is and wants his attention. All celebrities do even if they have to stomp on the Dallas star in the middle of Cowboy Stadium.

Now that Owens was released some may believe that the Cowboys will rise to the top. It is not going to happen. Look at who the Cowboys have kept.

Head coach Wade Phillips got his start following in the footsteps of his father, Bum Phillips, getting his first head coaching job as the Saints interim coach when his father stepped down. To date. Phillips has never won a playoff game despite landing a  NFL-record 13 Cowboys in the Pro Bowl in 2007.

Witten is only the tenth tight end in history to post three consecutive seasons with at least 60 receptions catching 87 in 2004, eleventh most in history. To date, Witten has never won a playoff game despite setting a team-record for most receptions by a Cowboys tight end.

Romo is the guy that split with Carrie Underwood to  date Jessica Simpson. The week before the most important game of his life, he vacationed with her in Mexico. He tanked in the playoffs the next weekend much like he siphoned the year before when he bobbled the snap for what would have been the winning field goal. He wasn’t drafted and was signed by the Cowboys as a free agent. He would have been cut had Quincy Carter not pulled a Micheas Phelps and somehow became T.O.’s quarterback. To date, Romo has never won a playoff game.

Owens has been a part of playoff wins, even helping his team make it to a Super Bowl. He is not the problem.

He may be a headache, spoiled, arrogant and the list goes on but he is an impact player that can change the outcome of a game. He is a physical specimen and someone will quickly pick him up. Just listen to what another former spontaneous wide receiver said.

“If Charles Manson could play football, believe me, somebody would try to sign him,” Keyshawn Johnson said.

Owens wants somebody that can get him the ball. That may well be another Alabama native JaMarcus Russell of the Oakland Raiders. Can you imagine the bling on the sidelines with Owens, Russell and Darren McFadden. They would definitely ‘lay the wood’ in Oak Town.