Bayless on T.O.

Now I've generally not been writing about people I don't like or are being overhyped by the media: T.O., Larry Brown, etc. This is especially true in referencing things written about them by writers I don't like. Skip Bayless generally falls under this category. But he has some intelligent things to say about Owens. He thinks the Eagles only way out is to trade Owens. I don't agree at the moment, but he makes a reasonable case. Some notable points:

The fact remains that the NFL Players Association advised Owens not to sign his current seven-year, $49 million contract (including a $10 million signing bonus). But Owens gratefully signed it because: 1) his former agent had blown the free-agent deadline; 2) he had been traded to Baltimore; and 3) he had thrown such a fit until he had been allowed to sign with Philly and play with his dear friend and soul mate, Donovan McNabb.

Once, when I covered Owens' 49ers, a team executive dismissed him with, "He's as dumb as a chair." I disagreed then and do now. Terrell Eldorado Owens has brilliant PR instincts -- governed by deep, dark insecurity. That's right: All his egomaniacal celebrating sometimes masks a shrinking confidence...My theory: Owens always builds in excuses to take the pressure and potential blame off him.

Good stuff.