LestersLegends.com

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I’d be fooling myself if I thought that Terrell Owens would simply disappear into the sunset. Even when he retires someday, I’m certain we’ll hear about some reality show. Maybe he’ll make a DVD showing him working out in his driveway. Maybe he’ll try playing soccer…oops…wrong Wide Re-Diva. Whatever is the next step in his journey, T.O. will be certain to bring attention to himself.
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The title question was intended for his football career. After his surgery for a torn ACL, T.O. body could ironically close the door an his prolific NFL career. Don’t think his mouth is off the hook though. When he is ultimately healthy enough to return, the knee could take the blame, but it may be his mouth that actually keeps him from adding to his 1,078 receptions, 15,934 yards, or 153 receiving touchdowns.
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He has a long road to recovery ahead of him. We know T.O. has beat he odds before recovery from an injury, but that was a lifetime (or seven years) ago. T.O. will turn 38 in December. While he keeps himself in terrific shape, the body is slower to recover when you’re nearing your forties. Just ask Brett Favre (had to work him in there because he has to be itching to be talked about).
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It would be one thing if he had a team to come back to. Nobody is going to rush right out there to add an injured aging receiver, especially one with T.O.’s track record. Perhaps the perfect situation arises late in the year where a likely playoff team is ravaged with injury at the receiver position. Say what you want about Owens, but his ability has never been a question. Of course you have to worry if his arrival would have a negative impact on his new club.
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I’m not going to count T.O. out and close the door on his NFL career, but I can suggest you avoid him in your fantasy football drafts.
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Also check out:

• 2011 Early Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• 2011 Early Fantasy Football RB Rankings
• 2011 Early Fantasy Football WR Rankings

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It’s Thanksgiving time, and what better way to thank my wonderful readers than to run a contest with a cool prize. The prize, is a sweet fantasy football shirt from SMW Clothing. Not only can you beat all of your friends in fantasy every week, but you can look good doing it.
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So how do you win the contest? Simple. Whoever guesses the combined yardage that Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco have against the Jets on Thanksgiving night without going over wins. No repeat answers.
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So leave a comment with your best guess and be sure to check out SMW Clothing.

Image courtesy of Icon SM

Well, T.O. found a new home again. This time he won’t be the WR with the biggest mouth on his team. That honor belongs to new teammate Chad Ochocinco. The signing shouldn’t hurt Ocho’s fantasy numbers too severely. Antonio Bryant stands to lose a significant portion of his looks though. Rookie TE Jermaine Gresham could see fewer passes over the middle and in the red zone because of the signing. Carson Palmer’s fantasy value gets a little bump. The best thing to come of this will be the drama that ensues from having Ocho and T.O. paired up.

Image courtesy of Icon SMI

Terrell Owens has a famous line “I love me some me”. NFL teams, however, have shown T.O. little love as the petulant WR (Wide ReDiva) has yet to find after his one year surprise stint in Buffalo.

He did not have a typical T.O. season catching just 55 passes for 829 yards and 5 TDs. He added 54 rushing yards and a TD. While 883 total yards and 6 TDs won’t turn any heads, it is good for about 7.8 fantasy points per game in non-PPR leagues.

Considering he played in Buffalo’s stagnant offense, those numbers were actually pretty good. Perhaps more importantly, T.O. did not have any issues with his teammate. He was in the worst situation of his career and he handled it like a professional. Is he a new person? No, not entirely, but he may have come to the realization that his career is winding down. If he wants to add to his numbers, putting him over the 15,000 yard mark, he has to play nice.

While he isn’t the same force that he once was, he can still help some teams. Here’s a look at some teams that would benefit from signing T.O.

Arizona – With Boldin gone, he can add the missing physical element. Fitz can still be Fitz. Breaston can remain the deep threat, and Doucet and company can wait a year for their chance.

Atlanta – Michael Jenkins is decent, but T.O. would be an upgrade at WR2.

Carolina – Steve Smith could clearly use some help.

Cleveland – They need to add talent. Period.

Denver – They could use his talent, though if they wanted a diva they could have kept Marshall.

Detroit – Imagine trying to tackle Megatron and T.O.? Nate Burleson is solid, but he’d make a better WR3.

Houston – Ditto Detroit, but substitute Andre Johnson for Megatron and Kevin Walter for Burleson.

Jacksonville –  Mike Sims-Walker fell off the map in the latter part of the 2009 season. T.O. would help alleviate some of the defensive pressure on him.

Miami – Davone Bess could move to the slot and Marshall and T.O. would form a physical 1-2 punch.

New England – They can deal with characters. T.O.’s issue are football related, which is what Bill Belichick knows. He certainly has more left in the tank than Torry Holt.

Oakland – Jason Campbell could use one legitimate NFL WR.

San Diego – What better way to pressure Vincent Jackson into working on a deal than bringing in T.O. to let him know you’re willing to move on. Even if V-Jax signs, T.O. would still improve their WR corps. They essentially ruled him out though.

St. Louis – Sam Bradford could use T.O. as a safety net.

Tampa Bay – They are working on a youth movement, but T.O. could show the youngsters a thing or two about preparation.

Washington – Reunited and it feels so good. If McNabb and T.O. could truly put the past behind them, he would instantly become the Skins best WR.

I’d say the Bears, but I think he and Cutler would clash. Plus, he isn’t a major upgrade over what they had. Pittsburgh would be another decent option, but they are still trying to recover from Big Ben’s PR hit.

Of the teams listed, I think Atlanta is the best fit. Tony Gonzalez’s window is short. They have a QB that could handle T.O. He likes the South. I think it would work.

Chad Johnson doesn’t have much pull after all. Despite lobbying for the Bengals to sign T.O., they opted for Antonio Bryant instead. He’s a much younger option than T.O., but I’m not sure it’s a deal I would have done. Bryant got a four-year, $28 million deal. He’s had a couple of nice years, but for the most part has been underwhelming.

His fantasy value increases though. Carson Palmer is a major upgrade for Bryant. Assuming he’s healthy, he should be a nice #3 or #4 WR. I’m expecting around 1000 yards and 5-7 TDs.

By now I’m sure you’re well aware that Terrell Owens will not be back in Buffalo. He was not very productive (55 catches, 829 yards, TD), but he did not have a lot to work with. He should be given a little credit for not having a typical T.O. moment. 

The question is where does T.O. go next?

Baltimore seems like a logical choice given their needs. I just don’t think they’ll bring him in. They have a young QB in Joe Flacco that doesn’t need to deal with T.O.’s drama. They’ll address their deficiencies at WR elsewhere. 

Carolina could use a WR opposite of Steve Smith, but I’m not sure their egos would allow them to play opposite one another.

The Bears could work possibly, but they have a stable of young WRs. Cutler has the arm strength to please T.O., but they would be bound to clash.

The Bengals could possibly work. They are open to any type of personality. It would be interesting to see Chad Johnson and T.O. on the same team, but the WR formerly known as Ochocinco  could find a way to make it work for him, at least initially. I’d pity Carson Palmer.

Detroit is bad enough that they may be willing to take the risk. Matthew Stafford has a big arm. Trying to cover Megatron and T.O. would be difficult.

Could the Patriots add him as another reclamation project? If anyone can put T.O. in his place it would be Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Randy Moss would probably welcome the attention he’d get from defenses. 

The choices are limited. When you consider he’s already worn out his welcome in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas, that’s to be expected. He still has the ability. My best guess for his 2010 home is Cincinnati.

Where do you think he’ll surface?

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For years the Bills have needed to put a solid #2 opposite of Lee Evans to take away some of the pressure opposing defenses put on him.  One again they didn’t do that this offseason.  Instead they added a #1 WR in T.O. that will move Lee Evans to the #2 role, which is fine by Evans and his fantasy owners.  Now if you try to shut down Evans’ deep route T.O. will kill you across the middle.  If you try to take that away, Evans will burn you deep. 

Evans was decent last year with 63 catches for 1017 yards and 3 TDs.  His career high is 82 receptions, with 2008 being his second highest total.  Clearly he is not a PPR league value.  With T.O. on board he won’t have to deal with Safety help as frequently.  He should be able to get deep more consistently.  I still think he’s a all or nothing type players and while he’ll finish will impressive numbers, he will frustrate fantasy owners more than he pleases them.  He’ll go somewhere in the fifth or sixth round.  If you draft him, try and get a steady producer to compliment him.  I’m expecting 65 catches for 1000 yards and 6 TDs.