As you’ve probably heard by now, it looks as though Terrell Owens will be a Bengal in 2010. And when T.O. does something — anything — the world reacts. Start by reading my reaction, and then check these hot links out, too:
+ Gregg Doyel at CBSSports.com is pissed at the Bengals:
I have never been afraid to dislike a team. If you’ve read me at all, you know that. Having said so, I’ve never disliked a team as much as I dislike the Bengals at this moment. They better cut some guys, or we’re going to have a problem.
+ ESPN.com’s James Walker has five reasons why T.O. will work in Cincinnati. The most interesting reason is Walker’s last:
5. The AFC North has secondary questions
Analysis: The Baltimore Ravens’ secondary is banged up. The Cleveland Browns have young corners and safeties, and the Pittsburgh Steelers still have work to do to get back to their 2008 form. Adding Owens will help strengthen Cincinnati and take advantage of other division teams’ weaknesses.
+ But Walker also wonders whether Owens will start in Cincinnati. Remember, the Bengals also added Antonio Bryant earlier in the offseason.
It will be interesting to see how Bryant reacts if/when he’s relegated to the bench. Bryant came to Cincinnati to be the starter, and getting reduced opportunities as a No. 3 receiver isn’t what Bryant signed up for.
+ Making things easier for Owens is that Bryant could be headed for the PUP list.
+ ESPN’s KC Joyner, who is clearly much smarter than Sean Tomlinson or myself (I guess that isn’t saying much), says the numbers reveal that Owens won’t be very effective this year:
When Cincinnati brought in Bryant, they were taking a chance he would give them off-field headaches in exchange for the on-field aspirin his metrics said he was capable of bringing. In the case of Owens, those off-field headaches are just as much of a concern but the numbers say he isn’t going to deliver the aspirin the Bengals need when it comes to beating top-level competition.
+ CBSSports.com’s Clark Judge doesn’t have a positive outlook on the situation either. He fears Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Bryant won’t be able to get along:
Look, the problem here is that it’s not just T.O.; it’s T.O. in Cincinnati where you have two guys cut from the same mold. Ochocinco likes the spotlight as much as Owens, and he’ll do anything … and I mean anything … to get it. So you have two guys playing the same position, demanding one football and playing to one camera, and that sure sounds like trouble waiting to happen — with Lewis and Palmer the first casualties.
+ Yahoo! Shutdown Corner has a look at Ochocinco’s excited Tweets.
+ Gregg Rosenthal at ProFootballTalk wonders if Owens will be too motivated to reach the $2 million worth of incentives in his contract.
+ The guys at Cincy Jungle note that if Owens hits said incentives, the Cincinnati offence can dominate. (But just because incentives exist doesn’t mean they’re realistically reachable.)
+ The guys at Stripe Hype are “anxcited (anxious but excited) about all things T.O.”
+ Oh, and ESPN.com has video of Ochocinco discussing the signing:
