[QUOTE=FRPLG]What does this even mean? What clause? TO is a punk who acted like a jerk. Yeah he has the right to be a total ass but I wish the NFL and teams would stand up to this kind of BS a just let the jerk sit out. That would have been the best. I guess the saying about the squeaky wheel is right. The only good thing that comes out of this is that he can go to Philly and be a poison there. Good riddance Philly.[/QUOTE]


What it really came down to is, San Fran tried to trade a free agent, they had no buisness doing what they did, show me another free agent who's team try's to trade him, and send's him some where he doesn't want to go, and see if they don't act the same. TO is outspoken, but he's never struck me as a bad guy, his antic's tick off a lot of people, but I can show you a lot of player's with much worse resume's than TO, and you can start with Lewis.

Actually they way I understand it was that while he and his agent were definitely in the wrong the 49ers were also arguably culpable to a smaller degree. The deal was cut becuase the NLFPA was able to make a stretched legal argument about expectations of being a free agent. To me it rang hollow but I guess both the 49ers and Baltimore were afraid they'd lose so they cut the deal. In the end I don't blame TO for the contract issues as this is what agents are for but he certaintly could have dealt with the situation in a more professional and mature way and I bet he'd even have gotten the same result. Just another example of someone not accepting resonsibility for themselves and it ticks me off. I disliked him before...now I totally disdain him.

[QUOTE=offiss]What it really came down to is, San Fran tried to trade a free agent, they had no buisness doing what they did, show me another free agent who's team try's to trade him, and send's him some where he doesn't want to go, and see if they don't act the same. TO is outspoken, but he's never struck me as a bad guy, his antic's tick off a lot of people, but I can show you a lot of player's with much worse resume's than TO, and you can start with Lewis.[/QUOTE]

Yeha Lewis is no choir boy...that's for sure. This whole discussion is one of the biggest reasons I am excited about having Gibbs back. He won't put up with this kind of BS. Players will get their butts booted to curb if they start acting like jackasses around him and Bugs. These are the kind of coaches that are successful too. Note: Parcells and Bellichek don't put with BS, same with Shanahan. In fact I can't think of a successful coach who would put with a guy acting like TO. Maybe that spells doom for Reid...or maybe that spells doom for TO.

[QUOTE=FRPLG]Actually they way I understand it was that while he and his agent were definitely in the wrong the 49ers were also arguably culpable to a smaller degree.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure what you heard on this, but here is what the Washington Post reported:

"The union maintained before Burbank, though, that Owens had given the 49ers sufficient notification of his intent to become a free agent. The deadline for voiding the remainder of the deal originally had been set for March 2 in Owens's contract. The deadline was changed to Feb. 21 as part of an agreement between the league and the union, and union officials said that Joseph was notified of that change. But because the change in the deadline was made after Owens's contract was signed, the union argued to Burbank that the March 2 deadline should apply to Owens. "

It is a dicey situation for sure, but the NFL can not change a clause in a contract simply by notifying the other party that they want to change it. They should have requested and gotten a signature or initial on the change. That is the way it works everywhere. If the 49ers had written into the original contract that they would use a date agreed to with the union instead of specifying March 2, it is an entirely different situation. So, that is what it came down to, and why the arbitrator was almost certain to rule in Owens' favor. As Upshaw said, it then just came down to where TO wanted to play - because he would have been a free agent. So to keep from TOTALLY screwing the Ravens, all 3 teams reached an agreement just before the arbitrator was to announce his ruling.

Just a couple of weeks ago Ray Lewis was on the Dan Patrick show on ESPN Radio and he was saying he had no problem with what TO did. That this is a business, could be TO's last contract, he has to look out for himself, etc.

I wonder what changed Lewis' mind

Maybe the interviewer told him he wanted something "controversial" LOL