Eagles Regroup After Dropping Owens

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles sacrificed big plays and touchdowns for team unity and harmony. Terrell Owens is gone, and his superior skills will be missed on offense. The problems he caused with his disruptive behavior are another issue.



Life after T.O. has arrived for Philadelphia.

No more daily drama. No more distractions. No more sniping and griping.

No more playoffs?

"It was a distraction," tight end L.J. Smith said Wednesday. "So I think it brings everybody closer, especially the offense because now we can look around and say, `OK, this is who we've got to go to battle with.' Everybody has to look at each other and lean on each other and say, `Hey, nobody else is coming to save the day.' We have to do this thing ourselves."

If there was any lingering doubt that Owens is no longer a part of the Eagles, the fact a rookie tight end moved into his old locker ought to make it clear.

The Eagles, other than making his suspension official, had nothing more to say.

Without Owens, the soap-opera atmosphere may be gone and team chemistry might be restored. But that doesn't change the fact that Donovan McNabb's top two targets are now Greg Lewis and Reggie Brown.

Lewis, a fourth receiver last season, has 26 catches for 284 yards and one TD this year. Brown showed promise with five catches for 94 yards and a TD on Sunday — the first game without Owens — but he's still a rookie.

It's enough to make fans flash back to the days of Charles Johnson and Torrance Small, Todd Pinkston and James Thrash.

The struggling Eagles are 4-4 and were having trouble on offense, even with one of the NFL's top playmakers in the lineup. A team that has played in the last four NFC championship games suddenly finds itself in a difficult position to make the playoffs.

Owens, dismissed from the Eagles on Monday, had 20 touchdowns in 21 regular-season games with Philadelphia. Losing the All-Pro wideout puts more pressure on McNabb, running back Brian Westbrook and the rest of the offense.

"Everyone wants to say we didn't win championship games without a big-play receiver. Well, our big-play receiver was hurt last year and we won a championship game," cornerback Sheldon Brown said.

The Eagles led the NFC all of last season and reached the Super Bowl, despite losing Owens to an ankle injury in Week 15. But Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell were the starting wideouts, McNabb was playing at a high level and the defense was dominant.

McNabb is struggling, Pinkston is out for the year with an injury and Mitchell is unemployed after being cut by the Eagles and Kansas City. Meanwhile, the defense has been inconsistent, allowing an average of 23.9 points per game.

"With No. 81 being out, we have to take it upon ourselves as a defense to play better," end Jevon Kearse said. "We have to create turnovers and give the offense a better chance."

Can the Eagles survive without Owens?

They won a playoff game with Johnson and Small as the starting receivers. They went to three NFC title games — and lost — with Pinkston and Thrash.

Owens invigorated the offense when he arrived from San Francisco and helped the Eagles to a 13-1 start last season, with nine victories by double-digit margins. Now they'll have to settle for any wins they can get.

Owens didn't play in Sunday night's 17-10 loss at Washington, and will remain suspended for three more games without pay. After that, the Eagles plan to deactivate him for the rest of the season.

The suspension followed a tumultuous week in which Owens criticized the organization for not publicly recognizing his 100th career TD catch in a game on Oct. 23, fought with a former teammate and took another verbal shot at McNabb.

Coach Andy Reid said Owens had been "warned repeatedly about the consequences of his actions," and was told by the team not to return this season because of "a large number of situations that accumulated over a long period of time."

A contrite Owens pleaded for another chance in a public apology Tuesday, but the team was unmoved. Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said he wants his client to play immediately.

The NFL Players Association wants the Eagles to cut Owens if they're not going to reinstate him after his four-game suspension is over.

"We're not asking them to play him, we can't force them to do that," Gene Upshaw, the NFLPA's executive director, said. "Let him become a free agent now."

The players' union has filed a grievance on behalf of Owens seeking to overturn the suspension. It will be heard Nov. 18 before arbitrator Richard Bloch.

"We want the best for T.O., we want the best for the franchise and ultimately what's best for the sport," NFLPA president and Bills safety Troy Vincent said.

A picture of Owens sitting between Reid and owner Jeffery Lurie during happier times for the Eagles was removed from team offices. Stephen Spach moved into Owens' locker, and a familiar face — Chad Lewis — rejoined the team.

The images of Owens might be gone, but he remained the only topic of conversation inside the locker room.

"When I heard the apology, I thought it was sincere," Sheldon Brown said. "But then Drew opened his mouth and ruined it. It's sad because it sounded like (Owens) was crying out for help."

Other players wished Owens would've made the apology last week when he had the chance.

"It was too little too late I guess," defensive tackle Hollis Thomas said.