Quote:Stephen A. Smith | Owens says he's perfect for Birds

By Stephen A. Smith
Inquirer Columnist

Three strikes and you're out.

It's football, not baseball, but who cares at this moment? Especially right here, right now, right in the land of gridiron purgatory - where the Eagles have managed to push misery to a new, insidious level.

Another Super Bowl without Philadelphia. Another week of watching Donovan McNabb sip Campbell's soup instead of sipping champagne and hoisting the ever-elusive Lombardi Trophy.

Another off-season of hearing about owner Jeffrey Lurie's "gold standard" that can't even capture a bronze - because of receivers who can't catch passes or run accurate routes.

Tired already? Of course you are. And so is all-pro receiver Terrell Owens of the San Francisco 49ers.

It has been eight seasons - and counting - for Owens, who has never captured a championship. So forgive him if he appears just as thirsty for a Super Bowl berth as the rest of us.

"I'd definitely love to come to Philly," Owens told me yesterday. "Those guys have gotten to the NFC championship game three years in a row. Absolutely no disrespect to the players they have, but there's something out there they need to get them over the hump. I definitely believe I'm that missing piece."

The Eagles should, too. Assuming they have sense.

Philadelphia needs a few roughriders, folks! A few fire-breathing, showboating, pains-in-the-neck who, undoubtedly, will arrive at the Linc every Sunday to shine, instead of choirboys who figuratively tag along for the ride.

A show of hands for all those who have tired of seeing James Thrash or Todd Pinkston raise their hands to the sky every time they catch a 10-yard pass and go nowhere.

Trust me, you are not alone.

If the best thing a team can do for its community is win, by all accounts, misery should stick around for quite some time. If anyone had the temerity to think a curse had been placed on this city, the Eagles certainly perpetuated that notion.

Broken patterns. Dropped passes. An inability to get open. Playing spectator while McNabb stands in the pocket, getting his ribs cracked.

That's how things will stay unless they get McNabb some help.

"I just know what I bring to the table, as far as my ability," Owens said. "Not to take away from guys on their squad. I just don't see them being playmakers. And I, myself, can definitely benefit from McNabb's arm.

"I think McNabb is a great QB. I think he's in a similar situation that I'm in out in San Fran. A receiver is only as good as his quarterback. My abilities rely on a QB's ability and his arm. Jeff [Garcia, the 49ers quarterback,] is not someone that's a pocket passer that's going to throw 50 yards down the field. On the flip side, McNabb can throw that pass, but has guys that struggle to turn them into something."

For all those who abhor Owens' confidence and candor, shut up!

He's earned the right to say what he pleases.

Owens, a third-round pick out of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1996, is a four-time Pro Bowler. He has had more than 1,000 receiving yards five times, including four of the last four seasons. He has averaged 14.5 yards a reception over his career, accumulating 8,572 yards in eight seasons.

From his tirades on the sideline, to outlandish comments he may have made, to excruciating complaints about not getting the ball more, the only thing anyone has gotten on Owens about is his mouth.

The Eagles? It's always their game.

It can all change with Owens... if the Eagles wake up and make it happen.

If the Niners don't offer Owens a lucrative extension, he's gone by the NFL's March 1 deadline. He'll exercise the voidable clause in his contract, declare himself a free agent, and look for a new address - preferably alongside a quarterback he respects.

The Falcons, with Michael Vick, could pursue Owens. So could the Jets, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Ravens and Cowboys.

Obviously, they all believe Owens would be worth the risk.

Eagles coach Andy Reid's five-year plan is up. It's time to return to the world of common sense.

"I want to play for a winner," Owens said. "And contrary to what people may believe, I wouldn't be a distraction in Philly because they have the ingredients, the bona fide elements, to get where we're all trying to get.

"They utilize their weapons and their talents to the max. I don't believe that that was taking place here in San Fran."

Now the Eagles should capitalize. When you're 0 for 3 in conference title games, the only 0-for-2 squad on your home turf in NFL history, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Especially when a championship lies on the horizon - years after the Eagles promised it would have arrived already.