The past 36 sports hours have been largely devoted to discussion of Terrell Owens. You know the drill: Should the Bears should sign Owens? Is he too old? Is he worth the money and/or the strong possibility that he takes a flamethrower, Comedian-style, to Halas Hall, by the end of 2009. These are the questions we as a city must confront. They are far from settled.
That said, there are other options here. There's no need to rush into anything with Owens. If he wants too much money, it's probably a bad investment anyway, and a patient franchise is typically a smart franchise. In the meantime, though, another wideout is emerging as a possible Bears target: former Rams receiver Torry Holt.
Will at Mouthpiece Sports Blog is on the Holt bandwagon already, despite Holt's recent down years and ever-increasing age:
But, since everyone apparently missed the entire 2008 St. Louis season … that whole team stunk. Very badly, with like two games of Jim Haslett-inspired pseudo confidence aside. Marc Bulger is washed up, that offensive line is worthless and there was no reason to think that Holt could succeed in that situation. Yet everyone’s fawning all over Terrell Owens as a potentially “nice” addition. Why not Holt? I have no idea. He makes infinitely more sense because he’s a better receiver, a better teammate and, somehow, less expensive.
Eh. We're not entirely sold. Though the team is certainly to blame for much of Holt's decline, he's also gotten older and lost the breakaway speed that once made him such a formidable deep threat. Holt is renowned for his hands; Owens is renowned for his occasional, inexplicably dropped passes. If Holt can turn himself into a possession receiver, yeah, sure, maybe it could work. If he's cheap, even better.
The unfortunate problem with this scenario is that it probably doesn't matter. The Bears don't appear interested in signing anybody. Or, if they did, Jerry Angelo wouldn't be allowed to spend the cash. So we're basically wishcasting here, which is part of what makes sports fun, provided those wishes occasionally come true. We're not holding our breath.
Eamonn Brennan is a writer, editor and blogger hunkered down in Lincoln Park. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, FanHouse, MOUTHPIECE Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com.
