You played for some of the most historic franchises in NFL history. What were the differences between playing in San Francisco vs. Philadelphia vs. Dallas?

Terrell Owens:  As far as the fan base, yes but when we get on the football field, just like basketball, the dimensions are the same. The only different thing is your surroundings and the uniform.

For me, I just tried to live up to expectations based on what I had done in San Francisco for eight years. When I got traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, I played there for literally almost two years, like a year and seven games before they unfairly suspended me for the rest of the season. Then I went to Dallas after that.

If you think about it now, those are three top franchises in the league today and I play for all three of those teams.

In the last few years, those are some of the top teams that have not been talked about for making it into the playoffs. Everybody except for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers, they've been knocking on the door in the last few years. I was fortunate to play for all three of those franchises.

Dak Prescott had an MVP-caliber regular season but him and the Cowboys blew up in the Wild Card round. Do you still believe he’s the guy in Dallas? Is there anything the Cowboys need to change to eventually get to a Super Bowl?

T.O: Over the last few years, outside of personality, a lot of the success of a quarterback and obviously the team, comes down to decision-making. That's what has been his Achilles heel into these playoffs and throughout this season, but this has been his best season thus far as a quarterback.

When you get into the playoffs, it's unlike any other sports playoffs where there's a best-of series. It's not like hockey, baseball, or basketball, where you have a best of five or seven games. With football, it's win or go home.

You have to be on your A game for that one game. You must be at your very best for that one game to advance. There are a lot of factors that play into the success of the team, but him as a quarterback, if you look at some of the teams now that are in the playoffs, these teams are going only as far as these quarterbacks are taking them.

If you look at it and think about what I'm saying, it all boils down to decision-making when you're playing these football games.

For example, look at what happened with the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, when you're a quarterback, you're going to get the praise and get the glory. If you don't play well, you're going to get the criticism, you're going to get the bad. You're going to take the good with the bad.

Speaking of the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs game, if you look at that drive leading up to the missed field goal, if you think about that drive, and everybody has seen the highlights, Josh Allen missed a few plays leading up to the missed field goals that would have moved the chains. That's when I say decision-making.

Ball accuracy, ball and time, all those things factor into that. Those are some of the things that for him, play calling comes into play. That's your offensive coordinator. Putting the team and the players and knowing who your go-to guys or your playmakers are. Putting those guys in the best position to make those plays.

The offensive coordinator is putting those plays into the fold so Dak has to make sure that he makes the best decisions based on those play calls. That's where he's fallen short. I don't think he's a bad quarterback.

Clearly look at how he played this year. This is probably by far like I said, the best season that he's had as a quarterback.

Look at what CeeDee Lamb did as a receiver, by far his best season as a Cowboy. All these things come into play. But again, decision-making has been the Achilles heel for Dak Prescott.

You played in the biggest of spotlights in your whole career and you showed up. Do you think that sometimes as a player, when they get into those moments, that pressure changes them?

T.O: Yes and no. Every player is different. Some guys rise to the occasion, some guys play well when things are going well. Then, some guys make things happen. I was one of those guys.

I was a little bit of a bit of both. You have playmakers and you have game-changers. I know you may have heard this discussion that Cam Newton had or comments that he had based on what he had seen about game managers. Things of that nature as it relates to some of the top-tier quarterbacks that he saw.

You have to have players that, again, it all boils down to play calling. As an offensive coordinator for an entire year, 17 games, especially going into leading up to the playoffs, you should know what plays to dial and what your players can do at this point in this juncture of the game, especially when his game plan and you have a week to prepare. And it's the playoffs.

All these things factor into the success of a team. But the ultimate, I guess, trigger guy is the quarterback.

When Cam Newton made that comment, I think people thought that he was bashing them. He was not. He is just stating a fact. Some guys are game managers and some guys are playmakers. He is just letting you know, who the quarterbacks are. A lot of people were up in arms. It’s true. He has been there. He knows what he is talking about. I think a lot of people took that out of proportion...

T.O: Why wouldn't you value the pain of a guy who has played several years in the league, played at a high level at the collegiate level, MVP of the National Football League?

You don't just become an MVP of the National Football League because you don't know what you're doing. You don't know how to play the game. So, it would behoove somebody to really not take the advice from at least somebody that's been objective or subjective with how they see the game.

Listen, if you told me that I had the best hands in the league, I am taking it, right?

T.O: That's what's so unique about now. Guys that are using that platform to really speak truth to what they're seeing.

A lot of these guys that are commentating or they're being hired as analysts, some of these guys haven't even played the game. When he went back and forth with a guy who had not played the game at that level and Jason McIntyre.

It's very unfortunate how a lot of these fans listen to these talk shows and they take what these analysts and commentators say to heart because they're on a network and they think that whatever they say is gospel.

When again, you should have guys that have played and now you're seeing them and you know, an influx of guys that have played the game starting to commentate and take be endless and give you real, true, authentic analysts of the game.

What do you like in the 49ers-Lions matchup?

T.O: Honestly, I've been having this discussion privately the last couple of days, and watching and seeing, I don't really watch a whole lot of football throughout the year. But, of course, being someone who was a household name in the league, with all the social media outlets and platforms, it's hard to not see and hear what's going on.

I'm more of a basketball fan. But like I said, I do jump on X and Instagram. I do watch a lot of social media and online presence that a lot of people have. With me, watching what the Detroit Lions did last year, they put the world on notice based on what they're doing this year.

Last year, they started to cook, they started to heat up and they just needed a few players here and there. And guess what, in the draft, they got those players, and now look where they are.

For me to sit here and say that the 49ers are going to win because I play with them, I will be ignorant to say that because I've told people, I take the bias out of me actually playing for that franchise.

I take the fan of football, I take that out. I really give people the true value of how I see the game being played and what I think is possibly going to happen based on my eyeball test.

It's not going to be easy game for the Niners as people probably may think because this Detroit Lions team is definitely not the team of the past. These guys are the real deal. They're for real.

If the 49ers don't come to play, then we could be looking at the Detroit Lions heading into the Super Bowl. It's going to be a good matchup.

We've already discussed the quarterback play of a lot of these teams and you look at Jared Goff, he played in the Super Bowl a few years back when he was with the Rams and now, I think he's grown a lot since that.

If you look at the games that they won, it's been on the heels of the decision-making of Jared Goff. They have great receivers, they have a defense that's playing at a high level.

I love Jameer Gibbs, a guy who played at Alabama. I'm from Alabama. I love watching Alabama play. He's been a difference-maker. The receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. These guys are the real deal. Reynolds --all these guys.

It's not going to be easy. This is going to be probably the most exciting football playoff weekend that the league has had in a long time which is really good for the game itself.

Some teams didn't make it. They probably thought they were going to make it. I liked the Buffalo Bills. When you look at the matchup in the AFC with the Chiefs and the Ravens, these matchups are making for a great game of playoff football this weekend.

If you're a true fan of football, you kind of saw what was going to happen. You had to think that either the Eagles is going to get there, or the Detroit Lions, and obviously the 49ers based on how they were playing.

Part of the reason why the Eagles aren't there is due to the battle of attrition. You got to be playing at a high level. Momentum plays into some of these guys getting into the playoffs. Injuries play a big key into wins and losses whether you make it or you don't make it.

Just like last year with the 49ers that lost Purdy in the first quarter. Injuries have been an Achilles heel for the Eagles leading up to the playoffs as you saw.

They were hot and then they were not and so that momentum that they had early in the season, it didn't carry through in addition to some of the injuries they had.

Is this the year Lamar can get over the hump and take the Ravens to the Super Bowl?

T.O: What's so funny about that it's not only that, they didn't want him and they almost turned a blind eye away from him. But the fact that not only did he play well this year, but this dude is also about to be the MVP.

What is that say to all these GMs that wouldn't go out or bring a guy like that to their franchise? That says a lot about their ability to assess talent, and really, how they overlooked and underestimated him as a talent based on stereotype or stigma. For what he does -- as a black quarterback.

Any team would love to have him. You see what he's doing right now -- MVP.  The same thing with CJ Stroud. Look what he's doing right now as a rookie, right?

T.O: Yeah, with CJ Stroud is a little bit different because he's early on in his career. He hasn't really proven himself. I can understand some of those hesitations or reservations for him as a quarterback because you just don't know. Even in basketball, you have guys that test well. They have good auditions, workouts and things of that nature, and don't pan out.

We've had many examples like CJ Stroud, but when you have somebody like Lamar Jackson, that has proven himself.

Lamar Jackson has been in the league for some time -- won an MVP already. Again, it goes into the stigma of these general managers and how they look at black quarterbacks.

At the end of the day, this goes to show you that these general managers, don't know what they're talking about. Sometimes, like I said, if you don't really go with your gut instinct, and go with true evaluation of what you see, then Lamar Jackson, will put the pie in your face.

NFL Conference Championships Picks

Who do you like in the 49ers-Lions matchup?

If they don't have Deebo Samuels, then I think it's going to be tough for those guys to win.

As you saw, they struggled last week. If they don't have Deebo Samuels, I am choosing the Detroit Lions. If they got a full roster, I am going with the 49ers.

They struggled last week without him in that game. They were dead in the water for those last couple of few minutes of the game.

People expect me to jump on the 49ers bandwagon. Do I love the Niners? Yeah. But you asked me to give you my true honest opinion about what I think based on what I know and what I see.

As a football player, I analyze on what I've seen, especially with the Detroit Lions, even last year trending up to where they are now.

The Detroit Lions are for real there. There are contenders. They are not any pretenders.

If the Niners are not prepared and they don't play well, then the world better get ready for the Detroit Lions to be in the Super Bowl.

Who do you like in the Ravens-Chiefs matchup?

I like the Ravens. Again, it all boils down to quarterback play.

If Lamar plays like he's been playing throughout the year, and they don't have a good defensive plan to stop him.

They need to throw some wrinkles to confuse him. If all of those things don't happen. You're gonna see Lamar Jackson in the Superbowl. I'm going to ride with the Ravens.

BETWAY BOOST: Terrell Owens'NFL Parlay Picks +105 (was -105)

NBA Talks

Who is your favorite NBA team?

T.O: Growing up I was a Chicago Bulls fan.

I think everybody that grew up during my era wanted to be like Mike. My top two basketball players are MJ and Kobe.

My favorite team to watch is the Golden State Warriors. That was part of probably because I played in San Francisco for eight years. I was watching them when they were terrible.

I was watching them when they were like the New Orleans Saints. Nobody was watching them. People were putting bags on their heads. They were so terrible. I've been a Warriors fan for some time.

2023-2024 NBA Championship and MVP Predictions 

Who wins the NBA championship this year?

T.O: The trade with Harden with the Clippers is starting to come to fruition with what people thought.

The owner Steve Ballmer and Tyronn Lue, those guys with Lawrence Frank who's in the front office, they made that move to bring Harden to the Clippers.

They're going to be competing, it's going to be tough in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets.

The Warriors are going to start finding their rhythm at some point. The Lakers -- not so much.

Unless they make some trades before the All-Star break or something along those lines that can really push them to the point of competing on an every-night basis. I don't think they're going to make it to the playoffs with this roster.

The Clippers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Warriors. Those are probably the top three teams out of the Western Conference.

I'm looking forward to the Clippers really making some noise this year with Kawhi healthy, Paul George healthy, Terance Mann playing well. Zubac and their bench as well. Norman Powell. He's one of those X-Factor guys. Definitely, a candidate for Six Man Of The Year.

In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks with the acquisition of Dame Lillard, have a strong chance as well. You see what the Boston Celtics are doing. They're playing very well. They're hungry. They've had some playoff experience over the last few years to where they've been competing. They are gelling. They're playing well together.

Each year, they get more comfortable with each other. With this roster that they have intact now.

In the East, you think about the Milwaukee Bucks. Minnesota Timberwolves, they're playing well but Boston and Milwaukee Bucks, they’re strong and unsuited to go deep into the playoffs if everything goes well, and they stay healthy.

Terrell Owen's NBA Championship Winner Pick: Los Angeles Clippers (+800) 

Who wins MVP?

T.O: Joel Embiid is playing definitely at an MVP level. Could be a back-to-back MVP guy.

A lot of people don't talk about this guy. Once I say this guy, go back and check his stats. I don't know why nobody's really talking about him in the MVP race or the hunt. And that's my guy – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of OKC.

This dude has been playing lights out. He's been averaging 30+ points a night. He is really putting up some MVP-type numbers and he's not being talked about in the MVP race. Which is weird to me.

With the basketball minds that are covering the games on Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, all these guys. I mean, I've been watching this guy play since he was at the Clippers. He then got traded.

He is killing. He's not putting up 70 points a night. But he's consistently putting this team in a position to win on a nightly basis.

I don't know what their record is right now, but I don't think they're doing terribly. But this guy's he's been playing at an MVP level and I just wanted to throw his name in the hat.

Joel Embiid is the front-runner based on how he's playing this year. As long as stays healthy, he’s probably the MVP. But again, you have to look at SGA. He is ballin.

If this is Kobe or anybody else, he's being talked about in the MVP race with what he's doing. OKC are not where they are without SGA and that for me it’s a sign of an MVP. Just as well as Joel Embiid.

Terrell Owen's MVP Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+400)

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