When AJ Brown unleashed his latest round of cryptic subtweeting and media musings, it reminded Philadelphia Eagles fans of another former superstar wide receiver who was very vocal about how and how often he was thrown the ball: Terrell Owens.
On paper, the comparison makes sense, as both held the title of WR1 in Philadelphia, were among the best players in the NFL at their position, and didn't care who knew how much they wanted to be paid and utilized up to their usual standards, but how does TO feel about the comparison? Well, in an appearance on Fox 29, Owens actually shot it down, noting that he believes Brown's heart is in the right spot and fans would rather have him want for more than to happily settle for less.
“Yes, and I don't think that's a fair comparison. I think when you look at AJ, I think he sets a high standard the guys, I don't know how much he's making, but like $20, $30 million a year. If you look at statistically where he stands, if he was playing poorly and making that type of money, everybody would be trying to get rid of him,” Owens explained.
“But the guy wants to win. Yeah, and as an athlete, there's a way to win and a way, sometimes how you lose, how you win, and how you lose, and it's a rhythm thing. And if you're in an offense, especially with him being considered WR1, you want to be involved in the offense. I don't blame him That's that's an offensive coordinator thing, and I think obviously in a lot of ways, I think Jalen has to shoulder some of that responsibility because he's the quarterback. He's an extension of the head coach and the offensive coordinator. So how you play within the system, and how productive you are as a number one receiver depends heavily on the offensive coordinator and how you're being used so much.”
Asked if Brown should be as concerned with how big a part of the Eagles' offense he plays during any given game, TO broke the situation down expertly, noting that the day will come when Philly needs No. 11 to produce at an elite level, and keeping him ready, as a result, is paramount.
“Everybody would be talking negatively about AJ is like, ‘Oh, he got a Super Bowl ring and he wasn't playing up to those standards. Philly standards. The Eagle standards.' Then it wouldn't be the same. They were trying to get rid of the guy. But I truly understand where he's coming from,” Owens noted.
“You have to utilize the guy based on his skill set and guarantee Devonta Smith he could easily on be a WR1 on any team true, but again, you saw it the first four games of the season when you go through a flow of the game and in training camp you see how you want to win and you want to duplicate what you did last year. There's gonna come a time during late in the season where they're gonna need AJ Brown. That's all and then there's gonna be a time where everybody knows he's gonna get the ball, and they're gonna double team, and it's like you're forcing the issue.”
Would the Eagles be best served by routinely working to get their entire offense going? Absolutely, and if they don't, it's safe to assume Brown will continue to talk about it, as it's unlikely he will settle for less than his personal standards moving forward.
