Terrell Owens: NFL's Best Receiver is a Pretty Good Guy

Terrell Owens, the Pro Bowl receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, is no stranger to criticism. When Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, he was known for having a dispute with his quarterback, Jeff Garcia. When Owens played for the Philadelphia Eagles, he was known for his unfriendly relationship with quarterback, Donovan McNabb. And when he first played with the Dallas Cowboys, he was known for not having a great deal of respect for head coach Bill Parcells. He has been touted as an extremely selfish and immature player. Many NFL fans never thought Owens would change his ways. Well, those doubters may now have to think twice, because Owens is proving to be a respectable teammate, both on and off the field. If you had any doubt, you should consider watching the training camp documentary, "Hard Knocks," on HBO.

During this documentary series, Owens has shown the cameras how great of a teammate he actually is. Of all the Cowboys, Owens appears to be the hardest working, but also appears to be having the most fun. There are several scenes in this documentary that show Owens exchanging playful banter with fellow teammates, including Roy Williams, Tony Romo and various coaches. During one of the recent episodes, he poked fun at fullback, Deon Anderson. Anderson appears to run like a waddling penguin, which Owens did a phenomenal job of impersonating for the HBO camera crew. He has created several laughs among his teammates all throughout training camp. Not only has he poked fun, but he has taken it from others, as well. During one scene, they show Owens running in slow motion along a sandy beach. He is attired in a white pants and no shirt. During one part, he stops to skip a rock into the ocean. This scene had a very feminine feel to it. If there was a commercial for men's tampons, then this commercial would probably make the final cut. Once other players caught sight of this scene on TV, safety Roy Williams wasted no time in impersonating Terrell's elegant and delicate run along the beach. Roy had the whole team laughing at Terrell's expense . . . and Terrell took it like a man. He showed that he had no problem in laughing at himself and he even game Roy props for the comical impersonation.

When not joking around, he has constantly been coaching the younger receivers on the team. He has given them various pointers and has almost been a father-type figure to the younger receivers. In addition to being a good teammate, he has shown that he has respect for great players. He has been heard on more than one occasion giving compliments about his old teammate, Jerry Rice. During one receiver huddle, Owens made a reference to the greatest wide receiver of all time. Most viewers would assume that Owens would be talking about himself . . . but no, he was referring to Jerry Rice again. Owens may have a huge ego, but he still acknowledges where he stands on the totem pole. That can't be said for all other wide receivers in this league.

After seeing all of this, it is hard to say that Owens is a selfish teammate . . . or even a selfish person. A typical selfish teammate that is stuck on himself would never take the time to joke around with other players as much as he does. Granted, he may be "acting" for the camera, but whether he is acting or not, you can't fake chemistry.

One thing you can never say about T.O. is that he doesn't have passion for the game. He has showed passion ever since his early days with the 49ers . . . particularly in that infamous playoff game where he dropped pass after pass from Steve Young . . . but in the end, he caught the game winning touchdown and immediately had tears oozing from his eyes. Several years later, he showed that same passion again, as he cried in front of the cameras, for all to see, while defending Tony Romo after suffering a playoff defeat to the New York Giants. A selfish teammate would never stick up for their quarterback. A selfish teammate would just simply roll his eyes and say something like "It is what it is."

Is Owens a changed man? Only he knows for sure, but given the recent evidence, he appears to be on his way if he isn't there already.