Neither Owens Nor Moss Would Fit With 49ers

Matt Maiocco, The Press Democrat

While the 49ers take the weekend off, I'll be watching some football. Like everyone else, what I'm anticipating most is the Patriots-Cowboys game. The game features two of the best receivers in the game: Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. One was with the 49ers; the other could have been. The Cowboys' most dangerous receiver, aka "The Original 81," was drafted by the 49ers and played his first eight seasons here. The 49ers did not want to pay him what he wanted after the 2003 season. (Actually, they wanted to get rid of him at any price because he had turned into such a divisive force in the organization.)

The Patriots' top receiver, and the player who leads the NFL with 551 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, is "The Other 81," according to Owens' locker-room note. When the Raiders were shopping Moss in the offseason, they called the 49ers to see if they were interested in a trade. The 49ers said no thanks. Could the 49ers use players such as Owens and Moss? Of course they could. But I don't believe either would be a good fit with this particular team. Owens or Moss would make a difference, but not enough to matter. Owens and Moss are front-runners. When things are going well, there isn't much fault to find in them.

But when either has to deal with some adversity that's when things go sour. If the team's not winning and they're not seeing enough well-thrown passes, both players have a unique ability to tear organizations apart. It happened with Owens in San Fran and Philadelphia (though things didn't have to go wrong before he became a problem in Philly), and it happened with Moss in Minnesota and Oakland. Having players like either one of those two guys on the 49ers at this stage would be a recipe for disaster.

But it might have made for some interesting suggestions to coach Mike Nolan this week.

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- Moss got the better of "T.O." in the win column Sunday as the Patriots beat the 'Boys 48-27. However, ironically, they had almost mirror image games. Moss with 6 catches for 59 yards and a TD, while Owens pulled in 6 for 66 and a score. Guess that individual showdown of the premadonnas was a draw. Still, always gotta love it when Big D takes a loss. -