Eight Years Later, George Teague Still Gets Asked About Laying Out Terrell Owens

The Dallas Morning News' Albert Breer takes us back to a simpler time, at the turn of the century, when Dave Campo was the head coach, and the Cowboys were absolutely dreadful. During Campo's reign of terror (2000-2002), Dallas won 15 times, but perhaps the most memorable game of his tenure was the 2000 Week 4 loss to San Francisco.

Terrell Owens, then a brash, young wide receiver for the 49ers, disrespected an entire region by scoring a touchdown, sprinting 50 yards to midfield, and slamming the football smack dab in the middle of the ol' Texas star. Good times.

Thankfully, Cowboys defensive back George Teague was right behind Owens, and promptly laid him out seconds after he completed his disgusting act. (Video courtesy of Breer. To skip the social commentary and get to the footage, start at about the 1:15 mark.)

Eight years later, T.O. now plays for the Cowboys and, by most accounts, is wildly popular. But Teague, who is now the coach and athletic director at Carrollton Christan, still gets asked about "the incident":

Q : How often are you asked about hitting Terrell Owens off the star at Texas Stadium during the 2000 season?

A: There probably isn't a day that goes by when I'm in Texas that somebody doesn't ask me about it. That was an event, a play, whatever you call it, that put a little stamp on my history with the Dallas Cowboys. It's a great talking piece. Terrell and I haven't talked much since then. But it is a great topic of conversation at all the tables I sit at.

After watching the video, my first thought was, hey, that's how Roy Williams used to lay guys out, except Teague's hit was just 10 seconds after the whistle. My other thought: how about we set up Don Imus in his rocking chair at midfield and let Adam Jones get a 50-yard running start?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-24-2008 @ 1:16PM

Jay said...

how bout you stop blowing the whole don imus thing out of proportion. I mean it really isnt as serious as you make it. Hell even the people who are on the show with him...mind you are black..are sticking up for him and defending him. People like you need to be the ones we sit center stage and take a 50 yard run at.

6-24-2008 @ 1:13PM

Dr Huxtable said...

Didn't Owens do that twice during that game? And he got hit on the 2nd attempt? Or am I remembering that wrong?

6-24-2008 @ 1:17PM

ryan said...

Dr Huxtable,

I think you're right, because, if I'm remembering correctly, Emmitt Smith also sprinted to midfield between T.O.'s two trips.

6-24-2008 @ 3:54PM

Todd said...

Wasn't George Teague the guy for Bama who chased down Lamar Thomas in the National Championship game? Kind of ironic an otherwise ordinary career is marked by two such awesome plays.

6-24-2008 @ 3:22PM

beef said...

I can't get the video to play, but he didn't even knock owens down, to my recollection. "Laying Out?"

6-24-2008 @ 3:56PM

beef,

Teague did knock T.O. down, but, yeah, I probably got a little carried away with the "laying [him] out" stuff.

6-24-2008 @ 10:24PM

Jesus said...

I would want a player like teague on my team every day. Not something you can say about TO.

6-27-2008 @ 12:27AM

George B Vieto said...

George Teague hit Terrell Owens from behind. That is not a heroic move. Rick Monday saving Old Glory from a couple of maroons whom wanted to burn an American flag was a real hero. I am not condoning Terrell's showboating but if you have a problem with someone hit him in the face not their backside.