Terrell Owens: Time Has Come to Back off of Owens and Give Him Serious Help

Let's take a second to forget about Terrell Owens' past antics. Believe me, I a a 49ers fan—we saw them before the rest of the country did. He didn't start having off-field issues in Philadelphia or Dallas.

But now, our past frustrations are irrelevant.

As was reported by TMZ, Owens was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday for a possible pill overdose. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time we've been down this road.

In 2006, we heard these now infamous words from his publicist, Kim Etheridge. After some initial doubts, there was no real reason to doubt that that attack in 2006 was just a result of a bad reaction of pills.

But now, five years later, we're looking at a situation that's too familiar.

Can it be nothing? Absolutely, it can be. Frankly, I hope it is. But Owens' behavior has been erratic throughout his life in the public eye, and that's a troubling warning sign.

Who remembers this press conference?

That came immediately after the Cowboys were upset by the Giants in the NFC Divisional Playoffs following the 2007 season.

What was odd about that wasn't the emotion that he showed. Yes, Owens was ridiculed for that, but that's not really a huge deal to me.

What was alarming was that Owens was so emotional in defense of his quarterback when nobody in that room had been critical of Romo. Were they about to be? Yes, they were. But at that moment, nobody had said a word about that.

What's happening here is a man whose behavior is just erratic. Now, as Mark Kriegel of Fox Sports suggests, this story has potential to have a very bad end. 

Unfortunately, I am afraid that we may not be seeing it. Given Owens' past, my fear is that people are going to see this as just another way for him to grab attention.

That might be the case, but I am not buying it. Owens is a person that people need to be paying close attention to. He seems to genuinely need help from those around him, and maybe those not around him.

I know Owens is polarizing, but this goes beyond some controversial on-field touchdown celebrations or ripping of quarterbacks.

Maybe this is nothing. I hope it's nothing. But anyone who cares about Owens should be far more concerned for his personal well being than any NFL comeback.