Michael Ventre

Terrell Owens has gone way too far this time. He has forced the American public to defend Jessica Simpson.

That may be a tall order. We have been through wars, droughts, natural disasters, even the 2007 Miami Dolphins. But when T.O. publicly lashes out at Jessica, he is imposing a pick-your-poison ultimatum that no culture should have to face.

Indeed, she is an attractive woman, but she is just a half-notch above Paris Hilton on the celebrity food chain, roughly the same difference as the one between lean ground beef and leanest ground beef at your local market. But she has something, as Tony Romo found out last weekend when he played a game in her presence and reacted as though she were a pink-jerseyed dominatrix.

But the real effect of Jessica’s appearance came Wednesday. It was as if she had fired the pistol that triggered an avalanche, with T.O. being the avalanche.

“Right now, Jessica Simpson is not a fan favorite — in this lockerroom, or in Texas Stadium,” Owens declared. Then he went on to make some more pronouncements as the Dallas Cowboys’ self-appointed version of Dana Perino, suggesting “a lot of people feel she has taken the focus away.”

To fully appreciate the ramifications of this, you have to look at the big picture, which means pulling your eyes away from Jessica. The focus has indeed been taken away, but T.O. is the one doing it and putting it on himself. It took longer than most experts predicted, but Mount T.O. is spewing sparks, and a river of hot molten lava could begin oozing through Texas even before the playoffs.

Besides going after the quarterback’s girlfriend, T.O. also recently sideswiped his teammate, Roy Williams. T.O., who had his leg broken as the result of a horsecollar tackle by Williams back in 2004 when Owens was in Philadelphia, criticized his current Cowboys teammate, saying among other things, “to tackle someone in that manner, it’s just not right.”

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T.O. also got into a public spat recently with Keyshawn Johnson over current Cowboys coach Wade Phillips and former coach Bill Parcells. That kind of bombastic banter is usually reserved for prizefight weigh-ins.

After experiencing weeks of relative calm as the Cowboys rose to a place of prominence in the NFC, Owens is showing that a 16-game regular-season is just too much time to expect him to keep his lips locked. And his outbursts might just cost Dallas the chance to reach the Super Bowl.

Is Romo the kind of quarterback capable of leading his team to a Super Bowl title, like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Or is he some underdog product of the media, destined to be remembered for his mercurial tendencies and his affinity for celebrity chicks?