So we know it’s only about the money this time around. If he could have signed with a team worthy of his own opinion of himself, he would have. But he couldn’t and didn’t.

This is a recipe for disaster. It’s not even about pretending to want to win a championship. Even if T.O. is on his best behavior and plays better than he has in years, the Bills still aren’t going to win the AFC East. They probably won’t make the playoffs. They’re just not good enough.

We know what he wants — a chance to somehow get through a season without a major public relations disaster and then coax another contract out of either the Bills or another team that’s lost its senses.

But first he’s got to get through a year in Buffalo without incident, and we know that’s not going to happen. It’s not because Owens doesn’t want to be a good soldier. It’s because he’s incapable of it. The programming isn’t there. It’s like asking a wolf to swear off lamb chops or second-grader not to laugh at potty jokes.

Vegas should set an over-under on how many games Owens will last before he starts spewing acid. I’d put it at eight games — half the season. By then, the Bills should be struggling and he should be explaining to the media it’s because Trent Edwards is a lousy quarterback who doesn’t have the brains to throw every ball to Owens.

When he finally reverts to form, he won’t find apologists in Buffalo as he did in Dallas and even in Philly. Bills fans are people who work hard for their money, people who take the worst weather nature can throw at a city without complaint, people who expect their sports stars to be as down-to-earth as they are.

T.O. fails on every count, which is why this experiment is doomed before it begins. He’s in it for money and himself. The Bills say they’re in it to win, not realizing that they’ve lost already.

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