Terrell Owens hasn't played since injuring his right leg in Week 15. AP

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --The biggest question in Superville right now is how effective Terrell Owens will be on Sunday. My operative theory is -- I should say, was -- that he will take maybe 50 percent of the snaps, run mostly short and intermediate out patterns and some fades into the corners of the end zone, and be a middling factor in this game.

That was before I ran into Bryan Cox late yesterday.

Cox, the former NFL linebacker who now does a radio show for FOX, has never met an opinion he doesn't like. I've known him since he was a volatile Dolphin a decade ago, and we talked a lot during New England's first Super Bowl appearance three years ago. I was the AFC pool reporter for the Pro Football Writers Association, and he was a Patriot. We chatted at practice quite a bit about what made the Patriots so good.

He's still very close to some in the Patriots organization, though he left with some hurt feelings over contractual dealings. He has a high regard for New England's secondary coach Eric Mangini, and goes at his own expense to Mangini's football camp in Hartford every year. So he seemed like a logical person to ask: How much of a factor do you think Owens will be Sunday?

"None,'' he said. "The Patriots will jam the crap out of him at the line of scrimmage and I don't think he'll be able to get off the jam consistently. I'm not saying they're going to try and hurt him. I'm saying they're going to be very, very physical with him, and we'll see how healthy he is and whether he has the mobility to get away from their physical corners. I don't see him being able to cope with that.''

Interesting. I still think the Eagles will find some way -- by motioning him, hiding him in trips (three-wide) formations or some other way -- to get the ball in Owens' hands four or five times. Then we'll see what he can do with it.

FIVE THINGS I THINK I THINK

1. I think sometimes these players are asked so many questions that they end up out-thinking themselves. Take Rodney Harrison the other day. He was talking about the thing that just bores me to tears -- the perceived lack of respect for the Patriots: "Remember, we didn't have a chance against Indianapolis. We didn't have a chance against Pittsburgh, even though we were favored.'' Read that last sentence a couple of times. It might be the silliest quote out of the millions uttered this postseason.

2. I think, with these reams of anti-Jacksonville columns coming out of this city from the scribes, I'd be asking myself this if I were at a water cooler in Mankato today: What on God's green earth do I care about some columnist's opinion about the Super Bowl host city? We don't get sports sections to read about how fun the night life is or isn't in Jacksonville. Sheesh.

3. I think Emmitt Smith will hang 'em up today at 4 p.m. EST.

4. I think Eagles' defensive coordinator Jim Johnson let slip something the other day that may be of interest to the New England offensive staff. "I don't think we will be changing anything we have done,'' Johnson said. "Our rotation as far as linebackers, tackles ... you don't want to come here and all of a sudden change everything because hey, that's not what got you here.'' Interesting. Not earth-shattering, but a sign to me that they plan to play the Patriots fairly straight-up, and probably won't be exotic-blitzing Tom Brady the way some people thought.

5. I think the Patriots believe they can make some swing-pass plays on the edge of the Philly defense. Just watch the game and see them try.