BULL TO BUFFALO

So I'm in my kitchen talking with my close friend ABT about life and how you never know what it's going to throw at you. It is then when I see the Breaking News on NFL Network, "Terrell Owens signs a 1 year deal with the Buffalo Bills". Did you say the Bills? Did I read that right? WOW. I have to admit that like Stevie Wonder, I did not see this one coming.

But let's break it down shall we?

Here are the reasons why I like it:

1. In one swift move, Ralph Wilson has brought back the fans. After a season to forget and the trepidation surrounding a possible future move to Toronto, Wilson has given the fans a reason to believe again.


2. The Bills immediately put the rest of the AFC East on notice. The Fins, the Patriots, and the Jets know that these guys are not content with being the dregs of the division. Remember at least for half a season last year, the Bills were in contention with the rest of them.


3. This says a lot about T.O., maybe he is the most misunderstood guy in the league. No one would have picked him to go to such a small market team. 'Owens' on the back of a Bills jersey? Still can't see it. Undoubtedly he could have gotten bigger money going elsewhere. And yes I heard about all the teams that came out and said "we have no interest in signing Terrell Owens". Don't believe that for a minute! Trust me, the Bills were the only team negotiating with Terrell's agent Drew Rosenhaus.


4. 'Owens' on the back of a Bills jersey: Oh, make no mistake the printing presses are already running my friend. The Bills marketing staff will have T.O.'s jersey in the stores faster then it takes a guy to get to first base in a porno! NFL licensed jersey revenues are shared, so the real bonus is that these jerseys represent free advertising for the team. The more you have out there, the more you're attracting attention to the team itself. That in turn sells more seats which gives the Bills the opportunity to earn more unshared revenue like Box seat sales and $12 Hot Dogs.


5. Lee Evans and Marshawn Inch (Lynch! I meant Lynch...damn, I keep doing that) have just become a lot more valuable in Fantasy Ball. Grab them if you can.


6. Bills in Toronto: All of a sudden, Toronto fans will have 2 games to watch T.O. in 2009. Love him or hate him, now you've got a real stud playing for the home team.

Here are the reasons why I don't like the move:

1. Trent Edwards 2008 stats: 245 /374 for 2699 yards, 11 TDs, 10 Ints. Dude this is going to be no where good enough. Sure the very presence of T.O. will dramatically improve those numbers but I feel sorry for Edwards if he can't get T.O. the ball. Quotes from several games last year- "Edwards is not getting much help from his offensive line. The Buffalo running game has been anemic lately and when he tries to pass he doesn't have much time to find receivers downfield...Edwards is intelligent, young, and still learning, but based on recent games he seems to be regressing" (Week 10 vs. New England); "Edwards got off to a horrible start as he threw three interceptions in the first quarter as he went three for seven for 25 yards, and only led the offense to one first down. The Browns played a lot zone early in this game and Edwards tried to force the ball into some receivers he should not have" (Week 11 vs. Cleveland); "Edwards had a mediocre first half, hitting ten for 21 for 112 yards. Worse, he started bouncing passes to receivers again" (Week 13 vs. San Franciso).


2. The back-up is newly signed Ryan Fitzpatrick. He went 221/372 for 1905 yards, 8 TDs, and 9 Ints. Oh boy...this is not looking good. Here are some quotes from some of his games last year- "Fitzpatrick looked out of synch all day, looking uneasy in the pocket and being late on his reads. He threw three interceptions and lost a fumble, and seemed to try to force some throws in where coverage was tight" (Week 4 vs. Cleveland); "Fitzpatrick's yards per pass play were quite low (less than three yards) and much of his results were short passes over the middle or towards the sidelines. When he did drop back, he went down, to the tune of seven sacks" (Week 7 vs. Pittsburgh). Getting the message? THESE QUARTERBACKS ARE SHAKING IN THEIR BOOTS RIGHT NOW.


3. 1 year, $6.5M? Only? Surely you could have done better than that sir. Although Terrell won't admit it, it sounds like Drew told him to take what he could get. Repair your image in a quiet town like Buffalo, and then move on to better things. But taking this now may preclude him from receiving another big contract down the road.


4. Marshawn Inch (Lynch! Lynch!): He is a borderline bust right now. Owens' arrival gives him a chance to be good again, but if he can't overcome his off the field problems, adding Terrell will do nothing to improve the declining morale of this team. I liken it to when Deion Sanders joined the 49ers secondary in the early 90's. He immediately made everybody around him better, but in the end he left the team worse than before he arrived. Why? Because the circus atmosphere that was Primetime's mantra (back then...he's a completely different man now) became the priority over football.

Bottom Line:

It's a surprising move that has some risk. But overall I think the reasons for doing it outweigh those for not doing it. Name one cornerback in the AFC East that can confidently cover Terrell Owens man-to-man? There isn't one. That immediately means defenses will have to play the Bills differently. If Trent can get better, and his o-line can give him the time he needs, we could see the Bills making a playoff appearance next year.

Da Rhino has spoken. I'M OUT.

(See the press conference here http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80f234bb)