After vehemently disagreeing with the idea of bringing in TO after he was released, I had started giving some thought to it not being that bad of an idea after all.  Earlier in the day when the rumor that the Bills may actually indeed have some interest in TO, I began to see the benefits, and in the end, I think it's a great risk to take.  A risk that this franchise never seems willing to take.

I have so many thoughts on this right now, I had to put it all in this fanpost.  I'll probably forget some of what I had originally been thinking too. When I got that first text saying the Bills had scheduled a press conference, for whatever, I knew exactly what it was about.  With the rumored interest earlier in the day, and it being a Saturday evening, it just made sense that something big was about to happen.

To me, this screams of desperation, just like Brian mentioned before.  And you know what?  I love it!  We know the coaches are on one of the hottest seats in the league, deservedly so, they need to win now or they'll be hoping for a job elsewhere next year.  They have done very little thus far, so something big needed to get done.  They had a chance to go after one of the better receivers in the league, so why not try to get it done? TO is really going to help our O, more than whatever stats he gives us.  I love his run after the catch ability, it'll be nice to see a WR on our team that can actually do that.  I love that he'll demand attention from the D, hopefully opening up Evans deep, Reed underneath and Lynch/Jackson in the flats.  We have a lot of options out there now, and with a receiving TE in the draft, we have a potentially pretty good O this year.  At least until Schonert ruins it.

This franchise absolutely had to do something.  They HAD to.  After a season that was a total collapse and a fanbase that seemed as disenfranchised as ever, a big splash was crucial. They couldn't afford to bring in the likes of Haynesworth or trade high draft picks for a Boldin, so why not take the chance on TO?  Why not throw your fanbase a bone?  Even if this move backfires, at least the front office finally did SOMETHING.  I have been so sick and tired of a reactive franchise, one that is afraid to do anything big.  Well they finally stuck it to me and showed they may actually have a backbone in there somewhere.  This team needs a TO, and ya know what, it sure seems that TO needs the Bills.

It's pretty obvious that the Bills were the only team with any significant interest in TO.  Maybe another team would have been willing to sign him, but if that interest was legit, it seems likely that they would have been offering significantly less.  The Bills may not have been going up against anyone else for his services, and they may have overpaid if that was the case, but ya know what?  They finally got a deal done with a bigger name FA.  That, in and of itself, is a big change.

And for those of you that think TO is just going to sabotage this team and destroy the locker room,  I won't disagree with you.  It could very well happen, and that was the opinion I had when we first heard TO was released a few days ago.  Why would any team want to risk it's locker room for a 35 year old WR?  It's a very rationale thought.  However, I think TO needs the Bills and he needs to behave.  Think about.  TO has a 1 year deal here, he is basically on a prove it or get the f out deal.  I like that.  TO's career is d-u-n, done if he doesn't behave this year.  Look at how little interest there was in him this year.  What happens if he acts up and is sitting out there next year, as a 36 year old WR that just blew his last chance?  If TO wants to continue playing football after this year, and wants a new contract somewhere, he absolutely has to play nice.  He has to, right?

I still can't believe that the Bills were the only team interested.  That does say a lot about TO, and that does worry me.  But as I mentioned, I think TO has to make this work.  How weird is it seeing TO answering questions in a Bills hat, on ESPN?

I love the potential this offense has this season.  We have some pieces to finally make some noise on O again, and it's due mostly to TO's presence  Once we solidify LG (hopefully) and find a good threat at TE in the draft, we are looking at a group with some very nice potential.  Of course, we still have Schonert calling the shots and a question mark at QB.  Trent, if there was ever a time for you to take a major step in your development, it's...right...now.

As a quick sidenote, does anybody find this quote rather hilarious?:

"I was a little surprised at first," said defensive end Chris Kelsay. "When you looked around at our team and the needs we have, wide receiver wasn't the first one that jumped out. But it's great to add talent.

It's as if Kelsay knows and readily admits his fanny is on the chopping block, and that he knows he's about to have a talented rookie competing with him for PT.  I freakin love it!!!! 

I still can't believe TO is a Bill.  Two of my friends sent me texts once they heard:

No way

The Bills signed TO!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

True

Those two pretty much explain what should be thought of this situation.

In the end, I'm not sure I see a whole lot of downside to this move.  If TO acts like the primadonna that he is, and causes a disruption, is it really going to be that big of a deal?  Is it going to cause us to miss the playoffs (we weren't headed there anyhow)?  He's only here for a year, unless he gets franchised, so we can cut the cord pretty easily.  At least this move makes our franchise relevent again, gives non-Bills fans a reason to talk about and watch the team, and gives us, at least, a sliver of some hope again.  TO's career is on the line here, he's got to behave.  I think TO is going to be in full on prove-the-naysayers-wrong mode all season.  In fact, his numbers could be huge this year, if history is any indicator:

In short, Owens has been at his best in his career when he has had something to prove – in 2000 when Owens was replacing Jerry Rice as the top target with the San Francisco 49ers, and in 2001 when Rice was gone and playing across the bay in Oakland.

In 2004 with Philadelphia (after Owens’ relationship with the 49ers hit meltdown), Owens was again at his best in order to prove himself in a new place. He had one of his better years and helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl. By the next season, he and McNabb couldn’t play nice anymore.

In 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys, he was good again and was even better in 2007 when he was playing under a new coach (Wade Phillips) and wanted to prove that former coach Bill Parcells was a tyrant.

By 2008, however, it was back to meltdown as his relationship with teammates deteriorated to nothing and forced Dallas owner Jerry Jones to cut him Thursday.

So in five “prove-it” seasons: 433 catches, 6,598 yards, 71 touchdowns. The averages during those seasons: 86.6 catches, 1,319.6 yards, 14.2 touchdowns.

Wouldn't that be great for this franchise?  And wouldn't it be great if this move actually helped improve the chances of adding FA's in the future?  Maybe TO can have a great year, talk about how great it is to play here, sign a new deal, and show others that Buffalo can be a destination and winner.  Even the most pessimistic/realistic of Bills fans can have that type of optimism....:)

I might even be upset that we didn't sign him to a multi-year deal.  At least one that would have made it easy to dump him after this season.  Oh well.  We finally added a superstar player, even if he's a superdouche for the most part.  The upside is great, and the downside seems limited.  I really can't disagree with this move, even after initially hating the thought of adding TO.  I just hope it works out now....