The first two days of the Buffalo Bills OTA practices were highlighted by the highly anticipated arrival of WR Terrell Owens on Monday and a rookie DE Aaron Maybin scuffling with the vets on Tuesday. Over the first two days, one word could be used to describe the play of starting QB Trent Edwards - the one player that bears the most responsibility for whatever successes the Bills can or can't achieve in 2009 - and that word was "inconsistent."
If the unbeatable duo of Chris Brown and Mark Gaughan is to be believed, that changed for the better on Wednesday.
I'm not sure if I need to throw in the obligatory "don't freak out either way because it's still May, guys" warning; when you're talking about the single most important player on the roster, it's hard not to freak out a little bit. But let's just say that while the news that Trent's rust is officially knocked off is welcome, the kid hasn't achieved anything yet. Edwards, who wavered between outstanding and... well, really rusty... through two days turned a corner on Wednesday, as he final found his "rhythm", using Brown's word.
His calls at the line came quicker and his decision making appeared consistent, which enabled him to get into more of a rhythm than he had the first two practices.
Gaughan adds the following about a couple of Edwards' throws on the day:
(WR Lee) Evans caught six passes from quarterback Trent Edwards during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. His first grab was the best, an intermediate crossing route thrown in perfect stride by Edwards... Overall, Edwards looked pretty good throwing it.
Edwards, for what it's worth, is focusing more on developing his rapport and comfort level with Owens than meaningless OTA performances:
“It’s my job to get the ball to him, and my job over these next 15 practices is to get comfortable with him,” said Edwards. “We still have a long way to go. I was comfortable communicating what I want and I hope he’s comfortable with communicating what he wants, too. We’re moving along that direction. It’s all new to him, he hasn’t really been here and some of this is still new to me, too, so I’m kind of learning and we need to do a good job getting on the same page.”
That's our quarterback, folks.
Maybin continues to impress
We've heard reports that DE Aaron Maybin has been impressive on-field (very) early in his Bills career. The first reward of that impression may have come Wednesday, as Maybin saw his first reps with the top defensive unit:
Aaron Maybin was sprinkled in with the first team defense during the course of practice Wednesday. He was mainly inserted during the run fit portion of practice.
This isn't terribly surprising - it was going to happen at some point, as Maybin is going to play a substantial amount of snaps this season - but to hear it happening this quickly is encouraging. Buffalo's two rookie guards have been getting this treatment, but let's face it - their paths to starting roles are pretty clutter-free. Maybin's road isn't as simple; with three established vets ahead of him, if Maybin is carving himself a niche already, that's nothing but good news.
Attendance
Outside of the usual suspects (WRs C.J. Hawthorne and James Hardy, LB John DiGiorgio and CB Ashton Youboty), CB Cary Harris, WR P.K. Sam, DT Marcus Stroud and OT Jonathan Scott were spectators. WR Roscoe Parrish returned to the practice field after missing Tuesday.
The team will not practice again until next Tuesday. Head coach Dick Jauron, according to Brown's report, was pleased with his team's efforts over the first three days:
“All in all it’s gone well,” said Jauron. “We’ve got almost everybody here or everybody. It depends on the day so the turnout has been terrific and the effort has been great and we’re making advances.”