Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- New Orleans coach Sean Payton claims Terrell Owens was second in the NFL last season with 33 dropped passes. I know it had occurred to me watching Cowboys games that Owens really does have key drops when they really can't afford them. I don't know if Payton's stat is accurate, but Owens did not try to dodge responsibility, "Drops are a part of the game. I'm a professional and you should go into every game prepared. There were some drops and that's just part of it. I'm pretty sure I would access my performance and say I could've played better, but that wasn't the case."
We all know how much Owens enjoys attention and being seen and heard. He says he's not going to be trying to keep up with what the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins are saying about him, "I'm new to the division so I'm not really aware about what's going on or what's being said, but we don't really worry about what somebody else says. I think we'll do our talking when the time comes and that's executing on offense and winning ballgames."
Owens of course has goals for the Bills this season. He said, "I think the goal of every team is to win the Super Bowl. To get this team to the playoffs, to get us to the playoffs gives us an opportunity to win the Super Bowl, but you have to take it one game at a time which starts in New England." Owens added, "The motivation is to get this team to the playoffs. To come in and be instrumental in the success of this team. I think everybody witnessed what this team did last year. Unfortunately for them, they didn't finish well, but it's a new year. If the addition of myself and some other guys, if that's going to raise the level of play and create more wins well that's why I'm here."
Many feel there's pressure on Owens to perform this year after getting run out of Dallas and being 36 in December. Owens disagrees, "There's no pressure on me at all, I know what I'm capable of, I'm very thankful and gracious for the opportunity the Bills have given me and I'm going to embrace it. I know I can play this game, I know Turk is going to throw the ball down field, I feel confident in the guys we have in the rotation on the offensive side of the ball and on defense, those guys fly around and I'm looking for some big things from those guys. They're going to be very instrumental in some of the things we do on offense so defense is going to be very key for us."
The Bills ran the no huddle to whole practice. Owens likes it, "I know one thing, it's keeping me in shape. I think it's going to keep teams on their heals a little bit, especially teams that like to bring pressure especially when you hit them a couple of times quick and get some homeruns out of it."
Owens says he's still looking for a place to live and on the field, he's getting better every day.
Today was the start of mandatory minicamp. Marshawn Lynch, John DiGiorgio, Jonathan Scott, James Hardy, Pat Thomas and P.K. Sam did not participate. Leodis McKelvin was limited. Roscoe Parrish caught punts and then had to put ice on his calf. He sat out the rest of practice. WR C.J. Hawthorne came late on crutches with a cast on his leg.
The starting offensive line for today had rookies Andy Levitre and Eric Wood going the whole period with the first team. The second time on the field, Kirk Chambers and Seth McKinney were starting. The same thing happened with Chris Kelsay and Ryan Denney.
Gibran Hamdan had a great pass finding Stevie Johnson for a long gain between two defenders. Right after that, Hamdan zipped one down the seem for Josh Reed that would've gained at least 25 yards.
Safety turned LB Nicc Harris had a nice interception of Ryan Fitzpatrick after Aaaron Maybin flushed him out of the pocket.
Mini Camp continues tomorrow morning.
TERRELL OWENS
On the biggest adjustment he’s had to make with his new team:
Finding a place to stay. It’s coming. I’m just trying to find something for my comfort. But other than that, I’m getting it down. The plays are coming to me, I think the times that I’ve been here for the OTAs have been very, very beneficial, so I’m picking up everything and I’ve noticed that I’ve gotten better every day. It’s all about repetitions and just getting that work in.
On adjusting to a new quarterback:
It’s really not a difference. You have two different quarterbacks, so it’s just a different system. The routes are pretty much the same with a few variations here and there. It’s all about just going out there and executing, him dropping back and going through his reads and progressions, and delivering the ball. It’s about us going out there and just making plays for him.
On the value of the no-huddle:
I know one thing, it’s getting me in shape. I think it’s going to keep teams on their heels a little bit, especially teams that like to bring pressure. They’re not going to be able to do that, especially if we hit them a couple times quick and get some home runs on them. I think it’s going to be beneficial for us.
On if he has spent more time at one receiver spot than any others:
I’m pretty sure at some point, that’ll come, but right now he has me at one position and with this offense and the system here, it’s about concepts. And I think that’s pretty much basic everywhere, really, so right now they’re probably not going to throw too much at me, but it’s all about concepts and once you get that down, you can move around a little bit.
On if the game has slowed down for him here:
It does slow down a little bit once you know what you’re doing. With me, when you have a new offense, new terminology, you’re doing a lot of thinking, you’re processing a lot of stuff. There were some mistakes made, so once I get familiar and comfortable with everything, the signals, the codes, that’s when everything slows down. Every day, it’s been a work in progress and it’s been good.
On his motivations going into this year:
Motivation is really just to get this team to the playoffs, to come in and be instrumental in the success of this team. I think everybody witnessed what this team did last year and obviously, unfortunately for them, we didn’t finish well, but it’s a new year. It’s a new year for every team, so that’s the approach that we’re taking with the addition of myself and some other guys. If that’s going to raise the level of play and create more wins, that’s why I’m here, so I’m looking forward to the opportunities.
On if he is excited about the potential of the offense:
Definitely. You look at Trent (Edwards), he’s healthy, he’s back there delivering the ball, he’s throwing it around. You’ve got myself, Lee (Evans), Josh (Reed), and a lot of young guys and our backfield is stocked with some very capable running backs, so I’m definitely looking forward to putting points on the board and really making a difference this year. Our defense is going to be strong, we can keep guys out of the end zone, and make it a competitive ball game, I like our chances down the stretch.
On raising the level of interest in the team and the ticket sales thus far:
I don’t know. I don’t keep up with that stuff. I guess you could equate it to some of the stock market stuff, so to speak. I guess I’m sure I had a little to do with it, and if so, that’s good for the city.
On if he thought he had too many drops last year:
Drops are part of the game. I’m a professional, and you should go into the game, every game prepared. There were some drops and that’s just part of it, but I’m pretty sure I would have assessed my performance and say I could have played better, but that wasn’t the case.
On the talk around the rest of the division, and why it’s been so quiet in Buffalo:
That’s surprising, because I’m here. I’m not sure. I’m new to the division, so I’m not really aware of what’s going on, what’s being said, but we don’t really worry about what somebody else says. I think we’ll do our talking on Sundays, on offense and winning ball games.
On what he’s going to learn at media training:
I don’t know. I’m doing the opposite. I was supposed to go do media training first and then come back out here. I think that would have been beneficial.
On what would make him happy personally this season:
I don’t know, there’s a list of things, we don’t have all day. Just coming here, I think the goal for every team is to win the Super Bowl. I think to get this team to the playoffs, get us to the playoffs. That gives us an opportunity to win the Super Bowl and we just have to take it one game at a time. We’re going to start that in New England on September the 14th and we’re going to work our butts off to go up there and get a win.
On if he feels like he has anything to prove after last year:
No, not at all. There’s no pressure on me at all. I know what I’m capable of, I’m very thankful and gracious for the opportunity that the Bills have given me and I’m going to embrace it. I feel good, I can play this game. I know here, I know Turk (Schonert) is going to throw the ball down the field. I feel very confident in the guys that we have in the rotation and that we have on the offensive side of the ball. I know I don‘t talk much about the defense, but those guys fly around. I’m looking for some big things from those guys and they’re going to be instrumental in some of the things that we’re doing on offense, so the defense is going to be key for us.
TRENT EDWARDS
On how the team performed today:
It’s hard when they get the crowd noise in there. I know Dick (Jauron) wants us to get a feel for how it’s going to be on the road this year, especially when you go no huddle, you have to be able to communicate when it is loud. Today, I thought, went really well. Sometimes some of the calls weren’t coming in clear to my helmet, but other than that everything went smoothly. We saw our sights and our hots and that’s always difficult when you’re going at a fast pace. You may not know the protection and I felt like we got those out and we got the ball out and we didn’t have any bad plays.
On if the team is at the tempo they want to be at:
I think it’s a work in progress. It’s always difficult to go on quick snap counts when there is a lot of crowd noise and you may not necessarily know the entire play, but Turk (Schonert) likes to change that up a lot and that’s what we need to be able to do. That’s what he wants, that’s what we need to be able to do to keep the defense off-base. I feel like Perry (Fewell) is getting them in some good looks against our offense and I don’t know, if we can run some plays while they’re not properly aligned, I feel like we can catch them at a bad spot and really take advantage of that. That’s kind of what Turk’s looking for and that’s something we need to do.
On the goal of the minicamp:
Just finish what we started. I feel like we started off OTAs very well, and we didn’t finish well, kind of like the season we had last season. We started off very well but we didn’t do it at the end of last season. That kind of what we need, consistency for an entire 15-pracitce OTA session, that’s what we need for a 17-week football season. We have to stay healthy, we have to stay consistent for four quarters of every football game and that’s what we have to do these next couple days when we finish it off.
On his chemistry with WR Terrell Owens:
It’s improving every day, honestly. He’s a communicator, he likes coming back to the huddle, he likes telling me what he saw and he likes asking me what I saw and that’s very important for a quarterback and wide receiver. Same thing, I feel like, is rubbing off on Lee (Evans). He’s been more in my ear about what he wants and what coverage he saw and it’s really been beneficial for me because I have two guys coming back to the huddle, communicating, whereas it hasn’t really happened in my career so far, so it’s nice to have receivers that want the ball in their hands and that want to communicate what’s going on out there.
On how much freedom he has in the no-huddle:
I like it a lot. I like the system that we have in place right now and it’s a matter of whether or not we’ll use it. I’m not exactly sure but we have practiced it a lot, so we have that in our back pocket, but as a quarterback, it puts a lot of pressure on you. It puts a lot of responsibility in terms of getting your offense in the right play and the right call and that’s enjoyable as a quarterback, though. You want the ball in your hands, and you want the ball in your hands late in the game when the game is on the line, and every play on this field is like that. We have a repertoire of plays in my back pocket that I can go to that I have the freedom to do that. It does come with a lot of responsibility, but it’s a matter of getting the mistakes out here in practice and making sure we’re all on the same page. It’s nice that the coaches are doing that for me.
On if he has talked to former Bills QB Jim Kelly at all about running the no-huddle:
I run into Jim (Kelly) every now and then. I’m not going to reach out and ask him exactly the details, I’m not going to sit down and look at the playbook that they ran. The person we do have on staff here that does know that system very well is Alex Van Pelt, my quarterbacks coach. He’s been a firm believer in it. Again, like I said, it’s not necessarily what we’re going to run on every single play or every single series of the season, but it’s definitely a change. That’s what Turk wants and that’s what Dick likes a lot, too. We need to be able to get in rhythm and get on the same page, and I feel like Alex has had the experience before and there are other guys on our staff that do have that experience as well.
On if he can see the offense building towards where it needs to be at the start of the regular season:
I firmly believe that, yes. I do feel like we have the right pieces in place right now. It does start up front, it starts with our five guys up front to get the run game and pass game going. You can’t pass go before that. Those guys need to be able to block those guys up front, and they’ve done a great job so far, but we have some great defensive lineman, too, that are getting paid a lot of money to go after them. I think that’s good for Brad (Butler) and Langston (Walker) and Eric (Wood) and Andy (Levitre) and Geoff (Hangartner) as well. All of those guys are doing a great job for me, and it’s a matter of building. We’re developing chemistry, we’re really hitting the ground running right here and that’s what we need to do once we report to Rochester at the end of July.
On if Owens will eventually learn more of the receiver positions:
Yeah, I definitely do. I feel like he’s our ‘z’ receiver right now, but we do have a chance, with some different personnel groupings we’re working with, to move him around. Once we start running the plays over and over each week, it’s a matter of changing things up and putting him at a different spot, and I think that once he learns his particular ‘z’ position and once the defenses have seen some of our plays week in and week out, we can maybe move him to another spot, once he feels comfortable with the spot he’s in already.
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