After Donald Jones was carted off to the Bills locker room during Sunday’s game, I tweeted the following:
So donald Jones is getting carted off? We have no wideouts. You know, TO is a good underneath route runner. Just saying.
The tweet must have struck a chord with my followers because it was retweeted 7 times. I also got some responses which ranged from liking the idea, to hating it, to saying it would never happen. Now, there are a number of ways to look at the situation. So, let us just bullet point this sucker.
- If the Bills were 1-4 or even 2-3, no way in hell I would say “Yes” to it. There’s no reason you would add a veteran to a rebuilding team. However, the Bills are in position to contend for a division title. They are in it to win it. Also, look it at it this way, we’ve gone 11 years without the playoffs and I have no clue if this is the start of a 3-year reign of 10 wins or more yearly or just a lucky year. As a Bills fan, I’m not taking any of this for granted and I’m shooting for the stars. I’m not waiting for next year or worrying about the team down the road. You have no idea what will happen next year or beyond. It should also be noted that this team still has contract issues with Stevie, Fitz and Fred Jackson. So, who knows what this team will look like next year. Why not go for it?
- To me, the most over-hyped thing with T.O. is all the locker room stuff. Did we hear any bad stories last year with the Bengals and T.O.? No. The team just stunk. We didn’t hear any stories of T.O. trashing Carson Palmer or going on strike. How about in 2009? Did we hear anything bad? Did Owens throw the worst QB/coach tandem in the history of the world (Jauron/Edwards) under the bus? No. The only controversial thing he did was go to Starbucks in Union Square on an off day and have a bunch of crazy lunatics dressed in popcorn greet him at the airport. Frankly, he was well-liked in the locker room (Google Stevie Johnson and Owens) and he actually liked Fitzpatrick when he played a handful of games with him. Hell, I’m sure he and Shawne Merriman can crash red carpet events and chase after reality show girls.
- We all know what Gailey’s offense is all about when it comes to his wideouts. He wants good route runners who can run those 8-10 yard routes. That is pretty much what T.O. gives you. He is a run after the catch guy who has made a living off those kind of routes. He’s also coming of a 72-catch year in which he was injured for two games. Bottom line: He’s better than Ruvell Martin and Roosevelt.
- You can probably count on a number of media members crapping on this scenario. Maybe it is about the player’s lack of contributions to the team, but I think it goes deeper than that. T.O. didn’t exactly make a lot of fans within the WNY media while he was here. People like Jerry Sullivan thought Owens was going to tell it how it was, but instead, he didn’t really say all that much because he didn’t wanna screw up his next contract. When you don’t give the press quotes, you are going to be in trouble, especially if you were thought to be a player that would give out money statements. When Owens first signed with the Bills, a number of people in the media were smitten by it. Then he stunk, then he didn’t give out great quotes, and then all of a sudden, that person was against Owens from the start. Now, I’m not trying to bash the press corps because Owens wasn’t exactly the best person to deal with from their point-of-view. Early in the 2009 season, T.O. was kind of a jerk after games. I remember he no-showed some postgame conferences or did the whole “Im just running the plays” quotes during one of them. He also had a tendency to blame the Buffalo media when ESPN was trying to dig dirt on him. In other words, both parties weren’t exactly enamored with each other.
- I know some will probably reference Owens impact in 2009. Let us be honest here, put Jerry Rice or Steve Largent or Andre Reed in that offense, and those guys would do nothing on the field. That whole 2009 season was a complete joke from the offensive playing calling to Trent Edwards to Dick Jauron. It didn’t matter who was lined up outside during that season. The Bills offense was god awful. I think it was a miracle that Owens had 55 catches that season. Now? Things are different. We actually have a decent offensive coordinator, and Fitzpatrick is much better than Trent Edwards or Fitz of 2009. Plus, Fitz actually had some chemistry with Owens. Remember the Jags game, when Fitz threw a 98-yard pass to Owens? Owens top three games that season (197, 96 and 85 yards) and four of his five touchdown catches came when Fitzpatrick was the starter.
- Two major problems: Chan Gailey and Owens are about as polar opposites as you can get. During Gailey’s first ever press conference, he talked about winning games without Babe Ruth. Gailey thinks he can win ballgames because of his schemes and finding guys who fit them. In other words, he didn’t seem to want a guy with a ton of ego. Owens kind of fits that ego bill. Second, Owens is coming off a serious injury and isn’t a spring chicken anymore. He would also be coming in without a training camp. To me, that may be the biggest deal breaker of them all. Also, the Bills may be inclined to finding more of a speed guy.
- Oh, what the hell, let us mention Randy Moss. I’ve always loved Randy Moss. I think he’s the greatest wide receiver I’ve ever seen when he’s on his game* The Bills don’t really have that deep threat, and Randy Moss would definitely fill that need. However, I’m not sure he’d mix with the offensive system. Moss isn’t the type of player who runs routes all that well. He’s a deep ball specialist, not the type of guy who catches ball 8-10 yards away. However, put a gun to my head, I’d rather have Moss here than Owens. I just think Moss is money.
It’s a very interesting debate. I think T.O.’s baggage with some in the Buffalo media and just his whole demeanor in general will make folks throw cold water on the idea. I can already sense some critics will attack anyone who has it in their head that it would be a decent fit. It’s very easy to pick on Owens. Hell, he probably deserves it. However, I don’t think the topic deserves a giant SCOFF.
I’ll be honest, Owens really ticked me off towards the end of his time here. I thought he used the city for his stupid reality show purposes. I assure you, not many cities would be inclined to give an athlete the key to it and then have a bunch of tools greet him at the airport.
However, this isn’t about my perception of T.O.’s personality, it’s about whether he can help us win games. I think he could…IF he’s healthy enough.
Do I think they will kick the tires on it?
No.
I just think it’s NOT the type of move they would make. How many times during the summer did we wish the Bills would go after this or that ex-linemen? McKinnie? Gurode? Did they? No. And it actually paid off. Buddy Nix doesn’t seem the type to add that many veterans to his team. It should also be noted that he’s the same GM who decided NOT to re-sign Owens after the 2009 season.
Money-wise? Even though the Bills are very weird with money (putting it nicely), Owens isn’t going to command that much. He got like 2 million last year, and there is no way he’d get that now while coming off a serious injury.
There’s also a warning I’d like to point out. Remember the 05/06 Conference Finals, when all of the Sabres defensemen went down and we had Doug Houda or some other jabroni playing? Of course you do. Well, I remember thinking back to the trade deadline and wishing the team actually brought in blueline depth. They didn’t, and they paid for it.
The Bills are very thin at wideout and if Stevie Johnson goes down, I have no clue how you can expect these guys to carry the load. I mean, they have been miracle workers this year, but that seems to be a Moses parting of the Red Sea type of event. David Nelson and the UB kid? Eh. I just don’t want it to be a situation where we would look back and say, “Man, if we only signed another wideout.”
Bottom line: Why not just get the best wide receiver available? Doesn’t that make sense?
Twitter: @Joebuffalowins
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