The assortment of issues plaguing the Bills offense improved Sunday, but couldn’t produce a notch in the win column. While it was difficult finding a positive outlook following the 18-15 loss to Jacksonville, the main headline was Terrell Owens’ most productive game in a Bills uniform.

Owens finally had the type of game the team and fan base envisioned when he signed a one-year contract in March. He certainly hasn’t lived up to expectations thus far, catching just 26 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns before torching the Jacksonville secondary Sunday.

Owens hauled in nine balls for 197 yards including a 98-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

The score was not only the longest of Owens career, but his 48th career 100-yard receiving game, breaking a tie with Michael Irvin for fifth most in NFL history. But for the veteran receiver his personal stats were less than fulfilling.

“For me personally it’s all for nothing if we don’t get the win,” Owens said. “But I thank God for the opportunity to make plays and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Offensively we made some strides, but still came up a few plays short.”

Owens pointed to the offense’s struggles in the fourth quarter, and the importance of finishing games, before speaking of his individual accomplishments.

The long touchdown, however, remained the biggest highlight. The Bills trailed 10-9 at the break, and started their first possession of the second half pinned on their own two-yard line. Ryan Fitzpatrick dropped back on a 1st-and-10 play and heaved a deep pass down the right sideline for Owens, who had a step on Jaguars corner Tyron Brackenridge. He ran under the pass, catching the ball in midstride, and escaped a shoestring tackle running to the end zone unscathed.

While it quickly gave the Bills a 15-10 lead, the score marked the ninth time in NFL history a pass has covered 98 yards and is the longest passing play in franchise history. The previous record was established on Dec. 1, 1996 as Todd Collins hit Quinn Early for a 95-yard touchdown against the Colts.

The original play call was a short pass, but Fitzpatrick saw a favorable matchup on the outside and took advantage.

“We had a quick pass called and I just saw the corner sitting out there one-on-one with Terrell,” Fitzpatrick said. “It looked pretty good to me, it looked enticing. I just threw it up there with a lot of air on it, and Terrell did his thing and ran under it. It’s a simple go and throw route. Everyone has that in their offense and it was matter of getting it at the right time.”

Owens credited Fitzpatrick’s ability to make the audible, and said it was a situation where the signal caller read the single coverage and made the right adjustment.

“Ryan is a smart quarterback. He knows how to assess the defense and put us in the right situations,” Owens said. “Even on the long touchdown, we had a run play called and got out of that based on what the defense showed us, then made a great throw.”

Despite his below average numbers thus far, Owens was targeted early and found creases on several crossing routes. By halftime, Owens caught six passes taking advantage of a Jaguars secondary missing corner Rashean Mathis and linebacker Justin Durant to injury.

“It’s every week because with the guys we have out there, we feel it’s an edge for us just because of how talented Lee and Terrell are,” Fitzpatrick said. “We thought we could throw the ball around a little bit and unfortunately we came up short.”

Interim head coach Perry Fewell said Owens’ track record makes him dangerous in any situation.

“He’s Terrell Owens and if we could just protect well enough, he’s still a good receiver,” Fewell said. “We tried to get our playmakers the ball, and I thought Alex (Van Pelt) did a great job of getting T.O involved, Lee involved.”

With his final reception today, Owens moved past Marvin Harrison for fourth place on the all-time receiving yardage list at 14,586 yards.

“I don’t play the game for a lot of the records, it’s just part of what I do,” he said. “Again, I thank the Lord for the opportunities I’ve been longing for since coming here.”

Owens remains an integral part of his team’s success, yet the Bills playoff aspirations are all but dashed at 3-7. For this reason he just wants to see improvement no matter the outcome.

“It’s tough because you want to approach every season with the eye on the prize, and that’s the Super Bowl. In order to get there, you have to get wins and make the playoffs. It looks bleak, but we have to finish strong. I feel like I’ve put that on my shoulders, and want to finish strong no matter what.”

Terrell Owens Breaks Out and Runs into the History Books is a post from: AroDrive

Tony Romo has gone from swashbuckling to steady. Dare we say “workman-type”?

Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips came up with that answering a question about his quarterback after Sunday’s 38-17 victory against Seattle. Romo had just finished his career-best third straight game without an interception, which happens to coincide with a three-game winning streak that ties Dallas with Philadelphia atop the NFC East and sets up a first-place showdown Sunday night.

Phillips was trying to describe his whole team, but the connection was notable. And the coach continued the theme Monday, even after some time to think about it.

“We all know Tony played well and has been consistent throwing the ball for most of the games this year, but really the last three,” Phillips said. “He’s thrown it to who he needs to throw to.”

Romo’s gunslinging reputation — the bad side of it — grew in the first regular-season game at Cowboys Stadium. With a record crowd and huge television audience watching, he threw three interceptions that led to three New York touchdowns in the Giants’ 33-31 win.

His fourth interception was a big one in Denver, wiping out a great scoring chance in a 17-10 loss. But that was also the last one. There have been eight touchdowns among the 106 Romo passes over the past three games.

“You’re always looking to never make a mistake, everyone being on the right page, everyone doing the right things,” said Romo, who was a steady 21 of 26 for 256 yards with three touchdowns against the Seahawks. “You’re always striving for that each week. The reality of it though is that it’s not going to happen every week.”

One other major factor in Romo’s favor coincides with the past three games: the emergence of receiver Miles Austin. That’s all the time it took for people to start calling him the No. 1 receiver on a team with Roy Williams and his $45 million contract.

Perhaps the label came quickly because Austin has 482 receiving yards in his first three starts, the most of any player since 1970.

Austin has taken short passes a long way, which he did twice to help save the Cowboys in a 26-20 overtime victory at then-winless Kansas City. He and Romo have connected on deep routes, too, including one that put Dallas ahead for good in a crucial game against Atlanta two Sundays ago.

“I’m just getting more balls my way, so it’s making me more alert and I’m ready for an opportunity any time it rears its pretty head,” Austin said.

The nagging concern for Dallas is the inability of Romo and Williams to find each other. Drops by Williams and bad throws in his direction by Romo overshadowed his second touchdown of the season against the Seahawks.

Still, productivity elsewhere and general efficiency by the No. 2 offense in the NFL are a relief for a franchise that spent three years answering daily questions about whether Terrell Owens c was getting the ball enough.

“The good thing is we’re not saying, ‘Well, we’ve got to get the ball to Roy Williams,”‘ Phillips said. “You can get caught up in that.”

Romo hasn’t completely thrown the flash in the trash can.

One of his best highlights during the three-game winning streak was a spin-dart-and-toss touchdown to Patrick Crayton  against Atlanta. The difference, though, was that Romo slowed down when he found open space and made sure Crayton was open before delivering the 5-yard scoring pass.

Even if Romo was more careful, Crayton said, the Cowboys need those plays from their quarterback.

“He’s not a game manager,” Crayton said. “They don’t pay him to be a game manager. They pay him to make plays, and that’s what he’s doing.”

Tony Romo and the Boys from Dallas atop the NFC East is a post from: AroDrive

Terrell Owens has caught just 15 passes during the Bills’ 2-4 start. And as the receiver noted on Wednesday, he has not demonstrated his disappointment with his role, as some analysts projected would happen when he signed in Buffalo.

“As of now you see that I haven’t had any gripes about anything,” Owens said, “I’m just going with the flow of what’s going on, and going with the plays that are called.”

Owens, who recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his three seasons in Dallas, is on pace for just 573 receiving yards this year. And he’s caught just one TD.

He said it’s the defensive coverage that’s forcing the ball away from him thus far. It is a problem he’s faced in his career before, Owens conceded.

“Obviously, with those coverages, the coordinators have been able to move me around in the offense, create plays and do things with formations and shifts and things of that nature,” Owens said. “And with this offense, it’s not like that. So I understand that and you just have to go with the plays that are called, again.”

But while Owens may not be complaining about his diminished role, he won’t criticize Panthers WR Steve Smith for voicing his anger about his role.

Smith, a four-time Pro Bowler with just 21 catches, said Sunday he feels like he’s “no longer an asset” for Carolina. The Bills travel to Carolina on Sunday.

“Well, yeah, I feel his frustration,” Owens said of Smith. “I know where he is coming from. Especially when you know you can play this game at a high level and for whatever reason I can’t really comment on why he’s not being involved. Obviously he’s voicing his opinion, and I’ve been there before.”

Terrell Owens has no complaints about diminished role with Bills! is a post from: AroDrive

Terrell-Owens

Terrell Owens feels like he’s being provoked.

The Buffalo wide receiver, a day after offering mostly terse answers to reporters’ questions following the Bills’ 27-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints, told the “Two Live Stews” on Sporting News Radio that the media is trying to get him to stir things up in Buffalo, as he did in Dallas and Philadelphia.

Owens, who declined to speak with the media after the Bills’ first two games, told “Two Live Stews” co-hosts Doug and Ryan Stewart that he has tried to prevent a repeat of the media tempests that roiled and eventually shortened his tenure with theDallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

“It really just shows you the angle that the media has taken all these years,” Owens said during the interview. “Over the years I’ve always kind of spoken openly about whatever is being asked with my answers, so the last four or five years I’ve kind of noticed that and tried taking some steps to prevent some of those things from happening.

“But [Sunday] as you saw, it was obviously … [the media] took some more than initiative to try to get me to kind of go down the wrong path. I know the last two teams that I’ve been on, I felt like I left those teams prematurely due to media interviews that I’ve done and things kind of taken out of context and they created sort of a media whirlwind in the locker room and things kind of went downhill from there. I’m just trying to do the best job I can do as far as answering the questions and trying to be a better teammate and not try to throw people under the bus.”

During his news conference on Sunday after the Bills loss — in which his streak of 185 consecutive games with a reception was snapped — Owens was repeatedly asked about his lack of involvement in the team’s offense.

“Just going with the plays that are called,” Owens replied repeatedly to those questions. “Whether I like them or don’t, I’m just going with the plays that are called.”

He admitted some frustration with the lack of pass attempts downfield — “We had some chances to go down the field and we didn’t,” he said — but he sidestepped a question about whether the Bills and quarterbackTrent Edwards are looking enough to the team’s top receivers.

“No, I don’t want to answer that,” Owens said Sunday. “I don’t want to answer that, because whatever I say you guys are going to turn it to however you want to say it.”

On Monday, Owens told the “Two Live Stews” that he had been staying away from postgame media interviews — he declined to speak after the Bills’ first two games — because he felt his answers were being misconstrued or taken out of context.

“So I was trying to take myself out of the situation and not do interviews at all until I had a talk with [NFL senior vice president of public relations] Greg Aiello and kind of got into a heated discussion with him as far as my stance on not doing postgame interviews because I’m not trying to go down the same road that I’ve been down before,” Owens said during the interview.

“So I took the initiative and they told me I had to talk in the postgame. I just went in there and did the best job that I can do without creating any media headlines. Obviously, what I did [Sunday] created headlines.

“I know I can play this game at a high level,” Owens added during the interview. “We’ve just got to find some ways to get myself and Lee [Evans] more involved in the offense. Our run game is right where it needs to be. We just got to complement our run game with the pass game.”

Terrell Owens critical of the media is a post from: AroDrive

ARLINGTON, Texas – His postgame departure from the locker room came on a golf cart that drove through a bevy of gawking Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

Not a bad way for Tony Romo to end one of his rougher weeks.

Romo is off the hook from public abuse — at least temporarily — following Monday night’s 21-7 home victory over Carolina. He played a solid but unspectacular game, completing 22 of 33 passes for 255 yards. There were no touchdown throws but no turnovers either — a marked improvement from the previous outing that subjected Romo to the kind of scorn normally reserved for embattled Cowboys coach Wade Phillips. Eight days earlier, Romo’s three interceptions were the deciding factor in a 33-31 loss to the New York Giants that ruined his team’s inaugural regular-season game at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

“I would say this week is going to be better than last week,” Romo deadpanned while flashing a half-smile. “That’s a fair assessment.”

Getting a fair assessment of where Romo stands in his seven-year career isn’t as easy.

After the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he feels strongly that Romo is “the quarterback that can win where we want to go.” Recent history indicates otherwise.

The star on Romo’s helmet has faded since his meteoric 2006 rise under then-coach Bill Parcells. Romo began his career as a starter with an 18-6 record. He is 11-8 since and has lost both of his playoff appearances. That has raised doubts about whether Romo was worth the $67 million contract extension Jones granted midway through the 2007 season.

Dr. Phil would have a blast psychoanalyzing reasons for the decline. Some will point to the Yoko Effect — i.e. Romo’s ill-fated relationship with Jessica Simpson. Romo’s image still hasn’t recovered from his retreat with Simpson to Cabo San Lucas before Dallas’ 2007 playoff loss to the New York Giants. Questions began to arise about whether Romo had his priorities in order and the drive to become a consistently great player. This perception and knocks on Romo’s leadership were enhanced by his ho-hum reaction after big losses.

Like Simpson, Terrell Owens is another piece of baggage Romo has shed in 2009. But the wide receiver’s stinging criticism of Romo and a misfiring Cowboys offense in 2008 left another black mark.

Not all the knocks are justified. Romo missed three games last season with a damaged thumb and was never the same player upon his return. Compounding the problem were other offensive injuries and a lack of continuity, especially because of Owens’ throw-me-the-ball demands and wide receiver Roy Williams’ difficulty in adjusting after his midseason arrival from Detroit.

Romo knew something had to change. So did Dallas management.

Owens was released. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett returned to a more diversified attack with renewed emphasis on the running game (Dallas gouged Carolina for 212 rushing yards even without injured starter Marion Barber). Romo also has tried to reinvent himself. He talked in the preseason about being a better leader and the team having “narrowed its focus” by ignoring outside chatter.

Romo seemed on the right track after a 34-21 season-opening victory at Tampa Bay. But the harsh public and media

She thought you played great, Tony.

response after the Giants game shows how little faith many have in him.

Even the number of Cowboys legends bashing Romo continues to grow. Last week, Tony Dorsett joined Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman with his $.02. Dorsett told FOXSports radio that he didn’t know why on “God’s earth Romo has been anointed a superstar” and the media “has given him too much credit for doing nothing.”

“The criticism is meaningless to me,” Romo said about fallout from the Giants loss. “If I throw four TDs last week, everyone thinks you’re amazing and might be this or that. It’s the same as if people tell you you’re no good. It doesn’t matter. It’s all about improving and doing it on the field.”

In that regard, the Cowboys still have a long ways to go. The crowd of 90,588 fans showered the team with boos as the winless Panthers (0-3) entered halftime with a 7-0 lead. Dallas was forced to settle for field goals on two drives that reached the Carolina 1-yard line.

This game was decided largely by the Dallas defense and a special-teams coverage unit that kept Carolina pinned deep throughout. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme — who is on far shakier ground than Romo — continued his decline. Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman returned a Delhomme interception 27 yards for the game-sealing touchdown with 5:07 remaining.

Just the fact that Dallas hadn’t dispatched the overmatched Panthers earlier speaks volumes about where the Cowboys (2-1) really stand after three weeks. So does Jones saying his team had a “desperate attitude” following the Giants loss even with the season so young.

Yet while the Cowboys’ overall psyche may be shaky, Romo insists his isn’t.

“I am much tougher on myself than any of you guys ever will be,” Romo told the media. “I have goals I hope to achieve as an individual and collectively as a group. I get frustrated and disappointed when I don’t live up to what my standard is. That’s why I come back with a purpose to improve. My sole focus this week was to understand why I did certain things and not make those mistakes again.

“Sometimes you have to go through the growing pains to get there.”

But after three-plus seasons as a starter and no postseason success to show for it, it’s understandable why some Cowboys fans are growing tired of waiting for Romo to truly become an elite quarterback.

Alex Marvez will appear with co-host Marty Schottenheimer from 1 to 3 p.m. ET Tuesday on Sirius NFL Radio, Channel 124.

by Alex Marvez

Cowboys win won’t silence Romo critics is a post from: AroDrive

Terrell Owens

If Terrell Owens was unhappy that his streak of 185 consecutive games with a catch ended on Sunday, he kept his anger in check. A little.

Owens gave short and dismissive answers to reporters after the Bills lost 27-7 to New Orleans, the first game in which he didn’t have a reception since his rookie year in 1996.

After the game, he did not criticize his teammates or coaches, but his discontent was evident. “I’m just going with the plays that are called,” Owens said.

NBC analyst Tony Dungy, the former Colts coach, acknowledged on the network that Owens’ unhappiness could become an issue.

“That’s hard to coach,” Dungy said.

Fellow NBC analyst Rodney Harrison went further, however, and reiterated that he thinks Owens is “a clown.”

“He’s more concerned with his own stats than the team’s success,” Harrison said.

Owens responded on Twitter by rebuking and taunting Harrison about the former Patriots safety’s suspension in 2007 for violating the performance-enhancing substances policy.

From Owens’ Twitter account:

“I could less about Rodney Harrison! Anybody tht using steroids, yes STEROIDS rodney, is a cheater & cheated the game! … Is tht Y u used steroids b/c u were worried about ur stats or ws it b/c u were losing it? Lol! U’re a loser & a cheater? Got any steroid … Hey rodney! Send me sum steroids 2 the Bills facility next week!”

Owens would not reveal if he is unhappy with the Bills’ play-calling

“Whether I like them or don’t, I’m just going with the plays that are called.”

Pressed by a reporter on what he thinks of the play-calling, Owens repeated a theme he told USA TODAY last week. He said he’s unhappy with the way the media portrays him.

“No I don’t want to answer that,” Owens said. “Because whatever I say, you guys are going to turn it to however you want to say it.”

Terrell Owens lashes out at Rodney Harrison after Bills loss is a post from: AroDrive

Terrell Owens

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Terrell Owens will take the field Sunday in diamond stud earrings that cost more than the houses of many of the Buffalo Bills fans who will cheer his every move.

He bought them for $137,000 on Rodeo Drive while cameras from his VH1 reality show rolled. They could be seen glittering when he took his helmet off on the sideline last week, even from the upper deck of Ralph Wilson Stadium.

“I always wear them,” he says, smiling his Cheshire cat smile. “I think people call them my signature earrings.”

SPLIT PERSONALITY? Meet T.O.; he’s different from Terrell
THE HUDDLE: T.O. sees Hollywood in his future

The Bills beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Owens’ first home game in his fourth NFL city. That night, he watched the Dallas Cowboys play their first game in their spanking-new, state-of-the-art $1.3 billion stadium.

Owens, 35, thought he would get to play in that palace fitting his outsized celebrity. Instead, he watched on TV as his former team played in the highest-rated regular-season game since last century.

Terrell Owens

“The Ralph,” as the Bills’ home is known locally, opened in 1973 with a price tag of $22 million — relative pocket change under couch cushions in the luxury boxes at Cowboys Stadium.

“You could probably sit this one inside that one,” Owens says of his new stadium. If that sounds wistful, like a headliner unhappy playing off-Broadway, Owens insists that is not the case.

“The stadium is a stadium,” he says. “It’s not going to win you any games. It’s good, luxury-wise, but you still have to play the game in between those white lines. … It doesn’t bother me to be in Ralph Stadium or the Taj Mahal.”

Fans in Buffalo chanted his initials last weekend. They wore blue No. 81 jerseys. They murmured collectively when Owens dropped a perfectly placed pass. And they cheered madly when he caught a 43-yard touchdown strike.

“These people eat, breathe and sleep Buffalo Bills,” Owens says. “We get shown so much love.”

The Owens timeline is well known. Grew up poor in Alabama, played under the radar at Tennessee-Chattanooga, broke into the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers as the other wide receiver to Jerry Rice.

Today he has 140 receiving touchdowns, behind only Rice’s 197 in NFL history. Yet Owens’ records are less well known than the various controversies that led to his leaving the 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Cowboys.

“Yeah, that is always going to be a knock,” he says. “And I think it’s very unfortunate. Since leaving Philadelphia, I kind of felt like I left those two teams prematurely. Only because of how the media spins, you know, they misinterpreted something I said.”

And this is the theme of a one-hour conversation. Owens says he is misunderstood. He says the news media take what he says and twist it into something else and that’s how he gets in trouble. He wants you to know he’s really just a nice, charitable guy who can run and catch.

“The people who really know me … know my heart,” he says. “They know I didn’t mean anything. I didn’t say anything intentionally. It wasn’t malicious. And when people try to make me out to be the bad guy, and say something, and make me, to the public, say something that I didn’t mean, then that’s when I have to try to explain myself.”

And that’s why, Owens says, he has imposed a sort of modified gag order on himself. He will talk midweek when it is required by the league, he says, but not so much otherwise. He did not talk to reporters after the Bills’ first game, a Monday night loss to the New England Patriots, or after Sunday’s win against the Buccaneers.

WEEK 3 PICKS: Our analysts choose winners & losers

“It’s not mandated that I have to talk to the media after the game,” Owens says. “We have captains on this team. … Why can’t the captains speak for the team? … And so now it’s, like, I don’t say anything. And now that’s a story.”

Two members of the Bills media relations department talked with Owens this week and told him the league does in fact expect him to talk to reporters after games.

“I feel I have been unfairly criticized in whatever I have to say,” Owens says. “So it’s a point where I’m getting frustrated. I don’t want this to be a bad situation here in Buffalo.”

Owens left those other NFL cities after various controversies, including remarks critical of quarterbacks Donovan McNabb in Philly and Tony Romo in Dallas.

Over the years, he also has been suspended for creative TD celebrations (49ers) and arguments with coaches (Eagles).

Living in the spotlight

The Bills signed Owens to a one-year, $6.5 million deal in March. “We got one of the premier playmakers in a playmakers’ league,” Bills general manager Russ Brandon said at the time.

Observers soon began to wonder when Owens might say something unkind about Bills quarterback Trent Edwards.

BUFFALO WEATHER: Will the cold dampen Owens’ production?

Last week, a couple of days after the Monday night loss, Owens said, “Trent has to better assess what he’s seeing out there and take some shots down the field.”

Owens got grilled on national talk shows, but some writers who cover the Bills locally thought Owens was on target. “I could see where he says he is misunderstood,” says John Wawrow of the Associated Press in Buffalo.

Edwards did take shots downfield in last week’s win, including TDs to Owens and Lee Evans.

“If they are constantly nitpicking about everything I say in an interview, and they make it into a story, I know I’m playing with a young quarterback,” Owens says. “I’m not coming here trying to mess up a quarterback-receiver relationship. Now, he sees and he hears and he reads that stuff. Who knows what he’s thinking?”

If Owens is guilty at times of speaking too honestly, he says that comes of growing up with a strict grandmother who impressed on him the importance of always speaking his mind.

Owens has never shown up on a police blotter.

“I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs. I don’t do none of that. I drink sociably, if I do drink, you know, and I get home safely. … You are never going to see me out there beating up on no girl. No domestic violence, no nothing. No sketchy incidents … that’s never going to be me. And I already know if that was me that would be like the end of me. It would be the end. And I know the first thing a lot of people (would say), ‘I knew this day was going to come, been waiting on it.’ ”

Making a difference

Owens spread his arms like a bird after last week’s TD catch and bumped chests with his teammates but had no carefully choreographed celebration.

“The league has cracked down,” he says. “I’ve thought of the bells and whistles of celebration, so at this point what more can you do?”

Wide receiver Josh Reed thinks new choreography will come. “I’m waiting to see the T.O. thing he does,” Reed says. “I love that.”

If teammates like his showmanship, they say they love his work ethic. “Going against him in practice every day,” safety Donte Whitner says, “makes our corners better — makes me better.”

Owens also is trying to make Buffalo better as the face of a campaign for the local food bank. More than $100,000 was raised the first week. “I know how it feels not to have something,” he says, noting his family used food stamps when he was growing up.

Owens is a national spokesman for the Alzheimer’s Association — his grandmother has the disease — and was honorary chairman of a walk for the local chapter.

“He has been a very good citizen,” Buffalo mayor Byron Brown says. “As mayor I am very pleased with the way he has been engaged civically.”

Owens is angry at the news media. But he is mostly off to a rosy start in Buffalo. Fans cheer. Teammates celebrate.

Yet history indicates it might end badly.

Owens says that’s the news media’s fault. Doesn’t he take responsibility for himself?

Other questions Owens answers without hesitation. Here he pauses several seconds.

“I do, from the standpoint of the way I was raised,” he says. “I can live with that, because that’s what my grandmother taught me: to be honest.”

And then, in his next breath: “Do I feel that the media has been honest with all their reports about me?”

Not surprisingly, he does not.

Misunderstood? Terrell Owens wants to clear misperceptions is a post from: AroDrive

Terrell Owens

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Donte Whitner returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown and Terrell Owens — after being negated most of the game — scored on a 43-yard catch in his home debut to cap a 33-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Whitner also made a key stop on fourth down less than a week after he was left crying in frustration after the Bills squandered an 11-point lead in a 25-24 season-opening loss at New England.

Buffalo (1-1) ended a five-game home losing streak. The Buccaneers (0-2) have lost six straight and continue to struggle on defense after allowing 438 yards.

Tampa Bay’s once-respected defense has now allowed 332 yards or more in each of its past seven games. It’s given up 400-plus yards in each of its two games this season following a 34-21 loss to Dallas last weekend. The defensive backfield continues to be susceptible to the deep pass.

Before Owens’ touchdown, Lee Evans opened the scoring with a 32-yard touchdown reception. Tampa Bay allowed three TDs of 40 yards or more against Dallas.

So much for Bills quarterback Trent Edwards’ inability to go deep. After being labeled `Captain Checkdown’ for most of the preseason, and questioned by Owens this past week for overlooking a few opportunities to go long against New England, Edwards responded.

He finished 21 of 31 for 230 yards with two scores and an interception.

Edwards hit Evans in stride just inside the right pylon — and ahead of Ronde Barber — five plays into the Bills’ opening drive. The TD to T.O. came on a similar play, with Owens going up to get the ball just ahead of cornerback Aqib Talib.

Owens celebrated his first touchdown with Buffalo — and the 140th of his 14-year career — by jumping into the arms of several teammates in the end zone. Some fans in the sold-out stadium celebrated by tossing up popcorn in tribute of T.O.’s famous saying: “Getcha popcorn ready.”

Byron Leftwich finished 26 of 49 for 296 yards and three touchdowns, but threw two costly interceptions. Carnell Williams, Kellen Winslow and Jeramy Stevens each scored touchdowns after the Bucs fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter.

Whitner played a big role in that by stopping the Bucs on their second possession. After Leftwich marched Tampa Bay 55 yards, Leftwich dropped back to pass and his arm was in motion when he was hit on the leg by defensive tackle Kyle Williams.

The pass sailed over Williams and into the arms of Whitner, who danced up the right sideline untouched. Whitner also stopped Derrick Ward for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 early in the third quarter after the Bucs had cut Buffalo’s lead to 20-14.

With the Bills up 20-7 and threatening to score late in the first half, the game’s momentum suddenly turned in Tampa Bay’s favor. Fred Jackson was running inside the Bucs’ 20 when he lost control of ball after taking a hard hit from Barber.

The ball flew up and directly into the hands of safety Sabby Piscitelli, who returned it 72 yards up the sideline before being caught from behind by Roscoe Parrish. Leftwich capitalized on the next play by hitting Carnell Williams for an 8-yard touchdown pass.

Whitner, Owens take charge as Bills rebound for first win is a post from: AroDrive

Three Things You Should Care About:

Brandon Jacobs

1. If Brandon Jacobs cracks the line of scrimmage, look out. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers provided a template last week for what could be scary success by Jacobs against Dallas in Week 2. Cadillac Williams, who scares no defensive coordinator with his two surgically-repaired knees but who runs with similarly bullheaded reckless abandon as Jacobs, had little trouble penetrating the Cowboys’ front. He then ran ramshod through their secondary for 97 yards with a 7.5-yard average, including one 35-yard run that couldn’t have gone over well in Dallas’ defensive meetings this week.

In many ways it’s easy to compare the Giants’ rush assault to the Bucs’: the big guy takes the bulk of the carries while the shiftier Derrick Ward — or Derrick Ward replica Ahmad Bradshaw in the Giants’ case — gets the rest. The Bucs hung 174 yards on the Dallas defense last week. The Giants could conceivably top that against a small 3-4 defense that typically excels more in the pass rush than in run stopping. Jacobs, who’s 6-foot-4, 264 pounds, is tailor-made to exploit that. And if he does, it only opens up the play-action for Eli Manning. (A larger concern: it’s not like Dallas’ inability to stop the Tampa Bay rushing attack had anything to do with a focus on pass rushing. They sacked the flat-footed Byron Leftwich zero times.)

2. Who to watch on the injury report: Both teams’ secondaries, plus a certain Cowboys QB. Last week, against the Redskins, the Giants were without cornerback Aaron Ross (hamstring) and his backup, Kevin Dockery (hamstring also), yet they managed just fine with Terrell Thomas in relief. The second-year corner out of USC allowed four completions for 66 yards and squeezed in a pass defense. Not too shabby for a backup-backup. But consider the opponent. Can you name a Washington receiving threat who scares you these days? Dallas is a different beast.

Now take into account this week’s initial injury offerings and things get a little scarier for the New York faithful. Ross is likely sidelined again, and this week he could potentially be joined by starting safeties Kenny Phillips and/or Michael Johnson, who each sat out mid-week practices with injuries (knee and shoulder, respectively). Of the two, Phillips’ lingering knee problem seems worthy of more concern than Johnson’s stinger. If either one sits, it changes this game remarkably.

Things aren’t nearly as bleak in Dallas, but a secondary that allowed 276 yards to Leftwich ought to be at least

Roy Williams

minimally concerned about a rib injury to Gerald Sensabaugh that had the strong safety struggling to walk and breathe last Sunday. Sensabaugh practiced on Wednesday, making him the likeliest of this bunch to play on Sunday. Advantage: Cowboys.

I’m tacking Tony Romo onto this list of potentially injured players to watch for two reasons. One, the guy has a bum ankle. How bum, no one knows for sure, but it’s one of his main assets. Nobody gives Romo enough credit, but he’s as good as anyone (Roethlisberger‘s right there, too, in my mind) at keeping plays alive with nifty footwork. We’re not talking Vince Young scrambling. But I think you get the idea. And two, because he’s playing the Giants, whose front four should give Romo nightmares this week. They’re faster and more opportunistic than any group out there. If Romo’s even a step slow, it’ll show.

3. Add a word to Dallas’s dictionary: Distribution. Frustrating as it may be for fantasy football owners who are hoping for one or two players to carry the entire load, the Cowboys appear to be learning how to use their full array of weapons. And weapons, they happen to have a few.

With just 52 offensive plays last week (that’s what happens when you score thrice on 40-plus yard plays), offensive coordinator Jason Garrett managed to spread the ball around like we rarely saw in the T.O. Era. And that’s a good thing. Those three 40-plus yard catches went to three receivers. In between, Jason Witten made seven catches, four of them for first downs. Backup extraordinaire Martellus Bennett had a catch as well as an end zone look. And Felix Jones had six touches, which is about as good as you can expect behind Marion Barber (14 carries, 79 yards and a TD).

Now try to imagine squeezing in at least five completions to Terrell Owens – on eight or more throws, given his butterfingers — and you can start to see why letting T.O go may have been the right thing to do.

In three years against the Giants, Owens had a handful of fine performances, but when you start to count the amount of balls directed his way — 57 looks in his last six games against New York — you have to start to ask: at what cost? The Giants’ secondary will have to provide a more well-rounded effort this week than they ever did in the T.O. era, and that could be a serious challenge given their aforementioned injury problems.

Fantasy Focus

Every week, I’ll lend my thoughts on a few particularly startable or sit-worthy players. Here’s who’s I like in this Week 1 matchup:

START

Brandon Jacobs: In the two career games he’s completed against Dallas, he averages 106 yards on just over 20 carries. Easy start.

Roy Williams: Romo’s only beginning to learn what a crisp route-runner this guy is. Expect to see a few more like that 66-yard TD against Tampa.

SIT

Tony Romo: Only if you have a better option, which could be as simple as someone like Joe Flacco. One qualifier: keep an eye on the injury report and if the Giants are down more than one starting defensive back, then let that fact override the ankle injury and stick with Romo.

Marion Barber & Felix Jones: Dallas’ well-roundedness hurts this duo. Also, if you take away last December (when the Giants will admit they’d worn down without Usi Umenyiora), New York didn’t allow anyone to top 88 rushing yards in ’08.

The Pick

New York showed me nothing new in the passing game against the Redskins in Week 1 and that should cause some worry, especially with their lone improvement, Hakeem Nicks, wearing an ankle boot. I fully believe the Giants can win nine or 10 games on defense alone, but not this one. Not without anything comparable to Dallas’s arsenal of offensive weapons.

The Cowboys will try to air it out against a wounded Giants secondary and Manning will be stifled by Dallas’s still-potent pass rushers once he’s forced to throw. Dallas wins its Cowboys Stadium opener 23-10.

A Duel in Dallas is a post from: AroDrive

Buffalo Bills - New England Patriots Breakdown

If you’ve been searching for an in-depth, detailed preview of tonight’s game, look no further—Buffalo Bills Breakdown is exactly what you’ve been looking for…

It’s here. Finally, tonight we can sit back and watch the Buffalo Bills in meaningful action. Monday Night Football is the biggest and brightest stage, and opening a season on national television has generated an electric buzz in Western New York today, even if everyone’s Bills play in Foxboro on the night Tom Brady returns to the NFL.

The Bills last beat the Patriots on the road in 2000, and the players are hungry to come out of Gillette Stadium victorious after being shut out at home by New England in Week 17 of last season.

The Bills are, as you may well imagine, underdogs and have received much criticism for their recent offensive modifications heading into their divisional showdown.

Here’s the breakdown of tonight’s game, which has a chance to be a great one.

Bills Advantages

Lee Evans vs. Leigh Bodden

The Patriots brought in Bodden from the Detroit Lions as their once veteran secondary of Randall Gay, Asante Samuel, and Ellis Hobbs became increasingly thin over the past two offseasons. Bodden began his career in Cleveland and racked up six INTs in 2007, but he is hardly a shutdown corner and was used sparingly this preseason.

Much has been made of the Terrell Owens-Shawn Springs matchup. Owens has owned the “rivalry,” averaging nearly 90 yards and over one score a game, but as far as an advantage for either team, I just don’t see it.

Evans is a polished route runner, and his speed makes him a coverage nightmare. He should see his first single coverage since the days of Eric Moulds—Evans will relish in the fact that Owens is now his teammate.

He’s never performed great against the Patriots, but this is a new defense, and there’ll be few times when double

Buffalo Bills - New England Patriots Breakdown

coverage is rolled his way. Look for Evans to have his biggest night in New England.

The Patriots were near the cellar of the league in terms of covering punts and kickoff last season, and as we all know, the Bills have excelled in that facet of the game for years.

In a game where the Bills could run into some issues on the offensive side of the ball, field position could keep Buffalo in the game.

Parrish and McKelvin are amongst the league’s most dangerous duos on special teams, and if there’s one area of the game the Bills are ready to feast on, it’s with these two returning kicks.

Bills offense vs. Patriots’ base 4-3 defense

I know you’re thinking I’m crazy for favoring the Bills offense against a New England defense that’s owned Buffalo of late, but the Bills have had their problems when facing the 3-4 alignment.

The trade of Richard Seymour to Oakland is big (eliminates a truly underrated yet ferocious edge rusher). The Patriots have stated their base defense will revert back to the 4-3.

Last season Trent Edwards and the offense went 1-8 against teams using the 3-4 and 6-1 against teams whose defensive foundation is the 4-3. Just a thought.

How the Bills win

First and foremost, forget the offensive line—they need to get to Tom Brady. We’ve seen that even the game’s better quarterbacks (Jay Cutler, Jake Delhomme) can look bad when pressure’s applied.

Remember Brady’s last full ball game was against the Giants in the Super Bowl, and then-defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo brought the house as creatively as possible, throwing off the All-Pro’s timing consistently.

Perry Fewell is known for his “sit back and wait” defense (seems like I bring that up in every article), but that will be completely ineffective in tonight’s game. If Brady has time to throw, it’ll be a near impossibility for the Bills secondary, as deep as it may be, to slow down the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Please blitz.

When I say blitz, I mean bring a variety of blitzes—zone blitzes, delayed blitzes, corner blitzes, stunt blitzes, anything to throw their wily line off balance. Look at what the Jets did to Matt Schaub and the Texans.

Equally, the Bills’ line needs to hold its own after a week of being bashed by the media. I’m sure AVP has devised plays to hide the apparent weakness of the line. I’m not fully against the moves made, although the inexperience is hard to miss.

I’m in favor of the new toughness and agility the line boasts, and hopefully screens, quick slants, and bubble screens will be used to put the line’s new attributes on display.

This could have easily been listed first: The Bills need to take shots down the field. Apparently the Bills call for deep balls frequently, but the protection is never good enough for the plays to develop. I don’t believe it, and even if the plays are called, Trent Edwards needs to man up and get the balls deep to his playmakers, even when they aren’t wide open.

Think about it—what are the outcomes of a deep pass down the field?

- Outcome No. 1 | The ball is caught, which is an obvious positive. It keeps the secondary on their heels throughout the contest.

- Outcome No. 2 | Pass interference. With Terrell Owens’ ability to get the ball thrown long, you should see a lot of jockeying for position that could result in the big penalty.

- Outcome No. 3 | Pass incomplete. No big deal, it’s not like the offense has been clicking already. At least it tells the defense they need to be ready on every play to backpedal deep, thus setting up comeback routes.

- Outcome No. 4 | Interception. Probably the least likely of the four. Also on a third down, it’s essentially a punt, minus any return. Still reminds the defensive backfield of the Bills’ downfield threats.

See what I mean? If the Bills want to stay in a game that most likely will be a high-scoring affair, they need to keep pace with Brady’s well-oiled machine, not by checking down, but by going deep, a lot.

Lastly, and most critically, don’t turn the ball over. Or at least win the turnover battle. If the Bills can keep the ball off the turf, they’ve got a shot.

Patriots Stat of the Week

I’m not big on looking at the past when talking about the future, especially with all the player turnover, but the Patriots have won 42 straight games when leading at halftime. If that’s the case tonight, the Bills will really have the odds stacked against them.

Bills Stat of the Week

Fred Jackson ran for 136 yards in the Bills’ last meeting with the Patriots. This was in a game where New England knew plenty of runs were coming. As Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com has stated, the blocking wasn’t great in that contest either.

Prediction: Bills 27, Patriots 24.

For a few reasons. I haven’t yet seen a prediction, anywhere, that’s given the Bills the slightest chance. I can’t name a legitimate wide receiver on New England besides Moss and Welker, and Welker’s banged up—though Joey Galloway may have a few more big plays in him (Julian Edelman and Sam Aiken do not count).

Lastly, chances are, after a few games, I’ll be frustrated, so my optimism is at its height right now, so why not pick a Bills win.

What do you think? Either way, you’ve gotta be pumped.

Buffalo Bills – New England Patriots Breakdown is a post from: AroDrive

Cowboys minus T.O. = Perfect Harmony

…or at least that formula worked for the first week of the 2009 season, as the Cowboys defeated the Bucs 34-21 in Tampa on Sunday.

Dallas had concerns about the chemistry between quarterback Tony Romo and receiver Roy Williams entering the season. After releasing Terrell Owens in the offseason, the Cowboys were praying that Romo and Williams (whom the team acquired from Detroit in exchange for a first round pick last season) would develop a connection.

The Cowboys’ fears about the tandem were quelled early in the game on Sunday when Romo connected with Williams twice for 20 yards during a nine-play, 31-yard dive that ended with a Nick Folk 51-yard field goal. Romo also found Williams on a beautiful 66-yard touchdown pass early in the second half to give Dallas a 20-7 lead.

On the day, Romo finished with 353 yards on 16 of 27 passing and three touchdowns, while Williams caught three passes for 86 yards and a TD. Patrick Crayton had a productive day as well, as he hauled in four passes for 135 yards and also caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Romo early in the fourth.

If Sunday was any indication of how the Romo-Williams pair will fair throughout the season, then the Cowboys have nothing to worry about. The same can’t be said for Bucs’ safety Sabby Piscitelli, who appeared to blow coverage assignments on both Williams and Crayton’s touchdown receptions.

Piscitelli struggled in coverage during the preseason too, although it’s doubtful that he’ll be replaced as Tanard Jackson continues to serve a four-game suspension. The three-year safety is also decent in run-support, so he’s not a total liability.

The good thing for Tampa’s defense is that corners Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber did well in man-to-man coverage today, which was a concern coming into the season because the two were used to playing in the Cover 2 scheme (especially Barber) under former coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Another positive for Tampa is that quarterback Byron Leftwich was effective in his Bucs debut and Cadillac Williams looked good while rushing for 97 yards on 13 carries (7.5 YPC) and one touchdown. Leftwich threw for 276 yards and a touchdown, and didn’t get sacked, which is impressive given that the Cowboys excel at getting pressure on the quarterback.

That said, new head coach Raheem Morris isn’t looking for moral victories. He has some holes in the secondary that Romo was able to exploit and given that the Bucs play in the same division as the Saints and Falcons (two teams with potent offenses), Morris has some work to do.

Cowboys minus T.O. = Perfect Harmony is a post from: AroDrive