2009 the TO season -Terrel Owens

[blacklabel]

I'll probably always remember the news of him signing here. Consider my gasters all flabbered when I heard that. And then I get a call from my dad, "Hey, car broke down, can you drive over and give us a jump?" Yeah sure, be right there. I walked into the building they were at to go find them and it was a surprise birthday party my then-girlfriend had put together for me. I think it was #27? I can't remember. Sheesh. I'm old. Anyway, I didn't marry that one, she turned out to be uh, what do ya call it, nuts, yeah that's it. So I married one even nuttier. 

 

Anyways. Seemed so weird TO signed here, at the time they didn't have a lot going for them as a team. Fred Jackson was having some moments and I think '09 was when they handed the starting gig to Fitz. I do remember the 98-yard bomb he threw to Owens against the Jags (I think) and the season opener that year I can remember TO trying to rally the team. Was that the Pats game where Leodis McSchmelvin coughed up the kick return and then ol' Timmy B threw the go-ahead TD? Nothing like some memories that still kick ya right in the junk. 

Edited August 12 by blacklabel

[Ethan in Cleveland]

11 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

The fact that he wasn't a first ballot hall of famer is one of the biggest travesties in NFL history.     Top ten in every important recieving stat all time, but isnt a first ballot hall of famer, give me a break.  

100% agree. Makes you question the entire process. How a group of people could not vote him in the first time is insane.

If not for Andy Reid and McNabb figuratively and literally puking away the SuperBowl he would have won MVP with one of the great SuperBowl performances of all time. 

[SoTier]

10 minutes ago, Thrivefourfive said:

Are we talking T.eam O.bliterator..? There was just nothing left for him to obliterate in Buffalo. He was desperate for a check, and pretty toxic in an organization. San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas saw him off, despite the god talent.

The media covered him via chopper while he worked out in his driveway DURING THE SEASON 🤣 as he was kept away from the building in Philly (I have that right?).

 

But hey, I’ll play.. he was.. “news” for a dump of a team, desperate for relevancy.

 

Truth be told, my positivity vibes at the time were embarrassingly empty.. I saw his coming to Buffalo as a weak ploy and I was actually kind of saddened for the guy AND the Bills because his career was fading fast compared to the monster seasons he had previously. Just another dead end on both ends of the spectrum. So I hated it. Knew HE wasn’t the answer to turn that thing around. We all knew it was only a QUARTERBACK that could lift the Bills out of the ashes. These types of moves just pissed me off at the time because I knew it go nowhere. 
 

Was this place renamed iTWOBILLSDRIVE during his stay 🤣🤣🤣 But glad to hear that he enjoyed his time here. That’s nice. Old losing feelings die hard for me, I guess. 

 

I agree with the bolded statement.  Bringing in a WR of the caliber of TO with Dick "Play to Not Lose By Too Much" Jauron as HC and "Tentative Trent" Edwards at QB was clearly only done to sell tickets.  In fact, IIRC the Bills may have set a record at that time for season ticket sales.  That's the way Russ Brandon ran the team back then.  

[boyst]

1 hour ago, The Cincinnati Kid said:

@boyst, which one was it? You were either sleeping or watching. 🤣 

Fair point. I wonder what the law says exactly because the permits say they need to be monitored.

 

It was about an acre in a gully I was burning out. 

[SoTier]

13 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

I'll probably always remember the news of him signing here. Consider my gasters all flabbered when I heard that. And then I get a call from my dad, "Hey, car broke down, can you drive over and give us a jump?" Yeah sure, be right there. I walked into the building they were at to go find them and it was a surprise birthday party my then-girlfriend had put together for me. I think it was #27? I can't remember. Sheesh. I'm old. Anyway, I didn't marry that one, she turned out to be uh, what do ya call it, nuts, yeah that's it. So I married one even nuttier. 

 

Anyways. Seemed so weird TO signed here, at the time they didn't have a lot going for them as a team. Fred Jackson was having some moments and I think '09 was when they handed the starting gig to Fitz. I do remember the 98-yard bomb he threw to Owens against the Jags (I think) and the season opener that year I can remember TO trying to rally the team. Was that the Pats game where Leodis McSchmelvin coughed up the kick return and then ol' Timmy B threw the go-ahead TD? Nothing like some memories that still kick ya right in the junk. 

 

That was the 6-3 masterpiece against the Browns when McKelvin fumbled the kick return.   No TDs, just 3 FGs.    I listened to the end of that game on my car radio on my way back from Letchworth because I hadn't renewed my season tickets for 2009; I was really angry that the Bills had brought Jauron back after the disaster 2008 season (5-2 through 7 games, 2-7 down the stretch).   Bringing in TO to a Jauron-coached team was simply attempting to put lipstick on the rotting carcass of a pig.

[Mat68]

Still think about Tony Dungey talking Michael Vick out of coming to Buffalo.  The 2009/2010 teams with Vick at qb make the playoffs. 

[BillsPride12]

1 hour ago, dcinmuncie said:

Agreed completely 

 

media just didn’t like him so that’s how they punished him. Absolutely ridiculous 

 

top 3 wr of all time in my opinion 

1. Rice

2. moss

3. t.o 

 

I always shuddered to think if you crossed Owen’s work ethic and conditioning with moss talent.. holy crap 

If not for the career ending injury I think Sterling Sharpe would've locked down that 3rd spot. He was that good 

[TBBills Fan]

2 hours ago, The Cincinnati Kid said:

@boyst, which one was it? You were either sleeping or watching. 🤣 

He's still under Investigation for that "incident".  He may not respond truthfully 

[Sierra Foothills]

2 hours ago, Homey D. Clown said:

He still had a little juice left in his game that year, it's a shame the team just couldn't do much with that opportunity, like they did with James Lofton.  

 

TO had juice even in the final year of his 15 year career.

 

In his last year with the Bengals (after his one season with the Bills) he had 72 receptions for 983 yards (13.7 ypc) and 9 TDs.

 

From a pure physical ability standpoint he could have played longer.

 

[RobbRiddick]

13 hours ago, boyst said:

I'll never forget finding out about him. I fell asleep in one of the farm trucks (a 93 S10) with the radio on Sirius. 

 

I was watching to make sure some wildfires I set to scrap wood and brush didn't go crazy.

 

I woke up as I heard them talking about it being in complete disbelief 

I thought you were going to say you woke up surrounded by flame

[billsfan89]

TO was just past his prime (which was impressive for a 36 year old as he was producing a 1000 yard season at age 35) but still a good producing WR in his lone year in Buffalo. He didn't rock the boat much off the field and by all accounts was a pretty good teammate while here. I know he played with the Bengals in 2010 and I just looked up his stats and he actually had a better season stats wise in 2010 at age 37! With the Bengals he had 72 catches and 983 years in 14 games. Had he stayed healthy he could have had a 1000 yard season at age 37! Granted he did get 20 more targets with the Bengals but he also had 17 more catches so the increase on volume was efficient. The Bengals were terrible that year (they were a 3/4 win team) but the individual production from him was impressive. It was an off-season ACL tear that basically ended his NFL career. Had he not had that tear he probably plays another season or two in the league at minimum. 

[corta765]

I member when he got signed we were at my aunt and uncles and everyone had the same reaction... he picked Buffalo? Ralph really is trying to sell tickets lol. But I do remember drinking the koolaid so bad that the offense wasn't bad the year prior, Trent had some good moments TO can help him blah blah blah lol. It was at least fun and he was a solid teammate here. My wife and I were at a sparsely attended camp (had to have been 100 people tops there) and it was cool to see him from like 7 ft away.

[Another Fan]

I think if Fitz started from the beginning of the year and Dick J (rip) didn’t return at all in 09….  They could have snuck into the playoffs 

I remember a very fun game that year against the Dolphins after Jauron got fired.  Fitz threw deep to TO for a touchdown to ice the game.  Woulda never happened if Dick J was still the coach 

[IBTG81]

I remember when Eric Wood broke his leg…TO stayed on the field with him, held his hand, and prayed. That to me shows what kind of guy TO was and is. 

Edited August 12 by IBTG81

[SoTier]

8 hours ago, Another Fan said:

I think if Fitz started from the beginning of the year and Dick J (rip) didn’t return at all in 09….  They could have snuck into the playoffs 

I remember a very fun game that year against the Dolphins after Jauron got fired.  Fitz threw deep to TO for a touchdown to ice the game.  Woulda never happened if Dick J was still the coach 

 

Jauron was fired in November, 2009.   Fitzpatrick backed up Edwards.  He played a couple of games early in the 2009 season (Edwards was injured maybe),

 and the offense looked much better, but Jauron stuck with Edwards, and Ralph stuck with Jauron.  Finally, even Ralph had enough.

[T.E.]

11 hours ago, Mat68 said:

Still think about Tony Dungey talking Michael Vick out of coming to Buffalo.  The 2009/2010 teams with Vick at qb make the playoffs. 

Roger Goodell did too, and this was after both Buffalo and Cincinnati pretty much guaranteed him the starting job.

 

How people feel about Vick is irrelevant, it was absolutely absurd that the commissioner of the NFL was able to essentially force a player into signing with a large-market franchise as a backup rather than go to a smaller market to start. This should've been a HUGE scandal, but it was the Bills and Bengals who got screwed so nobody cared.