Mandatory minicamp got underway Tuesday and attendance was almost perfect. The only absentees were undrafted rookie offensive lineman Nick Hennessey and second-round pick Jairus Byrd, who is still unable to attend practices while his school's final exam schedule continues.
Owens backAfter missing the last two voluntary OTA workouts last Friday and this past Monday, Terrell Owens was back on the field with his teammates for mandatory minicamp. Owens caught five passes on the day during team work and feels he's really progressed in the time he's spent in his new offense.
"For me I have a new offense and new terminology and you're doing a lot of thinking and you're processing a lot of stuff so there are some mistakes made," admitted Owens. "Once I get very comfortable with everything, the signals, the codes, that's when it will all slow down. Every day has been a work in progress and it's been good. I'm going to get better with this."
Owens likes the no huddle approach that has been featured prominently in Buffalo's spring workouts feeling it will give their unit a few advantages.
"The number one thing is it's definitely getting me in shape," said Owens smiling. "I think it's going to get 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 of times quick and get some home runs on them. So I think it's going to be beneficial for us."
Lynch sitsMarshawn Lynch practiced in Buffalo's final OTA workout on Monday, but on Tuesday was a spectator for the first day of minicamp.
Lynch brought his helmet out to the field, but it was never used as Fred Jackson took almost all the first team reps at running back.
No word on Lynch's ailment, though it is likely to be minor as Lynch stood on the sidelines for the entire 90-minute practice.
Parrish exits earlyRoscoe Parrish was capably catching punts during live special teams drills at the start of practice, but a short time later he emerged from the team's training room with a ice pack on his right calf. Parrish sat for the rest of the practice session.
No official word from the team on what injury Parrish sustained, but on his way to the locker room at the close of practice when Parrish was asked about the injury he offered the following.
"I'm alright."
Parrish only had the ice pack on his leg for about 20 minutes and was able to jog off the practice field at the conclusion of the workout.
Artificial noiseFor more than a week now the coaching staff has been blaring a mix of loud music and crowd noise at the players on the field during team portions of practice. Head coach Dick Jauron has taken a similar approach to team work during the regular season to simulate road game conditions.
"Dick wants us to have a feel for how it's going to be on the road this year," said Trent Edwards. "Going no huddle you have to be able to communicate when it is loud. I thought it went pretty well. Sometimes the calls weren't coming clear into 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 and you may not know the protection and I felt like we got the ball out and didn't have any bad plays."
HighlightsFelton Huggins pulled in a deep ball down the far sideline for a big gain in 7-on-7 work.
Rookie Shawn Nelson got back into the swing of things with a catch deep down the far sideline as well later in that same series.
Lee Evans got good separation on a route headed out to the sideline for a sizable gain.
Terrell Owens ran a well executed come back route with Trent Edwards hitting him on a good timing play for first down yardage.
Stevie Johnson made a leaping grab on a pump and go down the far sideline as he out jumped the defensive back for the ball to make the play.
Justin Jenkins had a good grab deep over the middle during 7-on-7 on a tight throw by Gibran Hamdan.
Josh Reed made a pretty catch on a well thrown ball down the middle of the field by Hamdan as well. Reed also had a high reaching grab over the middle later in practice during 11-on-11 from Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Defensively, Aaron Maybin had a 'would be' sack on Fitzpatrick. The quarterback still got rid of the ball on the play, but it was intercepted by rookie Nic Harris who would have taken it the other way for six had it been under live football conditions.
Keith Ellison had a pass breakup in 7-on-7 to prevent a completion over the middle.
Terrence McGee had a pass breakup to prevent a big completion on a deep post to Owens.
Kawika Mitchell had a 'would be' sack on a blitz call during 11-on-11.
Defensive end Jermaine McGhee batted down a Gibran Hamdan pass in 11-on-11 team work.
Notable roles
Aaron Schobel worked in for more team work Tuesday with the first team at right defensive end, but Ryan Denney saw a good amount of reps as well.
Rookies Nic Harris and Ashlee Palmer again worked with the second team defense with Marcus Buggs as the middle linebacker.
Drayton Florence was the starting right cornerback with Leodis McKelvin still nursing his finer ailment.
Ellis Lankster got second team defense reps in the nickel package when Ashton Youboty moved into the slot with Reggie Corner getting more reps outside on the right.
Eric Wood and Andy Levitre appeared to get more snaps with the second unit Tuesday than the first as Kirk Chambers and Seth McKinney worked with the ones a good portion of the time.
Dominic Rhodes got some first team offense carries and also worked with the second team. Xavier Omon was worked in with Rhodes when the second unit was on the field.
Shawn Nelson worked with the third unit as he re-entered the fray after missing the past week due to personal problems on the homefront.
In addition to working with the first team, Keith Ellison also worked as the middle linebacker with the third team.
In and outNot participating Tuesday were John DiGiorgio, James Hardy, C.J. Hawthorne, Marshawn Lynch, Jonathan Scott and Pat Thomas. Leodis McKelvin was limited.
Hawthorne was seen watching practice on crutches with his lower leg in an immobilizer cast. It was thought he was close to returning from an offseason injury, but it appears that has changed. No official word from the team on his status.
