Week two of OTAs wrapped up on Friday for the Bills and with Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish not in attendance, Terrell Owens dominated in the passing game. Owens had a pair of touchdowns in the practice session with one coming in red zone work and a second that went 70 yards for another score.
Trent Edwards threw a pass that traveled 50 yards through the air, and initially looked as though it might be out of Owens' reach. Tied up down the far sideline with Reggie Corner, Owens saw the ball on its way down and swam over Corner and closed the gap between him and the trajectory of the ball with an impressive burst of speed to pull in the reception and head to the end zone for the touchdown.
It was an eye-popping burst of speed to make the play.
"He's doing a good job of telling me he wants certain ways he wants certain balls to him and I feel like I'm comfortable enough to tell him I want him to run certain routes certain ways," said Edwards of Owens. "That's something I want to get to with him, where it's just kind of having an unspoken bond where something doesn't need to be said, but we can see things before it actually happens."
And that appeared to be the case on that touchdown play. Owens finished the week strong with five touchdowns the past two days.
Cornerback updateLeodis McKelvin spoke for the first time with the media Friday since being sidelined with a finger injury, but was reluctant to provide details as his injury happened off the field.
"No comment," said McKelvin when asked about how the ailment occurred.
McKelvin said he anticipates being back soon and said the middle finger on his right hand is not broken.
Terrence McGee (shoulder) and Ashton Youboty (foot) are also still sidelined as well as sixth-round pick Cary Harris. Harris tried to do some half speed work during individual drills, but not much more.
"It's a hamstring and it's a lot better," said Dick Jauron of Harris. "He should be ready by next Tuesday when we go again. He's back to full speed he just needs to get the strength up. We're looking forward to getting him back on the field."
Another cornerback was added to non-participation list Friday as Kyle Ward was sidelined with an undisclosed injury. That forced Dustin Fox, who has been largely working at safety to play more cornerback in practice.
HighlightsOwens first touchdown in 11-on-11 red zone work got things up and running as he ran a well-executed inside out route to pull in a touchdown pass from Edwards.
Ellis Lankster continues to make plays on the ball with the extra reps he's been receiving breaking up a pass intended for Josh Reed during a red zone series. Lankster also sniffed out an end around stopping Owens for no gain.
Xavier Omon found the end zone on an outside run play inside the 10-yard line with Shawn Nelson making a good lead block on the play.
Aaron Maybin got a quarterback pressure on Trent Edwards to force a checkdown throw, and two plays later Ryan Denney had a 'would be' sack on Edwards in red zone work.
Steve Johnson made an outstretched grab on a throw from Edwards over the middle for a big gainer.
Edwards deftly fit a pass in a tight window to Josh Reed, who was a very busy receiver on the day with six receptions in the practice.
Justin Jenkins made a nice reception over the middle for a first down and more.
Owens made a big play over the middle in 11-on-11, and also earned praise from running backs coach Eric Studesville for his lead block on an outside run play in red zone work that sprung Marshawn Lynch for what may have been a touchdown run under live conditions.
Keith Ellison had a batted pass during 11-on-11 play and John Wendling had an interception off a tipped pass by Blake Costanzo.
In and outA number of veteran players chose to skip the voluntary workout Friday. Lee Evans, Chris Kelsay, Roscoe Parrish, Dominic Rhodes, Aaron Schobel and Langston Walker were all absent. James Hardy was also not seen along the sidelines.
Not participating was C.J. Hawthorne, P.K. Sam, Ashton Youboty, Terrence McGee, Cary Harris, John DiGiorgio, Jonathan Scott, Kyle Ward, Derek Schouman and Pat Thomas.
Notable roles
With several veterans absent Friday a number of players saw extensive action with the top two offensive and defensive units.
On offense, Langston Walker was replaced at left tackle by Demetrius Bell who worked with the starting unit. Kirk Chambers, who has worked exclusively at guard in the OTAs, kicked out with tackle with the second unit on the right side.
With Roscoe Parrish and Lee Evans absent, Steve Johnson and Josh Reed were the main beneficiaries in terms of reps. Justin Jenkins and Felton Huggins ran with the second unit.
On the defensive side of the ball Aaron Maybin got a chance to run with the starters at right defensive end, while Ryan Denney flipped over to the left side. Chris Ellis (left) and Copeland Bryan (right) ran with the second unit at end.
Nic Harris, Marcus Buggs and Ashlee Palmer all got some second team defense reps at linebacker.
At cornerback again with the group shorthanded Ellis Lankster got to work on the outside with the starting defense in the subpackages.
Week 3The third week of OTAs will be the final full week of organized team activities before the mandatory minicamp from June 9-11.
