The adrenaline apparently had been building for quite a while as Bills top pick Aaron Maybin waited for his contract to be completed. Lined up for his first rep in 11-on-11 on Monday, Maybin looked like he was shot out of a cannon as he got around the offensive tackle to swoop in for what would have been a sack on Ryan Fitzpatrick.
"I've been doing a lot of work with my trainer back home and then out here we've got Joe Kim back with us working out," said Maybin. "So I feel good about where I'm at. I've got a lot of catching up to do. I'm still trying to catch up as far as the playbook goes, but for where I'm at right now I feel like I'm making pretty good progress."
Maybin planned to sit down with the defensive staff later in the day to review his practice tape as they assess just where he's at and what he'll be comfortable executing as soon as Saturday night when the Bills play their fourth preseason game at Pittsburgh.
The Bills top pick lined up with the second unit at left defensive end for most of the practice much like he did in the spring practices, but he was also dropped into coverage a couple of times.
On one particular play he had solid coverage on fellow rookie Shawn Nelson and challenged the Ryan Fitzpatrick pass, but Nelson was able to make the catch before going over the near sideline.
"They had me dropping a few times," said Maybin. "Shawn was able to still haul that pass in. I'm sure he's going to be talking about that for the rest of the day. I think I'm really excited about some of the things they're trying to do with me. I think it's going to be a really good opportunity for me."
No word yet on just how much action he'll see in Saturday's preseason game.
Bell injures back
Bills offensive tackle Demetrius Bell has had a solid training camp and preseason. So much so that the coaching staff inserted him into the starting lineup for a series at left tackle against Green Bay on Saturday before re-inserting starter Langston Walker.
But Bell was carted off the practice field Monday after straining his back.
"Demetrius twinged his back a little bit so we took him in to do some tests," said head coach Dick Jauron. "Hopefully it's not bad."
Owens still on the shelf
Still no sign of Terrell Owens on Monday as the veteran wideout's rehabilitation from his sprained toe enters its third week. Owens tried to test it a couple of weeks ago, but it felt sore shortly afterwards.
Now the approach is for Owens to be free of any discomfort before putting him through the paces of practice again.
"Terrell is doing good," said Jauron. "He says he feels a lot better. We won't bring him back on the field until we feel like it's all the way back to where it was. It doesn't make any sense for us to do that. Though it is critical that he does get back as soon as he can to get the timing, get his reps in and get his work done."
HighlightsJohn Wendling began the highlight reel with an interception on a pass to the end zone during 7-on-7 that was intended for Shawn Nelson. Wendling leaped high to outreach Nelson for the ball and then fought the ball away from the tight end for the interception.
Reggie Corner had a pair of pass breakups. One came early in 11-on-11 when he raked the ball away from Roscoe Parrish to prevent a completion. The other came in a later series on a pass that was intended for Derek Schouman.
Rookie Cary Harris had a pass breakup along the near sideline on a throw from Gibran Hamdan.
Chris Ellis ran down Hamdan on a scramble to the flat. He also had a tackle for loss on Corey McIntyre with an assist from defensive tackle Derrick Jones.
Terrence McGee had a pass defensed on a Trent Edwards throw intended for Josh Reed.
And Chris Kelsay had a "sack" when he got to Edwards clean before the back could pick him up in protection.
Offensively, Derek Schouman made a difficult catch in the back corner of the end zone reaching high for a pass from Edwards for a touchdown.
Shawn Nelson made a couple of nice plays in the passing game as he gained separation from fellow rookies Nic Harris and Maybin to make plays. His best reception came on a 20-yard out.
Roscoe Parrish had a shoe top reception on a comeback route from Edwards, and also had a nice fake out move near the sideline as he got outside his defender for extra yardage.
And Trent Edwards beat the blitz with a well-executed screen pass to Fred Jackson that went for big yardage.
Lineup changes
Filling in for Aaron Schobel (hyperextended elbow) was veteran Ryan Denney at the starting right defensive end position. Taking his reps at second team left defensive end was Maybin.
Lining up opposite Maybin at right defensive end was Copeland Bryan. Chris Ellis had been lining up there with Denney and Bryan rotating in and out on the left side. Ellis got reps as the third team right defensive end.
Stepping in for Demetrius Bell with the second unit at left tackle once Bell was injured was undrafted rookie Nick Hennessey.
Seth McKinney got third team reps at center in addition to second team reps at right guard.
Non-participants
In addition to Owens and Schobel, Drayton Florence, Pat Thomas, Ashlee Palmer, Felton Huggins, Travis McCall and James Hardy did not practice Monday.
The Bills have an 11:35 practice scheduled for Tuesday.
