David Duprey / AP

Buffalo receiver Terrell Owens signs autographs for fans. The Bills have received more attention than they have in years because of Owens' arrival this summer, which can be good and bad, writes Tom Curran.

But after that game — the Eagles’ 24-21 loss to New England — Owens ripped Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and lamented opportunities missed. Even if there was truth to what he was saying, he was committed a football sin by ripping a teammate, and overshadowed his remarkable performance.

Owens is a rare player. Opponents fear him because even at 35 he remains capable of taking over a game. His own teams fear him because he can rip a team apart with complaining and finger pointing.

How does Bills quarterback Trent Edwards propose to deal with Owens’ foot-stomping when Edwards knows Owens has had run-ins with every starter he’s ever played with, including Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo, all of whom have been to the Pro Bowl?

“You avoid that by winning,” said Edwards. “Winning football games solves everything, regardless of who it is — quarterback, receiver, offensive lineman. It’s a matter of handling a situation maturely, and that’s the bottom line. If you communicate well and you’re able to speak your mind and listen to what the other person’s saying, then hopefully you’re going to listen to what they’re saying and implement that into the offense and your play. There really shouldn’t be a problem. I mean, right now there isn’t one, so I’m not sitting here late at night trying to figure out what’s going to happen when I do face that problem. So it’s kind of one of those situations where I’m going to kind of deal with it if it does happen. We’re planning on that not happening because we’re going to win.”

Will Edwards — with just 23 starts under his belt — be able to deal with Owens’ arm flailing and backseat quarterbacking if Owens doesn’t get the ball enough? Edwards’ role as a leader is still taking shape. How will he react when Owens shows him up, challenges him either head-on or with indirect comments?

“Right now I’m fine with (second-guessing) if it’s just coming from competitiveness and wanting to win,” said Edwarrd. “I can take that. I’ve taken it before, I feel like. When Lee (Evans) comes back to the huddle or when Marshawn (Lynch) or Fred (Jackson) comes back to the huddle, they’re going to say something to me. It’s all in communication in football. (Owens’ reactions will be) getting a lot of attention because of situations that have happened before, but, again, I don’t feel like I really need to go into it that deeply in order to prepare myself for it actually happening.”

Owens, of course, pretends that his unblemished record of causing headaches for quarterbacks is a media creation.

“You can believe what you want to believe as far as what went on in Dallas,” he said. “I can honestly say that wasn’t a quarterback situation.”

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No matter, Owens is rolling now. “For whatever reason (Dallas) felt the need to move on without me. I am very comfortable in how I left that organization. It is one of those things that happens and everything happens for a reason. I am not there, I am here and I am blessed to be here, grateful for the opportunity and I am going to embrace the moment.”

And Western New York will hug back because, in this moment, something will happen. Could be good. Could be bad. But at least in 2009 it’s going to be something.

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