Aaron Maybin, There You Are!

As I left my last post I wrote that Aaron Maybin has essentially been MIA for the Buffalo Bills this season.  In what was one of the worst showing of on-field discipline the Bills lost to the Patriots on Sunday.  But what was more surprising was that Aaron Maybin made a surprise appearance this game and actually had his name called.  Unfortunately it had nothing to do with a positive play.  With the Bills down by only a touchdown and needing to recover the onside kick, they did the unthinkable; they actually recovered the onside kick.  

Enter Aaron Maybin.  Much like most of the game, Buffalo had been shooting themselves in the foot by negating almost all of their positive plays with penalties on offense and defense.  Buffalo had recovered their onside kick though, but why should this play be any different than the rest of the game.  Enter yellow flag.  Aaron Maybin had actually been offside during the play and therefore the play was negated.  Now, this can happen to almost anyone.  But, what is more frustrating is when CBS replayed Aaron Maybin’s infraction in what felt like super-ultra-never-ending slow motion.  Although it would still bother me, it would not bother me as much if Maybin had his head down and was only focused on making the play and adrenaline got the best of him and was therefor offside.  Unfortunately, due to instant replay, what was frustrating was being able to see Maybin continuously turn his head to ensure he was still onside.  How hard is it to make sure the ball gets kicked before you give your initial burst to make the play?

Maybin didn’t just glance over, he was focused on the ball.  Which leads me to wonder, how is he able to negotiate walking, let alone ensuring he is staying onside.  I mean it is just as complicated to put one foot forward… and then the other… and then the first foot forward again… and then the other foot forward, again!  Although it is not just Maybin’s fault that Buffalo lost, it leads me to wonder about this once highly touted draft pick.  While in high school a friend once told me; in order to not be centered out in class I just need to make sure not to draw attention to myself.  Aaron Maybin, that’s all you needed to do.  But, since you weren’t able to, here we go.  

Aaron Maybin missed most of training camp as he was waiting for Michael Crabtree to sign his contract in order to gauge what the market would dictate that Maybin was worth.  Crabtree decided to holdout, thus causing most other draft picks to follow like sheep and hold out as well.  A rookie holding out of camp is always a bad idea especially on defense as the game is faster than in college and the talent level is far superior.  The more Maybin missed, the more it was realized he would have very little impact for the Bills this year.  There is still time for Maybin to recover, just not this year.  Maybin will have a tremendous uphill battle as he is missing his rookie camp, most of his first ever training camp, and most of this season.  He is also undersized for a defensive end and too big to be a linebacker in the scheme Buffalo employs.  Maybin will need to dedicate his entire off season on bulking up in order to take over for the sporadic Chris Kelsay.

Again, it wasn’t Maybin’s fault, but it is the one play that really sticks out as the one play that really encompassed the entire game.

Tags: Aaron Maybin, Buffalo Bills