It would be easy, of course, to climb up on my soapbox and rip the Bills for this move.

Really, Terrell Owens? Are you kidding me? On Dick Jauron's football team? Terrell Owens,

the NFL's most notorious diva, a man who has divided every locker room he's ever set foot in?

Terrell Owens, who burns with jealousy over his tight end?

What happened to character, chemistry and camaraderie? Has Ralph Wilson finally gone off

the deep end? Would Marv Levy want to be right here, right now? T.O. signing with the Bills is

like Rush Limbaugh signing up with the ACLU. It just doesn't fit. It goes against everything

the Bills claim to stand for.

You know what, though? I love it. Once I recovered from the initial shock, I realized it was

the most interesting thing to happen to the Bills since they acquired Drew Bledsoe in 2002.

All right, so that didn't turn out so well in the long run. And yes, this is a desperate move,

a sure sign that Jauron, the embattled head coach, needs to win this year and will do anything

necessary to get there.

But what the heck. At least they're willing to try something bold and daring. A lot of

Bills fans have grown weary of following a team without a real pulse or personality, a team

without any distinguishable star power, a franchise that hasn't shot for the moon very often

since the Super Bowl years.

Well, no one can say that now. You can't accuse the Bills of being unwilling to sign big-name

players, or take a chance on a player with a sketchy history. Owens might be the biggest name

of them all right now, a fading superstar who still has the talent and charisma to dominate

the American sports pages for days at a time.

It really was amazing after the Cowboys cut him this past week. It was T.O. talk, all the

time. Hockey, basketball, spring training, even Alex Rodriguez ... nothing else mattered once

Jerry Jones decided he could no longer coexist with Owens. Like a raging house fire, he

commands your full attention.

Maybe it'll blow up in the Bills' faces and they'll be the laughingstock of the league. Oh,

wait a minute. They already were the joke of the NFL. So what the heck. At least in the short

term, signing T.O. makes the Bills relevant again.

For the first time in years, they're a team that makes a nation sit up and watch, a franchise

that actually matters.

Why not give it a shot? What do they have to lose? Tranquility and calm in the locker room,

among a bunch of nice guys who haven't won a damn thing?

Owens had become a distraction in Dallas. There's no question about that. But it's not as if

he was the only problem (Wade Phillips, anyone?). The Cowboys haven't won, despite Jones'

money and ambition. So it was a convenient time to make T.O. the villain, just in time for

Jones to open his new gridiron palace out in Texas.

At least Owens hasn't been arrested for leaving the scene of an accident or carrying a

concealed weapon. Marshawn Lynch should be dancing in his kitchen today. Suddenly, his off-

field indiscretions are a mere footnote. By the time Buffalo stops talking about Owens, Lynch

will probably be done serving his suspension.

And let's be honest, this makes the Bills better. I'm not sure how much better. Maybe Owens

is the difference between 6-10 and 8-8. They still have a lot of holes, an inferior head coach

and a much more demanding schedule. But T.O. gives them the viable second receiver they've

been seeking, oh, since Peerless Price left Buffalo the first time.

Yes, T.O. is 35 years old, and he isn't the wide receiver he used to be. But he's a lot

better than anything else they have. Owens had 69 catches for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns

last year. That's better than anyone on the Bills last year. Let me elaborate on that: That's

more yards and TD catches than Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish, James Hardy and Steve Johnson

combined last season. If that's the performance of a player in decline, the Bills

should get more of them. What, you'd rather cross your fingers and hope Hardy figures out how

to run a pass route between now and September?

It could get ugly, sure. One month into the season, the Bills might be 1-3 and Owens might

start trashing Trent Edwards for not throwing him the ball enough and Turk Schonert for not

getting him enough touches in the offense. There's a history. Just ask Donovan McNabb, or Jeff

Garcia, or Tony Romo.

Then imagine this: Lee Evans split out left, Owens out to the right, Josh Reed in the slot.

That's what you call an upgrade. They've been in the bottom quarter of the league in offense

six years in a row. Maybe mixing in a Hall of Fame wideout will make them average or better.

Last season, Edwards went into his first full season as the starter, and they didn't add a

receiver of any consequence to help speed his development. It was an outrage, a huge

miscalculation. Jauron said before the season they had no choice but to expect solid

production from Hardy. They got virtually nothing. They need to find out if Edwards can be a

star, and he needs the weapons to do it.

I didn't think they would pay elite money to a second wide receiver. Remember, that's why

they let Price go six years ago. But they're only committing one year and $6.5 million to

Owens. This doesn't break the bank. Wilson has the money. It gives them a year of cushion

while waiting to find out if Hardy and Johnson are genuine NFL options.

Owens hasn't broken any laws. His major crime is one of ego. He has an insatiable need to be

the center of attention and the focus of the offense. But in his first year with a new team

(Philadelphia, Dallas), he has subjugated his ego to some extent to prove he could be part of

a team.

That's likely to be a prime motivation for him now, to prove he can be a team guy on a young

team that is learning how to win. Owens is determined to show he's still a difference-maker in

the NFL. Jauron is desperate to prove he can be a winning coach. It's an odd marriage, born of

necessity and desperation.

Chances are, it'll be a circus. But after nine dreary years, maybe that locker room could

use a jolt of personality and life. All I know is it promises to be fun. I never thought I'd

say this, but I can hardly wait for minicamp.