There’ll be little rest for Maybin
Bills rookie to continue his training in Florida
Published: June 13, 2009, 12:30 am
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The Buffalo Bills have begun their 1-1/2 month break before reporting to training camp, but there won’t be much downtime for rookie defensive end Aaron Maybin.
After spending a week with family back home in Baltimore, he is headed to Florida to resume training for his first NFL season.
“I’ve been all football all the time since the start of my last season at Penn State up until the end of my offseason here, so a little time off won’t hurt,” the Bills’ first-round draft pick said after the final day of minicamp. “But about a week from now, it will be back to work.”
Maybin plans to spend a week in Boca Raton, Fla., working out with a friend, and then he’ll head to Miami, where he’ll train with Baltimore Ravens All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis.
The two struck up a friendship when Maybin was a youth football player in the Baltimore area. Maybin also befriended fellow ex-Penn State star LaVar Arrington, who was playing for the Washington Redskins then.
Maybin said working out with a future Hall of Famer like Lewis is a great way to prepare for the season.
“Ray Lewis is one of the best to ever play the game. He brings a lot of knowledge to the table,” Maybin said. “I can learn a lot about becoming a better football player from him. To have a chance to train with Ray is exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”
Maybin feels good about how his offseason has gone so far. From the rookie minicamp, organized team activities and veteran minicamp, he absorbed a lot of information.
But unlike most rookies, Maybin said his head hasn’t been spinning. In fact, he believes the transition from college to the pros has been smooth.
“From Day One I think I’ve done a pretty good job of picking everything up,” he said. “Obviously little mistakes happen here and there, especially with me being a young guy. But the coaching staff has relayed to me that as long as I’m going 110 miles an hour [mistakes] really doesn’t matter because they can be corrected on film and we can keep on moving.
“I think our coaching staff has done a great job of bringing me along, not slowly but just making sure that everything that comes at me I have an understanding of. I know the reason they throw certain things at me and put me in certain situations and I know from a schematic standpoint what they want from me as far as my on-field contributions.”
The Bills have high hopes for Maybin, who is expected to improve a pass rush that had just 24 sacks last season (tied for 28th in the NFL).
Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has plans to use Maybin in a number of ways to take advantage of his quickness and athleticism. Fewell has schemes where his defensive ends play in a stand-up position on and off the line of scrimmage. Such tactics should be a good fit for Maybin, who was projected as an outside linebacker if drafted by a team that used the 3-4 defense.
“We’re actually playing around with some stuff, so that’s really exciting,” Maybin said. “Just with the way the defense goes and the techniques [Fewell] has us playing, I really feel very comfortable in that situation.
“It adds another dimension to the game that teams are going to have to deal with. When you’re able to hit a team from different angles and they don’t know where you’re coming from it definitely helps you out because it allows you to do a lot more and allows you to hurt teams a lot more.”
Cornerback Leodis McKelvin, the Bills’ top pick last year, emerged as an impact player on kickoff returns and on defense. Maybin, who like McKelvin was the 11th overall selection, is also expected to make an immediate contribution.
Maybin isn’t going to offer any predictions of double-digit sacks, but he does makes one promise:
“Every time I step on the field I’m going to give 110 percent and work as hard as possible,” he said. “I don’t focus on a lot of numbers. All I’m really concerned about is coming out here and giving the best that I’ve got and making sure that everybody on the field knows I’m doing all I can to help this team win football games.
“With that attitude and the talent and skills I already have and a coaching staff that is putting me in position to make plays and teammates who are making plays and helping me become a better player I know I’ll have success.”
awilson@buffnews.com
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