COMMENTARY
Schobel’s low-key return worth noting
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It was noon, and the first of the organized team activities had just concluded. A dozen videographers, cameras in tow, jogged around the perimeter at the far end of the Bills’ practice dome, eager to get into position for Terrell Owens’ news conference.
Many of them, no doubt, would move on later in the day to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, where Owens was presented with a ceremonial key to the city.
Aaron Schobel, meanwhile, was heading toward the dressing room at a more casual, unhurried pace. You ever get the key to a city, I asked him?
“Key to the city?” Schobel asked. “Columbus, Texas.”
Really?
“No, I’m joking,” he said, laughing. “Damn key to the city . . .”
“Well, he’s getting one today,” I said, gesturing toward Owens.
“Well go ahead, let him have it,” Schobel said. “I just want a key to my house and my car. That’s all I need a key to.”
That’s typical Schobel. You won’t see any VH1 cameras following him around, chronicling his daily life for some reality show. As NFL players go, he is the polar opposite of T. O. While Owens seeks out the limelight, Schobel recoils from it.
Schobel can be charming and insightful when he’s in the mood, but he’s a private man, judicious with his words. He’s content to do his job, leave quietly and go home to his wife and three children.
For years, Bills fans took him for granted. Schobel was one of the top pass-rushing ends in the game, a Pro Bowler. At times, he struck me as a bit overrated, and overpaid at $7 million a season.
Funny how things go in life.
Sometimes you don’t truly appreciate a player until he’s gone. Last year, Schobel suffered a nasty sprain of his left foot. He missed the last 11 games of the season.
The Bills, who were 4-1 when he got hurt, lost eight of their last 11. The pass rush was feeble without him. The Bills finished tied for 28th in the NFL in sacks. Key to the city? Key to the defense is more like it.
Schobel had played in every game his first seven seasons, starting every one since early in his rookie year of 2001. Sitting out killed him. He was desperate to play, but the injury—which affects a cluster of bones between the ankle and toes—wouldn’t allow it.
“I don’t think it was ready last year,” Schobel said. “I mean, I know it wasn’t. In February, it felt better. By the end of February, it was a lot better. I didn’t have to have surgery, so at least I know it’s my own body holding it together. It’s not some screw that I have to worry about. So I’m happy about the whole situation.”
Schobel says he’s fully healthy. The question is whether he’ll ever return to his form of 2005-06, when he averaged 13 sacks a season. The Columbus, Texas, native turns 32 in September. He knows people are wondering if he’ll ever be the dynamic player of a few years ago.
“If I can’t be that player that I was,” he said, “then it’ll be time to move on to something else.”
He said he feels great, and he’s confident. Schobel admits he has something to prove—above all, to himself. Owens gets all the attention, but you could argue that the return of the right defensive end could be more important than the arrival of the new No. 2 wide receiver.
Having Owens in the locker room could actually be a blessing. Amid the constant clatter and commotion of T. O.’s daily existence, it’ll be that much easier for a quiet pro like Schobel to go about his business in relative tranquility.
“It doesn’t seem like he talks that much to me,” Schobel said of Owens. “He seems quiet to me. So I don’t care. I’m here to play football. He’s here to play football, and that’s pretty much it. But you all can say anything you want.
“Now, I’m going to eat, and then I’m going to try to play a little golf.”
jsullivan@buffnews.com
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