Oh, he’s in the Bills’ lockerroom whenever I’m there, but on Sunday afternoons he pulls a David Copperfield and disappears.

Come to think of it, the former Penn State star has also become an escape artist.

With all the focus on Buffalo’s offensive impotence, few have taken notice that this year’s first-round draft choice has contributed virtually nothing.

Five games into the season the Bills’ pass -rush specialist has three - that’s three - tackles ... total. There have been no big plays: sacks, interceptions or fumbles forced or recovered.

EARLIER THIS week, though, Bills’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell came to the defense of his 6-4, 250-pound rookie.

“He missed all of training camp, and that hurts,” Fewell allowed, adding, “some of the games haven’t been Maybin-type games. People haven’t attacked us in such a way that we haven’t been able to use his talents.

“Teams have run the ball at us and Maybin’s more an on-the-edge pass-rush guy. We’ve tried to get him in (during) some of those situations. He’s averaged something like 14 plays a game, so we haven’t been able to use his talents the way we would have anticipated.”

Coach Dick Jauron added, “When we drafted him, we knew that he was a speed rusher off the edge. He’s not a giant defensive end but he’s a strong guy, he’s got a great motor.

“We knew that it would take some time (but) thought he could help us right away in (the) pass rush and pretty much (that’s) still where we are.”

And he pointed out, “There are games that he would play more in if we (could) make the opponent throw the ball more ... clearly he’d have more opportunities to get on the field.”

THERE IS some merit to that argument.

The past three games, Bills’ foes have rushed for 643 yards (214 per start) and over five yards per carry.

And, in fairness, over that span, it hasn’t been opponents’ passing games that have led to three straight defeats.

New Orleans, Miami and Cleveland have combined to go a very pedestrian 32-of-68 for 290 yards with an interception and one touchdown. And, of those 68 attempts, only 26 came on 3rd-and-long, or in obvious passing situations.

Still, the relative inactivity has left Maybin frustrated.

“When I’ve gotten in,” he said, “I’ve been productive so far this year. But a player like myself, I’m going to be a little bit harder on myself than anybody else is. There’s always room for improvement. There are a lot of areas where I can get a lot better. I’m just trying to hammer away at that every single day.”

But he also conceded, the NFL is a far different game from playing in the Big Ten, especially between the ears.

“Physically not really (much difference),” he said. “Mentally there’s a lot more that you’ve got to pay attention to and it’s a lot more complex at this level.”

Of course, Maybin’s situation is complicated by Buffalo’s 1-4 start and that’s something he’s dealing with himself.

“The veterans can’t just hold your hand and walk you through every part of (this) process,” he said, “there are some things that you just have to learn for yourself. There are some things that, as a team, we have to see on our own and experience on our own.”

IN ANY CASE, the Bills don’t see Maybin as a wasted draft choice.

“He’s learning about this game,” Jauron said. “We’re happy with his progress (and) still see the same things (Buffalo drafted him for). He’s a tough guy ... things are going OK with Aaron. (We’re) happy with where he is and the fact that he missed time, it sets you back. How much? It’s always hard to tell but it’s never a good thing.”

Maybin clearly missed a valuable month in his contract holdout and it’s had an effect.

“He’s still trying to grasp the NFL game, he’s still trying to grasp our system,” Fewell conceded. “He doesn’t have it all down yet. We’re still trying to do different things with Aaron, so it’s going to be a gradual process.

“I don’t know when it will click ... but it will click.”

(Chuck Pollock, the Times Herald sports editor, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)

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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bradfordera.com.

re wrote on Oct 18, 2009 9:06 PM:

" Saw him today in the Jet's game,,he lined up offsides on a 3rd and ten,,incomplete pass,,then they made a first down on 3rd a 5,,Wow! SAW HIM! "

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Ron K wrote on Oct 19, 2009 12:31 AM:

" Why do the Bills use a high 1st round pick on a defensive end who is only a "situational player"?

Why draft a DE if he can't defend the run, "

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