Buffalo Bills Misfits Hope To Shed No Name Labels

Sunday marks the third week of the NFL season and it's exactly three months from Christmas Day.  But for the Buffalo Bills and their fans, holiday cheer is in the air.  Of course, there’s plenty to be cheerful about, following last Sunday’s dramatic come-from-behind win over Oakland at home.  But at 2-0, it seems like everyone wants to know, “Who are these Buffalo Bills?”  

Their quarterback is tied for the league lead in touchdown passes.  Their starting running back is No. 1 in rushing yards and their fourth year wide receiver is best known for a tee-shirt he wore under his jersey last year that sported the words “Why So Serious?”

If we stick with a 'Christmas in September' theme, you could say the Bills are like the jack-in-the-box, from the holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  You remember those unpopular or defective toys that no little boy or girl wanted?  

Undrafted free-agent wideout David Nelson agrees.  "We look at ourselves as the Island of Misfit Toys," said Nelson, in an interview with Sirius-XM Radio.  "We're players no other team wanted, but we found a home in Buffalo and a front office and a coach who believes in us."   

Some of Nelson's teammates refer to themselves as the “No Name Bills.” It's a moniker the team's offense has affectionately labeled itself, as Buffalo prepares for Sunday's AFC East showdown with the New England Patriots.  It's also a nickname that the media is embracing, as it tries to capture the attention of a football public that knows very little about the revitalized Bills. 

Wideout Steve Johnson may be the most popular of the bunch, but he pronounces his name Stevie, in case you didn't know.  

Meanwhile,the quarterback wants to get one thing straight.  His name is Ryan Fitzpatrick.  It’s not Kilpatrick, Kirkpatrick or Fitzgerald, which is what he heard the PA announcer in Kansas City say, during the first quarter of the Bills' season opener.  He's also not sure he's a "gunslinger", although he was called one by former Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner on NFL Network.  It’s just Fitzpatrick, plain and simple.  

By now, some of you may know that Ryan is a former seventh-round draft pick.  And yes, he went to Harvard, which makes him pretty darn smart.  In the season’s first two weeks, he has put up numbers that rival some of the games current greats, but all everyone wants to talk about are his college SAT scores.  1580 out of 1600 is the mark of a genius and his near perfect score on the league’s Wonderlic Test is eye-opening, although he’s admitted to “skipping” a question or two, so teams would not refer to him as “Mr. Perfect.”  

For most of his first six seasons, Ryan was a proverbial backup, until Bills coach Chan Gailey cut ties with former starter Trent Edwards (last year) and handed the reigns over to Ryan.  At his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Gailey shuttered at a reporter's request to label his quarterback.  Instead, he chose to describe Fitzpatrick as a player that just "gets it".  

That's a strong statement from a coach who once called plays for Dallas great Troy Aikman and worked wonders with the likes of Kordell Stewart, Mike Tomczak, Neil O'Donnell and Tyler Thigpen.  Gailey also made people take notice of another smart Ivy Leaguer from Dartmouth, named Jay Fiedler.  

“Y'all in the media put terms like franchise quarterback on Ryan," exclaimed Gailey, in his best southern drawl.  "We don't.  The guy’s a winner.  I know that.  Don’t make me put some kind of term on him or carry some kind of connotation.  I don’t like that.  The guy knows how to win.  I like that.  I’m glad he’s on our side.” 

And like it or not, Ryan has a couple of things that make him stand out.  First of all, he has a beard, which he starts growing in training camp and doesn't shave until after the postseason.  Last year, it became so popular, he was nicknamed "the Amish Rifle", although he is of Irish descent.  The other inescapable trait is his leadership, which he has cherished from the day he became the team's true starter.

"I love the guys I'm playing with, and I feel like we fit well together," Fitzpatrick said recently.  "So however you want to define it, that's what I feel I am."  

Just call him Fitzpatrick because his Mom likes to hear it.  And in case you are a Patriots fan, you may be surprised to learn something else about Ryan.  He has two sons, one of whom is named Brady.

Brady may or may not have been named after New England quarterback Tom Brady, but he probably hopes his Dad can outgun the man otherwise known as “Tom Terrific”.  The Patriots star was once a backup himself, before unseating popular former starter Drew Bledsoe, who went on to finish his career in Buffalo and Dallas.  

The rest is history.  Brady led the Pats to three Super Bowl rings, appeared in tabloid magazines with models and actresses, and recently totaled passing numbers that have raised the bar on how much better he can possibly be.  But even Tom knows when to give props to opponents, even before he has to face them on the road. 

“There’s a bunch of different challenges,” Brady pointed out.  "I think they’re good in all phases and Buffalo’s always a tough place to play, so it should be a fun, fun weekend.”

Fun is one word used by a few of Buffalo’s no-namers to describe their play the first two weeks.  Nelson, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the waning seconds of last week’s win, blushed when he was asked to describe how it felt to be part of a squad that scored 35 points in the second half to overtake a team like the Raiders. 

“It’s something you dream of as a little kid, catching a game-winning touchdown against a team like that, with all their prestige.  It was kind of an emotional feeling, because of all of the hard work that’s gone into this, and now to see it kind of pay off."

Facing Brady on defense Sunday will be a host of players who are seeking a claim to fame.  Names such as George Wilson, Spencer Johnson, Torell Troup and Alex Carrington may be confused with actors from B-Rated movies, but they always come to play.  Defensive tackle Kyle Williams earned praise a year ago when he was selected to his first Pro Bowl, but he is surrounded by a group of youngsters who are trying to make their presence felt. 

2011 first-round pick Marcel Dareus leads the way, with a dominating presence that has breathed new life into the Bills run defense.  And as a pass defender, fellow rookie Da’Norris Searcy was a last second hero against Oakland, when he intercepted Jason Campbell’s desperation heave in the Bills' end zone to secure the 38-35 win.

Back on offense, there are others who have been teased by the national media for their inexperience or for bouncing from team to team.

Buffalo's offensive line includes left tackle Demetrius Bell, a former seventh-round selection, who happens to be the son of former NBA Basketball star Karl Malone.  At the start of the season, Bell, Andy Levitre, Eric Wood, Kraig Urbik and Eric Pears were ranked 32nd among the NFL’s 32 teams by various prognosticators and football publications. 

Backup offensive guard Chad Reinhart, a former third-round draft pick by Washington, shuffled up to Buffalo after being released by the Redskins.  And starting wide receiver Donald Jones fondly recalls playing across the street from Ralph Wilson Stadium as a junior college football player with Lackawanna (PA).  

Scott Chandler has lived and played on both coasts, as well as in the state of Texas.  He was waived by San Diego, Dallas, the New York Giants and Dallas again, before finally landing in Orchard Park, New York.  

Chandler’s two scores match the number of touchdowns scored by Bills’ tight ends over the past two seasons.  He is also the first Buffalo tight end to tally at least two TDs since Robert Royal found pay-dirt three times in 2007.           

Running back Fred Jackson, who leads the NFL with 229 yards rushing, understands what it feels like to be underappreciated.  He’s a graduate of Division III’s Coe College, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  As coincidence would have it, Coe is also the alma mater of former Bills head coach and Hall of Famer Marv Levy. Nevertheless, Jackson went undrafted and spent two seasons playing in the U.S. Indoor Football League.  Despite being named the MVP of that league, no NFL team took notice accept the Bills, who are happy they did.

Since coming to Buffalo in 2006, Jackson has won over the starting halfback spot from first-round draft choices Marshawn Lynch and C.J. Spiller. 

“Fred Jackson is so underrated,” said Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.  “I think I said it a couple of years ago and I know I said it last year.  He’s just one of those tough backs.  You can give him the ball 30 times if you want to."

Wilfork worries about Jackson’s thunder, but he also frets about Spiller’s lightning.  “He’s just speed.  He will kill you on the ground and in the air and those two together make a good team and a good running attack.  So, we have our hands full.”  

Two years ago, Jackson became the first player ever to run for more than 1,000 yards and total more than 1,000 kickoff return yards in the same season.  But he has always been more focused on his team’s recognition than his own.

“We’re not the New England Patriots,” said Jackson, of the team the Bills have not beaten in 15 consecutive tries and 17 of the past 18 meetings.  “Nobody knows the Buffalo Bills.  We need a win against a top team to make a name for ourselves.” 

Christmas comes but once a year, but if the Bills can do the unthinkable Sunday and beat the Patriots at their own game, everyone will know their names.  I promise you that.