Apparently we still have to like Peter King

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/09/19/week2/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a1-s1

The Bills are impossible to not root for.

The next three games should tell us whether the 2-0 Bills have a prayer of playing meaningful games in January. They host New England Sunday, then travel to Cincinnati, then Philadelphia comes to Orchard Park. If they're 4-1 after five games, they could well be a factor in the last month. For now, though, can't we just enjoy the ride?

 

But this is why you root for the Bills: Their most important offensive players are everymen, and they can really play. Last year, Buffalo hung up 30 on New England, 34 on Baltimore, 49 on Cincinnati ... lost on a heartbreaking dropped pass against Pittsburgh for what would have been the winning touchdown ... and after starting 0-8, won four of their last eight with nothing to play for.

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick, the quarterback, a seventh-round pick of the Rams six years ago, played at Harvard and is singing for his supper in the last year of his contract. The winning touchdown pass in the 38-35 win over Oakland Sunday was caught by David Nelson, an undrafted wide receiver who wasn't even a full-time college starter. Their touchdown leader, tight end Scott Chandler, was a waiver pickup from Dallas last December. And their starting running back, Fred Jackson, also undrafted (isn't everyone on this team?), went to mighty Coe College, enrollment 1,300, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There is one key receiver who was drafted -- Stevie Johnson. In the seventh round of the 2008 draft.

 

"I think our guys don't know any better,'' Fitzpatrick told me after the game. "They're just out there playing. And them being naive, I think, really helps. They're gaining so much confidence right now because I think they're understanding, 'Hey, it's just football.' I just try to tell them they're good and I want to them to know they're definitely good enough. By the end of this game, the confidence we had in the huddle was just unbelievable. We knew we were going to score every time we had the ball. It almost felt like invincibility.''

 

As the clock ticked down Sunday in Orchard Park, Fitzpatrick had the Bills at the six-yard line with 18 seconds to play. Fourth-and-one. Decisions, decisions. Of course, Fitzpatrick, who does not play shy, threw it into the end zone -- to a stunningly uncovered Nelson. "I was in disbelief,'' said Fitzpatrick. "I had to do a quick double-take. They were either misaligned or a corner got picked. I don't know. But we'll take it. Last year those are the kinds of games we lost.''

 

The fans have taken to Fitzpatrick in Buffalo. He got serenaded with a standing O when he left the field Sunday. He's also a free agent after the season, and I don't expect him to ever get there. The coach, Chan Gailey, loves him, and he should be fairly reasonable to sign -- if the Bills do it soon. "I hope we can work it out,'' said Fitzpatrick. "I would love to stay. I don't get caught up in any of the contract stuff, but I love the city and I love the team, and I love coach Gailey.''

 

Gailey made it clear after the game he wasn't the negotiator, but he'd like to see Fitzpatrick stay. Buffalo, this is the quarterback, and the team, that's made for you.

[McD]

Nice story...

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

And Don Banks too: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/09/18/week.2/index.html?sct=nfl_t12_a2&sct=nfl_t2_a22

They've gone about it in two very distinct ways, against two AFC West opponents, but all that really matters is the Buffalo Bills are getting it done, and they're gaining believers week by week.

 

The Bills ran out to a big halftime lead last week in Kansas City, then cruised home for a 41-7 season-opening win. This time, the script was flipped, with visiting Oakland storming to a 21-3 advantage at the break, and Buffalo scoring 35 second-half points -- including the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds to play -- to produce a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory at Ralph Wilson Stadium. How impressive was the comeback? It was the largest halftime deficit overcome by the Bills since 1993.

 

A 2-0 start might not be cause for celebration everywhere in the NFL, but in Buffalo, where they only won four games last season, why not pop a cork or two? It's early, but the Bills are suddenly relevant again, and be it at home or on the road, playing from ahead or behind, Buffalo is proving itself to be one of the most improved teams in the league.

 

"I think our fans believe in us, but there's always going to be people that don't believe,'' Bills lead receiver Stevie Johnson told me last week, coming off the rout of the Chiefs. "Even some people who wear Buffalo Bills logos on their shirt, they're probably a little wary. But we'll see a little bit later how good this team is going to be. Right now, we've got a pretty good solid backing from the Bills mafia out there, and we know we've got to make plays for them because they're paying their money to come out to see us. We've got to come up big for them.''

 

The Bills came up even bigger for their frustrated fans this week than last week, climbing out of that 18-point halftime hole in their home opener, and three times taking the lead in the fourth quarter over the impressive Raiders, who refused to wilt. Buffalo scored touchdowns on all five of its second-half drives, and the Bills and Raiders traded the lead five times in the game's final 14:10.

 

In improving to 2-0 for the first time since 2008, Buffalo got three more touchdown passes from the ridiculously unsung Ryan Fitzpatrick (seven TDs in two games), another 100-yard rushing game from running back Fred Jackson (117 yards on 15 carries, with two touchdowns) and an eight-catch, 96-yard, one-touchdown day from Johnson.

 

We know this much already in this young NFL season: Buffalo can score seemingly at will, is stocked with playmakers galore, and Chan Gailey's team knows how to both take a punch and deliver one of its own. The Bills' 79 points in two games lead the league entering Sunday night's contest, and no quarterback has thrown for more touchdowns than Fitzpatrick, who's tied for the league-lead with Matthew Stafford.

 

Buffalo's newest star on Sunday was second-year receiver David Nelson, who went undrafted out of Florida in 2010, but had himself a monster game with a career-best 10 catches for 83 yards, including the game-winning six-yard touchdown that capped a dramatic 14-play, 80-yard drive.

 

And Buffalo can do more than just throw the ball. The Bills outrushed the Raiders handily, finishing with 217 yards on just 25 carries, a whopping 8.7 average rush. Even lightly used running back C.J. Spiller, the team's 2010 first-round pick, contributed with 63 yards on just four carries. No wonder the buzz is going to continue to build for a team that hasn't reached the playoffs since 1999.

 

Stark reality may await the Bills next week with division power New England coming to Orchard Park to open the AFC East portion of Buffalo's schedule. But these Bills aren't going to be an easy touch for anyone this season, and last year's painful 0-8 start already seems like it was the hard work that helped plant the seeds of this year's success. Buffalo has that early surprise-team mojo going for it so far, and there's a little more reason to believe all the time.

[Chandler#81]

Great to read these, to be sure. But King is likely to a 'hater' next week, given his Pats* fandom. Even if we pull a miracle and win, he'll likely side w/ Tommy Terrific in the 'can't win 'em all' camp..

[BillsFanM.D.]

I dont care who wrote it. Read it again and tell me it doesn't get you a little pumped up. The Bills, of late, have showed a sense of growth and direction lacking for over a decade. This goes back to last year. We may not be 'who we think we are' but we seem to have momentum in the right direction. As for positive national coverage...bring it on.

[Realist]

I've always liked King and don't understand why so many have it in for him. Can you blame him or any other national reporter for being down on the Bills the last 15 years? They can't say anything nice about a team when its obvious there isn't anything nice to say.

 

He's a bit of a Pats* homer, but guess what, he lives there. You can't be impartial all the time.

 

A lot of people don't like his MMQB column because he talks about things other than football, well he tells you what's coming up, you don't want to read about his travel, don't. His coffee? don't, his non-football related items? It says right there "my non-football thoughts of the week", don't read it, guess what, you just finished the column early.

 

He's one columnist that really tells it like it is.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Realist

[Picnic Table F'er]

I've always liked King and don't understand why so many have it in for him. Can you blame him or any other national reporter for being down on the Bills the last 15 years? They can't say anything nice about a team when its obvious there isn't anything nice to say.

 

He's a bit of a Pats* homer, but guess what, he lives there. You can't be impartial all the time.

 

A lot of people don't like his MMQB column because he talks about things other than football, well he tells you what's coming up, you don't want to read about his travel, don't. His coffee? don't, his non-football related items? It says right there "my non-football thoughts of the week", don't read it, guess what, you just finished the column early.

 

He's one columnist that really tells it like it is.

 

... nice try Peter King.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Picnic Table F'er

[C.Biscuit97]

I've always liked King and don't understand why so many have it in for him. Can you blame him or any other national reporter for being down on the Bills the last 15 years? They can't say anything nice about a team when its obvious there isn't anything nice to say.

 

He's a bit of a Pats* homer, but guess what, he lives there. You can't be impartial all the time.

 

A lot of people don't like his MMQB column because he talks about things other than football, well he tells you what's coming up, you don't want to read about his travel, don't. His coffee? don't, his non-football related items? It says right there "my non-football thoughts of the week", don't read it, guess what, you just finished the column early.

 

He's one columnist that really tells it like it is.

 

I always read his Monday Morning QB but he basically is the Oprah of football writers. Still, it is always nice to get good national press on the Bills.