Buffalo Bills shift focus to Fewell, Fitzpatrick
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Perry Fewell has been waiting for this opportunity ever since he decided more than a decade ago to pursue coaching in the NFL as his career path.
“To say that I’m not excited, I would not be telling the truth,” said Fewell, who will be making his head coaching debut this afternoon at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium — the place where his NFL coaching career began — when the Buffalo Bills take on the Jaguars.
“When you get into coaching you dream of having this opportunity, so again, it didn’t come the way I would have liked for it to come, but the opportunity has presented itself.”
Interestingly, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s story is quite similar.
Fewell got promoted to the top job, albeit on an interim basis, primarily because Dick Jauron failed and was fired on Tuesday by Ralph Wilson. And Fewell promptly named Fitzpatrick his starting quarterback for today’s game largely because of Trent Edwards’ undeniable regression this year and not Fitzpatrick’s own sterling play.
Regardless, for the first time since he came into the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Rams in 2005, Fitzpatrick is going to start a game as the chosen quarterback and not as a replacement for the injured first-stringer.
“This is my opportunity to step in and try to get the team some wins,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve struggled on offense all year long, but the situation isn’t one where we don’t have the talent, because we do. We have the right guys to do it; it’s just about going out on Sunday and doing it.”
Marv Levy had Jim Kelly, and both men wound up with busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since then, all the Bills have had at coach and quarterback are busts.
Wade Phillips, in a memorable 1998 news conference, proclaimed that this was the start of the “Wade Phillips and Rob Johnson Era.” Of course, it wound up being the Phillips/Johnson/Doug Flutie debacle that served as the ultimate blueprint for how not to handle a quarterback controversy. Gregg Williams had Drew Bledsoe, Mike Mularkey had J.P. Losman, Jauron had Edwards, and now Fewell has Fitzpatrick.
Is this finally the winning combination for the Bills? Fans probably shouldn’t get their hopes up, because apparently, the front office sure hasn’t.
Less than 48 hours after Fewell was promoted, word leaked out that the Bills are in pursuit of Mike Shanahan to be their coach and maybe director of football operations in 2010. And he’ll be the first of several candidates who will be linked to the Bills in coming weeks.
And about six hours after Fewell officially named Fitzpatrick his starting quarterback Wednesday, the Bills signed Brian Brohm off Green Bay’s practice squad, thrusting the former second-round draft pick into the mix in Buffalo’s never-ending search for a viable quarterback.
Some heads were rolling on One Bills Drive this week (Jauron and Edwards), many others were spinning amid all the upheaval, and somehow the Bills have to go down to Jacksonville and play against a team that has won three of its past four and at 5-4 is back in the wild-card playoff picture.
The injury ravaged and undermanned Bills clearly have a challenge, but there are a couple of factors that should provide Bills’ fans some hope that Buffalo can go down to north Florida and be victorious.
For one, you have to wonder how hot Jacksonville’s recent hot streak really is. The Jaguars began the season 2-3 including a 41-0 loss in Seattle. Since then they have won three of their past four, losing to Tennessee (the Titans first win after an 0-6 start) while beating St. Louis and Kansas City (a combined 2-16) by three points each, and the sinking Jets 24-22 last week on a last-second field goal.
The Jaguars have an excellent running game led by Maurice Jones-Drew, but David Garrard isn’t exactly an elite quarterback, and the Jaguars rank 22nd in scoring. On defense, Jacksonville is 26th in points allowed (Buffalo is 22nd), it is 23rd in yards, 29th in preventing third-down conversions and dead last in the NFL with a mere eight sacks.
A juggernaut the Jaguars are not, and when you add in the fact that the Bills should presumably be fired up playing for their new coach, it’s not impossible to believe Buffalo can compete, and perhaps win. At least that’s the plan, said strong safety George Wilson.
“That’s my mindset, definitely,” said Wilson. “I’m sure it’s bittersweet for Perry to get the opportunity to be a head coach under these circumstances, but he got the opportunity and we as players have to do a good job of supporting him. … To go down to Jacksonville and win would do a great deal for … getting this ship headed in the right direction.”
As far off course as the Bills are, one win isn’t going to move the rudder that much. But one win would be a start, and one win would be huge for Fewell, for Fitzpatrick, and for every man on this roster because with so much change in the air, the Bills are playing for their careers, starting today.
“What you put on tape is your rsum, so I feel like they do that every week they go out and play,” said Fewell.
It’s just that now, with perhaps Shanahan, Bill Cowher or whoever else the Bills might be looking at as a future leader, that tape is going to start getting more scrutinized.
MAIORANA@DemocratandChronicle.com
At a glance
What: Buffalo Bills (3-6) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4).
Where: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
When: 1 p.m. today.
TV/radio: CBS/WHAM-AM (1180), WFXF-FM (91.5).
Line: Jaguars by 81/2.
