By Tim Schmitt
ORCHARD PARK — The response spoke volumes. Just minutes after the Bills had snapped a three-game skid, using a surprising dose of bravado to punch a pair of late touchdowns in during Sunday’s 31-14 win over Miami, Donte Whitner was asked about some gutsy calls by rookie head coach Perry Fewell.
“It’s a difference, right? It’s a difference,” Whitner said. “And around here, it’s no knock on anybody, but we’re used to playing it safe in those situations. And the opposition, they know that. Today, they didn’t really expect that. Even last week, when (Terrell Owens) caught the 98-yard touchdown pass, they expected us to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, punt the ball.
“We’re taking shots, and teams have to be on their heels now.”
Make no mistake, Whitner was trying to say that Dick Jauron’s tepid, passionless approach to a game designed around testosterone had even put his own team to sleep. Jauron was the kind of cool-headed soul you’d want watching your daughter. Or managing your portfolio.
But when it came to inciting a riot in his locker room, or simply keeping his own guys focused and frothing when the fourth quarter rolled around, Yale-educated Jauron just wasn’t your guy.
Enter Fewell, who’s so refreshing and unscripted that he actually used the word “gonads” in his first post-game press conference at Ralph Wilson Stadium. That’s how he described quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick after the Dolphins pinched at the line of scrimmage and the former backup audibled to a deep pass to Terrell Owens down the right sideline. It’s the second straight week Fitzpatrick has called for a big play to the future Hall of Famer.
“I love it,” Fewell said. “I told him, you have some big gonads. And I told him as long as he keeps hitting them keep throwing them.”
Fewell didn’t exactly show cowardice when he sent the field goal unit on in the fourth quarter, giving Rian Lindell a chance to hit a career-long 56-yarder that gave Buffalo a lead it didn’t relinquish. There’s little question Jauron, with his not-to-lose persona, would have punted from the 38-yard line. Or at the very least, he’d have wasted a timeout over-analyzing the decision.
But Fewell measured up a nine-yard gain on a screen to Marshawn Lynch and quickly sent Lindell and Co. out to take a chance.
With a 3-7 record and a group that has been longing for some passion, it was exactly the right decision.
“It was right there on the cusp of his range, and he had missed the one earlier,” Fewell said of Lindell. “I’d told him earlier in the ball game, ‘we’re going to need you again.’ It was a gut thing.”
Imagine that. A coach reading the mood of his players, and acting accordingly.
Using his gut.
The Bills needed a boost, a chance to show they’re capable. And Fewell, just two weeks on the job, put faith in his guys rather than micro-managing them out of a victory.
“I knew the ramifications, but I thought at that point in time, we could turn the tide,” Fewell said. “I thought it was an important decision.”
It was. And suddenly, Thursday night’s national showcase against the Jets in Toronto sounds like a fun way to spend an evening. The Bills, who’d made raking leaves sound like a viable alternative some Sundays this fall, might go down, but they’ll go down fighting for a guy you sense they’d like to make their head coach permanently.
“I’m not going to say that right now, but I know we can run a couple more off in a row, and then we’ll talk about that,” Whitner said about Fewell’s future. “I know he’s doing a great job. He’s a great motivator and he’s not afraid to call guys out when they’re not doing the right thing.
“If you don’t do the right thing and he sees it, he’s going to say something and not just let it go, and that’s the best thing about him.”
Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.
