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Bills’ Fitzpatrick reminds Warner of … himself

Published: September 21st, 2011 | Tags: Around the League, Buffalo Bills, Kurt Warner

Most us don’t know what it’s like to get compared to someone likely destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ryan Fitzpatrick, welcome yourself to that exclusive club.

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Fitzpatrick, who is tied with some guy named Tom Brady (as well as Matthew Stafford) for the league lead with seven passing touchdowns, is getting a lot of attention around the NFL Network this week. The latest comes from aforementioned quarterback, Kurt Warner.

“I love the way (Fitzpatrick) is playing right now. He reminds me a lot of me,” Warner told “Around the League” Wednesday. “He’s a gunslinger, he’s a guy who attacks you, throws the ball down the field. Unfortunately, I think there’s going to be times this year where he takes a few too many chances and has one of those games with three or four interceptions. But right now, he’s making all the plays for this team.  He’s been extremely impressive and exactly what that young team needs.”

That’s pretty high praise, to say the least. Many questioned the Bills offseason decision not to acquire a quarterback in a trade or the draft. All Fitzpatrick continues to do is prove them right.

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Fitzpatrick: Bills have bonded over underdog status

Ryan Fitzpatrick has no problems being called a gunslinger by Kurt Warner, who says he sees a bit of himself in the Bills’ quarterback.

Fitzpatrick happens to play the role of likable underdog quite well, because he’s easy to root for. As Charles Davis pointed out, it’s Fitzpatrick’s toughness that makes the rest of the Bills want to follow.

Fitzpatrick, though, has more in common with many of the Bills’ key offensive players than meets the eye. As a former seventh-round pick, he’s one of a core group — along with Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson, David Martin, Brad Smith, Donald Jones, Marcus Easley, and Scott Chandler, to name more than a few — who were middle- and late-round picks, weren’t picked at all, or were given up on by another team. Fitzpatrick said on “NFL Total Access” on Wednesday that bond has made a difference.

“Most of us were either on teams before that didn’t want us or didn’t get drafted. It’s a unique circumstance,” Fitzpatrick said. “You really don’t get that on a lot of teams, but everybody is so willing to work and put the effort in to go out there and play well on Sunday. We’ve bonded over the fact that maybe we’ve had to work a little bit harder to get to where we are, to get the opportunity we have right now, and we’re looking to take advantage of it.”

Fitzpatrick said he can sense the newfound optimism in Buffalo, and no question the Bills are one of the feel-good stories of the early season. We’ll see how long the momentum lasts.

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