Bills’ Reich to Get First Start at QB on Monday

Frank Reich ran Buffalo’s hurry-up offense all of the fourth quarter last Sunday, which was only fitting. In the most meaningful playing time he’s received in the National Football League, Reich had a 23-7 deficit and five years of inactivity to make up for.

Well, you’ve got to start somewhere. And Reich will. In Buffalo’s Rich Stadium, against the undefeated Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football.”

His first start in the NFL is born of necessity. When Jon Hand of Indianapolis separated Jim Kelly’s left shoulder in the third period last Sunday, Reich became Buffalo’s quarterback of the moment and for the near future.

He delivered no miracles with Kelly out, but he did deliver his first NFL touchdown pass. It was a 17-yard strike to Kenneth Davis over the middle on fourth-and-10. “Threaded the needle on that one,” Bills offensive coordinator Ted Marchibroda said later.

Reich completed 11 of 19 passes for 177 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his rush job. Because the Bills lost, 37-14, he declined to call his outing a success.

“The best thing about last week is that I was able to get in under fairly normal conditions and throw the ball,” he said. “It was a good tuneup for me. It was good to get a feel for the timing on my throws, good to get a feel for the (pass) rush. Hopefully, it got me started and got the cobwebs out.”

Ever since he was drafted out of Maryland by Buffalo in the third round in 1985, Reich, 27, has been cloaked in cobwebs and anonymity. Through five seasons, he has played in only nine games, thrown only 41 passes. That he finally should get his first start against the NFL’s only unbeaten team on national television heightens the expectation.

“I’m trying not to make this week different,” Reich said. “I will have to admit, I probably am studying the game plan a little harder than I normally do. There is more hype to it. I’m trying to keep it in focus.”

This doesn’t figure to be a one-night stand, either. Kelly is expected to be out four to six weeks. The Bills, in a stroke of good fortune, play their next three games at home against the Rams, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. They also signed another former Terp, Stan Gelbaugh, as Reich’s potential quarterback relief.

The situation is ripe with implication for Reich, both short and long term. Although the Rams are 5-0, they rank 28th in NFL pass defense, yielding an average of 278 yards. The Bills, at 3-2, are tied for the AFC East lead with Indianapolis. Buffalo’s vaunted defense has been vapid this season, and the offense under Kelly has been sporadic.

Reich said he would resist any temptation to try to play up to Kelly’s standards.

“That’s the last thing on my mind,” he said. “One of the first things Ted Marchibroda said to me was, ‘Don’t play like Jim Kelly. Play like Frank Reich and do what you do best.’ Any time you’re out of your own element, you limit what you can do. I’m surrounded by good people. If I go out and play OK, we can win. This team can carry itself, it doesn’t need a superstar (at quarterback) to win.

“I’m not battling my emotions, I’m trying to ride the emotion of the whole thing. That’s what the team needs to do. We’re on the spot right now, tied with the Colts ... As a team we need to rise up and play at our best, come out on an emotional high.”

Beyond those immediate ramifications, Reich’s future may be at stake here. Unprotected by the Bills in this year’s free-agent raffle, Reich understands the significance of his first real chance to play.

“I have an opportunity and now I have to make the best of it,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to show the fans of Buffalo I can play. And looking at my career in the long run, it could mean (the difference in) someone else giving me a chance if the Bills release me. So, in the long run, it’s important to play well, too.”

If this is a pressure situation, Marchibroda says Reich “is the kind of guy you want in a situation like that. He’s a hard worker, he’s intelligent. He knows our system. He’s a student of the game, and he gives Kelly help on the sideline.”

His five-year wait for playing time hasn’t been an easy vigil, either. But, said Marchibroda, “I think Frank realizes his role. I think he realizes he’s not Jim Kelly. I told him that he’s better off being a backup quarterback on a good team than a starter on a bad team.”

Reich concurs -- to a point.

“As a backup quarterback, you go through stages as far as that’s concerned,” he said. “Last year it was a great thrill going to the AFC championship game with this team. My first year here we were 2-14. So that’s very true,” he said.

“(But) there are times when you wish you could play even though it may not be on a winning team. When I was left unprotected this year, I had a chance to talk with other teams. I might have gone (elsewhere) for an opportunity to play. I didn’t feel there was a situation like that, though, where I’d have a legitimate chance at a starting job.”