Feud FOR Thought : But That’s as Far as Bills’ Quarterback ‘Controversy’ Will Go

At the start of this month, many in Buffalo doubted the Bills could win with Frank Reich at quarterback.

Two weeks later, many doubted they could win without him.

Welcome to the wacky world of the NFL, where the most popular quarterback often seems to be the one standing on the sidelines, clipboard in hand, his future in someone else’s hands.

Quarterback controversies are certainly nothing new. They have been going on as long as football teams have carried more than one quarterback on their rosters. As soon as people lose hope in the quarterback on the field, their hopes soar that the one on the bench will do better.

But Buffalo seemed immune from such a situation. After all, the Bills’ choice heading into last Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Dolphins in Miami was between Jim Kelly, an All-Pro quarterback who has thrown 23 or more touchdown passes in each of the last four seasons and led Buffalo to the Super Bowl two times in a row before this year, and Reich, a backup quarterback in each of his eight pro seasons, a man with only six starts going into this season.

Yet, there was a public clamor for Reich. Two newspapers from nearby Rochester took a telephone poll that revealed a preference for Reich by a vote of 1,267 to 237.

“I can understand why people didn’t know if we could win with me,” Reich said. “I don’t understand how people can say, ‘Can we win with Jim Kelly?’ That I can’t understand.”

There were questions about Kelly even before he was knocked out of the Bills’ regular-season finale because of a sprained right knee.

Kelly hurt his elbow earlier in the season and seemed to struggle at times. He finished the regular season with 23 touchdown passes, his lowest total in four seasons, and 19 interceptions, a career high.

With Kelly unavailable, in stepped Reich to start the postseason opener against the Houston Oilers.

Only those NFL fans who have been living in a cave the last few weeks don’t know what happened next. Trailing, 35-3, in the third quarter, Reich engineered the greatest comeback in NFL history, throwing four second-half touchdown passes and leading the Bills to a fifth as Buffalo rallied for a 41-38 overtime victory.

With Kelly still not ready to return, Reich guided the Bills to another victory in the second round, throwing two more touchdown passes in a 24-3 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Six touchdown passes in two games for Reich.

And a hook.

When Kelly showed he was physically fit during practice in the middle of last week, Coach Marv Levy named him the starter for last Sunday’s AFC title game--and then battened down the hatches as the controversy swirled.

Kelly was stunned. At least a portion of the town he led to its greatest sports glory seemed, to him, to have turned on him.

The anti-Kelly sentiment wasn’t limited to that newspaper poll. It surfaced on Buffalo talk shows, in letters to the editor and even in comments by sportscasters and columnists in other parts of the country.

Wrote Greg Cote in the Miami Herald before Sunday’s game: “Here comes Marv the Mechanic in his greasy bib overalls, leaning in under the hood, fiddling with what ain’t broke, sticking a busted, rusty part into a perfectly good engine. I guarantee you, if Mr. Goodwrench coached the Buffalo Bills instead of Mr. Marv Levy, none of this would be happening.”

Said Levy: “The denigration of Jim Kelly revolted me.”

And Kelly. “I felt like I had to apologize for feeling good.”

So Kelly, a bachelor, turned inward, looking for support from his parents and five brothers.

“Everybody rallied around me,” he said. “My family means more to me than anything. They all seemed to know what to say to me and when to say it.”

And what did they say?

Kelly said: “They told me, ‘You know what you’re all about. Don’t think you have to do it all yourself. And whatever happens, we still love you.’ ”

Kelly justified the belief in him by leading Buffalo to a 29-10 victory over the Dolphins and a third consecutive Super Bowl berth on Jan. 31 against the Dallas Cowboys at the Rose Bowl. Against Miami, Kelly completed 17 of 24 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown, along with two interceptions. He completed all seven passes he attempted in the second half.

Afterward, he lashed out at his critics. Asked about those fans who voted against him in the newspaper poll, Kelly responded: “Those are the fans who are usually picked last in gym class. If people get mad because I enjoy myself playing football, let it be.”

One of the problems is that Kelly appears to enjoy himself perhaps a bit too much in this generally conservative town.

His appearances in late-night spots have left him with the image of a party animal, while Reich is a committed family man who is deeply religious and proudly articulates his beliefs to any and all who will listen. After Reich led the historic comeback, he read aloud the words of a religious song to reporters in an interview room. Kelly, too, has his religious beliefs, but he is more private about them.

“Fairly or unfairly,” said another Jim Kelly, a Buffalo sportswriter who is no relation to the Bills’ quarterback, “Jim Kelly might be everybody’s quarterback in this town, but Frank Reich is everybody’s son.”

Yet, there seems to be no rivalry between the two. While there is genuine tension in the relationship between Steve Young and Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers, there are no such feelings apparent on the Bills.

Kelly and Reich set up a routine during the season of going out to lunch every Friday. Same restaurant. Same food order. They would eat and discuss the game plan.

That tradition has withstood the controversy of recent days. Kelly and Reich are still enjoying their Friday meal together.

“To me, there was no controversy,” Reich said. “I knew the deal going in. I told Jim (before Sunday’s game), ‘Hey, there’s nothing I want more than for you to play well and for our team to win.’ I pulled for him just the way I know he did for me when I was in there.”

But Reich admitted he is not oblivious to the legions of fans who have crowded into his corner.

“I feel appreciated,” he said, “and sure, I love to play. And I’ll be honest and say that I missed playing (last Sunday) after playing for two weeks. It made it a little more difficult than normal to stand on the sidelines. But that didn’t change any of my feelings about Jim. I’m very proud of the fact that I can stand on the sidelines and, with all my heart, be rooting for Jim to do well.”

And that is what he asks his fans to do.

“I tell them,” Reich said, “that as much as I appreciate their support, what we all need to do right now is get behind Jim because he’s the starter.”

Have the events of the past few weeks made Reich think that perhaps it’s time he became a starter, if not in Buffalo, then elsewhere?

“Since the time I was a rookie in the league,” Reich said, “I’ve always felt like I could be a starter. And if that situation arises, I would welcome the opportunity.

“But I’ve got to be realistic about the situation as well. I’ve got a couple of years left on my contract. I don’t think the Bills would trade me at this point. And if they don’t, that’s fine. I can be happy where I’m at.”

But if he never does anything else on the football field, Reich has his place in football lore secure because of his performance against Houston.

“I’ll always treasure that,” he said. “It means a great deal to me. I do take a great deal of pride in the fact I was a part of that. If that’s my part in this Super Bowl game, then that’s it.

“The glory? That’s not why I play. The best thing about getting my name in the headlines and getting national recognition is that it gives me the opportunity to talk to people about the thing that really motivates me, my faith. I try to do that in a very subtle way, but in a very bold way. If you’re just motivated by money and by glory, I think you come to a dead end.”