COMMENTARY
Sullivan: Centre stage an unlikely spot for Hangartner
Published: December 02, 2009, 11:39 pm
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TORONTO — Ready or not, the big moment arrives tonight under the dome. Terrell Owens will play a football game in the Rogers Centre. T.O. comes to TO. For a few hours, this lucky Canadian metropolis will be part of Owens' celebrity orbit.
Maybe the Jets and Bills, two sub-.500 teams trying desperately to stay in the AFC East race, will actually play a game worthy of all the hype.
While Owens is the center of attention beneath the dome and on the NFL Network, Geoff Hangartner will go about his business as the center of the offense. Hangartner was the Bills' other big free agent signing last spring. Safe to say, it didn't rouse the masses in Oakville and Mississauga into action.
"I'm kind of quiet and go about my business," Hangartner said Tuesday. "That's just been what I do."
But Hangartner's first year in Buffalo has been anything but quiet and uneventful. If Owens has been a walking media circus, the offensive line has been a cross between a day care center and an emergency ward.
Hangartner hardly knows what to expect when he glances to his left and right from one week to the next.
He sees rookies who have never taken an NFL snap. He sees players going down for the season, guys shuffling from one position to another, anonymous journeyman blockers showing up to lend a hand, like volunteers at a three-alarm fire.
The Bills have used 10 different starters on the O-line this season. They've had seven different starting five-man combinations. One week, the other four starters on either side of Hangartner had just 12 combined NFL starts. Hangartner, at 27 the grand old man of the bunch, is the only one who has started every game at the same position this season.
"Yes, it's been an adventure," Hangartner said. "I have never been on a team that's had this many injuries on the offensive line. It's the first time, and hopefully it's the last."
The Bills signed Hangartner to a four-year deal worth an estimated $14 million Feb. 28, one week before signing Owens. Little did he know that the Bills would trade one tackle, Jason Peters, and cut the other one, Langston Walker, just before the start of the season.
That left Hangartner as the anchor, signal-caller and unofficial mentor for the greenest NFL line in at least a quarter century. He's had his weaker moments, including a personal foul and a false start (one of nine by the Bills) in the 6-3 home loss to Cleveland.
But all things considered, Hangartner has done an admirable job, helping a young group navigate a season of crisis and the inevitable growing pains of youth. He felt a sense of responsibility to lead.
"Yeah. A little bit," he said. "But they've grown up a lot in 11 games. You start your career on a Monday night against the Patriots, that's tough. But they've grown and gotten experience and matured. They've done a good job."
As a Carolina rookie in 2005, Hangartner played on a Panthers offensive line that was in transition and racked by injuries, similar to Buffalo's. Veterans such as Jordan Gross and, later, Justin Hartwig took him under their wings.
Now, in his fifth season, Hangartner (who is 6-foot-5, 315 pounds) is the one passing down wisdom to the kids.
They're wise to pay attention.
As a draft prospect out of Texas A&M, Hangartner scored 47 out of 50 on the Wonderlic intelligence test, believed to be the highest ever by an offensive lineman.
"I wouldn't doubt it," said tackle Demetrius Bell, who took his first regular-season NFL snap in the opener. "He's smart. Hands down, he's the smartest center I've seen. When I have problems, I always go talk to him. I go to his house, sit in his basement and we'll talk. He's like a big brother to me.
"He's real cool," Bell said. "He'll talk about whatever you have on your mind. I think he's held everybody together. He's the main reason we're so close, along with the coaches."
Bell, who will miss his third straight game tonight with a knee injury, said the offensive linemen sometimes gather as a group at Hangartner's house. The defensive backs have done that for the last few years. It's good for team bonding. But no unit has needed as much physical and emotional nurturing as this embattled O-line.
The hits keep on coming. Two weeks ago, rookie guard Eric Wood suffered a grisly compound fracture of his left leg in Jacksonville. Wood spent a couple of days in a Jacksonville hospital. He's home now, with two titanium rods in his leg, and is expected to make a full recovery.
"I went by and saw him [Monday]," Hangartner said. "He's doing OK. He's obviously in some pain, but he's getting better as it goes. I'm going to bring him some food from [Ilio DiPaolo's] after practice. I'll probably have a few pieces of veal parmesan while I'm over there. I'm sure he's frustrated. You go from being active and playing football and moving around to basically sitting around all day."
The new offensive line was the talk of the town for the first couple of weeks. Fully intact, they led the Bills to a couple of solid offensive performances against the Pats and Bucs. Then the injuries set in, along with the inevitable youthful mistakes.
But these last two games, the line has held up well in front of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has had two straight productive outings.
The last five weeks will be something to build on. The line had a surprisingly solid game against the Jets in the first meeting at the Meadowlands against Rex Ryan's aggressive 3-4 defense.
This week, Hangartner won't have Kris Jenkins to deal with.
"Despite our record, it's been a fun year with these guys," Hangartner said. "We're a ways back in the standings now. But if you string some wins together, anything can happen. I don't think anybody's packed up and ready to go home yet."
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