COMMENTARY
Mitchell hopes to make Super impact
Updated: 09/02/08 6:44 AM
Seven months earlier, Kawika Mitchell had played in the Super Bowl. He helped the Giants stun the Patriots in one of one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. So it shouldn’t have been any big deal when he walked out of the tunnel at Ralph Wilson Stadium last Thursday for a preseason game.
“To be honest, I was a little nervous to get out there and feel the atmosphere,” Mitchell said Monday. “And I didn’t even play.”
Mitchell, who joined the Bills in the early hours of free agency on March 1, has spent time getting to know the town and the people. He knows how Buffalo fans think, and how passionate they are about their teams.
That’s one reason Mitchell came here. He knew the Bills hadn’t been to the playoffs in eight seasons. But he felt they were on the verge of something special. And there was one other huge factor. He felt wanted.
A year earlier, after four seasons in Kansas City, Mitchell had become a free agent. He had played two solid seasons as KC’s middle linebacker and was poised for the deal of a lifetime. Instead, the league yawned. The Giants signed him for one year, $1 million.
“Disappointed is an understatement,” Mitchell said. “I was confused. I was majorly disappointed. I didn’t understand. I was hungry last year. I felt a got a raw deal.”
Mitchell buried his resentment and set out to prove his skeptics wrong. He thrived at outside linebacker on a Giants defense that caught fire late in the year and tormented Tom Brady and the Pats in the Super Bowl.
The Bills’ scouts had been high on Mitchell for awhile. Any doubts they had were obliterated here last Dec. 23, when Mitchell put on a show against the Bills. He sacked Trent Edwards twice, forced a fumble and returned an interception 20 yards for a TD.
The Giants rode the momentum of that win to a Super Bowl title. A month later, the Bills signed Mitchell to a five-year, $17.5-million deal, fortifying themselves at weak-side linebacker and adding a forceful leader to a young defense.
Mitchell, 28, said winning a Super Bowl gave him vital insights he can impart to his new teammates.
“Last year taught me patience,” he said. “It’s a long season. You’re going to have ups and downs. Someone is going to have to be strong through those down times. It taught me to respect everybody, but fear nobody. I feel like I’ve been there. I know what I’m doing at this point and I feel I can help other people feel the same way.”
Mitchell didn’t show any fear before the Super Bowl. He said the Giants would rattle Brady, and they did. Mitchell had a sack. He rose to the big moment. That’s something the young Bills must do if they intend to reach their own lofty expectations.
Look around that locker room. It’s hard to find players who have played a single playoff game, never mind won the Super Bowl. Mitchell said it’s good to have high expectations. But you can’t get too caught up in them.
“It’s how you handle it,” Mitchell said. “Don’t put yourself in the playoffs before you’re already there. Hopefully, young players don’t do that. Like I said, it’s a long season. You’ve really got to take it one game at a time, or at least break the season down into four-game quarters.”
He understands Bills fans aren’t inclined to be patient. He knows how much people here care. That’s why he can’t wait to come out of that tunnel for his first regular season game as a Bill.
“I’ve been out and about, meeting different people around the city,” he said. “It’s a hungry town. They want to win the Super Bowl, and they have high expectations. Hopefully, we can meet those expectations together.”
