Published: October 19, 2008 11:12 pm      

SCHMITT: Another wild week for unflappable Bills

ORCHARD PARK — As Rian Lindell lined up to bury a chip shot late in the first half of Sunday’s AFC showdown with the visiting Chargers, CBS play-by-play man Greg Gumbel sat with his hands crossed on his lap and his headset neatly in front of him. A member of the CBS crew placed plastic forks and knives down for him and Dan Dierdorf as the snap came back to holder Brian Moorman. The two looked at each and other smiled, like a couple buddies waiting for the pizza guy to ring the bell on a typical National Football League Sunday.

But this was anything but typical.

Gumbel and Dierdorf weren’t the only ones out of sorts on Sunday as they watched instead of worked. With the power down at Ralph Wilson Stadium, John Murphy held a land line, barking the radio call to those who expected to be watching. Art McNally, who once oversaw all NFL officials, used a walkie-talkie as a lifeline to the field, a glimpse into what life was like before fantasy geeks changed stat updates from an hourly to minute-by-minute process. A photographer from Channel 4 was kind enough to turn on his camera light so those in the press box could find their way in the men’s room.

“That’s a team player,” Dierdorf joked.

But while the day was chaotic, it was really nothing out of the ordinary for the surprise of the AFC.

Think about it — between Marshawn Lynch’s legal issues, a concussed quarterback and a cloud that many insist marks the impending doom of the franchise’s stay in Buffalo, Sunday’s first-half outages were just another day for a team that finds a way to stay calm when it should most be frazzled.

“It was really hectic on the sideline. Very hectic,” coach Dick Jauron said. “But I wouldn’t say panicky.”

Course not. Jauron and his poster boy Trent Edwards never seem flustered. Case in point — when the lack of a play clock forced Buffalo to take delay of game penalty, Edwards calmly got his guys back in the huddle. When Philip Rivers had the same thing happen a few minutes later, he looked like he was ready to pop the referee in the kisser.

Edwards, as always is the case, rationally explained the incident after.

“I had to look at the ref a couple times. I think he flagged me one time and I wasn’t too happy with it because there wasn’t any clock to see. I think it was a ref that had played here in Buffalo (Steve Freeman) and he didn’t give me the call,” Edwards joked.

“But I thought we did a great job of not using that as an excuse. We sat in the dark before the game, we sat in the dark at halftime, and it got pretty hot in there and you’re not used to that type of environment. We could have gone out there and laid an egg, but we didn’t.”

It’s not surprising though, as this team hasn’t made excuses all season long. Most experts figured the bubble had finally burst in Arizona, when a talented bunch ran roughshod over the Bills. But this team seems masterful at refocusing, with their stoic coach and humble quarterback leading the way.

Toronto, concussions, Chippewa, power outage ... whatever.

“We stepped up,” Edwards said. “We made plays when we needed to and we’re not sitting here talking about how the electricity wasn’t working and that caused us to lose the football game.”

Or anything else, for that matter.

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.