Published: June 08, 2008 11:36 pm            

BILLS: Coaches like what they see in Mitchell

ORCHARD PARK — Kawika Mitchell certainly had the right answer when asked what brought him to Buffalo.

“The fans,” the Bills’ marquee free-agent signing said. “It’s a great atmosphere. The fans have been great every time I’ve been here. They seem to really love football up here, it’s a great feeling to be in a place like that. I’d describe it like a college atmosphere. The fans are all about their team and supporting them in every way and I’m excited about getting started with it.”

If it ends the way Mitchell’s last season did, Bills fans will be excited, as well. After signing a one-year deal with the New York Giants and starting all 16 games, he capped his year in the Big Apple with a Super Bowl victory over the previously-unbeaten New England Patriots.

That makes Mitchell one of the few Bills with postseason, let alone Super Bowl, experience.

“It just helps me be more comfortable in my position,” he said. “I can just lead by example. If the time comes that I need to step up and say something, I will.”

Mitchell’s arrival in Buffalo comes after the team evaluated him as a free agent after his 2006 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he spent the first four years of his career.

“We’re very pleased with what he’s brought to us overall on defense,” Bills linebackers coach Matt Sheldon said. “We evaluated him the last two years as a free agent, and he’s brought what we watched on video. He’s a physical presence in the run game, he’s strong and he’s able to defeat blockers at the point of attack.”

Sheldon said he watched at least 10 of Mitchell’s games when the team was considering signing him, including one first-hand. The Giants visited Ralph Wilson Stadium in Week 16 of 2007, and Mitchell was all over the field. The University of South Florida product registered six tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and an interception he returned for a touchdown.

When he was introduced to the Western New York media, Mitchell was asked just how much that win meant to the Giants.

“It definitely gave us some momentum,” he said. “Prior to that game we lost to Washington at home and then we came here and needed to win to have a chance to go to the playoffs. ... I think it definitely helped our team out a lot.”

“We joke around with him that he was using our techniques that game,” Sheldon said.

Mitchell remembered the atmosphere.

“It was crazy. The rain was blowing in sideways, but the fans were still going nuts,” he said.

Mitchell is expected to start at the weak-side linebacker position, with second-year veteran Paul Posluszny returning from injury to man the middle and Angelo Crowell at the strong. Mitchell’s signing means third-year veteran Keith Ellison will likely move to the bench, which gives the team added depth.

“It’s a young team with a lot of potential, and I’m just here to do my part,” he said.

Contact reporter Jay Skurski at 693-1000, ext. 117.

        

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