National Football League

TE Chandler's drive paying off for Bills

Published Sep. 14, 2011 11:50 p.m. ET

foxsports

When his flight to Buffalo was canceled in May, Bills tight end Scott Chandler had no second thoughts about hopping in his car to make the 14-hour drive from his home in Iowa.

Though his wife was pregnant with their second child, and the drive ahead of him daunting, Chandler wasn't going to miss an opportunity to bond with his new teammates holding player-organized workouts during the NFL lockout.

''It wasn't any Superman maneuver or anything. I just got in the car and I drove,'' Chandler said. ''It was important to me. You want your teammates to know you're committed.''

Forget what it cost him in gas, the road trip is paying off substantially in production after Chandler scored twice in a season-opening 41-7 win at Kansas City last weekend.

The touchdowns were not only the first of Chandler's NFL career, but first since 2006, when he was a senior at Iowa. And he finished with five catches for 63 yards after entering the game with a career stat-line of: one catch for 8 yards in 14 games.

''It was exciting for me to get out there and have those opportunities and take advantage of them,'' Chandler said.

He keeps this up, and there'll be far more opportunities to come, starting with Buffalo's home opener against Oakland (1-0) on Sunday.

After four seasons of bouncing around the NFL, from San Diego, to Dallas to the Giants and back to Dallas again, Chandler might finally have found a permanent home after the Bills claimed off him waivers in December.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has built an immediate rapport with Chandler, and believes the tight end's presence at the offseason workouts played a factor.

''That might have been a part of it. I'm serious,'' Fitzpatrick said. ''It was important for those guys to make the effort this offseason. And then to see some results from it on the field was good.''

The pass-catching tight end is back in fashion in Buffalo, thanks to Chandler and his 6-foot-7, 263-pound frame presenting a big target.

His two scores equal the number of touchdowns Bills tight ends produced over the past two seasons combined. And he's the Bills first tight end to have two scores in one season since Robert Royal had three in 2007.

''I've been in the league for a while, so I think I know what I'm capable of,'' Chandler said. ''I don't want to say I went out there expecting it, but I expected to succeed.''

Chandler is finally getting a shot after being stuck behind such established stars as Antonio Gates (San Diego), Jason Witten (Dallas) and Kevin Boss (New York). And though he didn't get much playing time in his previous stops, Chandler drew from each of his experiences.

''As frustrating as those four years were, they weren't a waste,'' he said. ''There's a lot to learn from those guys, and I soaked up as much as I could.''

Coach Chan Gailey had several reasons to say he was ''pleased'' with Chandler's performance. Aside from the production, Gailey noted how Chandler now provides the passing attack another threat beyond receivers Stevie Johnson and Donald Jones, who also scored against Kansas City, as well as David Nelson and Roscoe Parrish.

That means defenses must now pay more attention to Chandler.

''I hope they're sitting up at nights worrying about that because the more weapons we have, the more ways we can spread the ball around,'' Gailey said.

Chandler is pleased to finally be able to contribute, while helping the Bills kick off the season with a convincing win. And he can't help but think back to May, when he got back in his car in Buffalo to make the drive home.

''I sat there and thought, `Good, that was worth it,''' Chandler said. ''Looking back, there wasn't any other decision for me to make.''

Notes: The Bills are following an NFL recommendation to have security officials conduct enhanced pat-downs of fans entering the stadium. The new policy means fans will also be patted down from the knees to ankles. ... DT Torell Troup (back) and LB Arthur Moats (knee) both returned to practice on a limited basis after missing the season opener last week. ... Former Bills DE Phil Hansen will be inducted onto the team's Wall of Fame during a halftime ceremony Sunday.