Cincinnati Bengals And Buffalo Bills Connections

Every week we try to push out a weekly feature that digs into the connection between the Bengals and their opponent that week. It's informational, only. How many Bengals players are from the Buffalo region? How many Bills players are from the state of Ohio, or the Cincinnati region (which includes areas in Kentucky). How many players played together or coaches coaching together?

Former Bills/Bengals

• Bengals cornerback Nate Clements played for the Buffalo Bills (2001-06)
• Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick played for the Cincinnati Bengals (2007-08)
• Bengals wide receivers coach Mike Sheppard was the Bills offensive coordinator in 2001.

NFL Connections

• Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer was the Dallas Cowboys staff when Bills head coach Chan Gailey held the same position in Dallas.
• Bills defensive coordinator George Edwards and Bengals coach Paul Guenther coached together with the Washington Redskins (2002-03) with Bengals strength and conditioning coach Chip Morton (2002).
• Edwards was the Miami Dolphins linebacker coach when Chris Crocker was on the team (2008).
• Crocker and Bills linebacker Andra Davis played together (2003-05) with the Cleveland Browns.
• Crocker and Bills fullback Corey McIntyre played together (2007) with the Atlanta Falcons.
• Bills tackle Eric Pears and defensive tackle Kellen Heard played with Bengals quarterback Bruce Gradkowski and linebacker Thomas Howard in Oakland (2009-10).
• Tight end Donald Lee played with Bills tight end David Martin (2005-06) and linebacker Nick Barnett (2005-10) in Green Bay.
• Place kicker Mike Nugent was former teammates with Brad Smith in New York (2006-07).
• Bills quarterback Tyler Thigpen and tight end David Martin played with Gibril Wilson in Miami (2009).

Collegiate Connections

• Bills quarterback Tyler Thigpen was Jerome Simpson's quarterback at Coastal Carolina (2004-06). Of the 3,269 yards Thigpen threw, Simpson was responsible for 1,077 of those yards.
• Bills head coach Chan Gailey coached Michael Johnson (2005-07) as the head coach at Georgia Tech.
• Bills wide receiver David Nelson, Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell and defensive end Carlos Dunlap were Florida Gator teammates during the 2007 season.
• Brandon Tate played two seasons (2007-08) with Bills running back Johnny White and defensive back Da'Norris Searcy at North Carolina.
• Linebacker Brandon Johnson played one season at Louisville with center Eric Wood.
• Bills cornerback Aaron Williams and Bengals linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy were teammates for three seasons (2007-09) at Texas.
• Andre Smith and Bills defensive end Marcell Dareus played together at Alabama during the 2008 season.

Bengals Connections with Buffalo and the Surrounding Region

• Offensive line coach Paul Alexander is from Rochester, New York and played at Cortland State.
• Offensive tackle Matthew O'Donnell played at Queen's College in Ontario.
• Defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle coached at Syracuse (1991-93).

Bills Connections with Cincinnati and the Surrounding Region

• Center Eric Wood, a Cincinnati native from Elder, played at Louisville.
• Wide receiver Stevie Johnson played at Kentucky.
• Bills defensive backs coach George Catavolos coached at Louisville (1970) and Kentucky (1977-81).
• Bills wide receivers coach Stan Hixon coached at Morehead State (1980-82).
• Bills assistant offensive line coach Bobby Johnson played at Miami University and coached on their staff (1999-04).