Ask about Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass, and some of the answers start to sound quite similar.
“I’ve been around some swaggy kickers, now. But he’s definitely top two, and not two,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said ahead of Week 4. “But he plays like a skill position player. He’s got a little swagger about him.”
Coach Sean McDermott said he loves the second-year kicker’s “moxie, his swagger.” Quarterback Josh Allen said Bass is “just a baller.” The next week, left tackle Dion Dawkins said confidence is “a Bass thing,” calling him “Swaggy Bass” in the same breath.
“Confident, swaggy,” Dawkins said of the Bills specialist. “You wouldn’t think a kicker has that much oompf in him. He just walks around with that confidence. This is 2021, and he just has a different type of swagger to him.
"The world is different, where our kickers are bringing that swag like a skill cat.”
Bass' laugh is a little bashful when asked about his teammates' perspectives of him.
"I did hear a few things of that," he said. "For me, hearing that from my teammates, that's an honor. I hold them in such high regard, and for me, that's humbling. But I try my best, you know? Feel good, look good, play good. That's what they say."
Still, it's the playing good that's his first priority. Bass is 10 of 11 this year, his only miss from 53 yards on a rainy day in Miami. It wasn’t critical, as the Bills won 35-0.
Against the Texans in Week 4, his four field goals smoothed over some red-zone woes for Buffalo.
"He is the most confident kicker that I've ever seen or been around," long snapper Reid Ferguson said.
The team matches that confidence. The Bills know they can rely on the 2020 sixth-round pick to put points on the board, and have used him often. Bass has 193 points in 21 regular-season games. Since 1950, only Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker, with 210, has had a more productive start to his career.
“He’s been extremely consistent,” McDermott said after the Texans game. “That team kind of within the team with Reid and (punter) Matt Haack and then Tyler – I don’t take that for granted. Their relationship, what they do for our football team, that kind of goes under the radar in a win like this. But those field goals are important.”
Bond among specialists
The three specialists are close, spending Friday nights trying new restaurants, barbecuing at Ferguson’s house on other days and golfing together. The tight-knit relationship extends to coordinator Heath Farwell and assistant special teams coach Matthew Smiley.
Bass says it feels like a family, which means they really get to know him well. They know the obvious stories, like why he began his signature one-eye-black look in tribute to his grandma.
They also know lesser-known facts about Bass, which might or might not impact his kicking.
“He is a cat guy,” Ferguson said. “I think he got one last year for his girlfriend, and then ended up getting another one. I don't know if cats are the secret sauce or not. Maybe.”
There is some debate as to the quality of the smoothies that Bass makes.
“He is definitely a smoothie connoisseur,” Haack said.
“He thinks he’s a smoothie connoisseur,” Ferguson corrected.
Swaggy Bass. Cat guy. Smoothie connoisseur. Bass is quickly compiling a growing list of nicknames.
But he hopes to define himself on his own terms, starting with his position.
“I consider myself more of an athlete, rather than just a kicker,” Bass said. “I like to just do what I do, and I like to be more involved, I guess, as far as like drills or participate in any way I can to help the team.”
His teammates back up that belief.
“Tyler is a football player, and it is so awesome,” Allen said in Week 4. “It's so refreshing to see him care so much about it, gets so juiced for kicking the ball, but he takes it so seriously.”
His athletic ability expands the Bills’ options. Farwell says the hang time Bass gets on kicks is “a great asset” that gives the team more flexibility. But on top of that, his general athleticism stands out.
“I think that's something we look for when we're looking at specialists. That’s something I look for,” Farwell said. “He's a super good athlete, and you look at Matt Haack, same thing. He’s a very good athlete.
“That usually translates really well to being a good player, and just an overall good football player. I think it's super valuable, and if we ever want to get creative with fakes, I think we have two really good candidates for it.”
'He started to realize his abilities'
Farwell and Ferguson both point to Bass’ increased confidence as a large part of his success. Last season as a rookie, he set the franchise record for most points scored in a season with 141.
Having an entire year under his belt helps, but Ferguson also saw the midseason loss to Arizona as a marker. Wrapped within a game that many Bills fans would rather forget were some foundational kicks for Bass. He made three field goals of more than 50 yards in the first half, setting career longs with each consecutive kick: from 54, from 55 and 58 yards. Ferguson saw it help the then-rookie in a few ways.
“After that game, he started to realize his abilities, but also that the team was able to count on him in any situation,” Ferguson said.
“So, the offense, those three drives in a row, they got up to the whatever-yard line and they kind of stalled out. But they knew that he could trot it out and make it. When he figured out that the team had such high confidence in him, to trot him out there whenever they need him, I think that he started to kind of open up a little bit.”
Other things are going well for him, too. While Haack is new to the Bills this year, he and Bass quickly built their chemistry. Farwell says Haack is an “unbelievable caddy” for Bass, adding plenty of insight on his holds. Add in his drive to get better, and the Bills are expecting another solid year for Bass.
“He rarely misses,” Farwell said. “That's the cool thing, he's such a pro that he cares so much. He kicks, and then the first thing he does is he meets me in my office, and we watch the tape. …
“I'm sure he's probably waiting for me right now," Farwell said after a practice last week. "He’s that serious about it, his craft, and wants to be great, and it means so much to him.”
