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"\n\n We're five weeks into the 2011 season and, believe it or not, the Buffalo Bills are atop the AFC East standings with a 4-1 record. Absent from the playoffs since 1999, the Bills\u2014with 28 of the 53 men on the active roster either 5th, 6th, 7th rounders or undrafted players\u2014are the Moneyball A's of the NFL. They're also pretty damn fun to watch. We spoke to star wide receiver Steve Johnson, a 7th round 2008 pick out of Kentucky, about the bonding powers of an afternoon at Dave Buster's, his Harvard-educated quarterback, and the nightlife in Western New York.\n\nGQ: This will sound rude, but I'm looking at the Bills roster right now, and I have to ask\u2014who the hell are you guys?\n\n Steve Johnson: Ah, you're not being rude. We love that. We are a bunch of talented guys that teams looked over in the draft. Obviously, a lot of us weren't first or second round picks, but our whole mentality is that we don't really care where we were selected\u2014we're in the league now, and we're ready to make plays. When we first got into the league, it was all of our missions just to make teams as 6th and 7th rounders, so we had a lot of motivation to prove doubters wrong in those early years. But now? We're here. We're playing in the NFL. Now, it's just about putting it all together for Buffalo.\n\nGQ: The other Bills receivers are men named Donald Jones, David Nelson, Marcus Easley, Ruvell Martin, and Naaman Roosevelt. Trust me, no one drafted any of these people in their fantasy leagues. You guys really need a fun nickname.\n\n Steve Johnson: Oh, we've got one. We're the Goon Squad. When we all came into the league, we were a bunch of late round guys just fighting to make the squad. We were scrapping in training camp and our OTAs [Organized Team Activities], just out there fighting to make it in this league. Now, we've all got different roles on this team. Together, we're the Goonies.\n\nGQ: What's your relationship with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick like?\n\n Steve Johnson: Ryan's a true friend. Another seventh round guy, like me. He's not the type of quarterback where you feel obligated to talk to him because he's your quarterback and you want to get some passes from him. That happens. You don't necessary love the dude, but because he's responsible for getting you the ball, you try your best to hang out and become friends. It's not like that with Ryan. He's a great competitor and a great person. We're tight.\n\nGQ: The Harvard thing seems to fascinate everyone. It's just so rare to see an Ivy League guy make it on a stage as big as this in professional sports. Does he ever let a Kafka reference or a detailed analysis of the derivatives market slip in the locker room?\n\n Steve Johnson: Nah. It's funny you say that, though. He shows us flashes of his brilliance on the field all the time, but that kind of stuff\u2014not too often. Then, last week, he was doing some interview with ESPN and they gave him all these questions about historic events and names and places I'd never heard of, and he was just rattling off the answers. It was crazy. I was like, \"You knew all that?\" and he just kinda nodded, \"Yeah, I guess.\" He doesn't brag about the Harvard thing or call attention to it. But it's there. He's a really smart dude.\n\nGQ: It's refreshing to watch you guys play football. You actually seem to like each other.\n\n Steve Johnson: We really do. We've been through a lot together, man. We really got closer this summer, though, during the lockout. Ryan invited a bunch of us out to his place in the mountains in Arizona to just hang out. We were all riding the trucks up in the mountains and Freddy [Jackson] ended up popping a tire and we flipped. We were just hanging out for a few days, having a great time. It built a lot of trust for all of us. We got real comfortable with each other. One day, we just went to Dave Buster's and played the Pop-a-Shot and the Deal or No Deal game. We're all competitors, but we're friends too. \n\nGQ: What exactly is there to do for a bunch 20-something-year-old guys living in Buffalo, New York? \n\n Steve Johnson: I mean, it's not South Beach, but for the most part, you can do all the same things you would do in Miami in Buffalo. It obviously doesn't have all the flashing lights of Miami, it doesn't sound as nice as Miami, but if you want to go out, you can go out. There's a downtown, there's a mall, there's good restaurants. There are no beaches. But for the most part, you can do the same stuff you'd do in California or wherever else up in Buffalo. Until it gets too cold. That's the only part I don't like about Buffalo\u2014that cold.\n\nGQ: You're a California guy who went to school in Lexington, Kentucky. How do you handle that bitter December cold of Western, New York?\n\n Steve Johnson: Man, at first, I didn't like it at all. I'm not one of those dudes who likes being out in the cold. I don't like the fact you can walk out of the house and slip on the black ice and not even know there was black ice there. Being here in Buffalo for a few years now, I've somewhat gotten used to it, but not all the way. I'll never be 100% used to being in this weather.\n\nGQ: Your stepfather [producer Norm Lewis] was in the music industry, your cousin is a recording artist [rapper Ya Boy], and you came out with a mixtape last year. Has there ever been an athlete who successfully made the crossover from sports to music?\n\n Steve Johnson: A lot of athletes have put out music. Allen Iverson did it, Shaq, I think Kobe. Successfully? What's really considered success? I'm just having fun. Prime Time [Deion Sanders] came out with \"Must Be the Money\" way back when. He was swag before there even was swag. He could do whatever he wants to. But yeah, he was having fun. I do it as a hobby, man. My cousin taught me how to rap in woodshop class back in high school and I've been doing it ever since. If you can do it and you like it, why not? What's the worst that can happen? Someone says \"Oh, I don't like it\"? Who cares? So, what? I like rapping. I'm sure a lot of athletes did it for the same reasons I do it\u2014they were just having fun. There's nothing wrong with that. \n\nGQ: Twenty-two years later, you guys play the Giants this weekend in an unofficial \"rematch\" of Super Bowl XXV. Do the ghosts of Scott Norwood and \"Wide Right\" still haunt this franchise?\n\n Steve Johnson: I thought it was \"Wide Left.\" I don't even know about that, man. That Super Bowl was a long time ago. No one's mentioned it this week. We're just thinking about going 5-1 and heading into the bye week on a high note. We're playing good football. We're not thinking about old Super Bowls. We're just trying to stay focused and continue winning.\n\nGQ: So, it's safe to say these aren't the same old Buffalo Bills?\n\n Steve Johnson: When you're winning around here, the fans absolutely love it. And the players from the past? They love it, too. That's what everyone's used to. Winning. We haven't been to the playoffs in over ten years. We want to give that excitement back to the fans. They deserve it. We want to give that to all the former players, too. They're all in our corner. Everyone's in this thing together."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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