Archives for October 27, 2000

‘One thing should be certain about Buffalo’s rematch with the New York Jets on Sunday — the Bills can’t relax, regardless of the score.’

‘The Bills are just 3-4, but the four losses have come against the New York Jets (Sunday’s opponent), Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, teams with a combined record of 23-5. None of those losses was by more than 13 points and despite serious flaws in various parts of each contest, Buffalo had a shot deep into the fourth quarter in three of them. One of the wins was over Tennessee, which has lost just once this year and twice in the Titans’ last 15 games, counting postseason.’

‘Something special is going on when 6-7, 308-pound tackle Jumbo Elliott and cornerback Marcus Coleman have combined for one more touchdown catch than former Jets receiver Keyshawn Johnson has for Tampa Bay (one).’

‘Eric Moulds has been around the NFL long enough to know the good players from the wannabes. So when the Buffalo Bills star wide receiver says you won’t find many cornerback tandems better than Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman of the New York Jets, believe it. "I’ve gone against some pretty good corners, and those guys rank right up there," said Moulds, whose Bills host the Jets on Sunday.’

‘"It’s the people who present the award that make it special and this is from the people of Western New York," Smerlas said. "This is where I spent most of career, where I learned about a lot of things. "To play football here, people just bleed football. They take pride in their sports, so much pride . . . Of course, it never began as a love-fest with the city of Buffalo when Smerlas came to Buffalo in 1979 as a second-round draft choice out of Boston College. "No one wants to come here," Smerlas said. "You hear and believe all the stories about it being 60 degrees below in the summer. But then you come here and you never want to leave."’

‘With Larry Felser, it’s always an opinionated day. A columnist and sports editor for the Buffalo News, Felser was among 11 inductees to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Thursday night. He had a stint as a ball boy with the original All-America Conference and began his newspaper career running copy at the Courier-Express. In 1959, he began covering the Buffalo Bills, then of the new American Football League. For 18 years, Felser provided daily coverage of the Bills, moving to columnist with The Buffalo News in 1977.’

‘No player symbolizes the 2000 Al Groh Jets in a more complete way than Richie Anderson. He’s diligent in his preparation, explosive and dependable in his production and so quiet he goes by almost unnoticed by even the most ardent of Jet fans.’

‘[Marcus] Coleman has three interceptions, all in the last game against Miami, with two coming in overtime. [Aaron] Glenn has two picks, and is hungry for more.’

‘"He’s playing as well as he’s ever played, no question," said Flutie, who will start for the Bills Sunday in place of injured starter Rob Johnson. "It just kills me, because I remember the last time we were playing [the Jets], everybody was complaining that he wasn’t playing consistently and lighting it up. Now that he’s coming off a five-touchdown game, it sounds like you [reporters] love him again."’

‘After the Jets’ free safeties were victimized in three of the Dolphins’ four touchdowns in Monday night’s thriller, Williams, Scott Frost and Chris Hayes have been getting reps at the position in practice this week. As is his wont, Groh was mum on who the starter will be on Sunday in Buffalo.’

‘Let’s hear it for Wayne Chrebet. You won’t hear it from him. The guy isn’t just a clutch receiver, he’s a great clutch receiver. A good receiver makes clutch catches by accident; a great one does it over and over again.’

‘Prediction: Jets 17, Bills 16.’

‘Bills coach Wade Phillips echoed that sentiment when asked about the Moulds-Coleman matchup. "I don’t want to overlook Aaron Glenn because he’s also a tremendous player," Phillips said. "Two corners like that can take a lot of things away. The Jets put them in man-to-man with no help, really. Not many teams have the luxury of doing that."’

‘And if the Jets need to pull another game out, who’s next on the list to do the unexpected? "You never know," [Jumbo] Elliott said.’

‘Victor Green has a pretty good feel for Jets karma – after all, he has been on the scene since 1993 – and he believes the remarkable start is a harbinger of something truly special. As in, Super special. “Hey, the sky’s the limit,” the Jets’ strong safety said yesterday at Hofstra. “I hope it takes us all the way to Tampa (for Super Bowl XXXV). Hopefully, we can continue to have the magic. If we do, we can take it as far as we let it.”‘