Archives for March 2, 2001

‘Butler and Smith have chased Flutie before, when bringing him to the Bills from the CFL three years ago. And while the 5-foot-10 Flutie hasn’t grown since, his NFL stature has, after winning 21 of his 30 starts.’

‘…the moves could help them make a run at quarterback Doug Flutie and defensive end Marcellus Wiley, both of whom were brought to Buffalo by Butler. In fact, Butler spoke with Wiley’s agent, Brad Blank, after the opening of free-agency at 9 PST last night. The two agreed to talk again today to arrange a visit.’

‘"As a businessman, this has been one hell of a ride, and I’ll be forever grateful to Doug Flutie and Buffalo Bills fans," Ballou said. "But marketing is all about reinventing yourself, so that’s what we’ll do. Who knows, maybe we’ll be back with Flutie Flakes for San Diego or Cleveland, or wherever Doug lands."’

‘It is, to put it mildly, counterintuitive to keep a quarterback who has a starting record of 7-10 over the past three seasons and cut a quarterback who went 21-9 over the same span. But it seems to us the Bills made the right choice.’

‘Starting outside linebacker Sam Rogers was cut, as expected, as the Bills made their final moves to get under the $67.4 million salary cap every NFL team had to meet by 4 p.m. Thursday. Rogers, a six-year starter, joins nose tackle Ted Washington as the prime Bills defenders on the waiver wire.’

‘So the Buffalo Bills have finally voted one quarterback off the island. Even though there’s a survivor, that doesn’t necessarily end the Great Quarterback Controversy. On the contrary, for Internet junkies and talk show groupies, it’s only just now getting good.’

‘It appears as though the Bucs and Buffalo Bills have something in common. Both teams believe they can succeed without quarterback Doug Flutie running their offense.’

‘One National Football League team official said yesterday that there are at least eight teams interested in Flutie, including the San Diego Chargers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Redskins.’

‘Wiley very soon will not only sign the biggest contract ever for a former Columbia University football player, but he could get the biggest contract in the free agent class of ’01, checking in at around $50 million.’

‘Finding himself on the other side of a sack for a change, Rob Johnson yesterday had a chance to celebrate. Instead, the survivor of the Buffalo Bills quarterback controversy resisted sniping at former teammate Doug Flutie.’

‘"I wish you guys knew the total situation of how divided the team was and how mentally draining it can be," Johnson said. "I mean, coaches were taking sides, it was that bad. "Guys would come out of meetings and they’d say, ‘Boy, they really bad mouthed you in there and they’re rooting for the other guy.’"’

‘Flutie, released by the Buffalo Bills Wednesday in favor of Rob Johnson, told WCMF’s Brother Wease "the only thing that really ticked me off is the perception that Rob beat me out — that’s he’s better than me."’

‘Running back Antowain Smith survived the Buffalo Bills’ final roster purge of players to meet yesterday’s NFL’s salary cap deadline. Linebacker Sam Rogers wasn’t so lucky.’

‘Now, once more, he is available to any team that wants to win. He knows he can, if only they would let him.’

The Chargers and Bills made QB decisions …

CNNSI.com puts them in historical perspective.

Sports fans love to reminisce over the days when it all went wrong: the wasted draft pick, the tragic trade or the defecting hero. These may not be, by definition, the worst roster moves ever made, but they were the ones that affected us on a personal level. These are the events that caused — and still cause — us to sit on our bar stools and lament the cruel twists of life.