Archives for March 12, 2002

‘The reality is this. London Fletcher, at 27 (as of May 19), is the same age as the man he replaced and though he isn’t a healthy Sam Cowart, he’s an awfully good player. Fletcher is squat – 5-10, 240 – but a sideline-to-sideline defender who has a non-stop motor and a vocal approach to leadership as compared to Cowart, a lockeroom leader who did it by example.’

‘Moore had an offer to be the backup tight end to Mark Bruener in Pittsburgh. He also had an offer to stay in Tampa. But he took the Bills’ offer because it should provide more playing time.’

‘The signing puts current tight Jay Riemersma in a precarious position. The Bills asked Riemersma if they could cut his $2.53 million salary this year by about $1.25 million and he refused, according to ESPN.’

‘”Alex and I were always on the same page back in our college days, I always knew what he was thinking. Both of those guys came out to dinner with me when I was up there and it was good to see them. I actually helped recruit Ruben to the University of Pittsburgh so we go back a ways.”‘

‘Last year he caught a career-high 35 passes and led the Bucs with five TD receptions. Moore, who will turn 33 in November, is a former University of Pittsburgh teammate of QB Alex Van Pelt and offensive guard Ruben Brown, and those players helped convince Moore to choose Buffalo.’

‘”The Bills’ offensive coordinator [Kevin Gilbride] is very big on using two tight ends, and that’s how I got my start here in Tampa, so either way I’m going to be able to contribute,” Moore said. “That’s the big reason I decided to make the move. Believe me, I gave Tampa an opportunity to get something done, and I had a couple of conversations with [Coach] Jon Gruden and he wanted me to stay. We just couldn’t come to terms.”‘

‘”I had a couple of conversations with (Gruden) and he wanted to keep me,” said Moore, who says he believes he can play for three more seasons. “We discussed the ways he was going to use me in his offense, different things. But the bottom line is, it comes down to the numbers. When push comes to shove, the Bucs weren’t willing to go where Pittsburgh and Buffalo wanted to go.”‘

@ Who is the most underrated player in the league?

"I’m not just saying this because he’s on my team, but London Fletcher. People don’t really understand what he means to the team and to our defense and how much of a force he’s been. Not just this year, but over the past three years.