Archives for June 11, 2002

While the Bills conducted their sixth organized team workout in the past eight days on Tuesday, the biggest news came off the field as President and General Manager Tom Donahoe announced that Tom Modrak has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Buffalo Bills.

He talked about

* the excitment he has for Drew Bledsoe coming to town. How having a player with a chip on his shoulder is so valuable and that he’s been such a great leader even just to this point in the offseason.

* how important a good field goal kicker is, throwing out last year’s stats of how many close games we lost and that in those games there were multiple kicks missed.

* what it is going to take to have a winning season. Winning close games early is the number one thing GW thinks this team needs to gain confidence and be successful. Of course, strong leadership by the veterans was mentioned also.

Poll on ESPN. Page 2 is all about sounding off, and this time it’s your turn. We want you to decide if the Buffalo Bills has made the right moves in their new uniform styles.

Travis Henry (RB), Buffalo: The Bills’ powerful back is ready to shine as one of this year’s Sophomore Sensations.

The Bills today announced that Tom Modrak has been promoted to Assistant General Manager. Modrak, who signed a multi-year contract, served as Director of Football Operations since joining the club in early June of last year.

The re-designed uniforms were revealed in a ceremony at Ralph Wilson Stadium this past Saturday in front of 16,000 plus screaming Bills backers. That's not where the story ends though. With the new look comes more changes behind the scenes and added tasks to an already busy schedule.

Buffalobills.com will host a thirty-minute live chat with Jet Blue Airways uniform design expert Stan Herman of Stan Herman Design (NYC) on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 3:30 PM (ET). Herman will answer questions about the new uniform design.

‘They didn’t think twice. They had to have Reed. They couldn’t pass up the Biletnikoff winner, a first-team All-American who the team graded highly in character, effort, toughness, production and running after the catch.’

‘On Sunday’s Meet the Press program on NBC, host and Buffalo native Tim Russert closed the show by holding up his brand new Bills jersey, a dark blue home version.’

The new uniforms are still red, white and blue, but the patriotic blue is replaced by a darker navy blue. The uniforms were well received by fans, who formed long lines to purchase the new digs.

Bills officially unveil new uniforms

The traditional red, white and blue color scheme that has been part of the Bills look since 1962 remains but has been intensified with the addition of a darker blue. The team’s red helmet with a blue charging buffalo on the side has also been maintained but has been modified to include nickel gray and navy stripes. In another nod to tradition, the nickel gray of the 1960-61 Bills returns as a subtle enhancement on the helmet as well as the jersey and pants.

The second-week of mini-camp didn’t produce any major changes but, one is still expected to take place starting Tuesday’s practice. If all goes according to plan, left tackle Trey Teague will go inside to center while Jonas Jennings, last year’s RT, will get snaps at LT. And as Gregg Williams said after practice on Monday, using a Tom Donahoe reference during the Drew Bledsoe talks, "stay tuned" the rest of the week.

Drew Bledsoe in a Bills uniform intrigues me. GM Tom Donahoe and his right-hand man, Tom Modrak, know how to build a playoff team and they will right Buffalo’s ship sooner rather than later.

With the addition of Bledsoe, Buffalo becomes a bona fide contender for New England’s crown. The Bills’ offense — now directed by Kevin Gilbride — has a leader who can get the ball downfield to receivers Eric Moulds, Peerless Price and Josh Reed, the team’s second-round draft pick.