Archives for August 16, 2003

‘Phil and the Bills, a match made in sports hell. Both with enough talent to crush the competition … until the big one.’

‘No. 2 quarterback Alex Van Pelt probably will play just a series, like last week. Then No. 3 QB Travis Brown will enter and play probably for a full half.’

‘This summer, the depth situation is much improved. In fact, it looks like the team will have to cut two players it drafted in recent years by the time the roster is pared to 53 players.’

‘Only six current Bills played in The Music City Miracle, – er, nightmare: guard Ruben Brown, receiver Eric Moulds, fullback Sam Gash, quarterback Alex Van Pelt, defensive tackle Pat Williams and cornerback Antoine Winfield. The irony is that five former Titans coaches and players are now working for Buffalo.’

‘Titans defensive end Kevin Carter will perform the national anthem on his saxophone.’

‘”Am I prepared for [sitting out]?” he asked. “I haven’t really thought about it. That’s not in my mind right now.”‘

‘But Williams said he wouldn’t mind if Fisher wins this game. ”We’ll win the one in December,” Williams said. ”That’s all right.”’

”’I’m glad we’re doing it in a preseason setting for the first time than maybe a more tense regular season setting because in preseason you can be a little bit more laid-back and enjoyable,” Williams said.’

The Giants completely overhauled their special teams after last season, including bringing in veteran kicker Mike Hollis. He is in a battle with incumbent Matt Bryant, but Hollis has the edge. Bryant might be better on kickoffs, but the Giants might opt for the steadier Hollis on field goals, unless they decide to keep both — which isn’t likely. Hollis had a good year in Buffalo last season, so he can handle the elements, which was a question after seven years in Jacksonville.

Offensive MVP: Quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe exploded onto the scene as a leader and big-time producer on the field. With the emergence of running back Travis Henry, it will be up to Bledsoe to keep the Bills’ offense balanced.

‘”And believe me, it pained me to see what we had to do managing the cap was letting all of those very good defensive players go when we first got here because of the way their contracts were structured,” Williams said. “That was tough being a defensive guy letting that happen and being involved in those decisions. Now, this is a year that we targeted on getting back over on that side of the ball. We’ve done a very good job of attracting a few key people. Spikes is one of them…We’re not as fast and as good as that defense in Tennessee when I was there, but we’re approaching and getting closer to improving our team speed.”‘