Archives for February 29, 2004

‘For now, trading for Drew Henson remains a possibility for the Bills. But the more Buffalo explores ways to acquire Henson from the Texans, the more difficult a deal appears.’

‘Tom Donahoe and Tom Modrak haven’t missed on many drafts during their careers as president/general manager/college scouting gurus, so we have to believe they will make the right choice. The good news for the Bills is there won’t be any wrong choices at No. 13. The Bills’ needs are specific – quarterback, speed at wide receiver, interior offensive line, cornerback (if Antoine Winfield doesn’t return), pass-rushing defensive end and tight end.’

‘Winfield said he’d like to return to Buffalo, but the Bills won’t get into a bidding war. His bargaining power improved last week when some of the top free agent cornerbacks were either franchised (Oakland’s Charles Woodson and Baltimore’s Chris McAllister) or put on the trading block (Washington’s Champ Bailey).’

‘”No. 1 is “smarts,’ ” he said. “I want players with football intelligence. If I’m told a player needs a lot of repetitions to get things right I’m not interested. The NFL is far different today than what it used to be. Defenses are so sophisticated now it’s like looking into a box of coat hangers for linemen deciding what to do on a blitz.”‘

‘Some lucky youngster will get the thrill of a lifetime this spring if he wins the auction for a special turkey hunt with Buffalo Bills center Trey Teague.’

‘Q: What was the biggest reason why the defense improved so much over the year? -Derek Grimm (Red Lion, PA)

NC: We had more talent by far. We get more and more talent on the defense every year. We gelled together. We just had that mentality that we are going to beat the guys across the ball from us.’