Two Bills Drive

‘”We were a little surprised when they called Tim,” said his father, Jim. “They called out of the blue. Buffalo hadn’t really been mentioned. There was no notice until he was selected. It hit the screen before Tim told us.”‘

‘While the Bills showed an incredible desire to pick up Losman with the 22nd pick, nine spots after spending their own first-round choice on Wisconsin receiver Lee Evans, Donahoe said the plan remains the same. Bledsoe will remain the starter in 2004 and if he’s able to revive his career, it’s his job to keep until further notice.’

‘Even after the selection of J.P. Losman, the Bills still have not ruled out the possibility of signing a veteran backup to Drew Bledsoe before training camp opens in July.’

‘Veteran Pro Bowl WR Eric Moulds was elated with the selection of Evans. Moulds, who saw more double coverage after Peerless Price was traded to Atlanta and who caught just one TD pass last season, has been lobbying the coaching staff to take a receiver with raw speed. “I’m very excited,” Moulds said. “It’s going to be rare that I get single coverage, but if teams try to do that, we’re in a position to make them pay. We needed more speed on the outside and now we have it. We’ll be able to stretch the field vertically and create some big plays in the passing game.”‘

‘”It’s been a great experience so far,” Mularkey said. “It’s more difficult to prepare though. When I was a position coach in Pittsburgh I only worried about positions. Here I have to look at the entire team and what’s best for the team rather than just the offense.”‘

‘”He’s not going to be anything but a hard working or blue-collar kind of guy. He’ll be in the offensive line room and listening to what they have to say, our quarterbacks already do that, so he’s going to fit right into where we are.”‘

‘”Obviously going into the draft, we felt there were some areas on offense that we would like to address,” President and General Manager Tom Donahoe said during the Bills’ post-draft news conference Sunday. “But you can’t go into it saying “OK, we have to do this or we have to do that,’ because usually when you do that, you come out disappointed. It may not fall that way, so you go into the draft and you say, “We want to help our football team wherever we can help the team.’ In this particular case, (drafting offense over defense) just ended up that way.”‘

‘Like it or not, his reputation is on the line. No more Gregg Williams to serve as whipping boy. Donahoe’s legacy in Buffalo will hinge on his evaluation of football talent. As he approaches his fourth year in charge, his grade is still incomplete.’

‘”You have a combination of threats here and you’re going to have to do some extra work on Tuesday and pick your poison with the skill people we have on this team,” Mularkey said. “I think that’s kind of why we went in this direction because it will put some extra pressure on an opposing defense.”‘

‘”We should’ve been better than 6-10 and we weren’t,” Donahoe said. “We’ve got a new staff and it’s up to all of us to do our part and put it together and correct what happened last year.”‘

‘My biggest problem with Buffalo’s draft and the entire off-season is that nothing of obvious significance has been done to improve the pass rush. Last season’s No. 2 ranking in defense was impressive but misleading considering the lack of takeaways.’

‘”He’s a real good athlete and has strong hands,” Bills scout Terry Wooden said. “He’s a tenacious blocker and a scrappy player. He was pretty productive for Oregon State. For what we’re doing offensively here, he’s a perfect fit.”‘

‘”I like the fact that people don’t like his personality,” said Donahoe of the Bills new quarterback of the future. “Because he’s a competitor and he’s going to try to stick it in your face and he’s going to try to stick it in everybody’s face. That’s what we like about him.”‘

‘The Bills should be ecstatic that they were able to come up with Losman on Saturday and not somebody who’s going to pout and threaten to hold out when he doesn’t get his way.’

”’I’ll be under some veterans in Buffalo that will really be able to show me what playing in the league is all about,” Greer said. ”I’m looking forward to being on a big stage and playing in front of all those fans.”’