Two Bills Drive

‘The former Buffalo Bills standout could sign as early as Friday.’

‘The 32-year-old Brown has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his last eight campaigns.’

‘Bledsoe tends to sit in the pocket and get creamed. To adapt, Mularkey wants Bledsoe to release the ball on his fifth step. “Some of that is in the design of the play,” Mularkey said. “On his fifth step, he’s got to let it go. Some of the scheme will almost force him to get the ball out of his hands quicker. I’m not going to say anything about the system or last year. I have a different philosophy on how to attack, and I think (offensive coordinator) Tom Clements has the same one, which is why I feel comfortable with Tom calling the plays. He has seen it be effective. I think it improved Kordell Stewart’s play. It improved Tommy Maddox’s play. I think it will help Drew.”‘

‘The hope is to raise $100,000 from the gala. To buy tickets for the July 23 event, call 1-877-984-HOPE.’

‘The 6-3, 304-pound Brown started 136 games with the Bills. He missed the regular season finale in 2003 due to what the club termed “personal problems.”‘

Free agent guard Ruben Brown, the eight-time Pro Bowl performer released by the Buffalo Bills last month, has agreed to join the Chicago Bears on a three-year contract.

Hunter Kelly is doing far better than anyone could have hoped. “I just never met anybody with the will he has,” Jim Kelly said today as he announced plans for the second-ever Hunter’s Hope Candlelight Ball in Rochester.

‘Sources said Wednesday night that the last issue involved whether the contract would be for one or three years, but it was not considered a sticking point. It’s expected that Brown will earn a salary approaching $1 million, slightly over the veteran’s minimum of $760,000.’

The Group gathers at the Native New Yorker Restaurant on Alma School road and Guadalupe road in Mesa Arizona.

‘”I know when I was a player I called my own plays and if I could hand it off to the running back, that takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback and it opens up a lot of things downfield,” Clements said. “I played most of my career in Canada and you only have three downs to get a first down, but I think every year I played I had a running back who ran for over 1,000 yards, so even in a passing league you still had to run the ball.”

‘There have been no negotiations between the Bears and Brown’s agent, Eric Metz, because it’s basically a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.’

‘The Bills enter the draft with a glaring weakness at wide receiver. Josh Reed showed he was better suited to fill the No. 3 role. Statistically, Drew Bledsoe was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league and the team came up empty in a bid to sign Billy Volek as its signal-caller of the future.’

‘”I realized early that that was my meal ticket,” Pike said. “I don’t want to say we didn’t focus on our positions, but we put the extra focus to our special teams, making that as important as playing offense or defense. We prepared that way, we studied film that way, we practiced that way. Steve and I became the two leaders of the special teams for years because of that. Later in my career, half the time I felt like I was a coach. We had so many young players, I was the guy that everybody came to. Your coaches can coach you so much, but then the younger players like to talk to players who have been through it.”‘

‘The Bills are counting heavily on their new offensive scheme to allow their 32-year-old quarterback to excel. It’s a system that worked in Pittsburgh with quarterbacks Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox. “I have a different philosophy (than last year’s staff) on how to attack,” Mularkey said. “I think Tom (Clements) has the same one, which is why I feel comfortable with Tom calling the plays. He has seen it be effective. I think it improved Kordell’s play, it improved Tommy’s play. I think it will help Drew.”‘

‘”He’s been impressive,” Bills coach Mike Mularkey said. “I saw no hesitation at all with his knee. He looked very fluid and I think he built a lot of confidence in this camp. “We’re going like he is full go. To me, sometimes you can make them too conscious of it. I personally don’t ask him how he’s feeling. I let the trainers tell me. We’re trying to get him confident and it looks like he is ready.”‘