Two Bills Drive

‘”I’m very confident about the O line, we’re real close,” said running back Travis Henry. “We have shown in the preseason and training camp what type of football team we can be and I think we’re going to get it done.”‘

‘In four previous games against their old signal caller, the Patriots sacked Bledsoe 11 times, intercepted him seven times, held him to an average of 236 yards passing and won three times.’

‘The Bills line can’t sustain its blocks long enough and Bledsoe can’t buy any time, meaning they can’t use Evans speed to get deep.’

‘QB Drew Bledsoe has been almost as easy to sack as ex-Bill Rob Johnson, who was run out of town because of his inability to make plays under pressure. Bledsoe has been sacked 111 times in 34 games with Buffalo – an average of 3.3 per game. Johnson was sacked an average of 3.63.’

”’Putting the plate in was first and foremost the smartest thing,” Wichard said. ”This way there’s no question about the healing of the bone. … Now it’s just a question of building it up, the bone marrow, and it heals.”’

raig Feinberg (Buffalo, NY): Mr. Donahoe, how do you justify your performance as GM when you have spent two first-round picks in 4 years on a QB, already misfired on one coaching staff, misjudged a No. 4 overall draft choice. Selected only 1-Pro Bowler in 4 years, and have a 17-33 record as the Bills GM? TD: In the three plus years we’ve been in Buffalo we’ve had a lot of issues to deal with and many of the issues we have dealt with successfully. People can pick and choose what they want to talk about with regard to our record in Buffalo and ultimately we will be judged by that record. We do feel that there are a lot of positives to our organization. There are a lot of positives to our team and we’re going to continue to build on those positives. From three years ago we have a very healthy cap situation with our team we have basically transformed our roster. There are only two veteran players that still remain from the first team that we had here in Buffalo and there are a lot of positive signs things are improving. Some people see the glass as half empty and we’ve always chosen to see the glass as half full.

Matt Hagstrom (Bemus Point, NY): How long do you back Bledsoe when he just doesn’t seem to be producing? MM: I think a one-game performance is way too early to start thinking about when will I pull him or when will I not pull him. I still believe that Drew gives us the best opportunity to win. Fans may not want to hear that, but some of it goes to the old adage that the QB receives too much blame when you lose and too much credit when you win.

‘The Bills can rationalize all they want, but the leader of their offense is running out of time. And they’re running out of options.’

‘To borrow a political phrase, it’s the offensive line, stupid.’

‘And Drew Bledsoe, the biggest tree in the Petrified Forest, is still Buffalo’s quarterback.’

‘“I think our best chance to win right now is with Drew Bledsoe, who has to be surrounded by a bunch of guys who are playing at a high level. Making a switch at one position would be the easy way out but that’s not the way we would go.”’

‘He recently came to terms on an injury settlement with the Bills. He is currently rehabbing in the Valley and cannot re-sign with the Bills until Week 12, but he can sign a free-agent deal with the league’s other 31 clubs at any time. "My plan is to get healthy. I should be fully healthy in two to three weeks and see if I can land on somewhere," the Phoenix Moon Valley High School graduate said.’

‘”When we win, I’m going to get more credit than I deserve. When we lose, I’m going to take a lot of (criticism). I understand it. If I couldn’t handle it, I wouldn’t be here 12 years into a career still fighting to win games.”‘

‘"When you think of a professional athlete, any pro athlete, you think of the good life; millions of dollars, fancy cars, big houses, beautiful women. You think everything is fine. He’s living the good life," Thomas said. "I’ve had problems ever since I retired from football. It’s hard for me to talk about it, but the one thing I could not conquer was … I’m a recovering alcoholic. That is the hardest challenge I have right now. I have control now in that I know when to stop. I can take one drink but if I take two drinks, I’ll be back to where I was two years ago."’

‘Aiello says coaches send in plays every week. The league goes over them and gets back in contact with teams either through phone or fax. Teams are then told what is legal and what is not on a specific play so coaches can coach their players correctly. Aiello said the NFL does not send out letters of apology to teams for blown calls.’