Two Bills Drive

‘Ralph Wilson smiled, stood, clapped and tipped his cap. Gregg Williams raised both arms and screamed in joy. A fan held up a sign that read “Finally.” Too bad it was only for a touchdown.’

‘With every move the Indianapolis Colts make towards being one of the NFL’s top teams, the asterisk grows bolder. Until Peyton Manning wins a playoff game, how seriously can he be taken as one of the league’s elite quarterbacks? “It’s just a fact, you can’t hide from it,” Manning said this week in a conference call with Buffalo media.’

‘”I just try to get better everyday so that my teammates can rely on me when I get out on the field,” McGee said. “They are starting to have more confidence in me since I have been playing decent in the games.”‘

‘In Buffalo, more often than not, Williams’ offense has sabotaged his defense.’

‘That’s a lot of pressure, but the Bills put themselves in this predicament. They have played like a team looking forward to the offseason, rather than the postseason, during their three-game losing streak. The offense has been abysmal, failing to score a single touchdown in three games and putting way too much of a burden on a good defense.’

‘”It’s like Michael Jordan at the foul line and he closes his eyes. What are you going to say to Michael Jordan that’s really going to make him miss? What are you going to say to me that’s going to make me miss a field goal? I’m the most accurate kicker in the history of the game. You better bark up somebody else’s tree, really.”‘

‘”When we play things properly we can be pretty good and we’ve had stretches where we have been,” Dungy said. “But the two games we’ve lost we had 10-point leads or more in the second half and kind of self-destructed and given up big plays. That’s the thing that I’m not used to seeing is the big plays we’ve given up.”‘

‘The Colts are very good, but so are Kansas City, Tennessee and New England. All belong to the AFC. All four teams have good quarterbacks with Manning in Indianapolis, Trent Green in K.C., Steve McNair in Tennessee and Tom Brady in New England. The Chiefs, like the Colts, have a premium running back in Priest Holmes.’

‘”Tony Dungy is an outstanding person because of his strong Christian faith, and he lives it out every day,” Steckel said. “He looks so poised and peaceful because of who he is. That kind of posture is an excellent example to young men. I think that poise spreads throughout the team on game day. . . . I think his example was honored the night they had that great comeback in Tampa this year.”‘

‘Except for Saturdays, Sundays in Erie County have the highest number of DWI arrests, according to data from the county’s Stop DWI program. Sundays during football season, in particular, had some of the largest numbers of DWI arrests.’

‘What some would interpret as an emotionless, comatose team going through the motions for a lame-duck head coach, the Bills say is actually a team of professionals uniting to make the most out of the NFL season’s final six games.’

‘Suggestions for Bills general manager Tom Donohoe: select a quarterback in the middle rounds of the 2004 NFL college draft and hope for the best and/or sign a free-agent QB this off season. It has paid off for other teams.’

‘”I would say just being around the team. It’s really family oriented around here. On the off days there might be 10 or 15 guys going bowling. I’m not used to that. Being in Buffalo they work together as a family and go out as a team, and that’s something I never experienced.”‘

‘The mathematicians will tell you the Bills are still in the hunt for a playoff berth. The mathematicians are not being realistic.’

‘”Guys are extremely angry and very disappointed,” he said. “I don’t think anybody anticipated that this is where we’d be at this point in the season, especially after the first two games.”