Two Bills Drive

‘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.”’

‘McFarland, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle from Kalispell, was the sixth pick of the seventh round and the 207th selection overall. He was a two-time All-American at Montana who impressed scouts at the NFL combine by bench pressing 225 pounds 31 times.’

‘The Bills were one of my favorite teams growing up, partly because the team colors were the same as at my future high school’s. In grade school, I had a shiny blue Starter jacket with the Bills’ logo on it. I watched Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly. I remember the Bills never being able to win a Super Bowl, but I always would cheer for them anyway.’

‘It appears the Buffalo Bills helped themselves, although it’s unclear whether it’s in the short term or the long term, and the Miami Dolphins got their first priority filled in a big way by eluding the Patriots’ efforts to subvert them, but the big winner in the AFC East seemed to be the defending Super Bowl champions.’

”’The honeymoon’s been long over,” he said. ”It’s time to produce.”’

”’I had just gotten off the phone with Carolina, and Denver called when I was talking to the (offensive line) coach from the Bills. It was pretty quick and pretty exciting,” he said. ”I don’t know much, other than they didn’t draft any other offensive linemen,” McFarland said. ”That’s a great deal for me. There is a huge opportunity there, and there is definitely a spot for me.”’

‘Overall grade: C-. The first two picks will be scrutinized closely, especially Lee Evans and his knee.’

Lee Evans (No. 13)

A season without Peerless Price proved one thing to the Bills: the need for speed. And Evans has plenty of that, but he is also very adept at catching the ball. As a Buffalo newspaper pointed out, Evans is no Bucky Brooks, a second-round pick from North Carolina in 1994 who washed out without catching a single pass. And the Bills threw 541 of them that year. “[Evans] is appealing in his speed and his ability to make big plays,” GM Tom Donahoe said. “We felt that he was a complete receiver. There are a lot of guys that are fast who struggle catching the ball. Lee is a fast guy who can catch. That’s a nice combination to have.”