Two Bills Drive

‘”Aaron said the one team he never talked to was Buffalo. I visited about five other places but not here. I knew that they were in need of a tight end but — you never know and (Bo) probably knows that more than most of the other guys in this draft.”‘

‘Mr. Nobody was suddenly a somebody. Beebe was drafted in the third round by the Buffalo Bills and would go on to play nine seasons for the Bills, Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers, appearing in a record six Super Bowls.’

‘Conaty recalls that play as being the end of an era in Buffalo. “As a team and an organization they put all their eggs in one basket,” he said. “They had overpaid some guys and, after that, they started cutting players like Bruce Smith and Andre Reed. In the locker room, there was a lot of disarray and disbelief, but life goes on.”‘

‘The 2004 draft may be Donahoe’s most important in his four years with the Buffalo Bills. What will he do this weekend? Stay tuned.’

‘”If we play each other it really won’t be that big of a deal,” Aaron said. “It will be nice to see Bo before and after the game but I’d just be watching him when he’s playing and he’d be watching me when I’m playing. With me and Matt it’s a little different because we play directly against each other.”‘

‘If you were looking for a common thread to the struggles Donahoe’s last six teams have endured (39-57 combined record), the draft would be a good place to start. He hasn’t hit as many home runs as he did in the early and mid-’90s.’

‘”To many of us, and I include myself in this, it may appear that the majority of NFL players have a distorted sense of reality,” Tucker said. “Not so. The life they live every day is their reality. Imagine what it’s like when you’ve got to catch a plane in 10 minutes and there’s 40 people lined up for an autograph.”‘

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‘They are in a position to go in many directions. Rivers and Roethlisberger will likely go before the Bills pick. In the past three drafts the Bills have selected defensive ends with their second-round pick with mixed results. The Bills brass may have faith in their development, but if Smith or Udeze were available, they would be very tough to pass up. The same goes for Josh Reed, who failed to fill Price’s receiver role. If Mike Williams slides to 13, the Bills would have to consider him. In the end, look for the Bills to grab Smith and look for a receiver in the second round and a quarterback next year.’

‘The Bills do like Rivers but if they don’t have him among their 13 best players, they will stay the course and address three other areas of need: wide receiver, defensive end and defensive tackle.’

‘The Bills have no experienced depth behind starter Mark Campbell, but the draft could add a very good prospect or two. Buffalo will start its hunt in the second round at the earliest and should have a shot at Georgia’s Ben Watson.’

‘GM Tom Donahoe’s three drafts with Buffalo have produced eight starters and 21 of 30 picks that are still on the roster (.700). “Nobody bats 1.000 doing this but you better bat more than .400, and if you do that, it’s a pretty good average,” he said.’

‘The team is interested in adding a veteran linebacker who will provide needed depth. The challenge will be finding a quality player willing to accept a limited role. Buffalo is one of the few teams in the NFL with three every-down linebackers–Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher and Jeff Posey.’

“Most quarterbacks with skills that he has make it big in the pros,” said Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche. “There are occasionally some that don’t make the transition, but when you break his game down and add his size and intellect, I think he’s going to be a very good player.”

‘There only are two other quarterbacks available who will be taken on the first day – meaning in the first three rounds. They are Virginia’s Matt Schaub and Tulane’s J.P. Losman. The conservative scouts around the NFL like Schaub. The risk-takers like Losman.’

‘Look for the Big Three quarterbacks – Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Rivers – to be selected before Buffalo picks or moves up in the draft.’