Two Bills Drive

‘”I mean, you can just tell week by week he’s not favoring his knee or nothing like that,” Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes said. “I just noticed last week, one time when he went out on a pass route and a linebacker was chasing after him, he kind of pulled away from the linebacker. I was like, ‘He’s getting real close to playing form again.’ “‘

‘But like the rest of the Dolphins, Thomas would gladly trade in his honor for a chance to reach the playoffs.’

‘With the Dolphins facing playoff elimination with either a loss to the Bills or a Denver win Sunday, making the Pro Bowl is a little bittersweet, even for Ogunleye. “It’s coming at a bad time,” Ogunleye said. “I really feel that we should be a lot better as a team and hopefully, we can get these next two wins. Getting in the playoffs would make this a lot better. I would honestly give this award away if we could get into the playoffs.”‘

‘”He’s made a lot of progress,” Bills coach Gregg Williams said. “He really has. We made the decision to move him up onto the active roster so we could work with him throughout the remaining part of the season. We will evaluate him at the end of every week whether he can add something into one of our packages to where he could help us win a ballgame and also give himself a chance to play in live competition. But we’re not going to jeopardize the team, nor him, if everything is not fully 100 percent in both areas, be it mentally and be it physically.”‘

‘Each time, Dave Wannstedt’s theretofore well-positioned team has been rendered anything but merry. This season has brought the same serving of holiday jeer the Dolphins find so distastefully familiar. It could cost Wannstedt his job.’

‘For a long period of time he was a superior player. But Ruben doesn’t belong in the Pro Bowl anymore.’

”’I’m kind of glad he stole it so I can know the severity of what the penalty would be,” Moulds said, smiling.’

‘Takeo Spikes makes his first ever Pro Bowl. He said he was very emotional inside, but he wasn’t going to pull a Dick Vermeil.’

‘For Spikes, this is the recognition he was seeking when he signed with the Bills last March. In Cincinnati, Spikes led the Bengals in four of his five seasons but failed to earn a Pro Bowl selection because of the team’s poor record.’

‘Defensive tackles Pat Williams and Sam Adams along with punter Brian Moorman were selected as alternates.’

‘”I’m excited that my last home game is going to be against that team we all love to hate,” Miller said. “The Bills and Dolphins have played some great games over the years and they continue to be one of the NFL’s best rivalries.”‘

‘”We need to get focused and get ready to go and get after Buffalo this week. Play this thing out and see what happens,” said Wannstedt. “We were in a similar situation a year ago and we know what happened in the end against us. We’ve just got to keep our focus. We can’t worry about anyone else. We’ve just got to get ready for the next one, which is Buffalo.”‘

‘Williams is a free agent at the end of the season, as the three-year contract he signed in 2001 comes to an end. With the Bills out of the playoffs and playing out the string of a disappointing year, it’s a virtual foregone conclusion the Bills will not offer him a new contract.’

‘”We’re very proud of it,” Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe said. “You obviously have to take your hat off to the fans for their support. A lot of people in the organization have worked hard to do that, including the owner. In a couple of games where we were close and may not have made it, he bailed us out and gave us the opportunity to go eight for eight.”‘

‘The Bills need a young quarterback. What does the draft look like this year for quarterback talent?’