Two Bills Drive

There are some teams that, taking a cue from the Buffalo Bills’ maneuver of a year ago, will use the franchise tag to retain a player’s rights just so they can trade him. The Bills kept the rights to wide receiver Peerless Price via the franchise marker and then dealt him to Atlanta for a first-round draft pick.

‘The Bills representatives who will be handling most of the interviews together will be Coach Mularkey, Tom Donahoe, Tom Modrak, and either offensive coordinator Tom Clements or defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, depending on whether the prospect is an offensive or defensive player. The other assistant coaches will conduct some interviews as well.’

‘About the only positions where the Bills could stand pat and be fine are running back and linebacker, two areas upgraded substantially last year with the additions of Willis McGahee, Takeo Spikes and Jeff Posey. That leaves a lot left to address, which is why Mularkey, to this point, has been reluctant to state his team’s top priority.’

”’You don’t play five years and get this close to free agency and say, ‘No, I’m not going to see what my value is,’ unless there’s something on the table that we can’t refuse,” Katz said. ”And there’s nothing there that we can’t refuse. Tom and I have talked a lot and have agreed to disagree as to what the value is.”’

‘The team is not commenting on the status of Drew Henson. Sources have said that the Bills have been very busy getting ready for this combine and haven’t had time yet to bring the quarterback in for a visit.’

‘President & General Manager Tom Donahoe, Assistant General Manager Tom Modrak, new Head Coach Mike Mularkey and the rest of the team’s assistant coaches and scouting department will all attend the Annual Scouting Combine, which is being conducted February 18-24 at the RCA Dome.’

It also will be interesting to see how Thomas and Reed fare considering the Bills’ four straight Super Bowl losses. There is a feeling among some fans and media that players from the Vikings and Cowboys teams of the 1970s and the Broncos of the 1980s have been hurt because their teams lost multiple Super Bowls. However, Horrigan does not believe that is the case at all.

‘One league source speculated that once Stewart gets his release from the Bears and surveys how few teams are interested in the veteran as a starting quarterback, he could land in Buffalo with new head coach Mike Mularkey and offensive coordinator Tom Clements.’

‘But his most impressive move, after he got the job, wasn’t something he said, but rather something he did. When Mularkey hired Sam Wyche, the former Buccaneers and Bengals boss, to be Bills’ quarterback coach, it said a lot about his loyalty.’

‘Southwest Recreational Industries Inc., which makes and installs synthetic and natural grass playing fields including one at Ralph Wilson Stadium, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Georgia after buckling under heavy debt and rapid growth.’

‘2003 was a busy year for the Bills Alumni…’.

‘”This year’s president is Mark Brammer, Vice President is Lou Piccone, Treasurer is Charley Ferguson, and Bills Alumni Will Fowler and Bob Dugan are also officers. Ed Rutkowski, Ernie Warlick, Booker Edgerson, Jeff Nixon, Hilton Crawford and Carl Byrum are also extremely active. There are over 30 Alumni living in the WNY area and they all try to stay involved in one form or another. Their dedication to the WNY area is extremely admirable.”‘

‘”We were hopeful we could have some discussions, but they just seem to be pretty firm in the fact they want to get out there and test it,” Donahoe said Tuesday. “There’s not much we can do. When somebody doesn’t want to talk, it’s not a very good conversation.”‘

‘”We have interest,” said Bills general manager Tom Donahoe Tuesday when asked how serious the club is in making a Henson deal. “It was a good workout but there are a lot of hoops to jump through. Houston has to get him signed before they can trade him. Whether he’s signable is a major issue.”‘

‘AstroPlay, comprising synthetic blades of grass and crushed tires, has a lifespan of about eight years in extreme weather conditions. The surface needs a once-a-year grooming by a ride-on broom machine.’