Two Bills Drive

‘The Bills are committed to veteran Drew Bledsoe at least through 2004, but president and general manager Tom Donahoe reiterated on Monday that the team is doing some long-range planning at the position.’

‘It must have been difficult for Bledsoe to watch his former team win two of the last three Super Bowls, but the new coaching regime of the Buffalo Bills can only hope that the pass-happy QB will buy into the predominantly running attack the team is expected to emphasize in 2004.’

‘Meyers RV Superstores is auctioning off Buffalo Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe’s Winnebago Ultimate Freedom motorhome on eBay through Saturday until 4:55 p.m.’

‘Has never been registered, the title is brand new!’

‘Wyche interviewed for the job with new Bills coach Mike Mularkey last week, a team spokesman said on Monday. Mularkey is also seeking a defensive backs coach to round out his staff.’

‘In a recent study conducted by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and the University of Massachusetts Graduate Sports Communications program, buffalobills.com ranked fourth out of 131 professional sports team web sites.’

‘Look for the Buffalo Bills to investigate the possibility of acquiring the rights to Drew Henson, the former University of Michigan quarterback who has struggled in the New York Yankees’ minor-league chain.’

‘”You think about what might have been, had we won, not just one of the games, but all four,” Talley says. “I’m greedy. I wanted to win them all, but gee, if it was just one, how kind would history be? We have a number of guys who will go to Canton and a number of us will be sitting on the fence, not knowing and wondering.”‘

‘The Bills, of course, lost all three Super Bowls in which Hansen played. So when asked for his analysis of today’s game, Hansen offered his opinions before adding — humorously — “However … since we lost all the games I played in, what do I know?” In Hansen’s three Super Bowls, the Bills had both one-week and two-week breaks before the games. So he is confident Patriots and Panthers players will have had their fill after two weeks of pre-Super Bowl pomp and circumstance. “Everybody wants a piece of you,” Hansen said.’

‘”This is their show,” Milloy said of his former teammates. “I’m here to support them. Hey, you know? I don’t even talk about the game. A lot of them know what to do, a lot of them have already been there. Just like any fan or any family (member), I try not to bother them. It should be business. There’s plenty of time to talk after this game. . . . That’s one thing you the media don’t see, are the friendships. I have a lot of friends over there and I support them.”‘

‘In terms of wins and losses, Milloy got the short shrift. His new team, the Buffalo Bills, finished 6-10 and fired their head coach. Meanwhile, the Patriots went 14-2, allowed the fewest points in the league, and are in their second Super Bowl in three years. But Milloy got what he wanted, a lucrative four-year, $10 million deal in which $6.75 million was earned in 2003. He would have been paid $3 million in New England.’

‘Milloy, who remains very close friends with Ty Law [news] and Tom Brady [news], said he plans to support his former teammates but hasn’t bothered to talk football with them. “You know what, I don’t even talk about the game,” he said. “I think they know what to do. A lot of them have already been there. Just like any fan or any family, I try not to bother them. It should be business. There’s plenty of time to talk after this game. I’m here to support them. This is their show.”’

‘Milloy won’t be wearing a Patriots jersey Sunday because the team believed he wasn’t worth a $5.25 million salary and he wasn’t willing to take a significant cut. “Two days before the Super Bowl, I’d make the same decision,” Milloy said. “The bottom line is, at that point, (the Patriots) weren’t about winning championships. It’s easy now to say that, because they’re doing well. But I made the right decision. Now that they have more wins the story is different. But that was a business decision.”‘

‘”We lost a lot of close games, where New England won the close games,” he said. “That’s the difference in this league. So you have to know how to win those close games and that’s what we didn’t do last year. I’ve talked to Drew after the end of the season and our focus is on next year. Last year was very unusual for him and for me. It just didn’t work out.”‘

‘Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes just shook his head at the memory yesterday, amazed at how good his team looked and how putrid the Patriots appeared. “It’s nice to be (at the Super Bowl) but not under these circumstances,” said Spikes, in town for the Super Bowl festivities. “I mean we beat those guys badly.”‘