Two Bills Drive

‘The Jaguars home opener is Sunday. Unless the four people I saw in line outside Alltel Stadium on Wednesday bought about 2,000 tickets each, the Jags came up about 9,000 tickets short of averting a TV blackout for their first home game.’

‘Reich, who started his new job July 1, has more than some incredible comeback stories to inspire his students and faculty members. He is fond of reminding listeners that he followed the Houston thriller by setting an inauspicious NFL record just weeks later, losing three fumbles in the Bills’ humiliating 52-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII. “(God) was with me that day, too,” Reich said as he led a visitor down one of the seminary’s tree-lined paths on a summer morning. “Both games were tremendous experiences and I love to talk about them. But you need to talk about the whole package.”‘

‘“They brought us here for a reason — to get better,” Adams said. “If we aren’t any better, then they made a mistake on us. We worked hard together, gelled together, learned the defense. We came out and executed today and that was very important.”’

‘He caught only one pass, for 5 yards, of the seven thrown his way. And most discouraging, Reed dropped the easiest one, off a perfectly timed flea-flicker, that had him wide open inside the New England 20 with a clear path to the end zone.’

‘"I think our team spoke it very well in the locker room on Sunday, on how they handled the opening win. It was a good game, but again they put it in perspective and you have to focus week in and week out in this league. You have twenty-four hours to enjoy a win, you have twenty-four hours to suffer a loss. There are no easy games in this league. Our focus has been outstanding in the locker room immediately following the ball game. When they came in on Monday and as we graded the film it was very good focus. We have a lot of things to improve upon, a lot of things we have to work on. Our attendance yesterday on their day off was amazing. They were all in here watching film and getting ready for knowing the Jaguars as well as they know someone else in their division."’

”’He played well and deserved that recognition. His teammates do, too,” coach Gregg Williams said. ”When the team does well, a particular individual gets recognized, and we hope that every week everybody steps up in that fashion.”’

‘The second of Buffalo’s four seventh-round picks in the 2002 draft, Wright had a promising preseason but failed to make the team’s active roster for the second straight year.’

‘The Bills today announced that the team has released wide receiver Rodney Wright from its practice squad.’

‘In his debut with the Bills, Spikes intercepted two passes and recorded seven tackles — including two for losses — in a 31-0 victory over New England.’

‘On the Cover: Sam Adams, Football, Buffalo Bills, Jeff Posey, Football, Buffalo Bills, Woody Damien , Football, New England Patriots.’

Having seen the Buffalo defense four times in preseason, including a scrimmage in which the Bills dominated the Browns, it’s difficult to believe the unit won’t be vastly improved over a year ago. The additions of tackle Sam Adams, linebackers Jeff Posey and Takeo Spikes and strong safety Lawyer Milloy were huge individually and even more significant collectively. The Bills could be a top 10 defense, and Spikes will finally merit the attention he deserves, along with a Pro Bowl berth.

‘Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes has been named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the team’s 31-0 win last Sunday over New England.’

‘"There aren’t really any magical formulas to selling tickets," Donahoe said. "Usually when your team does well, your season-ticket base starts to climb. It’s a challenging market because of the population and economy. Not that we’re throwing those things out as excuses, but we have to try and find a way to make it better."’

‘Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Sam Adams’ 37-yard interception return for a touchdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday is one of five nominations for the NFL “play of the week.”‘

‘The Jaguars still had 9,294 unsold tickets yesterday afternoon and must sell all of them by 1 p.m. tomorrow to avert the first blackout of a regular-season home opener in franchise history.’