Two Bills Drive

‘Canidate, the team’s leading rusher, has a severe ankle sprain. He is listed as doubtful and sounded pessimistic about his chances of playing.’

The smile was genuine, a reflection of how happy McGahee was following his long-awaited first practice since the Buffalo Bills made him their first-round draft pick last April.

‘On the change after starting the season 2-0: “We haven’t had any offensive rhythm. We haven’t been able to establish some of the things we did early in the year offensively. We’re trying to, maybe, do too much. I said earlier in the year that we probably aren’t as good as a 31-0 team when we won the opener, and we know we’re not as bad as the 30-3 loss to the Jets in this past ball game. We’re somewhere in between. A couple of guys have been pressing a little bit, trying to do more than what’s in the call instead of just executing the design of the play, the design of the call and anything after that is gravy. We just have to get back to the basics.”‘

‘Head coach Steve Spurrier said on Wednesday that cornerback Fred Smoot would sit out the game against the Buffalo Bills. Smoot has a sprained clavicle.’

‘Coach Gregg Williams said Moulds’ health is improving, and his groin strain will be monitored. He officially was upgraded from doubtful to questionable, which means he has a 50-50 chance of playing.’

‘”I didn’t know coach Saban, but he was a fine individual. He was a hard worker. He wanted everything to perfection, I knew one thing, when that whistle blew, those people that were out there with him were ready to go to war for him. I really enjoyed the short time that I had with him,” Wyatt said. “I had a great moment in Buffalo when I intercepted my first pass for a touchdown against the Washington Redskins, who went on to go to the Super Bowl that year we won that game in Washington, and turned out to be the highlight of my career, to be able to do that and win the game at the same time.”‘

‘Buffalo has only eight first downs rushing in the last four games.’

‘It didn’t have to be this way. If Donahoe still felt Williams might be his guy then he should have displayed his faith by adding a year to his contract. Only by creating a sense of stability, only by reinforcing his coach’s authority, could Donahoe have learned, once and for all, whether Williams is right for the job. Donahoe took the easy way out. This season, for better or worse, is on him.’

‘Providing there are no setbacks, a logical debut date for McGahee’s first game would be the Nov. 9 game at Dallas. The Bills do not play Nov. 2.’

‘One of the defense’s biggest problems has been getting to quarterbacks. The Redskins have only nine sacks in six games.’

‘”That was a great era of football,” Smith said. “You have guys that have gone on to go into the Hall of Fame now, such as Jim Kelly. Thurman [Thomas], I’m sure, will be right behind him, and guys like Andre Reed and James Lofton, Steve Tasker and probably the most well-known of them all, Marv Levy.”‘

‘”It was a great, great time and era to be a Buffalo Bill,” Smith said. “It was special. We did some special things that no one else in the history of the game was able to achieve. I cherish those moments when I talk to the guys, but other than that I really don’t focus on it right now because I’m too busy trying to get things worked out in my house.”‘

‘Second-year cornerback Rashad Bauman will replace Smoot in the starting lineup. Defensive coordinator George Edwards indicated Monday that safeties David Terrell and Todd Franz are ahead of rookie corner Ade Jimoh to take over as the No. 3 cornerback.’

‘The Redskins have invested almost $19 million in signing bonuses in their three starting linebackers alone. It is difficult to say they’re getting their money’s worth out of LaVar Arrington, Jeremiah Trotter and Jessie Armstead. The Redskins have put more than $25 million in to their offensive line. The results have not been quite what the Red skins hoped. Their quarterback, Patrick Ramsey, has been sacked 21 times, the most in the NFL.’

‘“I thought of those 15 years I was there as very special,” Smith said. “To harbor any ill feelings toward management, no I don’t have any right now. It was a situation I never understood, but that’s neither here nor there. This will certainly be a special week. I just have to make sure I don’t lose sight of what the main goal of going back to Buffalo is. I have a job to do.”’