Two Bills Drive

‘Fans in Buffalo always viewed him in a positive light. They appreciated his blue-collar work ethic and his durability. They liked the fact he preferred to let his play do his talking for him. He left the caviar and champagne to the superstars. He was a beer and chicken wings kind of guy; a true Buffalonian; one of them. ” I’ve always loved the people there,” he said. ” They’re real people. There’s nothing phony about them.”‘

‘” He’s one of those guys whose winning attitude is infectious,” Polian says of Lofton, who is now in his second season as the San Diego Chargers’ receivers coach. ” I think the day will come in the not-so-distant future when James will get the opportunity to become a head coach in the NFL, and he’ll wind up making his mark in that job, too.”‘

‘”(The defense) looked pretty tough today,” he said. “The Browns had a lot of trouble getting back to the line of scrimmage (in the running game). “If they can play at that level all year, it will make things significantly easier for us as an offense and allow us to win some games defensively.”‘

‘Tickets were cheap for this football “friendly.” The difference in turnout between yesterday and the recent soccer matchup that drew mostly out-of-staters to the stadium is that this brand of football offered the opportunity to boo Tim Couch.’

‘Kevin Johnson was the player of the day, catching five passes for 78 yards, including a 20-yard TD from Holcomb in a red-zone drill. He also caught passes of 13 and 25 yards from Holcomb.’

‘They don’t keep official score in scrimmages, which was a good thing for the Browns. They weren’t the better team on their home field yesterday.’

‘Davis said he would seek to replace the Bills as a workout partner, or might even add a second team to work against.’

‘”He was drafted specifically to block for O.J.,” Felser said. The Bills already had a fine pulling guard in Reggie McKenzie. The two became a deadly blocking duo.’

‘Couch supporters point out in the first live action of the preseason Couch faced Buffalo’s first-team defense and Holcomb moved the ball against the backups. One other Buffalo player noticed that fact as well. ‘`Kelly had our twos out there and was able to be more effective,” quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. “I thought they both threw the ball very well. Kelly marched them down the field pretty good, and Tim threw some really nice balls. They’re obviously two very good quarterbacks.”’

‘Players and coaches marveled at the huge crowd, which endured long lines to buy tickets at $5 apiece.’

‘Listening to Bills Coach Gregg Williams talk about Winfield, you get the sense that the organization will do everything in its power to work out an extension. “I think this will be a really good year for Antoine,” Williams said. “The team had gotten better around him. He’s a very smart player and pound-for-pound, you’ll have a hard time in the National Football League seeing anybody hit harder than Antoine Winfield. I loved him when he came out of Ohio State and now that I get a chance to coach him, I’ve seen that he will rock you. He hits like a linebacker in a corner back’s body.”’

‘On the positive side, the Browns did put pressure on the Bills quarterbacks. They were credited with six sacks, although in the scrimmage all the pass rusher had to do was tag the quarterback for a sack.’

‘A crowd of 37,818 watched the scrimmage. About 9,000 fans were walk-up customers. Many of them were still lined up outside Cleveland Browns Stadium when the scrimmage began. ”What a great, unbelievable turnout,” Davis said. ”When I coached at the University of Miami, I’m sad to report we had regular season crowds that didn’t draw 37,000. I think it’s an indication of the preseason excitement.”’

‘By the time Holcomb took the field, the Bills had replaced many of their starters. But nothing could disrupt the lovefest between the quarterback and the fans who remember his heroic effort in last season’s playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 429 yards and three touchdowns that day, and here he was again, filling the air with hope.’

‘This marked the third year the Browns and Bills have worked out and scrimmaged together over two days. “It was excellent work,” Davis said, “because it gives us a chance to kind of measure some of the guys on our football team, whether it’s for starting positions or (backups) or special teams.”‘