Two Bills Drive

‘”I like guys I’ve had some sort of connection with,” Manning said Wednesday afternoon. “(Dawson) is a guy I’ve worked out with basically every summer for the past six or seven years.”‘

‘”When Travis puts weight on his ankle, there’s not a lot of stress, but we don’t know what’s going to happen when he starts running and cutting,” Johnson said. “He’s dying to play but that’s the big dilemma. We’re afraid of him going back out there and getting hurt, but he’s insistent.”‘

‘Even if RB Travis Henry can play against the Colts with his broken leg, the Bills are likely to take it easy with him and will have to spread the load around. The Colts rank 24th in run defense and Buffalo can’t give up on the ground game if Henry is bottled up. That’s where distributing the ball to Joe Burns, Sammy Morris and even FB Sam Gash can come into play.’

‘The Bills kickoff coverage unit, among the worst in the NFL in recent years, ranks No. 2 this season at 19.3 yards per return. LB Dominique Stevenson leads the head hunters with 25 special teams tackles.’

‘Crosby had been on the Bills injured reserve list since he cracked his fibula in Buffalo’s 17-7 loss at Miami on Sept. 21. In three seasons with the Bills, he appeared in 35 games — including three this year — mostly as a special teams player, and had six receptions for 49 yards.’

‘Milloy learned of his successful appeal to the league on Tuesday, four days after his 30th birthday. The NFL’s initial ruling said that Milloy made “impermissible physical contact with a game official.”‘

‘Wide receiver Eric Moulds and running back Travis Henry were both listed as questionable for the Bills’ game this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.’

‘The Colts hope Harrison will be able to practice Friday to determine his status for Sunday’s game.’

‘Henry’s cracked fibula is questionable. He did not practice Wednesday, but Gregg Williams says he’s “optimistic” that Henry will play. Williams says he continues to see progress from number one pick Willis McGahee, but Henry’s status will not dictate whether McGahee is active on Sunday against the Colts.’

‘Henry was a spectator during practice Wednesday. If he doesn’t play, Joe Burns will start at running back against Indianapolis, and Willis McGahee could suit up for the first time.’

‘"There’s a lot of good football being played by so many people even on the offensive side of the ball. We have to do a better job in the red zone. We move the ball up and down the field a ton. We’ve got to do a better job on capitalizing on the plays we have available there. We’ve got to finish those plays and we’ve got to come up with some catches. We’ve got to come up with some blocks and some runs down there to put it in the end zone. We had our opportunities and we’re going to have to do a good job with that. A big part of the game plan this weekend is our red zone efficiency once we get down there, capitalizing and putting points on the board. It’s a pretty good team coming in here this week. We’re excited about the opportunity to play this team."’

‘The Bills today announced that the team has signed tight end Rod Trafford to the practice squad and also re-signed practice squad receiver wide receiver Jerel Myers.’

In addition, the Bills released fullback Phil Crosby from the Reserve-Injured list.

‘But now with Kragthorpe in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane are thriving and the Bills are dying.’

‘In its initial finding, the league ruled Milloy made “impermissible physical contact with a game official,” during Buffalo’s 24-7 win against Washington on Oct. 19.’

‘“I’ve missed three games but that’s not an excuse for other guys not to step up and make plays,” said Moulds. “We had opportunities last week to make plays and we just haven’t made them.”’