Two Bills Drive

‘Bills’ free fall ends, at least temporarily, with a 22-16 win.’

‘Henry must be salivating at the chance to go against NFL’s 31st-ranked rushing defense.’

‘There’s a relatively simple way for the Bills to win a lot more games with Bledsoe as their quarterback: Run the football and design maximum protection (without putting Sam Gash in motion to run pass routes) to give him time to set his feet and pass.’

‘The Bills have been looking for big plays from the defense all year, but they have forced just 10 turnovers. Winfield hasn’t picked off a pass since Nov. 11, 2001, against the Patriots. He doesn’t have an interception in a game the Bills won since 1999, when they beat Miami his rookie year. “I’ve had my hands on a few balls,” Winfield said. “I’ve dropped some. I really don’t get that many opportunities and when I do I haven’t come up with them. I don’t have the interceptions, but I have the tackles. I don’t really give up many deep balls for touchdowns and stuff like that. General managers and everybody will look at that.”‘

‘”I think what makes this place incredible is really the people,” Mary Wilson said. “I think people take more time with people here.”‘

‘Cincinnati hammered Houston with 57 runs, good for 240 yards, in a 34-27 win last Sunday. Bills running back Travis Henry would love to see the coaching staff keep it simple today against Houston’s injury riddled, 31st-ranked defense. “Oh, yeah, most definitely,” he said. “They’ve shown you can run on them, there’s a lot of creases in that defense, they give up a lot of lanes to run through. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to move the ball on them.”‘

‘What do you miss most about college?

“College girls.”‘

‘Since 2001, the Bills rank last in the NFL in both turnover differential and sack differential (excluding the second-year Houston Texans). That’s a parlay guaranteed to lose a lot of football games.’

‘And, surprisingly, the Bills’ faithful remain loyal, producing the fifth home sellout in as many games this season.’

‘The Texans have allowed an average of 137 rushing yards a game, fourth-worst in the NFL. Not surprisingly, opposing offensive coordinators are watching game tape and making it a point to exploit the Texans’ injury-depleted defensive line.’

‘It has become painfully obvious that the Texans can’t defend the run, and the Bills will exploit that on a day when the conditions could make it difficult to throw the ball. Buffalo’s defense has been solid, but the Texans consistently have moved the ball on good defenses this season. The offense can’t afford to leave plays on the field, as it did in last week’s loss to Cincinnati. If it does, the result will be the same.’

‘All of which sends Fangio scrambling in against the Buffalo Bills the way he has since the start of the season, scheming and plotting and playing chess without the right number of pieces, juggling with one arm. The defense that a year ago was eighth-best overall in the league now is ranked 31st.’

‘A recent survey of NFL physicians showed that nearly 90 percent of NFL athletes who tore the ACL — the primary stabilizing ligament in the knee — were able to return to competition after surgery. That doesn’t mean all were as good as they were before their injury. The Buffalo Bills, the Texans’ opponent today, are counting on the percentages after selecting former Miami running back Willis McGahee late in the first round of this year’s draft despite serious health questions. The All-America running back, projected as a top draft pick, tore the ACL, the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) early in the fourth quarter of the Hurricanes’ 31-24 double-overtime loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.’

‘However, as far as Foreman is concerned, there would be no place better to turn that around than tomorrow in Ralph Wilson Stadium, where he enjoyed his first three seasons in the NFL. He will not admit to holding any grudges against his old squad, but the fire burns deep within him to even the mark against the team that traded him, after Buffalo defeated the Texans last year 31-24 here in Houston. “It might mean a little bit more, but not too much more,” Foreman said. “Maybe last year it meant more because I had just been traded and I still didn’t know how to act or react to the trade.”‘

‘”My confidence is very high right now. It has to be because of the fact that the coaches let a good player like Peerless Price go because they believed that I was good enough to do the job.”‘