Two Bills Drive

‘In their last two away games against Miami and the New York Jets, the Bills were nothing more than road kill, losing by a combined 47-10 score. But their traveling sickness extends way back to last season, when they lost their final four road games, starting in Kansas City and continuing at the Jets, New England and Green Bay. That makes them 1-6 in their last seven away trips after a brief but fleeting 4-2 stretch under the beleaguered Williams.’

‘Statistically, Kansas City’s defense looks porous. It ranks 27th overall and 31st in rushing yards allowed per attempt. However, in this case the numbers are deceiving. These are the key stats: The Chiefs are No. 1 in the NFL with 20 takeaways, and a respectable 12th in points allowed.’

‘OK, how do you plan to kick off to Dante Hall?

“Punting is a little more challenging because the Chiefs can do more, but I think on kickoffs, you just have to kick it solid and give your coverage team a chance.” ‘

‘The Bills rate a notch below Miami defensively (despite what the stats say) but they also have all the pieces to field the division’s best-balanced offense. Lack of consistency has been the team’s biggest problem.’

‘And, oh yeah, the Chiefs lead the AFC with a plus-11 giveaway/takeaway ratio. It all adds up to a major test for Buffalo in one of the NFL’s toughest venues.’

‘Vermeil is 3-0 against Buffalo – having beaten them as coach of the Eagles, Rams and Chiefs – the best record he has against any of the 31 teams he’s faced.’

‘”It’s been very frustrating,” Hall said. “Now we’re to the point where we don’t know what (the kicker) is doing. It’s tough on my guys blocking for me because you really can’t get back and get set. That’s why we were so successful the first four weeks because the timing was down.”‘

‘Their owners are living, breathing embodiments of pro football history. Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson and Kansas City’s Lamar Hunt helped establish the AFL. With the six other AFL owners, they were called the “Foolish Club” — although Wilson and Hunt didn’t look so foolish when they helped push through the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.’

‘”Yeah, we need to go on the road and beat a good team,” Bledsoe said. “No question. That’s where we have to make our progress. That’s what good teams do, and if we want to win a championship around here, that’s what we have to do.”‘

‘”I do think about it,” he said. “But they’ve been through two quarterbacks since then, too. They brought in Rob Johnson, and then they brought in (Doug) Flutie. I don’t know if I really wanted to be a part of that.”‘

‘See, you can’t be, as so many commentators have griped about the Chiefs the last week, an imperfect 7-0, any more than you can score an imperfect 1600 on the SAT or go an imperfect five for five in baseball. Perfect is perfect. Sure, the Chiefs needed incredible Dante Hall returns to clinch victories against Baltimore and Denver, an interception and fumble against Green Bay, a tackle at the 1-yard line against Oakland. But you know what? They got every one of those things.’

‘A team pegged for the Super Bowl after season-opening wins over New England and Jacksonville, the Bills were prematurely assigned to the Toilet Bowl after a 30-3 loss to the Jets and an overtime win over the Bengals. But with Travis Henry fully healthy again and running for a career-high 167 yards last week, the Bills are a solid 4-3 after their season-high 432-yard offensive performance — despite the absence of leading receiver Eric Moulds — in a convincing 24-7 win over Washington.’

‘As a matter of fact, the Bills do see a crack of light. “You do get a little more juiced up for a team that looks like it’s trying to run away with the season,” Buffalo quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. “We know this game, we know everyone has a flaw. Of course, Kansas City isn’t perfect. Of course they can be beaten. We’re going in there thinking we’re going to be the ones to do it.”‘

‘But teams are getting better and better at avoiding kicking to Hall, who had returned kicks for touchdowns in an NFL-record four straight games before being shut out the last two weeks. Buffalo has promised to give Hall the same treatment. “Boy, that makes me mad,” Hall said. “It’s like if you’re trying to play video games, and you’re so good that no one will play you. Then you don’t get to play, so it’s not fun anymore. It’s the same thing. I want to play.”‘

‘”The most dangerous thing they do with Priest is they give him a lot of different things to do,” defensive tackle Sam Adams said. “If he runs up the middle and you stack the middle, then he runs to the perimeter, then they give him a draw, then they give him a screen. They change the personnel and do a lot of shifts and motions to try to disguise their basic plays. They get him the ball a lot of different ways.”‘