Two Bills Drive

‘There’s an ever-so-subtle murmur that fans, adamant that coach Gregg Williams had to go as the Bills dropped four straight, think he should get another chance. After all, they reason, if the Bills win out, they would be 9-7 … a game better than a year ago. The implication is that dismissing offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and possibly line coach Pat Ruel might be enough. But that conclusion is flawed.’

‘He needs 300 yards in the final three games to surpass last season’s total, which was fifth-best in team history. It won’t be easy. Check out the run defense rankings for the Bills’ final three opponents: Tennessee: No. 1; Miami: No. 3; New England: No. 4.’

‘Bills assistant coaches Jerry Gray, Kevin Gilbride, Les Steckel, Steve Jackson and Dan Neal all worked with Fisher in the Titans’ organization. Fisher said the familiarity of the staffs is a factor. “You do have to remind yourself that there is some familiarity,” he said. “Jerry did a great job while he was here and understands our offensive concepts, as did Gregg. . . . It’s going to be interesting what approach all four coordinators take in this game. The key early is going to be our ability to adjust.”‘

‘While Williams is 17-28 as Buffalo’s coach, Fisher was 19-26 his first 45 games after replacing Jack Pardee late in the 1994 season. Like Williams, Fisher lived through dire salary cap issues and even a relocation process from Houston to Memphis to Nashville.’

‘”He’s played well,” said coach Gregg Williams. “The last few weeks he’s filled in very admirably. He’s smart, tough, he’s got some nasty about him, and last week he led our team in knockdowns.”‘

”’For the most part, I’ve left that behind me and most people don’t even really ask me about it anymore,” Henry said. ”I think they feel good about what I’m doing.”’

”’If I am able to play at 75-80 percent, and we make the decision to play, I’ll play,” said McNair, who has 45 consecutive starts. ”But if I don’t it will be great for me to rest it and be ready for the next two games. … I have a lot of confidence in Billy. If I don’t play he can get the job done.”’

‘”Right now, it’s still sore. It’s still swollen,” McNair said of the ankle. “I’m just trying to work on it day in and day out. I’m going to try to get some of the soreness out of it.”‘

‘The 25-year-old Henry, who is just 63 yards shy of becoming Buffalo’s fourth all-time rusher, has said he can’t envision a situation where both he and McGahee share the football in harmony. Henry thrives on work and he has assumed that either he or McGahee will be traded eventually. “We’ll always listen but we’re not going to be actively pursing something like that (with Travis),” Donahoe said. “Who’s to say what’s going to happen in the future, but we didn’t take Willis with the intention of doing something with Travis.”‘

‘Since allowing 343 yards in consecutive losses to Miami and Philadelphia early in the season, the Bills have yielded an average of just 79 yards rushing per game. The New York Jets got a full dose of Adams last Sunday when he finished with seven tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage, two sacks and a batted down pass. It was one of the few games where Adams was part of Buffalo’s third-down package, and he responded like a kid in a candy store with the extra snaps.’

‘How realistic are Buffalo’s chances of snagging a wild-card playoff berth? At 6-7, the Bills trail four teams for the two spots (Tennessee, 9-4; Denver, 8-5; Miami, 8-5; Cincinnati, 7-6). A final record of 9-7 or even 8-8 would put Buffalo in a tie-breaker race, but they need to win out and have the other clubs stumble a bit. Buffalo can take care of its own business with head-to-head games against Tennessee and Miami and it already owns a win over the Bengals. “We don’t have a choice but to think we can,” said DT Sam Adams when asked if the Bills can make the post-season. “Someone always gets in at 9-7, always. The people that are going to the playoffs, New England, Tennessee, we play Miami. As far as we’re concerned, they have to go through us.”‘

‘”They’re not number one for no reason,” Titans TE Frank Wycheck said. “You look across their defense and they’ve got Sam Adams and Pat Williams up front, we probably won’t play two better corners, the linebackers are great, and then they’ve got Lawyer Milloy at safety. They’re stacked. They’re loaded. We’ll really have to execute our offense and make big plays to be successful this week.”‘

‘”I’m here as a Buffalo Bill. We went back there in the preseason game. It was a real hostile environment in the preseason game. That’s a tough place to play. We’re going to have to play well. All I’m focused on is this next week and the Buffalo Bills. Not the match ups with friends. Just the Buffalo Bills.”‘

‘”Unfortunately for us, these road games that we go play, we always seem to catch some of the best teams in the league on their turf. It’s a tremendous challenge if you’re playing the Titans home or away. A neutral setting is going to be a big challenge. When you get down there and they have their crowd behind them it’s one of the louder places in the league to play. It’s a big challenge for us, no question. We’re going to have to do a great job of communicating in spite of the crowd noise. We are going to have to play very physical with them. They have a very physical defense and a tremendous defensive line. They have a good line backing core with a kid that I used to baby-sit playing as their inside left linebacker, Peter Sirmon. You know you’re getting old when you got a guy you used to baby-sit in his fourth year in the league. They have a couple good corners and their safety will come up and hit you. They are a very physical defense and we’re going to have to match their physical style. We’re going to have to continue to run the ball even though they are number one in the league against the rush. Then we need to make some big plays in the passing game. The teams that have beaten the Titans have made some big plays in the passing game.”‘