Two Bills Drive

‘The Bills certainly don’t think Brunell is fading. "From what we saw on film, it doesn’t look like Brunell has lost anything," free safety Pierson Prioleau said. "In my opinion, he’s still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL."’

‘"They are just the next opponent," Shaw said. "You have to prepare the same no matter who you’re playing. Once the game is over, if we come out on top, then bragging rights with old buddies will kick in. But during the game you have to have the same preparation."’

‘” I want to win in anything I do and be competitive in anything I do,” said Del Rio, who coaches with the same intensity he played linebacker in the NFL for 11 seasons with. ” I wasn’t forced to make those decisions to get rid of those guys. We’re doing what we think we can to be competitive.”‘

‘”I’m not proclaiming to be the best linebacker to ever play the game,” said Spikes, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound hulking specimen that toiled in relative obscurity for five seasons with the Bengals. “But I really don’t think the city of Buffalo knew what they were getting when they got me. And it’s real … it’s real.”‘

‘”He’s shown that you can go through some difficult times and still have things work out great for you,” Brunell said.’

‘Minuses: The Bills averaged just 3.2 yards on 33 rushing attempts against New England. … Henry fumbled again on Sunday, raising his total to 16 over the past three seasons.’

‘The Buffalo Bills, who visit Alltel Stadium, have played only 10 games in their history — including preseason games — in temperatures above 87 degrees.’

‘With more than 8,100 tickets unsold, the Jaguars didn’t even wait until the 72-hour deadline at 1 p.m. yesterday to make the blackout official for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills at Alltel Stadium.’

‘The thing that kills me is that not only do we not get the Jags game, but they won’t show any other game. Instead we get re-runs of "Joanie loves Chaci."’

‘”I know I could do it,” the former Jay and Texas Tech standout said. “Over the past few years, I’ve learned a lot about how to prepare physically (for the season) and how to take care of my (6-foot, 220-pound) body. I’ve also improved as a runner since my rookie season.”‘

‘The Dolphins denied a caller’s report on a Buffalo television station that there have been talks about moving the Sept. 21 home game to Buffalo and having the Bills come to Miami on Dec. 21 because of Hurricane Isabel. ”We haven’t talked to the league or the Bills or discussed it at this point,” Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene said.’

‘Jasper eats, drinks and bleeds Buffalo red, white and blue because of a chain of loyalties that leads back to Mississippi: Jasper likes the Bills because he likes Eric Moulds because he likes Moulds’ alma mater, Mississippi State.’

‘Gilbride was the Jaguars first ever offensive coordinator under Waterloo native Tom Coughlin, helping build the expansion team into an instant success. “We took a program that was just starting, and within two years climbed on number eight’s back and he took us to the AFC Championship game,” Gilbride said of his time in Jacksonville with quarterback Mark Brunell.’

‘Besides the penalties the Bills did have a couple of minor hic-cups. Receiver Josh Reed dropped a well worked flea-flicker and had a disappointing game, punt returner Antonio Brown failed to live up to his pre-season promise (but that should be put down to first game nerves), and the running game never really dominated like it should have done until late in the game. But these were minor glitches in an overall superb performance. The Bills are back looking like the great teams they had a decade ago (is it really that long ?) and can now be considered genuine contenders.’

‘”We stayed to the plan,” Williams said. “It pained me to see some of those great defensive players leave here, but that’s what we had to do.”‘