Two Bills Drive

‘”A huge offseason factor for us was, ‘How do we get better around Drew Bledsoe?’ ” coach Gregg Williams says. “He’s proven year after year he can play in this league. We had to get players around him to do their jobs so that we’re not just depending on him to win ballgames. Defense is a big part of that.”‘

‘Thurman Thomas will be at Eastview Mall Friday evening to introduce “Sports Legends Telecom.” Its top service provides home telephone service with unlimited local and long distance calls.’

”’If you went in the dictionary and looked under ‘Old-school football,’ you’d find Sam Gash’s picture,” said quarterback Drew Bledsoe. ”The guy just loves to hit. When he’s on the field, linebackers know he’s on the field. And a lot of times, if they’re smart, they’ll try to kind of duck and hide a little bit because he brings it when he comes to hit.”’

‘"(The Bills) definitely didn’t spend enough time on special teams even though they thought they were putting in enough time," Rogers said. "I was on special teams that were No. 1 in the league in Seattle, so I know what it takes. I was always going to the coaches for more special teams practice, and they didn’t use the best players they could on special teams. That kind of hurt."’

‘”I’m very glad to be a part this campaign,” said Reed. “All of us learned first-hand how common prostate cancer is when Coach (Fred) Graves was diagnosed last month. We’re all thankful that it was detected early and because of that he’s well on his way to a full recovery. Hopefully this program leads to more education, more screenings, and more successes in the battle against it.”‘

‘In order for the Bills to maintain a more balanced offensive attack this year they must avoid the yellow flag, something that Williams chalks up to inexperience in the preseason. "When you take a look at the guys that had them, especially in the second half, many of those guys that had them won’t be here," said Williams. "They won’t be here by the time we have to play a regular-season game."’

‘Although the odds are still stacked against him, he’s just happy to be in a program with a new-found emphasis on running the football. "These guys did a real good job tonight," he said. "Travis Henry did a good job with the long run he had, Olandis had two touchdowns and it was all nice. I’m just happy to be here with these guys. We’ll see how things work out."’

‘Also remaining up in the air, is its post-game coverage of home Buffalo Bills games.’

‘"We’ve got some good speed at the ends and we’re going to have some good battles overall with how many ends we keep on this team," said Bills coach Gregg Williams. "Keith does a very good job and he elevates his play on game day. He does a good job practicing, too, but he brings some speed to our end positions, and the fact that he can play both sides is helpful to him."’

‘”I really don’t look at the “gassers’ (wind sprints) as punishment for penalties. I think we needed the conditioning more so than anything else. I remember in Cincinnati we ran a streak without any penalties and we still ran gassers.” – Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes, who sat out Saturday’s game and still ran wind sprints following practice.’

‘” Gregg’s just trying to find a way to drive home the point,” said Pro Bowl guard Ruben Brown, who had a holding call against Tennessee. ” Is this how you fix it? We’ll see. But I’m behind whatever he decides to try.”‘

‘” I guess times have changed, the game has changed, but you still have to play between these lines,” Talley said. ” As long as they can keep their minds between the lines and not on the hoopla, they should be in good shape.”‘

‘”It’s been a while,” veteran Bills offensive guard Ruben Brown said when asked the last time he was put through such post-practice penance. “If that’s what it takes for this team to be a winning team, I’m going to do it. Gregg’s trying to find a way to drive home the point. Hey, is that going to be the answer? We’ll see. But I’m behind him.”‘

‘The Bills will conduct a one hour special teams practice Tuesday morning. The entire team will return to practice in the afternoon. Both sessions are at St. John Fisher College, and opened to the public.’

‘This could be a very competitive group heading in the right direction. The defense should be stabilized, but could be another year away from truly becoming a true contender. Buffalo will push for a playoff spot with eight to ten wins if they avoid injuries.’