Two Bills Drive

The Bills would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the following Buffalo Bills Kids Club members: Dylan Drzal (2/17), Jacob Hodges (2/17), Tyler Valentine (2/17), Dylan Gruschow (2/17), Breanna Kowal (2/18), Maya Armand (2/18), Ben Thompson (2/18), Sean Niles (2/19), Cheyenne Mongeon (2/19), Julie Williams (2/19), Ryan Zielinski (2/19), Jacob Petkovsky (2/19), Joshua Jones (2/20), Patrick McNamara (2/20), Philip Piendel (2/20), Brandon Prince (2/20), Seth Anderson (2/20), Maddie Csont (2/21), Casey Edsall (2/21), Phil Kattato (2/22), Matthew Wise (2/22), Emily Hall (2/23)

Few teams got more production out of their first-year players than Buffalo. Two draft picks became instant starters (OT Mike Williams and SS Coy Wire) and four others (WR Josh Reed, DT Justin Bannan, DE Ryan Denney (only 5 games – mostly at end of year) and CB Kevin Thomas) received significant playing time over the course of the season.

Sprinkle in the contribution of a couple of rookie free agents (RB Joe Burns, DE Grant Irons) and the rookie class of 2002 shows a bright future.

‘”Peerless is seeking a long-term deal from an NFL team,” agent Tim McGee said. “Based on the comments I’m hearing, I’m very skeptical — and probably more so than ever — it’ll happen in Buffalo.”‘

Former Bills TE Pete Metzelaars is participating in a NFL program designed to give former and current players an opportunity to break into coaching. It begins next week with the opening of NFL Europe training camp in Tampa.

Show your pride by putting the Bills on your computer's desktop. We have multiple styles below, including a brand new one with a complete 2003 calendar!

‘The group of former Buffalo Bills raised $40,000 last year through their annual fall golf tournament.’

‘But often the scripts, plans, preparations, systems and routines can lead to square-peg-in-the-round-hole syndrome. For instance, Buffalo’s defense the last two seasons was not even close to being the kind of defense that could run the 46-hybrid.’

February 18, 1997 – BILLS MAKE A TRADE FOR A QB

The Buffalo Bills made a trade to upgrade the depth at QB by trading their third-round pick in the 1997 draft to the Oakland Raiders for Billy Joe Hobert.

So that's why this week I'm dusting off the bookshelf and sharing with you some of my favorite Buffalo Bills-related books. Maybe they'll help fill in the news gaps during the coming months.

This list is not comprehensive, but it is close. Most of these books can be found at a library or through online booksellers. Some of them are still available at bookstores, too.

‘It has leaked out that both coordinators have had their contracts extended through the 2004 season, while Williams is still a lame duck as of this writing. This is no accident, as I see it. I think Donahoe is sincere when he says he likes the job Williams has done in his first two seasons here, especially considering the lack of tools he had for the job in year one. But does Donahoe give a flip that Williams might be burning a bit by the recent pub surrounding his own underlings? Hardly. Williams will probably get his extension soon, if he doesn’t have it already, but it will be on Tom’s time, not Gregg’s.’

Braving blustery, wintry conditions, Bledsoe finished 15-for-27 for 306 yards, breaking the game open by scoring touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the second half. The game began with a temperature of 25 degrees and ended in near whiteout conditions as a heavy snow fell through most of the fourth quarter. Watch Video Highlights.

‘As a result they figure to enter this free agency season with about $10 million of room to spend on free agents.’

FW: Is Price better off somewhere else?

Holbrook: I don’t think so. It’s curious to me that Price had his best season in a contract year. He made positive strides his first 3 seasons but was still an underachiever until this past season when he found himself working with skilled players like Bledsoe, Moulds and RB Travis Henry. I think Price is an outstanding No. 2 WR, but not a #1. He needs someone like Moulds to draw the main focus of a defense and allow Price to work against a No. 2 or No. 3 corner and exploit that matchup.

”’I’ve talk[ed] to Mr. Wilson (Bills owner Ralph Wilson) on occasions, last year, not this year,” Riemersma said. ”And I think he’s involved more than any other owner in the NFL and he does a great job and that’s why he garners so much respect among the players. Mr. Wilson has always treated me so fairly and the Buffalo community and the fan base has always been great to my family and this is where I want to be.”’

This is a much stronger draft at QB than it is in free agency. This year, Carson Palmer, Byron Leftwich, Rex Grossman, Chris Simms, Kyle Bollar, Dave Ragone and Ken Dorsey lead a group that is being compared to the classes of ’83 and ’99. But things have changed in the NFL since the class of ’83 and club executives realize they’re dealing with a different set of circumstances these days.

The class of ’83 included Dan Marino, John Elway, Jim Kelly and Ken O’Brien. All four played for one NFL team their whole career. That will not be the case with this draft class or any other in the near future.