Two Bills Drive

Stud: Drew Bledsoe, Dud: Doug Brien

‘”Not all quarterbacks can handle it, but I threw it in his lap,” Gilbride said yesterday from the Bills’ practice facility in Orchard Park, N.Y. “I told him, `We’re going to win the game with you throwing the ball, win it with our two-minute drill, using our tempo.’ “We took that approach and he accepted the challenge.”‘

This week buffalobills.com visitors selected quarterback Drew Bledsoe as the Tops Game Ball of the Week winner for his performance against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 17. Bledsoe's 463 yards passing set a new Bills record, surpassing the old mark of 419 by Joe Ferguson in 1983. Ask Bledsoe a question

‘Buffalo has scored 76 points in its first two games, putting the Bills on pace for 608 points this season. They didn’t score 76 points until their fifth game last season, when they improved to 1-4.’

‘The Bills’ defense got shredded for nearly 500 yards. But we finally saw the attacking, playmaking "D" that Gregg Williams promised. They put pressure on Culpepper and forced him into four fumbles. The Bills recovered three and finished plus-3 in the giveaway-takeaway for the first time under Williams.’

‘The linchpin, though, is Bledsoe, the rocket-armed quarterback who has energized the team and the fan base. "He knew coming in that they were going to take me out of the game," Moulds said of Bledsoe’s approach Sunday. "He said that he would try to make some plays with some of the other guys."’

‘Bledsoe has been able to find his groove quickly in part by meeting on his own with receivers and running backs during the week. He invites them to come an hour early to the team’s facility to study the gameplan.’

‘"They were doubling me a lot, so I told the coaches to forget about me and keep feeding Peerless and Josh because they were the hot guys," Moulds said.’

‘I thought this was a significant step for the Bills. Last year, this team would have found a way to lose this game. Even last week, they would have found a way to lose. But all week in the aftermath of the Jets game, some of the veteran players said that the Bills were getting closer and it was just a matter of someone stepping up and making plays. If that happened, the wins would start coming. Well, it happened.’

‘Denver limited the 49ers to 261 yards on Sunday, 67 of which came on a meaningless end-of-the-game drive when the Broncos had a 24-7 lead. Against the high-powered Rams, Denver allowed just 15 first downs and though Marshall Faulk caught 14 passes for 91 yards, he managed only 19 yards on 10 rushing attempts.’

‘At least one Patriot, Troy Brown, is thrilled to see his former teammate playing so well. ”He’s definitely improved their football team,” said Brown. ”I’m happy that Drew has been able to go someplace and refresh his career. We had a situation here where we had two good quarterbacks and it would have been unfair to both of them if they were both still here.”‘

‘Granted, Minnesota is one flawed team, lacking a consistent running game or much of a defense, two elements the Bills also sorely lacked for most of the afternoon. But, thanks to Bledsoe’s amazing day, not a soul was heard complaining.’

‘”We’ve been around him a little bit and we realize that nothing he does at this stage is surprising,” tight end Jay Riemersma said. “He’s a tremendous talent and a great leader. And any time that we’ve got the ball in his hands at the end of the game, we’ve got a chance to win.”‘

‘Through their first two games of the season – both of which have gone to overtime – ratings for the Bills are up 23 percent from a season ago, 36.1 this year versus a 29.4 in 2001.’

‘Those last-second field goals … I think the kicker has to concentrate on what he has to do. I think Mike Hollis has kicked them that far before. The pluses are: He’s indoors, there’s no wind, it’s off a smooth artificial turf … but it’s still a long shot. As a coach, not much goes through my mind. It would be something you would have to do; you have no other choice. A 54-yarder is potentially makeable; it’s certainly more of a percentage play than trying to go for a touchdown — it would have had to have been a “Hail Mary.”‘