Two Bills Drive

‘This Bills team seems more like an intruder, like someone who wandered into the wrong party by mistake. Yes, they’re 5-4; they control their own destiny; they could win the division and make the playoffs, maybe even get a bye. But they still seem like an average team to me, a team that’s tied for first place and fighting for its life at the same time.’

‘"I think maybe if somebody else had come in, some of the free-agent guys that were out there, I would have been in a situation to compete," Van Pelt said this past week. "But anytime you can get a guy like Drew in on your team, you’re only doing great things for your team. When that happened, yeah, I was a little disappointed obviously, but, more so than anything else, excited about working with him and what he’s going to bring to the team."’

‘”I don’t remember seeing it this competitive,” veteran Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. “I don’t call it parity … I just call it tough football teams.”‘

‘[Q:] What’s the key to the perfect block? [A:] ”The key to a perfect block is leg drive and execution. You need good pad level and leverage. It’s just good fundamentals.”’

‘The current Buffalo Bills remain in contention for a playoff berth but a relatively easy 2003 schedule could help the improving team become a legitimate Super Bowl contender next season.’

‘”I talked to Jim Kelly the other day and he talked about even in (Buffalo’s) Super Bowl years there would be one or two games that they would get their butts kicked,” quarterback Drew Bledsoe admitted of the Bills’ Hall of Fame QB. “That happened to us, and I think the bye week came at a good time.”‘

‘”I think he’s arguably playing as well as any offensive player in the NFL right now,” Bills coach Gregg Williams said earlier this week. “And if you’re not willing to make sure you’re committed to stopping Priest Holmes, he’s been able to take it to the teams that haven’t.”‘

‘But the Bills have slumped. Their last three games have been their lowest-scoring of the season.”We’ve had some opportunities, and we just haven’t capitalized on them in the same way that we had earlier in the season,” Bledsoe said. “The (open date) came at a good time for us because we could go back and polish up some things. I would anticipate that production would pick back up for us here soon.”‘

‘”There are some good wings right around the corner here at a place called the Big Tree,” Bledsoe said. “Most of the country, you go and order wings and you have to order ’em extra hot to get ’em to where they burn a little bit. Around here, all you have to do is order ’em regular and they are plenty hot.”‘

‘Aside from a 49-yard screen pass to Holmes against Oakland, Green has not hit a pass play longer than 27 yards in the last two games.’

‘The Chiefs are wondering about Morton, too. They invested a $5.5 million signing bonus for, through nine games, 16 catches and one touchdown?’

‘The Chiefs need a lightning rod, a personality that riles up the team and the fan base. Yes, the team got out of control a few years ago when Marty Schottenheimer recruited 25 percent of the team from a halfway house. Dick Vermeil has done a nice job cleaning up Marty’s mess and reshaping the image of the Chiefs. But this team is too nice and too humble.’

‘Chiefs’ opponents have a combined 46-35 record — the last four opponents alone are a combined 30-12.’

‘”We’ve got to get to him and not allow him the time to pick you apart the way he can do,” said Hicks, Kansas City’s sack leader with five of the team’s 15. “We have to get after him and take some of the pressure off our secondary.”‘

‘”People hold him — tackle him! — so much. I’ve seen him spun around 360 degrees to get into the route and it’s not called.”‘