Two Bills Drive

Most Impressive in Defeat

#2. Bills 31, Jets 37 — Set aside the disastrous kick coverages and the Bills served notice that all the "hype" about their offseason upgrades was well-deserved. Not only did Drew Bledsoe play phenomenal football, but there wasn’t a more impressive running back in Week 1 than Travis Henry.

The NFL kicked off its 83rd season this past week, and any way you slice it, it was exciting, unpredictable and just plain wild. The New York Times said, “Never in the 83-year history of the league had there been a Week 1 like this.”

Throughout the 2002 season, the Bills and Tops will present the Game Ball of the Week to the Bills player chosen by you, the fans, as that week's MVP. This week's winner is Travis Henry.

‘The understandable focus on special teams obscured the fact Buffalo did a number of good things against New York.’

‘The Bills weren’t pointing fingers Monday toward their special teams as the source of their defeat, perhaps because it was obvious.’

‘Moulds’ message was simple and forceful: The special teams did not lose this football game, guys. Remember, we win as a team and we lose as a team. So once those doors open, make sure there’s no finger-pointing. But people pointed fingers, anyway – at themselves.’

‘"We had guys that were unblocked that missed tackles," Williams said Monday. "There’s the thing. Defensive guys and offensive guys are on those units. We just can’t have missed tackles."’

‘Falcons officials plan to work out safeties Jason Perry and Travares Tillman on Tuesday. Tillman, a former Toombs County High and Georgia Tech star, was drafted in the second round by the Bills in 2000, when Phillips was Buffalo’s head coach. The Bills cut him last weekend.’

‘Cutting Sheldon Jackson and linebacker Fred Jones, two of the club’s best special teams players, just five days before the opener doesn’t seem so shrewd a move right now by GM Tom Donahoe and coach Gregg Williams. Jones had 24 special teams tackles last year.’

‘"There’s so many good spots, bright spots, that came out of that ball game," coach Gregg Williams said. "We overcame so many things, but we weren’t able to overcome the last one. Yeah, it’s disappointing, but there were some tremendous efforts on top of that."’

‘Buffalo’s defense, universally acknowledged as the team’s glaring weakness (at least until Sunday) limited the Jets to 266 yards. The Bills surrendered 300 on kick returns.’

‘The call was “Wedge Right.” The Jets might want to rename it “Everything Right,” because for the final 14 seconds of their season-opening win Sunday over the Bills, everything went perfectly. The play went from Mike Westhoff’s mind to a page in the playbook to the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium, unfolding … well, just right.’

‘SPECIAL TEAMS – A-: Chad Morton was the star of the game with his incredible two KO returns for TDs. Jerald Sowell led the team in kick-coverage tackles with five. Jason Glenn blocked a punt. There were too many penalties, though.’

‘Bledsoe impressed both head coaches. The Bills’ Gregg Williams said: “He was calm under pressure, which is impressive to his teammates. It was great to see Drew make some big plays, and he kept us in the game….We just gave up too many big plays with missed tackles.”‘

‘”It adds good veteran depth to our offensive line,” McGinnis said. “We’ve had our eyes on these guys for a while. Roundtree can play two positions, and Fina is a consummate pro who played 10 years at a high level in this league. He can be a third tackle right now, and as he gets acclimated, who knows?”‘