Two Bills Drive

That wasn’t Rob Johnson wearing No. 11 for the Buffalo Bills, and those weren’t boos coming from the stands on Friday night.

‘The Bills lost their preseason opener, 24-17 to the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night. But the significance was Bledsoe’s poised performance in his Buffalo debut.’

‘”I’ll be honest, I had a little pregame jitters going on,” Bledsoe said. “I was a little nervous, a little anxious. I was real excited to get out there and get a game under my belt.”‘

Quotes from Bledsoe, Gregg Williams, Mike Williams, London Fletcher, etc…

‘If you’d like to see the glass as half full, consider Bledsoe’s perfect opening drive and his 9-for-11, 136-yard, 2-touchdown evening. If you’re the glass-half-empty sort, you’ll dwell on that interception and the two sacks of Bledsoe, who can still be described as statuesque.’

QB Drew Bledsoe was 9-for-11 for 136 yards with two touchdown passes in his debut with the Buffalo Bills. His 31-yard TD pass to Eric Moulds just 3:34 after the opening kickoff put the Bills ahead, 7-0.

Billy Shaw, the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to play his entire career in the AFL (1960’s incarnation), was one of nearly sixty enshrinees on hand for the 2002 Enshrinement Celebration. He arrived in town and as he sat in the museum’s front office, it was the contents of his duffel bag that made his visit extra special. Many people have been in pursuit of those items ever since the former Buffalo Bills’ all-league guard was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Included in the bag were the only pieces from his playing days that he still owned. They included three Buffalo Bills jerseys, an AFL All-Star jersey, his helmet, and shoes.

‘Asked if Bledsoe’s presence gives the Bengals incentive to beat the Bills, Brown didn’t hesitate. "It would be in my mind," he said. "I don’t know if the players will think much one way or the other, but I don’t know if I’ll have forgotten."’

‘Anderson said the Bledsoe controversy is "something I think for management to kind of get hot about, for reporters to write about and for fans to say, ‘We all hate Drew Bledsoe.’ Last year’s game against Baltimore was not about Elvis Grbac and this game is not going to be about Drew Bledsoe."’

‘Permitted in are fanny packs, purses and clear plastic bags (12 inches- by-12 inches or smaller), seat cushions, rain ponchos, small hand-held radios and TVs and blankets. In any case, if you’re bringing those items in, expect delays. There will be an express line, but ticket holders can’t be bringing anything into the stadium, including purses, to use that option. Fans with banned items must take them back to their vehicles or throw them away as Bills’ security will not store them.’

‘The Bengals have one of the better young defenses in the NFL and should be a big challenge for the Bills in the game in Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘"They told me that if you’re a linebacker, just go up there and work hard, do your job and the fans will love you," Robinson said after a recent Bills practice in Pittsford. "It’s a blue-collar town. You pay full price for a ticket, you want a full day’s work out of a player."’

‘Parking lots open on game days four hours before kickoff. No paneled or windowless vans or trucks will be permitted in any Bills lots.’

This is Drew Bledsoe ‘s team. That’s obvious from the moment his 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound frame comes swaggering into the huddle and takes instant command of the Buffalo Bills offense. This — like everywhere else in Western New York — is Bledsoe’s town.

‘A year ago, Gregg Williams entered his first training camp as an NFL head coach determined to put a tough, demanding, take-charge signature on the Buffalo Bills. He might have done a little bit too well in achieving his goal.’