Two Bills Drive

Question: What?s the first thing you should ask yourself when a marginal NFL player signs a lucrative, long-term contract?

Answer: When is he going to get cut?

If experience really is the best teacher, the Chargers will have a terrific mentor for their young wide receiver corps in 2002, with the team on Wednesday hiring former NFL star James Lofton as an assistant coach.

It will mark the first coaching assignment at any level for Lofton, who had a brilliant 16-season career in the league.

‘Avion Black is now a Houston Texan. The Bills never got close to utilizing Black’s speed. He could have been an excellent kick returner. In fact, against the Saints on opening day last season, he ran a punt back 34 yards. Unfortunately, he had one man to beat – the punter, who ended up tackling him. Still, it was among the best drive starts the Bills had on offense all season.’

‘It is the first NFL coaching job for Lofton, who played in the league for 16 seasons and spent the last eight years in broadcasting.’

The Chargers added one of the most prolific pass catchers in NFL history to their coaching staff when Schottenheimer named James Lofton as the team’s WR coach on Wednesday. This will be Lofton’s first coaching assignment. Lofton got to know Charger’s GM Butler when he was a Buffalo Bill.

Why do I get the feeling that years from now, after several Bills have been honored in the Canton hall, I’ll still be trying to explain how a team as talented as those great Bills teams failed to win a Super Bowl title?

Official Bills site catches up with free agent center, Billy Conaty.

Marlin Briscoe was the first African-American quarterback to start a pro game 34 years ago for the Denver Broncos. Now he's trying to make a difference again at an outreach program in Los Angeles. After his release from the Broncos, Briscoe latched on with the Buffalo Bills and became a wide receiver, a position he had never before played. The first season, he became the Bills' offensive MVP. A year later, he led the league in receiving and became an All-Pro

As for Blake, the Saints would like to receive a fourth-round pick for his services, with the Bills one team that may be interested. The Bills are looking for a veteran QB to compete with Alex Van Pelt, which almost certainly means that Rob Johnson won’t be back.

The 31-year-old Blake has a cap figure of $6.166 million in 2002, which is why the Saints want to trade him. They would save about $2 million by trading him. He is also due a roster bonus of $1.25 million on March 2.

‘Without that special teams edge, he quickly fell to No. 5 wideout behind starters Eric Moulds and Peerless Price, rookie Reggie Germany who moved up to the No. 3 spot and even Jeremy McDaniel who fell into disfavor.’

‘The Bills lost reserve receiver Avion Black to the Texans. But after Black was taken, the Bills did not bother to pull Johnson back onto their protected list, as was their option.’

‘Stop pretending he’s going to swallow a huge salary cut and come crawling back to a town that is sick of him. Put the fans, the players, the media and Rob himself out of their misery and cut the guy right now.’

The 24-year-old Black was mostly a special teams player for the Bills last season. He has 697 total return yards, eight receptions for 90 yards and five special-teams tackles in his NFL career.

The Houston Texans didn’t want Rob Johnson on Monday, and the Buffalo Bills still haven’t decided whether they intend to keep him.

By selecting Bears backup Danny Wuerffel to go with veteran Mike Quinn, the Texans don’t have to hit the QB market hard. If Gus Frerotte, Jim Miller or Rob Johnson — if he’s cut by Buffalo — wants to come to Houston for a $1 million, one-year deal, the Texans will probably accommodate him. Frank Reich started in Carolina until Kerry Collins was ready in the first month. The Texans — if they draft Carr — are only asking for games, not years, from a veteran QB.