Two Bills Drive

‘"The guys on our team played together, fought together and drank together," Smerlas said. "It was kind of a "North Dallas Forty’ lifestyle. We joked around, pulled pranks on people and did a lot of wild stuff. Most of them I can’t tell you."’

‘In fact, the last-place Bills (2-10) currently stand 17th in average home attendance in the 31-team league.’

‘"I haven’t done this many Bills games since I was partnered with John Brodie in the early 1980s," said Criqui in a telephone interview from his New Jersey home.’

‘"You won’t find a more down-to-earth, honest, hard-working guy than Phil Hansen. He’s a credit to any team. He’s from the old school."’

‘"There is a lot of stuff going on right now, needless to say," Brady said. "I mean it’s easy to get distracted, but everyone owes it to the team and their teammates to prepare as best as possible."’

‘Sometimes the only way a professional athlete is going to salvage his career is by moving on. And Smith is a perfect example.’

‘”It was hard because I felt things were being blamed on me that I felt weren’t my fault,” Smith said. “This league is a business and it’s all about what you have done for me lately. If you’re not performing, teams give up on you.”‘

‘For the first time in some time, there was no controversy, only comic relief at Foxboro Stadium.’

‘Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the night Ty Law had ecstacy pills seized by US Customs in Niagara Falls, N.Y., following the Patriots’ 13-10 overtime victory in Buffalo. Law and receivers Terry Glenn and Troy Brown skipped the team flight, which was delayed by snow, and spent the rest of the night at a strip club in Canada.’

‘The Pats have come a long way, and Belichick deserves much of the credit for getting them there. A key part of his style has been the use of motivational tools.’

‘One of the other big reasons why the Pats are appreciably better than a year ago is they are tougher. A case can be made that virtually everyone Bill Belichick brought in has contributed to a degree of intensity that simply wasn’t there last year.’

‘The Bills face all three contenders for the division title, starting Sunday against the New England Patriots, who are 11/2 games behind the division-leading Miami Dolphins.’

‘”It’ll be kind of strange coming back in a different uniform, but at the same time, I look forward to the challenge,” Smith said. “I always knew I could do it. It was just a matter of getting with a team that has faith in me.”‘

‘The bottom line in all of this? Sports fans in the region are getting royally screwed by owners who raise ticket prices, but fail to put winners on the ice and on the field. It’s time for Ralph Wilson (the Bills) and John Rigas (the Sabres) to put their mouths where their money is. Fans deserve more than the smell of victory, they need to see it.’

‘Things couldn’t have changed much more over the past year for the Buffalo Bills or the New England Patriots. Almost a year to the day after their last visit to Orchard Park, the Patriots come into Sunday’s renewal of a rivalry that dates to 1960 as one of the National Football League’s hottest teams. The Bills, meanwhile, are just trying to salvage something, anything from one of the worst seasons in franchise history (and if you count last week’s crawl-back against equally pitiful Carolina as ‘something,’ may you find a “Best of Joe Dufek” videotape under your tree). Last year, Buffalo hosted New England just one week removed from playoff contention, while the Patriots were hoping to tack their fifth win on to a season nearly as dreadful as this one has turned out for the Bills. That game turned into the Snow Globe Bowl, a 13-10 New England win in overtime played under conditions better suited for an Antarctic expedition. Coming into this year, few predicted the speed and angle of Buffalo’s demise. Even fewer expected New England to compete for anything higher than fourth place in the AFC East. And that was before Drew Bledsoe got hurt.’