Two Bills Drive

The Buffalo Bills head to a prime time showdown on the West Coast for a Sunday night game with the San Francisco 49ers at 3Com Park, with the Bills having a good experience the last time they were featured on ESPN.

Buffalo’s passing attack has been performing well in two games since Rob Johnson left the Nov. 11th game against New England with a broken collarbone, as Van Pelt has thrown for 625 yards and 5 touchdowns, and also sports a 106.5 rating as the team’s starter.

Despite the downpour of rain Mother Nature had in store for Western New York, the celebration continued as the Buffalo Bills and Waters of New York announced their contribution to the American Red Cross. A new, 15-passenger van to be used for a recently developed program called the LIFE project was unveiled Tuesday afternoon during a press-conference at the Concerned Ecumenical Ministry on Lafayette Avenue in Buffalo.

Former Buffalo Bills special teams coach Ronnie Jones has been hired as head coach at West Texas A&M University. Jones replaces Stan McGarvey at the Division II school. The Buffaloes went 2-9 this year, and McGarvey was reassigned.

Despite his Thursday assessment on a local radio station that his season is over, Buffalo Bills physicians still want to re-examine the fractured collarbone of Johnson, and then will make a determination on his availability for the balance of this year.

GM Donahoe acknowledged it is possible Johnson will not play again in 2001, but told ESPN.com on Thursday night that such a determination is premature. He suggested that Johnson, who said the injury is healing slowly, might have spoken in part out of frustration.

‘Sutherland’s gaffe, taking a couple of steps after hesitatingly calling for a fair catch, cost the 49ers a penalty. He more than made up for that last Sunday in Indianapolis, when his 134 yards on four kickoff returns (plus 14 more on a punt return) gave the team advantageous field position in its 40-21 victory over the Colts.’

‘A metal plate above the locker of each 49er mentions the NFL honors they have garnered. Jeff Garcia’s has inscriptions for his Pro Bowl selection and for being named the league’s Most Improved Player last year.’

‘"The most wonderful years of my life were in Buffalo," he [Bruce DeHaven] said. "I had two of the greatest special-teams players in the history if the league in Steve Tasker and Mark Pike. We went to four Super Bowls and won 100 games in the ’90s. . . . I have no complaints at all."’

‘Flowers claims he is too light to effectively play defensive end in the NFL, and until he can gain weight and keep it on, his struggles figure to continue.’

‘Johnson played eight games, completing 62 percent of his throws. He said he’d like to return to the Bills next year but nothing has been determined. His cap number for 2002 is $11.25 million.’

‘"If the Bills want me back, I’d love to be here, but who knows what they’ll want?" Johnson said. "I have a lot of free time, and I think about it all the time. And you never know what’s going to happen."’

Mike Shepherd is probably going to be replaced as Buffalo’s OC after this year. It will be interesting to see if GM Tom Donahoe, who in the past has been a Kevin Gilbride fan, brings Gilbride in as the OC there.

‘Lately, the Bills have done very well on Sunday nights, going 10-4 on the late Sunday games since the series started in 1990 on TNT, and winning their last four, with their last loss coming five years ago. Buffalo has also managed that solid record despite the fact that only five of those games were played in Orchard Park, with the Bills holding a respectable 5-4 mark on Sunday night road games.’

WR Eric Moulds is coming off his best game of the season and one of his finest as a pro. Against Miami’s third-ranked pass defense, Moulds caught six passes for a career-high tying 196 yards and two TDs. The scores came on an 80-yard catch and run in the first quarter and a one-handed grab for a 54-yard TD in the third. The 196 receiving yards represent the NFL’s highest single-game total (regulation) this season and tie for fifth most in team history. The last Bill with more was James Lofton’s 220 on 10/21/91 vs. Cincy. The two TDs moved him into sole possession of fifth place on the team’s receiving TD list with 27 (Pete Metzelaars, 25).

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Flowers just doesn’t seem to possess the drive that an Aaron Schobel or a Bryce Fisher has. When asked about Flowers lack of attitude Williams tried to defend his player, “You can be one way off the field and be one way on the field. Being physical, that’s part of being a great defensive lineman and a great, dominant defensive line in general as a whole. He’s played physical.”