Two Bills Drive

‘The Buffalo Bills expected their joint practices with the Cleveland Browns to be spirited, but they didn’t anticipate paying such a high physical price.’

‘"There’s a lot of competition at the position, but he’s the type of person that will fight for the job," running backs coach Steve Fairchild said. "He’s the nicest guy to be around, and the perfect kind of guy you want to coach. His mind is in the right place."’

‘Empire plans to rebroadcast the Kelly special and the scrimmage starting at 7:30 tonight. Channel 4 plans a half-hour special on the induction and Kelly’s career at 7 tonight.’

‘Buffalo safety Coy Wire. I like the name, but I also like his style. He’s physical and fearless like Robert Griffith. He’s been knocking heads all day.’

‘Buffalo’s Ruben Brown, Erik Flowers, Tyrone Robertson and Brandon Spoon found that out in the morning when all four suffered various injuries, with Spoon’s probable season-ending biceps tendon rupture by far the most serious.’

‘Squared off against some of the NFL’s better defenders, Williams sure didn’t look like a rookie, more like a seasoned traffic cop against the likes of linemen Kenard Lang and Gerard Warren, the Browns’ No. 1 pick a year ago, and Pro Bowl linebacker Jamir Miller, who had 114 tackles and 13 sacks last fall.’

‘Empire will broadcast the scrimmage live.’

‘He extended his right arm to make a hit when injured and will have surgery on Monday. Spoon suffered a similar injury to his left arm in college, costing him an entire year.’

‘"I’ve been a Browns fan ever since growing up in East Cleveland. Browns fans are glad to show Bills fans what REAL fans are all about. We’re confident in our quarterback, but we’re really looking for a running game. I’ll tell you one thing, the Browns will be better than the Bills, and it won’t even be close!"’

‘Earlier in the day, Bills coach Gregg Williams paid the Browns a compliment when he said: “They’re extremely physical. Butch and I both want to establish a physical presence, and he’s done a good job of that.”‘

‘Shea said Fletcher is a “dirty player” based on their altercation in the morning session. “I was just blocking the heck out of him and he wanted to be Mr. Tough Guy and try and rip my helmet off, but that’s a 15-yard penalty for my offense,” said Shea. “I’ve got something for him [today].” And that would be? “I’m just kidding,” Shea said. “But he is dirty, like a Bill Romanowski.”‘

”’But I’m happy I’m here. Things happen for a reason. This is a great organization and they’re aggressive in the way they play defense. This is the best place for me. It suits my style. Don’t be surprised if we’re out there playing in late January.”‘

‘Friday morning, Kelly took the time to talk to 200 high school and youth football coaches brought to town from across the nation for a three-day youth football summit. Kelly gave a heart-felt talk at Kent State University Stark Campus about his high school football experiences in rural Pennsylvania. It was his small way of thanking all high school football coaches for the important job they do of teaching America’s young athletes.’

‘By now, has anybody played the “diminished skills” card on him? “Not to my face,” Bledsoe laughed.’

‘”The day I signed with Buffalo,” Fletcher said after a Friday morning practice against the Browns, “Cleveland initiated a call, trying to get me to visit.”‘