Two Bills Drive

‘Prediction: Dolphins 27, Bills 12.’

‘The porcelain cold nature of the NFL — just call it the Nominal Forbearance League — has been on inglorious display in the Dolphins’ handling of Gardener’s scary situation. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s how it works in the primeval forest that is professional football.’

‘”No more than us,” Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We’re desperate for a win. That’s how we’ll approach it. It’s going to be a heck of a ballgame. It’s Bills-Dolphins, 75,000 fans. They’re talking this is their season. This is the biggest game on their schedule.”‘

‘"Without question this is the biggest game for us," safety Keion Carpenter said, noting that the Bills get a similar reception whenever they play at Miami. "I’ve had some fans tells me they could care less about the other 14 games on the schedule. Any time we line up against those cats, it’s basically like our playoff or championship for us."’

‘"The turnover thing is what’s killing us this year," Wannstedt said in a conference call to Buffalo this week.’

‘Still, my feeling is that eventually Gregg Williams will be a quality NFL head coach … in large part because of this season.’

‘"I don’t think there should be any coaches in the booth," Lofton says. "Get down on the sideline and see the game. Then get rid of all the Polaroid film of every play that players study. And why should a quarterback have a radio in his helmet? He’s a pro. That’s just ludicrous. What they’ve done is overcomplicate the game."’

‘Fiedler has 18 turnovers, including 15 interceptions, but he has led the Dolphins to three fourth-quarter comebacks and, when he hasn’t played giveaway, he has played well.’

‘If Gardener has disks in his back fused, his career likely would be over, two sources said earlier this week.’

‘"They’ve been in a lot of close games and just happened to lose them the same way Carolina has been doing this year. They’re not as bad as their record shows. They’ve got a lot of talent."

‘Dolphins defensive tackle Daryl Gardener will undergo back surgery today, ending his 2001 season.’

‘They’re all gone – released, retired, cast about by the winds of free agency. All but Hansen, who is struggling to retain his starting defensive end job at age 33, and tackle John Fina, who came to the Bills in Hansen’s second season. And how much longer are they going to last on a 1-8 club that is rebuilding at every position?’

‘Weather could play a role in Sunday’s game, but not for the reasons one would expect in late November in Buffalo. Rain is forecast with a high temperature of 59 degrees.’

‘Gardener’s absence will make things tougher for Dolphins middle linebacker Zach Thomas, who relies on Gardener and Tim Bowens to keep blockers off him.’

‘Last time the Miami Dolphins came to Orchard Park, it marked the end of the Buffalo Bills as we knew them. At 7-5, the Bills were coming off their body-bag game in Tampa, when Sam Cowart, Sam Rogers and Keion Carpenter were lost for the season — all in the second quarter. But even Buffalo’s second-half collapse against the Bucs didn’t portend what happened back in Western New York a week later. After all, Miami simply didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t win at Ralph Wilson Stadium in December. And even without more than a third of the starting defense (Antoine Winfield had gone down a week before the Tampa trio), the defense would just plug in four new guys. The offense, having been carried for the better part of the previous two years, would finally do some heavy lifting. That’s the way things had gone in this rivalry for nearly 15 years — the Dolphins might steal an early-season game here and there, but the Bills always won when it counted most. Especially at home.’