Two Bills Drive

‘The Bills have not mounted a consistent pass rush this year, registering just 10 sacks. They likely will make Rhodes prove he’s up to the task of keeping the blitz away from Manning. "It’s no secret that’s something a defense will try to test," Manning said. "But we feel good about (Rhodes)."’

‘”You can see they’re more confident because of their experience,” Manning said as the Colts (3-3) prepared to play the Bills (1-5) Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. The more games you play, the more everybody’s on the same page and the fewer busted assignments you’re going to have. You figure if you’re going to score points, you’ve got to be really good at what you’re doing. You’re not going to be able to get them out of position. “In the second game, a few times we might have caught them out of position, due to their lack of experience in that scheme.”‘

‘If he continues the kind of quarterback play he’s given Buffalo in those two games, the Pats might not have the pushover game they’re expecting when the Bills come to town next week.’

‘Starting tackles John Fina and Jonas Jennings missed their third straight practice Friday with leg and foot injuries, respectively. They haven’t been completely ruled out for Sunday, but the best-case scenario would have them serve as emergency backups.’

‘After their rout of the Bills, the Colts lost their next three games — two to New England by a cumulative score of 82-30.’

‘He practiced for the first time Friday but remains questionable for Sunday’s visit to AFC East rival Buffalo. James’ availability for the game might not be determined until he tests the knee that morning.’

‘The Buffalo Bills are honoring Kent Hull and Steve Tasker on Sunday, an added attraction to the Indianapolis Colts’ final annual visit to Ralph Wilson Stadium. Too bad the Bills can’t get Hull and Tasker to suit up. Their respective areas of specialty, the offensive line and special teams, stand as Buffalo’s primary areas of concern as the season approaches the midway point. While Rob Johnson has been able to improve over the last two weeks and stay more or less in one piece, the Bills’ inability to run consistently makes the quarterback their sole offensive threat.’

The last item is Pete Prisco’s evaluation of our 2001 Draft Class. Did he steal this from John in Hemet? Sounds like something John already wrote on the Stadium Wall message board…..

"We had no timeouts left, we were in kind of a disarray with the injury [to Jay Riemersma] happening right there at the end of the ballgame. Our guys were fatigued, and also we had one opportunity in the Jaguar game where we got sacked out of field goal range. It was a collective agreement, with Rob and everyone, that we should go for the field goal right there."

"Where the Colts are right now, I think they’ve had the timing of their offense has been off, and they’ve been off because they haven’t his full corps of wide receivers," Guy said. "They’ve gone down to their fifth wide receiver at times. Trevor Insley is playing, who hasn’t played before, and Reggie Wayne, who was their top draft choice, is playing now after being injured much of the season, so their timing’s been off. Now, this week, there’s question about whether James will play or not.

Running back Edgerrin James did not practice with his team on Wednesday or Thursday, as he is still nursing a sprained left knee that he suffered in Indianapolis’ 35-28 win over Kansas City a week ago Thursday and is questionable for Sunday’s game. James, who rushed 12 times for 111 yards against Buffalo in Week 2, and has 662 yards total in six games so far in 2001, may find himself on the sideline, or at the very least have a limited role use for Indianapolis.

3. Former Bills/Chargers punter/linebacker Paul Maguire, ESPN

(Sunday Night Football with Mike Patrick)

Indianapolis (minus 4) at Buffalo

Rob Johnson is relatively healthy – he’s only suffering from foot, ankle, elbow and shoulder injuries. Clearly this is an upset in the making.

BILLS, 27-24 (ATS: BILLS)

The Buffalo Bills may be counting on Mother Nature to slow down the Indianapolis Colts when the AFC rivals meet at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday.

Buffalo is traditionally one of the NFL’s tougher places to play as the season progresses due to the weather. The Bills should hope for some unfavorable conditions Sunday because they have unable to slow down the Colts recently.

Q: I saw the list of nominees for the Hall of Fame and I was shocked that former Bills center Kent Hull was not on the list. He was the keystone to great Bills teams of the early ’90s and was just as influential to their offensive success. Does anyone honestly think Jim Kelly and Thomas would have been as successful if it weren’t for Hull anchoring the line? — Christina Barrett, Concord, N.H.

MORT — Christina, this is a really good observation. I believe Hull is worthy of HoF consideration. However, those interior lineman usually don’t get nominated until a little later. That doesn’t make it right, just the way it is. Or this could be a classic oversight that needs correction by next year.