Two Bills Drive

‘”He’s their best quarterback since Jim Kelly and he can do for them what Jim Kelly did for them,” Jets CB Ray Mickens said yesterday, referring to the four Super Bowls Kelly helped lead the Bills to in the ’90s. “He makes them formidable.”‘

‘”More than anything, I’m just excited to be back on the field,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been here a lot longer than I have. This is the time I’ve been waiting for. I want to prove I can still play at an extremely high level.”‘

‘Stevenson was Buffalo’s fourth and final seventh-round pick in last April’s draft. He was released on Tuesday after the Bills claimed four players off waivers.’

‘"This is the time I’ve been waiting for," Bledsoe said. "We finally get to play some games. Now we have a job in front of us."’

I'm looking forward to broadcasting the Jets-Bills game this weekend for a couple of reasons. I like the Bills' new uniforms, but there's more to it than that. This is Drew Bledsoe's first regular-season start in Buffalo for the Bills and it's going to be exciting. But Bledsoe is only half the story here: We're going to see two of the best throwers in the National Football League, without question.

The Buffalo Bills and Meadow Brook Dairy will kickoff the “School is Cool” Essay Contest this Thursday at 11:30 AM-12:30 PM at Ellicott Road Elementary School located at 5180 Ellicott Road in Orchard Park.

Bills All Access with Steve Tasker starts Saturday, September 7th at 11:00 AM on the Empire Sports Network. The Gregg Williams Show presented by Pontiac GMC airs Sunday mornings on WIVB-TV in Buffalo and Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM on WOKR-TV in Rochester.

"I expect us to be very good and I expect us to be extremely competitive. We are going to go out and do everything we can to win this game this weekend. I think that we have the ablility to do it."

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe will make his regular season debut with the Bills this Sunday and will do it against a familiar opponent. In his career, Bledsoe has faced the Jets 16 times (all starts). Against them, he is 295 of 548 passing for 3,437 yards with 16 TDs and 22 INTs. He also has 31 rushes for 95 yards and scored one of his two career rushing TDs against them.

OT John Fina plans to visit the Cardinals today and take a physical as the club tries to bolster its offensive-line depth. Fina, who played at Tucson Salpointe High and Arizona, is a 10-year veteran. He was chosen by Buffalo in the first round of the 1992 draft. Fina has also drawn interest from Washington but would prefer to sign with Arizona because he lives in Tucson, said his agent. Fina likely wouldn’t sign until next week. Veterans on the roster in the first week are guaranteed their season’s salaries should they be cut later. As a result, many veterans such as Fina often aren’t signed until Week 2.

‘"Sometimes, when you’re in the same place for a long time, it’s human nature: You get a little stale," Bills general manager Tom Donahoe said. "The opportunity here seems to have revitalized him, re-energized him."’

‘"I’m glad that I’m a part of this team, and I’m glad to have the trade stuff behind me," said Bryson, still listed as Travis Henry’s backup. "Now I can just focus on playing. It gets kind of tough when people keep bringing it up because you don’t ever know what’s going to happen."’

‘Wire was a steal as the 97th overall pick in the draft, but he’s a converted linebacker and still a bit shaky in pass coverage. But he sure can hit, and the Bills are willing to risk an occasional big pass play to fortify their questionable run defense.’

‘Path to the playoffs: Williams has a strong defensive background and he will need to use all of it to improve the Bills’ rushing defense enough to get them near .500. At least he’s got a terrific pair of young corners in Antoine Winfield and Nate Clements.’

‘”We hope that’s a routine thing,” Bills coach Gregg Williams said of Rogers’ touchdown against the Lions. “We’ve worked very hard on that phase of our game, on making returns a part of our offense.”‘