Two Bills Drive

‘He holds the ball too long. He doesn’t make quick reads. He loses. And he keeps getting hurt. That’s the unpardonable sin, his inability to remain healthy. Avoiding injury is a skill, and he doesn’t have it. The surprise isn’t that Johnson suffered a major injury, it’s that it didn’t happen sooner.’

‘Nov. 11, 2001: Broken collarbone (at New England)’

‘The Bills face nearly impossible odds of selling out Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. The team still has about 15,000 tickets remaining. Former quarterback Jim Kelly will be enshrined on the Bills’ Wall of Fame during a halftime ceremony.’

Former Bills coach Ted Tollner, whose teams have won just five games in the last two seasons, was fired as the coach at San Diego State on Monday.

‘Bills coach Gregg Williams revealed yesterday afternoon that Johnson’s injury is not as serious as was first speculated, and there is a chance he can return to action in three to five weeks.’

‘"I didn’t get a chance to talk to him before he left (following the 21-11 road loss to the New England Patriots), but I’m sure he is devastated by the fact he’s been injured again. I’m sure the critics are going to say, ‘See, I told you so.’ But once he recovers from this — and I’m told by our doctors he will recover completely — Rob will be our quarterback. We’ll be supporting him."’

‘Determining whether to extend Johnson’s contract or cut him now becomes more complicated, team president Tom Donahoe said on Monday. "Obviously it makes your decision different because we would like to have him out there especially now that we have some offensive linemen that we think can play and play effectively," Donahoe said. "We’re at the halfway point of the season, and to say that somebody is or isn’t coming back, I’m not prepared to do that right now."’

‘Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Buffalo Bills…it did.’

‘Not only is Williams a rookie coach, but also six members of his staff are in their first season in the National Football League, four of them on offense. And it’s beginning to show.’

‘A bizarre scene occurred in the second half when, while pass blocking, Bills’ rookie offensive tackle Jonas Jennings got his facemask caught in that of Pats’ defensive end Anthony Pleasant. An official had to separate them.’

‘Tom Brady created a negative hubbub when he got picked off four times in the fourth quarter of the Denver game. But yesterday’s effort against the Bills made the Denver edition look like Johnny Unitas.’

‘Look, these Bills stink. They’re either too young, too old or list hospital bed as place of residence. They’re also unlucky and a bit stupid. Yesterday they had nine penalties, none more egregious than when they had third down on the Patriots’ 1-yard line, trailing just 7-0. A false start cost the Bills 5 yards, they took the obligatory three points but never recovered until Van Pelt gave them a (too) late quick fix. This was the first time Johnson had played at Foxboro Stadium. But it had a familiar look of other stadiums on other Sundays for the ill-starred QB. Another loss, another injury. Pretty much business as usual.’

‘But basically it was three hours of heavy, well-paid guys in tight pants running into each other very fast while guys in striped shirts threw yellow hankies at them and the wind blew hard. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. For season ticket holders, this was the perfect occasion to give your seats to that nuisance neighbor down the street.’

‘The Pats, after all, missed two field goals, committed seven penalties (five of which handed the Bills first downs), turned the ball over three times and allowed seven sacks. Yep. Just the way they drew it up in practice last week.’

‘"They had nothing to lose at 1-6, so they threw the kitchen sink at us," said Patriots veteran inside linebacker Ted Johnson. "It was fun because we made the big plays in the game when we had to."’