Two Bills Drive

‘Now comes the Bills, who on the surface look as dangerous as a domestic cat. But considering all that’s riding on this game, their claws will be sharpened.’

‘The blueprint for defending the 4-2 Chargers is no secret: Keep rookie back LaDainian Tomlinson in check; keep Flutie in the pocket by having the defensive ends stay in their rush lanes; make Flutie try to beat the defense with throws to the sideline and deep down the field.’

‘The list is scribbled toward the back of the notebook he uses for scouting opposing players. The rookie cornerback opens it daily, making sure he’s keeping an eye on receivers around the league while keeping tabs on himself. It reads: 1. Improve every day…2. Be the best defensive back in the league…3. Lead the league in interceptions…4. Defensive rookie of the year…5. Pro Bowl..6. Best kickoff and punt returner…7. The word "can’t" is not an option for me.’

‘They are two guys with strong ties to Buffalo. But any feelings Vaughan Parker and Ed Ellis have for the Queen City will be put aside today. Parker and Ellis are offensive linemen for the San Diego Chargers, who host the Buffalo Bills in Qualcomm Stadium. "I grew up in Buffalo, so I was a big Bills fan," Parker said. "I still want them to do well…when we’re not playing them."’

‘But Wilson and Butler won’t be able to carry their bitterness onto the field. The players will, though.’

‘A whole lot of talking has been going on in the past week, though. Chargers linebacker Sam Rogers, yet another transplanted Bill, said today’s game will be "very, very personal." He said they want to beat Buffalo for Butler in the same way they wanted to beat Washington for Norv Turner, their offensive coordinator.’

‘Doug did a con job with the media this week, lavishing praise on Buffalo’s cornerbacks, Antoine Winfield and rookie Nate Clements. Yes, they’re good, but Flutie’s wide receivers, Jeff Graham and Curtis Conway, are big and have long experience.’

‘Even so, the Chargers don’t believe they will fall today. Rogers said publicly during the week that the Chargers should win by 10 points, which surely made the worrisome Butler cringe. He is an old-school guy who doesn’t like providing bulletin board material to opponents, which is why he has told writers he plans to remain silent until after the game.’

‘The reality of it is, the controversy isn’t going to go away. Either Doug Flutie or Rob Johnson could put up huge numbers this afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium and the question of which of them should be the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback would still rage on. And remain ugly.’

‘This has a chance to sound really silly again about 7 tonight, but why would the Buffalo Bills have done things any differently? When it came to making a choice between Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson, a 39-year-old against a 28-year-old for a rebuilding team, what choice was there?’

‘”You never really got the feeling that they were going to hit each other, nothing like that,” said Holecek, who like Flutie is now a member of the San Diego Chargers. “But you had to think maybe they wanted to.”‘

‘Expect the Bills to stack the line of scrimmage and try to stuff the TCU grad much like the Denver Broncos did last week when Tomlinson mustered just 58 yards on the ground.’

‘"If people don’t think after this chronology that Butler didn’t have any intention of extending his deal with the Bills," Wilson said, "then they think people don’t drink beer in Munich."’

‘Did the Bills make the right choice? Long-term, yes. Short-term, no.’

‘After listening to this all week, I began to wonder whether anyone in Buffalo or San Diego besides Marcellus Wiley was ever told the story of Pinocchio, because if it still applies, there’s no facemask thick enough to keep the noses of most of the people involved in this game from poking each other in the eye.’