Two Bills Drive

‘Conaty, who lives in Ocean City in the offseason with wife Denise and 16-month-old son William III, said it was cool starting in the preseason opener last week against St. Louis. He is looking forward to playing against the Eagles, which he rooted for growing up in Pennsauken, but he is anxious for the regular-season opener.’

‘Tom Modrak, who was fired last May as the Eagles’ director of football operations, is the Bills’ new director of football operations. Two Bills assistant coaches, Danny Smith (special teams) and Dan Neal (tight ends), were assistants for the Eagles. Smith worked under Ray Rhodes and Neal worked under Buddy Ryan.’

‘The classy Modrak had nothing but good things to say about his three years in Philadelphia. He said he planned to say hello to Lurie on Saturday night when the Eagles and the Bills meet in a preseason game in Buffalo.’

‘"I guess I wasn’t ready last week. This week, I’m ready to go," said Morris, who had been bothered by a tight hamstring. "With the talent we have back there, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be moving the ball forward."’

‘Buffalo coach Gregg Williams said Friday he was resting Johnson only as a precautionary move after the quarterback sat out his third straight day of practice.’

"Sam Cowart has really helped me come along," Robinson said. "He leads by his work ethic and if I have any questions I can ask. All the linebackers help each other out and they have all helped me in some way adjust to things here."

‘Conaty is expected to be the starting center when the Bills open the regular season against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 9. He will be Buffalo’s third starter at the position in the five years since Kent Hull retired, bringing Conaty a long way from the 1997 practice squad, even longer from two broken ankles over his last two seasons at Virginia Tech, longer yet since he was a 140-pound high school freshman.’

‘Robert Hicks thought his career was about to blossom last season when he became a starting right tackle for the Buffalo Bills. But rather than improve each week, he became progressively worse. Thursday, he was released.’

‘"I’ve been with Gregg since my rookie year and there’s nothing more I want than to help him and this organization win a Super Bowl."’

‘But when the season ended, the fun-loving, quick-witted Cavil realized something. He was so busy having a good time, cracking jokes and reveling in his status as a NFL player, he didn’t really improve his game the way he would have liked.’

‘Hicks, who became a full-time starter in 1999 at right tackle in just his second season, played lethargically and lost his starting job last season.’

‘Outfitted with a brace on his left knee, rookie linebacker Brandon Spoon returned to the practice field yesterday. The hard-hitting fourth-round pick from North Carolina sprained his medial collateral ligament early in rookie camp three weeks ago.’

‘It’s this unthreatening nature, his close bond with Johnson and his knowledge of the Bills newly installed West Coast offense that makes Van Pelt a good fit as the team’s backup.’

‘"I don’t think it was a question of what we didn’t like, I think it was a question of what we liked about the young kids,” Bills president Tom Donahoe said during training camp at St. John Fisher College. “All we can evaluate is what we see, and we see some good things from our young people.’

"We made a roster move today, we released offensive tackle Robert Hicks, and you know it was not an easy decision. None of personnel decisions are, but we like a lot of our young tackles, and we feel that we have to get as much opportunity with them as we can these last three pre-season games, and get them as many reps in practice. That’s what we’ve decided to do, and move forward."