Two Bills Drive

‘Doug Flutie remembers the snickers around the league when he first became a Buffalo Bill in 1998 — that at age 35 he was too old. Now he sees becoming a 40-something quarterback in the NFL as a badge of honour that may be his lasting legacy.’

‘Williams said his headset system connects him to all his offensive assistants and his defensive assistants with the flip of a switch. He has a direct line to offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard, who will work from the press box and relay play calls through quarterbacks coach Steve Kragthorpe, and defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who will be on the sideline.’

‘Head Coach Gregg Williams thinks any one of the three leading candidates at running back — Sammy Morris, Shawn Bryson and Travis Henry — is capable of starting at the position. What Williams doesn’t know is which one it’s going to be when the Buffalo Bills open the regular season Sept. 9 against the New Orleans Saints.’

‘"It’s not just three of us out there doing the work," says Williams, who turns 29 on Oct. 24. "Now, it will be me and Phil (Hansen) and Shawn Price and Erik Flowers and some of the other young guys. I don’t see the pressure being on just me. It’s on the entire line because we are trying to replace not just Ted but also Marcellus Wiley."’

‘"It’s hard to find a flaw in the organization," he said. "They have a lot of good teachers, they’re getting things installed and they’ve got a really good, solid plan that the players seem to believe in. They’re doing it the right way."’

"I think this will be a good test for [us], going into the first pre-season game," coach Gregg Williams said at his press conference today. "[The Titans] played St. Louis in the second pre-season game when I was at Tennessee last year, and also we had the opportunity to practice against them in the first week of training camp, just like we did with Cleveland this past week.

"For the fans, the pre-season’s tough to judge. It’s hard to determine exactly where your team is, but we feel our fans will see regardless of who’s on the field, a well-prepared team that will play hard and with a lot of enthusiasm. I think those are the things the fans can look for as the pre-season begins to unfold."

‘"If you know Billy, when you’re in meetings with him every day for the past four years, you know that the only thing that he’s lacking is experience," veteran tackle John Fina said Friday during training camp at St. John Fisher College outside of Rochester, N.Y. "As far as the calls being made, Billy can make them in his sleep."’

‘The last time the Bills played a game in Orchard Park, it was one of the worst weather conditions ever seen for a Bills game, with snow, wind and ice making for a blustery afternoon in Buffalo’s home finale against New England.’

‘FULL SQUAD SIGNING ON FRIDAY: While there are no more Monday night

practices, the Bills would like to alert fans that there will be a total of six practice sessions between now and the end of camp when the entire team will sign autographs following the session.’

‘Bills quarterback Rob Johnson answered questions e-mailed from buffalobills.com users. Thanks to Rob for taking time out to answer the questions, as well as the fans for sending them in!’

‘"Sam had his back tighten up a little bit and he got hot," coach Gregg Williams said after the morning session at St. John Fisher College. "So for a precaution we said back off a little bit. He’ll be fine."’

‘Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe was the Steelers’ director of football operations while Brown was in Pittsburgh. He drafted Brown in the fifth round in 1995 out of Indiana University. During his first season, Brown played for Pittsburgh and the Arizona Cardinals, then returned to the Steelers for two seasons before being released. Brown signed with Buffalo last March.’

‘”Everyone’s helping each other out,” Sheldon Jackson said. “There is no one person bad-mouthing the others. Everyone’s helping each other because they do realize that there’s room for the guys that are here. And we have to pull for each other to be successful in the position.”‘

‘With the jettisoning of Wade Phillips and the entire offensive coaching staff, the straitjacket that Price played with all last year has been removed and the former Tennessee standout and Sports Illustrated cover boy expects to enjoy a breakout season in 2001.’