Two Bills Drive

Q: Are you still shooting for the playoffs or are you just going to be satisfied with developing new young players? What I’m asking is: What are the major goals left for the season?

A: I have been a part of a season before where we started 1-4 and then won 11 and finished the season 12-4 with the top seed in the playoffs. Each week we believe that we are working toward the playoffs and until we are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, that’s our goal."

‘Johnson left New York’s 42-36 win in the first quarter with a pinched nerve in his neck after Lewis delivered an elbow to his head. Lewis was diving over Johnson after the quarterback had been tackled on a run. He wasn’t penalized on the play.’

‘Lewis hit a sliding Johnson at the end of a short gain, causing the quarterback to suffer a pinched nerve in his neck.’

This past weekend I asked Rob Johnson how his new offense was playing. After several minutes of listening to Johnson tell me about the history of the offense, I realized that Johnson still hadn’t addressed my answer. He wasn’t avoiding my question . . . just trying to figure out how to explain the current situation. The Bills performance on Sunday proved out what I detected.

‘Since entering the NFL in 1995, the Jaguars have only lost 2 of 6 games following the bye, and like the Bills, Jacksonville will be looking to end a losing streak Thursday night. After starting out the season 2-0, the Jaguars have lost two in a row.’

The Buffalo Bills, Upstate New York Transplant Services (UNYTS) and the National Kidney Foundation of Western New York teamed up to promote the "Youth for Life- Remembering Walter Payton" program Tuesday when they visited Clarence High School in Amherst and the Harley School in Rochester.

Rush for Reading, in conjunction with the Buffalo Bills, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and just buffalo literacy center, runs throughout the month of October and is designed to encourage the development of reading and increase literacy of students grades 3 through 6.

New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis was fined $12,500 for hitting Buffalo QB Rob Johnson last Sunday as Johnson slid to the ground.

NFL spokesman Dan Masonson said Lewis hit Johnson in the head with his forearm after Johnson was down. The quarterback missed the rest of the game, a 42-36 Jets victory.

Gregg Williams of Buffalo has been forced to constantly shuffle his defensive lineup and is dealing with 12 injuries.

A few of them — Schottenheimer, Vermeil and Williams certainly — were faced with immense salary cap problems. Buffalo, for instance, was left in such poor shape by former general manager John Butler that the Bills probably can’t afford a major free agent acquisition until 2003.

Henry Bullough, former head coach of Buffalo Bills, whose earned the nickname ‘Doctor of Defense’ will be honored by MSU with a ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’ during 2001 ‘Spartan Pride Worldwide’ Homecoming.

‘WHAM, however, has accused the Bills of essentially blocking a possible deal because Russ Brandon, the team’s vice president of business development and marketing, refused a request from station manager Jeff Howlett to speak to the Chargers on his behalf.’

‘[WROC-TV (Channel 8) sports director John] Kucko is now steadily deluged with correspondence from viewers demanding that his station carry the Chargers games over the national game assigned them by the network — or that he even pre-empt the Bills game in favor of San Diego’s. Kucko said the vast majority of the hundreds of fans who have contacted him are female.’

The most surprising boost came from Alex Van Pelt in Buffalo. After Johnson got hurt, Van Pelt came in and threw three touchdown passes. Even though the Bills lost to the Jets, they managed to score 36 points, which was more than any winning team scored in any other game this week. One Bills player told me, "Right now, we just need Alex out there. It’s nothing I can put my finger on but it’s something."

This is the sadness part of the program. I don’t want to give away the ending, but you will not find a victory from here on in (Cowboys, Washington and Detroit rated lower).