Two Bills Drive

‘”Stunned,” said Jones, a 10-year veteran, after his release. “There’s no other word for it. I never saw it coming. There were no hints at all.”‘

‘Without Jones, the most experienced player in the backfield is third-year veteran Keion Carpenter. Backing up Jones on the current depth chart is Raion Hill, who appeared in 16 games last season, mostly on special teams.’

‘He’s too short. He’s not fast enough. He doesn’t make enough big plays. He can’t cover the top wide receivers. If those things are true, why is Irvin starting at right cornerback for the Buffalo Bills? Is it out of the goodness of the Bills’ heart that he’s been a starter for three of his first six seasons in the NFL? Or is it that maybe, just maybe, Irvin is better than he’s been given credit for.’

‘Johnson needs to adopt some of that old Jim Kelly swagger, the attitude that says, "I’m the Man and I don’t care what anyone thinks." Could you imagine Kelly complaining that Sports Illustrated had photographed him in a hot tub and depicted him as a playboy? He’d have thrown a party at his house and handed out copies.’

‘In the last 12 games, starting with the Jets at The Ralph on Oct. 7, the Bills play just two 2000 playoff teams. Even with a horrible start could they make enough hay in the next three months to make a run at a wild-card spot? Or is 8-8 the best we can expect?’

‘The Bills have to cut their roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. today.

Here is the depth chart as of Saturday afternoon…’.

‘Arthur N. "Archie" Diemer, who was considered the Buffalo Bills’ first season-ticket holder, died Saturday (Sept. 1, 2001) in United Memorial Medical Center, Batavia, after a lengthy illness. He was 81.’

‘"I knew [the Bills] were going to cut somebody out of there," [A.J] Smith said. "We didn’t know which one, but we did suspect it, because of Doug’s age, and it’s well-documented that Ralph Wilson does not like Doug Flutie."’

‘Donahoe and Williams won’t admit it, but they are. This team will be hard-pressed — even if it stays healthy — to win seven or eight games, and that might be pushing it. The Bills need time to adapt to their new styles of offense and defense, their new players, and their new coaches. This will be a season of learning, and some of the lessons will be tough ones.’

‘And as he prepares for his fourth NFL season which begins next Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, he may be on the verge of greatness. He is only 26, and the switch to middle linebacker in coach Gregg Williams new attacking-style "46” defense is expected to take full advantage of Cowart’s extraordinary sideline-to-sideline agility and quickness.’

‘"If Rob can learn to get rid of the ball in this new West Coast offense, I think he’ll be a great quarterback," Wilson said. "I use the word ‘great’, too. I really believe that. He’s intelligent, he’s tough, he’s accurate, he can move around. Will he get hurt? Heck, they all get hurt. Hopefully he won’t. But he’s got as good an arm as I’ve ever seen. If they can coach him in this scheme, I think he can be outstanding."’

‘"It’s the learning curve of the offense," Johnson said. "It’s just a matter of doing it over and over. We’ve been working hard and I think we’ll be all right."’

‘Both WHAM and WCMF will have extensive Bills programming before and after games, as well as during the week, when each station (and their affiliated stations) will trot out a series of experts to talk about the team. “We’re putting more time and effort and energy into coverage of the Bills this year than we did when we had the play-by-play,” says Jeff Howlett, station manager at WHAM. Howlett adds that WHAM decided not to buy the play-by-play rights because of the high cost, a cost it did not want to pass along to its longtime advertisers. WHAM has been running ads that declare that its coverage is not “the company line,” suggesting that WCMF will cave into pressure from the Bills to be positive.’