Two Bills Drive

‘"I’m off to a new beginning here in San Diego and it’s been a great situation here." It was uncertain what Flutie meant by "great." Great in that the Chargers are off to a 4-2 start and are in second place in the AFC West. Great in that he is the undisputed No. 1 quarterback of a NFL team for the first time in his career. Or great in that he no longer has to spar with his favorite foil, Rob Johnson.

In order, the answers are probably yes, yes and yes.’

‘Ostroski said yesterday X-rays of his leg show the fracture has healed, so he has begun conditioning and thinks he can return within 2-3 weeks. There is an outside chance he could play Nov. 4 against Indianapolis.’

‘The former Argo talks respectfully of his former teammates and fans in Buffalo. But when the subject of Bills owner Ralph Wilson comes up, it’s harder to hold his tongue. "Why he doesn’t believe in my abilities, I don’t know," said Flutie, who was the odd man out when new Bills management had to decide between him and Johnson last winter. "All we ever did was win games and put people in the seats for him. But whatever."’

‘Stories of an athlete taking "revenge" against a team that dumped him occupy the top two shelves in any decent sports library, but Flutie wishes to add nothing to the literature. "That’s history," he said of his conflicts, real and imagined, with Johnson and with Bills management that ultimately decided on the younger and, especially, taller, man. "That was last year. This is all a new beginning for me."’

‘In truth, Buffalo remains close to their hearts. Butler’s voice grows soft when he tells how the community reached out after his wife was involved in a serious car accident 2 years ago. A.J. Smith, the Chargers assistant GM/director of pro personnel who has worked with Butler since both began their NFL careers in 1985, has not yet moved his family from Buffalo.’

The Chargers, who were first called Los Angeles home before relocating to San Diego, and the Buffalo Bills dominated the American Football League through much of its existence. From 1960 through 1966, the Chargers made five trips to the title game while the Bills made three consecutive journeys to the championship bout. Here’s alook at those memorable championships with expanded box scores for their championship victories.

‘"He’s not a nice person to be a teammate with," Johnson said. "He has views on football that are entirely different than mine. He thinks a lot about himself, where that’s not the way I was raised to play football. It got bad there for a while." So are you friends? "No," Johnson said. "Not even close."’

‘Quarterback Rob Johnson has yet to win over his many detractors in Buffalo. He’s at least beginning to earn the confidence of his Bills teammates.’

‘As soap operas go, it could have been called "All My Quarterbacks."’

‘San Diego Chargers backup linebacker Sam Rogers dislocated his right thumb during practice Wednesday but should be OK for Sunday’s game against Buffalo.’

‘"I enjoyed all my time in Buffalo," he says. "When I went up there as a rookie, being from the South, I didn’t know what to expect. I found out they were the nicest folks and gave us the best support that any team could ask for and they have proven that every year."’

In terms of attention, FB Larry Centers didn’t live up to his surname in his first regular-season month with the Buffalo Bills. Other storylines — the development of new HC Williams, the indoctrination of QB Rob Johnson into the West Coast offense, the ceaseless injuries that turned the locker room into a hospital ward — received air time as the team stumbled to an 0-4 start.

‘"It’s crazy to me that everyone keeps win-loss records for quarterbacks," Johnson said. "That’s part of the business, but I’m not facing him and he’s not facing me. I know people are going to look at it that way, but I’m not treating it like that."’

"It's certainly not called Buffalo Bills West for nothing," tight end Jay Riemersma said. "They went out and got some veteran leadership and it's paying off. I guarantee one thing: John Holecek will be holding me. He's the only guy I know who'd pick a fight in a non-padded practice on a Friday. It's going to be interesting."