Two Bills Drive

‘Steve Tasker received some long-distance words of appreciation at the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Wednesday in HSBC Arena. The former Buffalo Bills’ special teams standout was one of 11 inducted into the hall. Former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly introduced Tasker. Ex-teammates unable to make the festivities, including punter John Kidd and quarterback Frank Reich, sent their regards through the mail. Kidd didn’t get points for brevity, sending Tasker a four-page letter.’

"You could just see the emotions and the credibility of the Buffalo Bills come together at that point," says Jack Kemp, who quarterbacked the Bills to back-to-back AFL titles in 1964 and 1965 over the talented Chargers of coach Sid Gillman. "That hit and that win put Buffalo on the major league sports map."

"Rob did a great job of protecting himself. He did a phenomenal job of buying time with his feet, and that’s one of the positives in that ballgame, he has been buying himself time. Times when the protection has broken down, he’s found a way to still make a play. That’s good for our offense, and we need to continue doing that. Those are the most difficult quarterbacks to manage in a ballgame, the ones who can buy themselves time and turn a bad play into a good play, and he’s done that several times. Last week, he did it a lot."

"I don’t see most other quarterbacks in the league. I saw Mark [Brunell] last week because we’re pretty good friends, but that’s the only quarterback in five games that I’ve gone out and talked to."

‘"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."’