Two Bills Drive

‘This month’s draft is loaded with wide receiver and defensive tackle talent. Half the first round picks could come at those two positions. But other positions are so glaringly shallow, teams will be forced to reach earlier than the player grades warrant.’

‘The NFL Draft, now just over two weeks away, has risk written all over it. That’s nothing new. But there’s a different feel to this draft than with any other in recent history. Almost every team near the top would love to trade down in the first round, but no one can find a dance partner.’

‘There will be no more Washingtons of 2000. This year’s modest level of activity will be the norm. For the foreseeable future, the clubs will continue to hold the hammer, salary-cap money will be tight, and player signings will be limited outside of retaining one’s own free agents.’

’14. Buffalo | Steve Hutchinson, OL, Michigan: A dedicated, versatile warrior like Hutchinson who could figure at guard or RT brings a great deal of value at this point in the draft.’

‘Mel Kiper’s analysis of the offensive linemen available in the 2001 NFL draft.’

‘Bills TE Jay Riemersma sat down with buffalobills.com Tuesday to answer your questions sent via e-mail over the last couple of days.’

‘Dwight Adams holds twice-daily meetings with his staff of 10 scouts. During the summer they attend practices to watch players at each position practice. They’ll also watch video of practices to talk about the skills they’ll look for in each position. They debrief on what they saw and talk about what they’ll seek.’

‘An overview (courtesy of nfl.com) of the AFC East teams’ draft history since 1985.’

‘The strongest deciding factor was just Rob’s overall athletic ability. He has great physical skills to play the quarterback position. Now the other things, that’s why they hired us. Coaches have to teach players how to play. But coaches don’t affect what mom and dad gave in the gene pool.’

‘"I was involved in that and I agreed that Johnson should start," Wilson said…I saw every game and Flutie made some big plays but mostly, he struggled. The defense bailed him out a lot. That was the reason."’

‘"I’d rather beat the Chargers this year than win the Super Bowl," Wilson said during a wide-ranging interview. "Yes, I am looking forward to that game."’

‘It’s a touchdown for Perinton advertising agency Martino Flynn LLC.

The Buffalo Bills yesterday selected Martino Flynn to handle the team’s advertising. The agency will create and produce the Bills’ television, radio and print advertising as well as promotional brochures.’

The bickering Bills are cited as one example of how internecine feuding in team sports can lead to success anyways.

‘The cbs.sportsline power ranking has the Bills ranked 17th. Nice piece on Buffalo West, having the Chargers ranked 23rd. Potential sixth seed combatants? Perhaps the Bills/Chargers game will settle more than the QB controversy…’

‘Well it looks like another sportswriter has a dour feeling about the Bills. The author rates the Bills as having suffered the 4th worst performance of any team this offseason. He highlights the losses of Sam Rogers, Ted Washington, Joe Panos, and Chris Mohr as being crucial and damaging.’