Two Bills Drive

‘New Buffalo Bills coach Gregg Williams officially added five more assistants to his staff yesterday, including two holdovers from the 2000 season — Chuck Lester and John Levra.’

‘I’m not ready to write off Johnson, but in fairness, he was a coach killer with his performance last season.’

‘Buffalo, which has two fortune 500 companies, use the power of the medium sized businesses to increase the market share and ticket sales. Now the Saints, which has only ONE fortune 500 companies is trying to do the same.’

‘Kaiser is the second former Cowboys’ coach to join Williams’ staff in Buffalo. Ronnie Vinklarek, OSU’s offensive line coach for two years, has also joined the Bills staff.’

‘Neal, 51, was the offensive assistant for Titans coach Jeff Fisher…Kaiser, 48, spent six seasons at Oklahoma State…Kragthorpe, 35, has been the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M for the past three seasons.’

‘The Bills today announced that the team has agreed to terms with three more assistant coaches – Tommy Kaiser (offensive assistant/special teams assistant), Steve Kragthorpe (quarterbacks) and Dan Neal (tight ends).’

‘"I expect criticism…it’s the personal stuff I don’t want. If you don’t like me because of the color of my hair or the color of my eyes, I can’t do anything about that, and that has no place in reporting. "But," he continued, "if you want to criticize our moves or our decisions, you have every right to do that…in fact, it’s your responsibility."’

‘Phillips was fired on January 8th, opening the door for the gifted Bryson to challenge the hulking Morris for the starter’s role in Gregg Williams’ new offense. Williams’ familiarity with Eddie George should insure that he knows the value of establishing a workhorse back.’

‘Gray has the same aggressive, attack style approach that Williams does disguising their defensive intentions with a host of different packages. But what he’s most interested in pulling off is the big play, "I know two years ago when we (Titans) went to the Super Bowl the defense really stepped up.’

In case you missed it live there are a couple videoclips, although they were taken from across the river. Plenty of photos….

The Buffalo Bills, who have a new general manager and a new coach, will probably have a new look as well in 2001 because of a $12.7 million cap overage. Certainly the club will not be able to afford both Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie at quarterback and likely will be forced to sacrifice at least two defensive starters.

"Let’s face it, we’re hostage to the cap right now," said new president and general manager Tom Donahoe. "It’s kind of like being in a cap jail. But you have to dig your way out and part of that is making tradeoffs. You have to ask yourself, ‘If I keep the guy at this position, where do I scrimp to make up for it? Is there somewhere I have a young player ready to step up, a spot where I can let a veteran go and play the cheaper guy?’ It’s all about tough decisions and having to handle as many as possible in the right way."

‘[Ralph Wilson:] "This is second guessing by me, but we probably had people we should’ve cut but instead we retained and gave bonuses to in order to extend their contracts and get us down (under the cap)."’

‘If the Bills go with Johnson, they’re putting their future in the hands of a guy who has been knocked out of eight of 19 Bills starts. If they go with Flutie, they’re putting their future in the hands of a guy who will be 39 in October.’

‘Unfortunately, the only QB most scouts consider a sure thing to enjoy a successful NFL career — Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick — will be chosen long before Buffalo’s No. 14 overall pick. The next-best QB in the ratings is Purdue’s Drew Brees, who is rated in the bottom half of the first round in most mock drafts.’

‘Washington has already indicated a desire to sign Flutie to compete with Jeff George when Brad Johnson leaves for free agency at the end of the month. Detroit and San Diego are also possible Flutie suitors. And so is Tampa Bay, despite its denials.’