Two Bills Drive

‘Guard Ruben Brown on the Bills’ woes: "It’s definitely been a tough road here, but you play the games and hope things get better."’

‘A Holmgren team running the football? That’s like Tom Osborne installing the run-and-shoot at Nebraska. Or Don Coryell turning to the wishbone.’

‘"I wouldn’t be truthful if I said the losses didn’t hurt," Sheppard said. "You question yourself all the time, wonder what you could have done differently. But I’ve always been one of those people who see the glass as half full. You’ve just got to realize that sometimes it takes a little longer."’

‘"There always have to be concerns about the long-term prognosis of the Bills being here," Erie County Executive Joel Giambra said. "(Bills owner) Ralph Wilson has said many, many times that his biggest concern here is the economy. And obviously the economy is not doing very well. So obviously, I’m sure he’s concerned. And I think that means that we all should be concerned about the future of the franchise."’

RUNNING BACKS: "Here’s a surprise. Buffalo’s Travis Henry in the Thursday night upset over Jacksonville. His numbers were minimal (27 for 63), but he struggled for a lot of first downs and kept many drives alive through sheer effort."

GUARDS: "Buffalo’s Ruben Brown against the Jets in October."

CENTERS: "Three performances jump out at me: Buffalo’s Billy Conaty and San Francisco’s Jeremy Newberry, both against the Jets, and Oakland’s Adam Treu in Philly."

Oakland signed offensive tackle Jerry Crafts, 33, to its 53-man roster. He spent time with the Raiders in training camp this year before getting released. He played for Buffalo from 1992-94 and Philadelphia in 1997 and ’98. He also played in CFL and Arena league Buffalo Destroyers. He started 13 of the 39 games in which he played. Raiders only have left guard and right tackle standing and healthy enough, among the five opening-game starters on the offensive line.

‘Lovat, now in his third season as the Seattle Seahawks’ line coach, had never witnessed a perfect single-game performance by a lineman before combing through videotape of Walter Jones’ effort Sunday night. Jones was more than merely effective during the Seahawks’ 319-yard rushing performance against Oakland. He was technically sound as well – not just on the whole, but on each of the Seahawks’ 66 offensive plays. "He was flawless," Lovat conceded Wednesday.’

The Seahawks run well and defend well against the run, but they’re so inconsistent that anything could happen in wintry Buffalo. Last year the Bills notched their biggest win in Seattle, 42-23.

‘"You get the feeling he’s in control when he’s in there," receiver Peerless Price said. "He knows the offense. He knows the timing everybody has."’

‘Van Pelt said the thing he remembers most about playing with Kelly in 1995 and ’96 was Kelly’s leadership. "The biggest thing is how he handled the team," Van Pelt said. "I remember sitting in meetings when he was running the K-gun no-huddle. . . . Most of the time (on other teams) we’d sit down and the coach would grab the clicker and you’d watch film as the coach talks about plays. But Jim would come in, flip the film in, grab the clicker and start running the meeting himself. He told everybody what to do, what he wanted on these routes, and the coaches would sit back and cross their arms and listen. That was a shock for me, never coming from that type of influence of a quarterback having on the offense."’

‘With injury striking the quarterback position and the league’s youngest roster continuing to adjust and search for confidence, the team will lean on the veterans left over from the playoff runs of the 1990s more than ever. On offense, no veteran will have more asked of him than wide receiver Eric Moulds, a signature player for the franchise ever since he stepped into the starting lineup on a full-time basis during the 1998 season.’

"That decision is a future decision, and the future is this week. We have to do what we need to do the next 8+ weeks. We have to make sure we move on each week and are able to win ballgames. Getting Alex ready to go, we have to get a few cramming things with him with some extra time. The team has a little pep in their step about that, and know that Alex will play the best that he can play. He’ll do some good things, he did some good things in the Jets game, and we’re excited about it."

Larry Centers was only player Clayton’s All-AFC team

Bills: As many as 5 rookies are being played on defense. The run defense is porous. QB Johnson finally couldn’t avoid the sack that fractured his clavicle and sidelined him until December. Still, Williams is getting good effort out of the players. They are playing hard, particularly on defense. Maybe having Alex Van Pelt at QB will manage a more steady passing game. Rookie CB Nate Clements has all the looks of being a star. Still, the coaching turnover and the salary cap has caused a three-game drop to 1-7.

‘They don’t need a quarterback with a perfect body and a cannon for an arm. They already have one of those in Rob Johnson, and all they have to show for Johnson’s much-ballyhooed physical gifts is a 1-7 record.’

‘Against New England last week, the team burned three timeouts because players misunderstood signal calls and lined up wrong. Sunday against Seattle, the Bills plan to use less motion and shifting because it means using fewer words to communicate. "You can fool your opponent as much as you want but sometimes you do it so much, you fool yourself," said wide receiver Eric Moulds, who complained after the Patriots game about burdensome terminology to get a play off. "I think that’s what we’ve done a couple times."’