Two Bills Drive

‘Players appreciating fans… now there’s a novel concept. But it works in Buffalo. And it works because there’s a new head coach who’s decreed a lot of things — including a new offense, new defense and open practices where there weren’t any before. I like Gregg Williams, and I like him a lot. He was a good coach at Tennessee. He’s a good man in Buffalo. Nobody gained a better response from his players this summer. Here’s hoping it continues.’

‘There was room for one big signing, and that was for game-breaking wideout Eric Moulds, who settled for less money than he could have gotten elsewhere in order to stay with what he calls “a team that has a chance to win, a team with a defense that can take the other team’s quarterback out of the picture.”‘

“Hopefully, I’ll be playing against the Saints in that first game,” Hilbert said, referring to the Saints’ regular-season game at Buffalo on Sept. 9. The Bills top the list of teams that have shown interest in Hilbert, who was among 13 players waived by New Orleans on Tuesday.’

‘Sixteen months ago Josh Roth realized his dream of becoming a member of the Buffalo Bills when he signed a free-agent contract with the NFL team. On Tuesday, that dream came to an end. Roth, a Pine Valley Central School and University at Buffalo star, was released with four other players as the Bills met the league deadline to trim their roster to 65 players.’

‘The problem apparently hasn’t been Christie’s right leg but his two feet. He has been too quick on his approach toward the ball. It’s been enough to throw off his timing while he adapts to new long-snapper Dan O’Leary and holder Jay Riemersma. They replaced snapper Ethan Albright and holder Chris Mohr.’

‘Williams and Donohoe addressed about 550 people who attended "A Taste of the Season – Buffalo Bills Style" in the Jim Kelly Club in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The general manager and coach emphasized how much it meant for the Bills to represent Western New York.’

‘"Under last year’s system I thought he held the ball a little bit too long, and I thought his drops were too deep," said Williams. "We knew coming into that game last year he was going to be tough because we were going to get a bunch of hits on him."’

‘There are a lot of veterans who left in the offseason for salary-cap reasons or who left this summer because they just weren’t good enough. That hasn’t left much of anyone behind fighting for his job. Let’s face it: The Bills had to clean up, and they did. Virtually all of the veterans who were worried about their jobs are gone.’

‘Off-season grade: B’

‘There was a refreshing sight yesterday afternoon on the practice field inside the Buffalo Bills’ training facility: a third-string quarterback who could actually play.’

‘As for the replacements, he said it would be impossible to form an opinion until he sees them in action. "You don’t know what their attitudes will be or what kind of training they’ve gone through," he said. "The biggest thing is I’ll be more conscious of the mistakes we make than the mistakes they’ll make."’

The Bears purged another expensive free agent mistake left over from the past front-office regime, releasing cornerback Thomas Smith.

Smith entered the league as the Bills’ first-round choice in the 1993 draft. He is expected to draw immediate interest from several teams including Indianapolis and Seattle.

‘"First I will be the best. Then I will be the first," the T-shirt reads. "That’s my motto," Henry said after Tuesday’s practice. "I live by it and die by it."’

‘Travis Brown, whose only snaps have come in the past few days of practice, appears to have won the Buffalo Bills third-string quarterback job.’

Jack Hawley, QB, rookie, San Diego State

Rocky Henry, WR, 1st year, Utah

Josh Lind, G, rookie, Oklahoma State

Kendrick Office, DE, rookie, West Alabama

Josh Roth, FB, 1st year, University of Buffalo

All NFL teams are required to trim their rosters to 65 by 4:00 PM (Eastern) today. The final cutdown to 53 must be made by Sunday at 4:00 PM.