Two Bills Drive

‘Otis Smith is the oldest player on the New England Patriots’ roster, and one of the most popular. These days, he also is one of the most dependable Pats, both on and off the field. At age 36, a time when most cornerbacks have long since gone into another line of work, Smith is playing some of the best football of his career.’

‘The Patriots will not get much sympathy from the Bills when they moan about the unsettled situation with their offensive line. Buffalo has been hurt badly all season by problems with its line. The Bills, 1-6 thus far, have allowed 27 sacks. Only Detroit (32) and Seattle (30) have given up more. Quarterback Rob Johnson has had to work under severe pressure.’

‘"We haven’t had chemistry all year," Ostroski said. "Sometimes it’s tough to sit there and see things happen. Fortunately, I was able to come back sooner than expected and can hopefully contribute some this year."’

This weekend will be the 23rd year Ralph Wilson Stadium will be the site of the Section VI High School Football championship games.

Area sports business executives to be honored in NYC.

Russ Brandon from the Buffalo Bills will be honored tonight by the SportsBusiness Journal. David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, will serve as the keynote speaker.

Brandon is the VP, business development and marketing for the Bills. He joined the organization 5 years ago from the Florida Marlins and is credited with helping the franchise succeed on its regional marketing push 3 years ago, particularly to Rochester, Brandon’s home town. That’s where his sports marketing career began, with the minor league baseball team, the Rochester Red Wings.

“Everyone in sports should work in the minor leagues,” said Brandon, who was included in the 2001 Business First “Forty Under 40” class.

Among the others to be honored by the SportsBusiness Journal’s “40 Under Forty” is former Buffalo Bills linebacker Scott Radecic. Radecic who played for the Bills from 1987-89 and now is a senior principal with HOK Sport, which designs sports stadiums and arenas.

‘Bills offensive coordinator Joe Pendry apparently wanted something other than the power running Smith offers. "He never really struggled here," Buffalo quarterback Rob Johnson said yesterday via teleconference. "When he got the chance, he did well. He and the offensive coordinator, I don’t want to say they didn’t get along, but Antowain was not his guy. He’s a big back who needs a lot of carries. They would play him in spots, get him four or five carries."’

‘”I think a lot of that has all died down among the fans,” said Johnson, who will lead the Bills against the New England Patriots Sunday at Foxboro Stadium. “But in a way it will never die down. You guys know how popular Doug is. But winning games helps and we’re not doing that right now.”‘

While the OL has been hampered with injuries since Ostroski suffered a broken leg in pre-season, the line may be closer to normal this weekend as Ostroski and Jennings are likely to return to the lineup against the Patriots Sunday.

There may be a little shifting going on in the line, however, as with the performance that Hulsey has given since Ostroski got hurt, Hulsey will probably stay as a starter in the RG spot, and Ostroski may get some work at RT. As for Jennings, he may shift over to LT this weekend, to play for Fina, whose leg still in a ‘fatigued state,’ according to HC Williams.

Tom Donahoe talks on:

Tony Driver’s injury

the team’s attitude with a 1-6 mark

if the mentality would be different if the Bills were 6-1

going through growing pains

Rob Johnson’s future with the Bills

if he (RJ) still has something to prove

if the season still can change opinions on players

a USA Today report that K Doug Brown worked out Tuesday

the growing pains

if the OL should have been more of a priority at the draft

the offensive line

The Buffalo Bills (1-6) make their final visit to New England’s Foxboro Stadium this Sunday afternoon to take on the Patriots (4-4). The Pats will be moving to brand-new CMGI Field next season, which is currently in the final stages of construction, which overshadows the current home of the Patriots.

The Jets play a 4-3 defense without a big presence inside, but I believe that’s when Former Bills Defense Coordinator Cottrell does his best work. Simply put, he gets average and below-average guys to play above their own talent level.

Bill Belichick listed 18 players on the Patriots injury report to the league yesterday……. “Everyone is working to get better,” said Tom Brady. “You have confidence in all those guys you are with. Injuries are part of it this time of year….I know their [Buffalo’s] record isn’t very good, but they’re a very good team. If you ever take a game like this lightly, they’ll beat us. There’s not a guy in that locker room that is looking past Buffalo.”

‘Veteran Jerry Ostroski was back from his broken leg and playing right tackle, and promising rookie Jonas Jennings was back from his foot injury and playing left tackle. Now maybe Sheppard and the Bills’ offense can get back to running the West Coast offense the way it’s supposed to operate when the team visits the New England Patriots this week. "We’re trying to get as close as we can to what the (West Coast) offense does," Sheppard said. "Injuries happen. Everyone has them. It limits us a little bit. But we should limit (ourselves) more, because we’ve got new players in there and we need to give them a chance. The more we put in, the less chance of success we have. We’re attempting to pare things back a little bit."’

‘Asked if he thought the team would make a long-term commitment to Johnson, Donahoe said: "We think we did that when we made the decision last year. It was not a decision we made for one year. We knew we were going to try to build a team here, and Rob was the quarterback to help us do that."’

‘Smith is psyched to make sure the Bills go home sorry they made the trip, but he also knows he’d better not be too psyched, because a running back who loses his grip on himself is liable to lose his grip on the football.’