Two Bills Drive

‘Big Picture: This was the one the Bills needed to have, and now they’re in danger of getting the Gregg Williams era off to a slow start. Next up are the Miami Dolphins and then the Indianapolis Colts, both on the road, and early indications are both will again contend for the AFC East crown. There’s a very real possibility that Buffalo will be 0-3 heading into its next home game Sept. 30 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.’

‘The secondary’s cause was aided by a relentless pass rush. The pregame focus targeted the Saints’ matchups against the inexperienced right side of the Bills line. But it was right end Joe Johnson who had made the biggest impact, wearing out left tackle John Fina for three sacks and eight tackles.’

‘"This was Saints’ weather," winked Johnson, who spent most of Sunday either putting the hug on quarterback Rob Johnson or creating havoc in the trenches. "As the second half wore on, they were pretty much gassed out. Let’s give some credit to that Thibodaux humidity."’

‘"(Rob Johnson) is a pocket passer," Johnson said. "That’s what he is. You hate to play against the Donovan McNabbs and Jeff Garcias of the world, guys who can move around. So, any time you can play against a pocket passer, you got to take advantage of it."’

‘"The thing about the first half was that we didn’t score many points," Johnson said. "We only scored six points, and we were dominating them. If we could have scored some touchdowns in the first half, it would have been a lot better. "We hit a couple of 30-yard passes but we just didn’t get in the flow offensively. We didn’t have a good idea of what they were doing defensively."’

‘Sunday’s sellout crowd of 71,447 (2,520 no-shows) is not unusual for this football-crazed community. The Bills sold approximately 37,500 season tickets, meaning the walk-up crowd approached 35,000. By comparison, the Saints sold approximately 43,500 season tickets, and more than 15,000 tickets remain for their home opener against the San Francisco 49ers.’

‘In his 19th regular-season start for the Bills – for whom he is now 8-11 in three seasons-plus – Johnson had those three interceptions, was sacked five times and gained an unremarkable 160 yards through the air on 16-of-27 passing. Most importantly, his offense generated two field goals in the first half, produced no points in the second and inspired throaty boos from the sweltering crowd of 71,447 (so many of whom remain staunch Flutie fans) throughout.’

‘”You’re going to lose when you play only one half,” Williams said. “Now we’ve got to put two together.”‘

‘Banned from Buffalo in the offseason, Doug Flutie shined in his debut for the San Diego Chargers, orchestrating a 30-3 triumph over the Washington Redskins. Hours earlier and more than 3,000 miles away, Bills fans discovered that Flutie is gone but the problem still wears a Buffalo uniform. No. 11, to be exact.’

‘What is it? The Rob Johnson era? The Gregg Williams era? Nahhh! Neither possibility has much fan appeal, judging from the Bills’ first kick at the 21st century can, a 24-6 loss yesterday to the New Orleans Saints.’

‘But if Johnson and the new Bills regime feel one flick of the TV clicker will remove them from under the shadow of Flutie and Chargers general manager John Butler, who bolted the Bills to run the San Diego franchise this past off-season, they are fooling themselves — especially with off-par performances like the one they turned in against the Saints.’

‘Christie, who has told friends that his career with the Buffalo Bills is over, is outraged that neither Williams, the team’s first-year coach, nor general manager Tom Donahoe, bothered to contact him on Saturday to inform the Bills’ career leading scorer that he had been placed on the reserved injured list. Instead the gloomy news was delivered over the phone by special teams coach Danny Smith.’

‘”I don’t think this has anything to do with youth, it’s just overall execution,” said Buffalo head coach Gregg Williams, himself a new addition this year. “That’s an easy way out and I’ll never take the easy way out in those kind of things.”‘

‘To Saints center Jerry Fontenot, it — the timeout, not the 46-yard touchdown pass from Brooks to wide receiver Albert Connell — was the turning point of the game.’

‘"We talk about that all the time," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "If you make them kick field goals in this league, you’ve got the upper hand. Going in at halftime it was 6-0, but it could have been 14-0."’