Two Bills Drive

‘But Wannstedt said Cowart’s injury won’t cause the Dolphins to ease up in this week’s preparation. "It’s a division game," Wannstedt said. "That will be huge in itself. We know Buffalo, they’ve always been tough. The rivalry is as good as any we have."’

‘Coach Gregg Williams said a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed that Cowart suffered a partial tear of his Achilles’ — the tendon at the back of the heel — while back-pedaling in pass coverage during the first quarter of Sunday’s 24-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the season opener. While Cowart will not require surgery at this time, he has been fitted with a walking cast and "he’s going to miss some significant time," said Williams, who would not give a specific time frame.’

‘"I’d like to see us upset about this loss," he said of the Saints’ game in which Buffalo squandered a 6-0 halftime lead. "Right now, it’s hard to gauge the feeling in the locker room. Everyone is a little quiet. But you’ve got to hate to lose as much as you enjoy to win and young guys have to understand that and play accordingly next week."’

‘Donahoe, who did speak with Christie’s agent, said he and Williams tried unsuccessfully to contact Christie. Donahoe said he hoped to sit down with Christie in the near future to talk.’

‘"It would be difficult for me to consider signing back with them," Christie said last night. "I’m not saying I wouldn’t, but let me ask you this: Would you trust them after what happened? I have my doubts."’

‘The Saints made a key adjustment on offense at halftime. After knocking heads with the Bills defense, which stacked eight and nine men at or near the line most of the first two periods, the Saints spread their offense with four receivers in the hopes of opening running lanes for Ricky Williams.’

‘"I’ve tried to handle the business side with class, and I really don’t think in this case they did," said Christie, the most accomplished kicker in Bills history. "I’ve been here a long time and I’ve made Buffalo my home. For them to handle this situation like they did was unacceptable, unacceptable."’

‘"Basically all I said was that the defense is holding its end. If you can make teams kick field goals in the red zone and don’t give up touchdowns you have a chance to win the game," Haslett said. "So we just had to go out and play our type of football on offense, that’s run the ball wear people out, take advantage of the plays you get, don’t put the ball on the ground, and we did it."’

‘Rookie Brandon Spoon, a fourth-round pick out of North Carolina, is listed as the backup middle linebacker, but the Bills may shift reserve outside linebackers — Kenyatta Wright or DaShon Polk — into the middle.’

Dolphins Coach Wannstedt announced on Monday that Marcus Spriggs suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in the 4th quarter of Miami’s 31-23 win at Tennessee on Sunday night and will miss the rest of the season.

Spriggs, 27, spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Buffalo Bills.

‘The middle linebacker will not need surgery on his partially torn right Achilles’ tendon. But coach Gregg Williams said Monday he will miss “a significant amount of time” and it’s unclear if he will return before the end of the season.’

It is a partial achilles tear. GW just announced it at his press conference.

‘…the immediate question for Williams is which Bills are the real ones. Are they the team that held the Saints to 27 yards and no first downs on 16 plays before a 38-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the first half? Are they the team that rushed for 104 yards and enjoyed a nearly 14-minute edge in time of possession in the opening two periods? Or are they the team that mustered only 78 yards, turned the ball over twice and were pounded for 24 points over the final 30 minutes?’

‘Despite the paltry numbers, New Orleans’ players said that no one was angry or mad in the locker room during halftime. "We didn’t get too riled," Williams said. "We were just upset because we were playing so horrible."’

‘In assessing their performance, Bills’ defensive end Phil Hansen noted, "I thought they did a pretty good job. They didn’t contribute to our loss … we contributed to our loss."’