Two Bills Drive

‘Sloughing off in the classroom didn’t just cost Tyrone Robertson two or three seasons of football at the University of Georgia. "I figured it cost me about $10 million," Robertson said. Now that’s a hit to the wallet.’

‘"When you have seven players each week that you can’t dress anyway, that gives you some flexibility to carry a player you feel has a chance to get back," Donahoe said. "At some point as we go through the process (with Ostroski) and it changes, then we can always put him on IR. But we don’t have to do it now."’

‘Now it’s Morris’ turn as the Bills give each player an equal shot at winning the starting tailback job.’

‘Rob Johnson, at 6-4 and a skinny 212, seems like anything but a quick-read, quick-drop guy. But he says he’s perfectly suited to it — hell, he’d tell me that if they put him in at blocking back — so who am I to argue?’

‘"We have a lot of confidence in the people that we have here and we want to give them a shot," Bills general manager Tom Donahoe said as the team continued training camp at St. John Fisher College on Tuesday. "They’re going to have to prove to us that they can’t do it. … If that’s not the case, then we’ll re-evaluate it."’

“Well, I think we now have the best front organization that I’ve had in the 41 years I have been associated with the team. That goes from Tom Donahoe,the President and General Manager, all the way down through all of the positions. My expectation for the team, we have a lot of young players it’s going to take time to develop as it always does. We probably will be starting four rookies, which we’ve never done before.”

The Bills recently let right tackle Robert Hicks go. Hicks started seven games last year but was struggling to win the starting job. When it became clear that rookie Jonas Jennings, a third-round pick from Georgia, would be good enough, Buffalo dumped Hicks. He counted for $512,000 against the salary cap and, for the cash-strapped Bills, that’s a lot of space. Hicks could have gone down with an injury or the tendinitis in his right knee could have put him on IR. That was too much risk for GM Tom Donahoe to tolerate. As for the 6-foot-7, 330-pound Hicks, he was snatched up by the Lions.

‘McDaniel, an East Aurora resident, reported to Buffalo police Sunday that someone broke into his 2000 Ford between 2 and 4 a.m. while it was parked near William Street and Michigan Avenue. The thief broke a window and made off with two 4-inch television sets, an eight-disc CD changer and a DVD player, according to the police report.’

‘Obviously, Hulsey thinks well on the fly because he enjoyed a solid outing, and with Ostroski out indefinitely with a broken tibia, this is Hulsey’s time to prove he can play in the NFL. While a number of players can slip into Ostroski’s position at right guard, Hulsey appears to be the most likely candidate to start when the Bills play their third preseason game Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals.’

‘"At this time, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a season-ending injury," Williams said. "He’s going to be out for an indefinite period of time, and as the early stages of his rehabilitation takes place, hopefully we’ll have a better timetable on that as it progresses. Right now, we believe it won’t be a season-ending injury."’

Players Scheduled for McDonalds Autograph Tent: Peerless Price, Reggie Germany, Corey Thomas (after AM practice) Ruben Brown, Marques Sullivan, Michael Early (after PM practice).

‘"As the early stages of his rehabilitation takes place, we’ll hopefully have a better timetable as it progresses … to get a window of chance on when he can come back," Williams said. "But right now, we believe it won’t be a season-ending injury."’

‘Bowens knows it will take time for him to fully adapt to the Bills’ style, but he’s patient. Like his mother’s near-death experience taught him, life is too precious to worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow. "My focus," he said, "is on the next practice."’

‘The main reasons for my initial 10-6 or 9-7 optimism were Buffalo playing in a less-than-stellar division and against a relatively soft schedule. Considering the subsequent roster cuts and injuries, now 7-9 or 6-10 is a more realistic projection.’

‘The coach is familiar with players who don’t practice well and instead save their best for the games. He’s not enamored with them. "I hate it, I don’t like it," he said. "I want them to show me in practice to get the opportunity to do it in the ballgame. But we all know some guys can crank it up and do it better in the ballgame. "These young guys better show it in practice if they want to get into the game."’