Two Bills Drive

‘Bills quarterback Rob Johnson answered questions e-mailed from buffalobills.com users. Thanks to Rob for taking time out to answer the questions, as well as the fans for sending them in!’

‘"Sam had his back tighten up a little bit and he got hot," coach Gregg Williams said after the morning session at St. John Fisher College. "So for a precaution we said back off a little bit. He’ll be fine."’

‘Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe was the Steelers’ director of football operations while Brown was in Pittsburgh. He drafted Brown in the fifth round in 1995 out of Indiana University. During his first season, Brown played for Pittsburgh and the Arizona Cardinals, then returned to the Steelers for two seasons before being released. Brown signed with Buffalo last March.’

‘”Everyone’s helping each other out,” Sheldon Jackson said. “There is no one person bad-mouthing the others. Everyone’s helping each other because they do realize that there’s room for the guys that are here. And we have to pull for each other to be successful in the position.”‘

‘With the jettisoning of Wade Phillips and the entire offensive coaching staff, the straitjacket that Price played with all last year has been removed and the former Tennessee standout and Sports Illustrated cover boy expects to enjoy a breakout season in 2001.’

‘Once he reached the sideline, the training staff immediately doused him with water, and a few minutes later he was carted into the locker room. Williams said Cowart was fine after practice, but as a precaution, he did nothing during the special teams workout in the afternoon.’

‘"I think graduating from any university is an accomplishment, but Notre Dame, they did demand a lot," O’Leary said. "The transition has been easy because I came in here from a place where they disciplined you and forced things on you. I think that’s paying off because in camp, you’ve got to have your head on straight to get through this."’

On injuries: "Sam Cowart has his back tightened up a little bit and got hot just from the heat. Just for precaution we said back off a little bit and you’ll be fine. Nothing significant. Keith Newman had a very slight strain and again I think that was heat related too and repetition and real slight, we are going to look at what he’s doing this afternoon, Keith is having a really good camp."

On what he wants to accomplish Sunday: "Hopefully a couple of touchdown drives. I want to go in there, go through my reads, play sharp and keep everyone healthy."

With the heat this morning, linebacker Sam Cowart left practice with what coach Gregg Williams described as having "his back tightened up a little bit, and [he] got hot just from the heat." He added, "Just for precaution, we said back off a little bit and you’ll be fine."

‘Bills rookie Josh Whitman has been presented with some interesting changes in his first training camp for the pros. With the trade of tight end Bobby Collins to Green Bay, more opportunities are knocking for hopeful rookies such as Whitman and Notre Dame’s Dan O’Leary. Whitman is keeping cool with all the competition on the practice field though.’

‘Sam Cowart, the Buffalo Bills hard-hitting middle linebacker, has a soft spot for his big sister Lashawn. Her tragic death, she was gunned down by a disgruntled boyfriend in 1989, is a big reason Cowart is where he is today — coming off his first Pro Bowl season and considered one of the game’s emerging best at his position.’

‘Although his back remains stiff and he’s not sure if he’ll practice on Friday, Cowart said it’s nothing that would have kept him out of a regular season game.’

Early into the opening series of last Saturday’s Buffalo Bills scrimmage vs Cleveland Browns at Edinboro, it hit me like an anvil landing on Wiley Coyote.  For the first time in 15 years I could not recognize the majority of the players donning Bills jerseys.  Never mind picking out the faces out of the media guide, we are talking about simple matching of names to the jersey numbers.

“It started to look like [I would be moved],” Bowens said. “They drafted Jamal Reynolds, and the practice times and reps I was getting were getting reduced. I kind of thought there would be a change of scenery sooner or later, but I was happy it was sooner.”