Two Bills Drive

‘This is the 12th time since the 1970 merger that Buffalo has played an undefeated team through at least four games. The Bills are 8-3 in such games, including wins in five in a row. All three losses have been to unbeaten Miami teams.’

‘Many in Buffalo, coach Phillips included, seem to be toning down the return of Flutie. It’s part of the lingering hangover of Phillips’ controversial decision to hand the job to Johnson prior to the Bills playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans this past January. Flutie fumed and sulked at the time and later said the Bills would have defeated the Titans had he started. He has been relegated to Johnson’s backup since. When meeting with Buffalo media this week, Flutie, who is 17-8 as a starter with the Bills, bit his lip and stuck to the company line. But in a conference call with Minnesota reporters, he said the demotion still eats at him.’

‘The soon-to-be-outdated NFL textbook suggests that a quarterback should only carry the ball on draws, sneaks and broken plays. It also says 6-foot-5, 255-pound players are supposed to fill positions such as linebacker and perhaps fullback. Oldtime students of the game, meet Daunte Culpepper.’

‘Doug Flutie doesn’t look like Rob Johnson, act like Rob Johnson or throw like Rob Johnson. He can’t step back and pass. He can’t be the prototypical NFL quarterback. He isn’t tall enough or strong enough. He probably can’t even start on a full-time basis anymore. But there is something inside Flutie that Johnson may never have or even comprehend. And that is an inherent understanding of what it takes to win a football game and how to go about accomplishing it. In this, Flutie is commanding. In this, Johnson remains a neophyte with skill but not guile.’

‘Soon, perhaps as early as the Vikings’ game this afternoon against Buffalo, the kicker who grew up playing soccer and rugby in South Africa will lay claim to one of the most-sacred records in American sports. Anderson is 10 points away from eclipsing Blanda’s NFL record of 2,002 career points, a milestone compiled over 26 seasons by a player who doubled as a quarterback during a more rugged era of professional football.’

‘When Emmitt Thomas coached in Philadelphia and Green Bay, he always had great respect for Vikings safety Robert Griffith. Now that Thomas is the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, he has an even greater appreciation for Griffith’s talents. "The thing I admire about him is that from looking at people from afar, you never get the full impact," Thomas said. "When I was at Philadelphia and at Green Bay, we really loved this young man. And then coming here, he’s not a disappointment. He’s a heavy hitter, good cover guy and a good team player. "He is smart, but he also likes to compete. He’s intense and very competitive, even in practice. He’s got a great work ethic, and is the leader of our defense."’

‘Vikings 21, Buffalo 17.’

‘It’s the belief here that Flutie still may be the most magical player in the NFL. He knows that. What drives you crazy is to hear all the whispers from newspaper columnists that teammates don’t like him and how they hope he fails so Robbie can flourish. There’s only one problem with that theory: When does he fail? And when does Robbie flourish?’

‘Here we go again, Flutie at 38 has to prove himself worthy one more time. The pressure’s on. Let’s say Johnson is ready in three weeks. That gives Flutie two games to produce wins and look good doing it. He was winning last year (10-5) but the the coaches didn’t think he looked so good doing it. So they pulled the plug on the guy. Flutie went on record as saying he thinks the Bills would have beaten the Titans had he played. He took a lot of grief for saying so. That’ll teach him to be honest.’

‘Culpepper enters Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills as the first first-round draft choice to win his first six starts since 1950, when they started keeping track of such a thing.’

‘Bills fans, set your VCRs. ESPN is premiering a love letter to you, "NFL Films Presents – A Town, a Team and a Dream: The Story of the Buffalo Bills," at 3 a.m. Monday. The way things are going with the length of postseason baseball, that may be the time that Game Two of the World Series ends. The special includes a variety of NFL Films footage of the past, as well as new interviews with Bills cheerleader Tim Russert of "Meet the Press," former Buffalo News writer Vic Carucci, filmmaker Vincent Gallo ("Buffalo ’66"), radio voice Van Miller and ex-Bills Jack Kemp, Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly and Paul Maguire. It also airs at 4 p.m. Monday on ESPN, and at noon and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. Russert, Carucci and Gallo get most of the air time in the half-hour program, which discusses the pain one experiences as a Bills fan and the fantasy of what it actually would be like if they ever won the Super Bowl.’

‘Remarkably, left guard Corbin Lacina is the only starter to miss a game. He suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in the third preseason game and missed three weeks, including the season opener against Chicago.’

‘Northern, who will play this week at defensive tackle in a nickel-defense situation, has been working with some of the Vikings’ coaches, gladly surrendering all the information he has on the Bills’ scheme and their personnel. "In practice, I might see something and point how the Bills do it," Northern said. "I practiced against that offense and I know it pretty well, so there are some things I can help with . . . I’d love to help us expose something that directly helps us win the game." Lacina and Paup (who is out for the next six games with a fracture in his knee) have talked to their teammates about the habits of some of the Bills’ players. "I was talking to Johnny (Randle) about some of the Bills’ offensive linemen," Lacina said. "I was around those guys and know a lot of their little secrets. Knowing the personnel is big part of playing a team."’

‘"They’ve done it extremely well, and so they are really good at it," said Vikings coach Dennis Green. "The biggest thing is that you have two uncovered linemen right in there with the nose tackle, and so the nose tackle can move a lot of different ways. It gives you an extra athlete on the field. If you don’t get a lot of looks at it, you have to make a lot of decisions, and learn a lot of things in a short period of time. You don’t have the continuity of what you played last week and the week before, and now you play that this week. The big thing is, it’s a great run defense. That makes a big difference."’

‘Moss will present enormous problems for the Bills because at 6-foot-4, he has an eight-inch height advantage on cornerback Antoine Winfield, and a six-inch gap on the other corner, Ken Irvin. In Buffalo’s dime defense, the tallest of the six defensive backs is strong safety Henry Jones who stands an even 6-feet.’