Two Bills Drive

‘"It’s been a long trip from the corner of 71st and Stony Island to Canton, Ohio. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Every step has been a joyous journey accompanied by remarkable companions."’

‘The melee didn’t sit well with the first-year head coaches, Gregg Williams of the Bills and Butch Davis of the Browns. "We need to improve the discipline aspect,” said Williams, who was an assistant with the Tennessee Titans before replacing Wade Phillips in Buffalo this season.’

‘"There seems to be an appreciation in the difficulty of going back to the Super Bowl and what those teams accomplished to get there," Levy said.’

‘I hold Marv Levy in the highest respect. His consistency as a person … he is a guy I’ve not known a long time, but it’s felt like I’ve known him my whole life…He treated his players like professionals, and he knew what to expect from us. In turn, we knew what we would get from him."’

‘Overall, the Browns were pleased with the way things went — even though Buffalo’s first-team offense opened the scrimmage with a nine-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Shawn Bryson’s 1-yard touchdown run.’

‘The defense got pushed around pretty good on the opening drive. Davis said the team lacked the necessary tempo — but it’s worth wondering what they expected in a live scrimmage.’

‘He is the master of the one-liner, who while trying to shake his Buffalo Bills out of a 22-game road losing streak posed the question: Why did the Nazis fail to rule the world despite having such a powerful war machine? "Because Hitler couldn’t win on the road."’

‘The defense sacked Bills quarterbacks 11 times and Tim Couch completed 10 of 14 passes during a full contact scrimmage yesterday before 8,537 fans in Sox Harrison Stadium. Technically, the Browns won 30-12, but the scrimmage was not about keeping score.’

‘A fight broke out when Bills tackle Ruben Brown took exception to remarks by cornerback Daylon McCutcheon. Brown weighs 304 pounds, McCutcheon 180. McCutcheon did not back down. He didn’t have to. Teammates Keith McKenzie and Gerard Warren jumped into the fray as players from both teams joined in.’

‘He said he’ll likely be coming back to Canton in the near future for the enshrinement of three of his former players — quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas and defensive end Bruce Smith.’

‘Based on what happened in yesterday’s scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns, the Bills still aren’t ready. They are, however, getting closer.’

‘Had quarterbacks been live targets in yesterday’s scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns — you know, like they are in real NFL games — Johnson would have been limping, frowning and his snowy white uniform would have been covered in mud and blood.’

‘"I think I showed the coaches that I could play a little bit, but none of it really matters, it was just a glorified practice," he said. "Next week it will be a little more live and I have to continue to improve over the next 3-4 weeks to prove they should keep me around on the 53-man roster."’

‘"He brought an attitude to the running game the same way the offensive line brought an attitude to the run game," Coach Gregg Williams said. "That is, get up in the hole, get north and south."’

‘"Where would you rather be, than right here, right now?" said Polian, the former Bills general manager who hired Levy in 1986. "Marv, there is no place in the world we would rather be than right here, right now with you."’