Two Bills Drive

‘One thing we can expect against New England is that the Bills again will use the nickel defense that made a successful debut against the Jets. But they’ll have to do it without left defensive end Phil Hansen.’

‘Though the Bills have yet to name their starting quarterback for Sunday – Rob Johnson or Doug Flutie – Patriots coach Bill Belichick is preparing for Flutie. "I expect it to be Doug," said Belichick. "You can’t rule it out. Last year Rob started the playoff game, and if he’s healthy, I suppose we could see him. I expect to see Doug because he’s playing well and the team plays well with him in there."’

‘"He gets away from people and keeps the play alive with good judgment and he’s an accurate thrower," Belichick said. "Part of his being a quarterback is to pull the ball down, reverse his field, make the guy jump up in the air and pull it down again."’

‘Safety Larry Whigham wants to be counted as one of Doug Flutie’s biggest fans. "He’s earned my utmost respect," the veteran said yesterday of Buffalo’s scrappy little quarterback. "You can talk about his size, the way he throws the ball or whatever . . . the bottom line is that he wins games."’

‘"[Flutie’s] tough. He’s not a guy you look forward to playing against. He’s a pain in the butt."’

‘Defensive backs: Another poor job, as Bills’ WR Eric Moulds caught six catches for 137 yards with CB Marcus Coleman covering him. Coleman and FS Scott Frost were beaten on a pivotal 52-yard pass to Moulds. Nickel back Ray Mickens had a tough day, with three balls for 44 yards caught on him by WR Jeremy McDaniel out of the slot.’

‘Harriet Cowart wants to see her son, Sam, win a trip to Hawaii in February. She has begun the effort by doing what any good mother in this era of high-speed technology would do: Via the team e-mail at www.buffalobills.com she has asked 20,000 fellow Bills fans to help her.’

‘In his days as an Argonauts quarterback, Doug Flutie had it in his mind to get to Ron Lancaster before Damon Allen beat him to the punch. But when four-down football beckoned before the 1998 season, Flutie gave up his chase to become the CFL’s career passing yards leader.’

‘Local sports radio station WGR 55 has organized a mock election for Nov. 7 with fans voting for either Flutie or Johnson. The station ordered 20,000 election signs — 10,000 for each quarterback. Some people have taken it to heart, sticking a Flutie or Johnson sign on their lawns.’

‘Bills coach Wade Phillips was asked yesterday about the status of quarterback Rob Johnson, and he said Johnson cannot be ruled out of Sunday’s game against New England. His status will be evaluated during the week when Phillips finds out whether Johnson is able to throw without pain.’

‘Hansen suffered a sprained right knee late in the first half during a scrum following a Vinny Testaverde fumble. The 10-year veteran and team leader will miss at least four weeks, possibly as many as six. Hansen said yesterday he doesn’t want to put a time frame on the injury, but he did not seemed too encouraged by the way he felt. He will undergo an MRI today.’

‘"The quarterback controversy — and this is just my opinion — is media generated in that for me there’s no controversy because we got good quarterbacks that we can win with," Phillips said. "The controversy comes when I can’t find a quarterback to win with, and I have to go from one to the other and back, and then say, ‘Well, the third-team guy can come up and play for those two guys."’

‘"I certainly won’t be able to do anything with it for a week to 10 days, and then the frustration will start setting in to try to get back on the field," he said Monday. "I know what the (rehab) process is. I don’t like it and I don’t wish it on anybody. "But if I want to get back in there and play, which I do, this is part of it."’

Buffalo’s defenders did it differently during the Bills’ 23-20 win over the New York Jets. They didn’t hold the Jets to a miniscule yardage total (New York’s 348 yards were tied for the second-most compiled by a Buffalo opponent through eight games).

‘Yesterday, Flutie was just good enough (252 yards in the air) to keep the fragile Bills in the game and good enough to take them far enough in their last possession so Steve Christie could do his job. Flutie had done his. Once more.’