Two Bills Drive

‘"This game will be a good key for us," said Bills’ coach Wade Phillips. "This could actually be our biggest game of the year." Of his own team’s start, he added, "I thought we were going to have a good team, but all coaches think they’re going to have a good team."’

‘Not only did Buffalo Bills head coach Wade Phillips come off as bitter during his Wednesday conference call with Jets beat reporters, he also exposed himself as a somewhat hypocritical "country coach." It wasn’t difficult to figure out that Phillips was lambasting Bill Parcells when he said "We kind of country coach ’em here. They don’t get a lot of that city coaching of those geniuses. But we get them to work hard, play sound football and not make mistakes." Phillips went on to define country coaching as "…a way of treating people, I guess." Oh. So that explains why Phillips benched Doug Flutie for the playoffs last year even though Flutie had directed the Bills to the postseason two years in a row and had all but saved Phillips’ job and football in Buffalo in 1998. And that "country coaching" must explain why Phillips canned special teams coach Bruce DeHaan for a loss that was entirely Phillips’ fault. Remember, it was Phillips who let Steve Christie kick a go-ahead field goal with 16 seconds left in last year’s AFC wild card game instead of waiting until there were just a few seconds left on the clock. That move allowed Tennessee enough time to pull off the "Music City Miracle" kick return.’

‘The Bills and Jets had never been 2-0 at the same time before this season. For all the Bills’ success in ’90s, they started only four of those seasons by winning the first two games. "We’ve started the last few years pretty slowly," Bills receiver Eric Moulds said. "We’ve always had to pick it up and try and catch other teams. We wanted to come out this year and have them try and come after us."

‘The Buffalo Bills’ defense aims to continue its winning streak against New York Jets workhorse running back Curtis Martin today. The Bills have shut down Martin in four straight meetings. Making it five in a row will be one of the Bills’ keys to success in today’s AFC East showdown at Giants Stadium.’

‘He grew up in a divided, zero-income household. He toiled in the hay fields and picked peas for a pittance. He got his high school girlfriend pregnant. He was recruited to play football by major colleges such as Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss. He took the American College Testing exam three times, but couldn’t qualify. So he enrolled in a junior college and later a Division II program. He dedicated himself to becoming a fine player, and it eventually came time for NFL scouts to notice. They labeled him a reject. But they couldn’t have been more wrong about Bobby Collins, a player who was drafted in 1999 as the sleeper of all sleepers. "I came out of the blue," the second-year Buffalo Bills tight end said, flashing a smile that would glitter even without his shiny gold tooth. "Everybody else (in the draft) they know about by their sophomore or junior year. But the Bills just got me like a mutt."’

‘The Bills still have to prove they can run a little against a good opponent, and the Jets are tough to beat at home. . . . Jets, 17-16.’

‘Millions tuned in to watch the Clinton-Lazio debate last week, but only a few hundred people got to see host Tim Russert’s preshow warm-up. It was vintage Russert. The South Buffalo native had people in stitches when he told a story about the 1994 Buffalo Bills-Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl in Atlanta.’

‘The Bills are formidable. Their defense, ranked No. 1 a year ago, is ranked third in the NFL this season. Rob Johnson, their new starting QB, scrambles like Doug Flutie but has a rocket for an arm. "I respect a lot about the way (the Bills) play," Groh said. "They’ve got their system based on their belief on how they want to play and they stay with those systems year after year, game after game. "They made some bold moves in the offseason (letting Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed go) and they’re faster and just as tough, and as a result they’ve made themselves better than they were the last couple years."’

‘…here comes Marvin Jones. He is back, and he is all the way back, maybe all the way back to the terror he was coming out of Florida State, when we hailed him as The Black Butkus.’

‘Look for the Jets to get rookie tight end Anthony Becht involved in the passing game soon – as soon as today against Buffalo. With the Bills stacking up against the Jets’ running game and Curtis Martin, the Jets might look to get the ball outside in – away from 350-pound Bills’ NT Ted Washington. They also might look to open it up with more passes to the tight end.’

‘The Jets are 2-0 for the first time since 1994. If they can get off to a better offensive start at 1 p.m. today against the Buffalo Bills, the Jets will set themselves up to achieve an even rarer feat their first 3-0 start since 1966. In fourth-quarter comeback wins against Green Bay and New England, the offense has started like a power lawn mower left out in the rain that needs several pulls before sputtering to life. "We have to get off on the right foot early," center Kevin Mawae said. "We can’t win every game in the fourth quarter."’

‘The Bills’ offense has a lot of things to improve on, like running the ball and protecting Johnson, but just getting the ball hiked without mistakes in today’s first road test will be a challenge. "We know crowd noise is going to be a factor but we’ve got to keep our composure and not get frustrated if things don’t go well in the beginning," running back Antowain Smith said. "We’ve got to keep plugging and hope something gives for us…This is a big matchup. It’s going to be a matter of will, which team is going to be more physical."’

‘Bills win if…They shut down Martin and force the Jets to be one-dimensional on offense. Of course, QB Vinny Testaverde has been at his best this season when he’s had to rely heavily on the passing game at the end of games…They avoid turnovers. This is their first road game and it will be difficult to communicate on offense. Johnson will get sacked, and when he does, he has to protect the ball and not fumble it away…They can establish their own running game. This will bring their play-action passing back into use, and when the Bills have that working, they are tough to stop.’

‘Short of banging his head against the wall, there is not much the New York Jets’ Curtis Martin can do to prepare for an afternoon of running into mounds of Buffalo Bills gut. "Between the two of them (defensive linemen Ted Washington and Pat Williams) you have about 700 pounds in there," Martin said. "It’s not a game I look forward to, to be honest."’

‘After missing the entire 1999 season, New York Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde would be expected to have some cobwebs early this season. Fortunately for Jets fans, the veteran has been able to shake them for fourth-quarter rallies in his team’s first two wins. But Testaverde, who today will face the AFC’s leading defence in the Buffalo Bills, believes he’ll need a quicker start if his team is to go 3-0. “We’re going to have to go out right away and play some good football this week if we’re going to have any chance to beat the Bills,” Testaverde said. “But we definitely have confidence that no matter what the situation is at the end of the game, we can come back.”‘