Two Bills Drive

‘Johnson has nearly recovered from his separated shoulder, but lacks preparation time to be the starter when the Bills play Chicago in Orchard Park this Sunday, coach Wade Phillips said.’

‘No, we’re not taking about Al Gore and George W. Bush, but a race far more important to some Western New Yorkers. The Buffalo Bills could announce today if Doug Flutie or Rob Johnson will be the starting quarterback against the Chicago Bears Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘But don’t you find yourself wishing Rob had a little more Jim Kelly in him? Regardless of where you stand on the quarterback controversy, don’t you feel like shaking the guy and asking him to start acting more like a leader?’

‘"Those two guys especially have done well for us this year," Phillips said. "Steve Christie is the best clutch kicker I think anybody could have. Sam Cowart is playing tremendous football. He, to me, is the top linebacker in the league right now. He backs it up with the number of plays he’s made. We’ve seen him play at a tremendously high level."’

‘The story quoted a Bills player as saying, "Rob seems distracted by things, like wanting everyone to like him."’

‘Buffalo, Pittsburgh and the New York Jets are the only NFL teams to run a 3-4, which consists of three down linemen and four linebackers. The Steelers and Jets are ranked sixth and 13th, respectively, in the NFL in team defense.’

‘We still don’t know who our next president is going to be, and Flutie and Johnson still don’t know for certain which one of them will be the starting quarterback Sunday for the Bills when Chicago comes to Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘Johnson never will match the things Flutie does best, but he has the physical talent to take a good team a long way. The sooner he returns to the lineup and the more he plays, the more prepared he’ll be when the Bills become a serious Super Bowl contender.’

‘Place-kicker Steve Christie, who has four winning field goals this season and was 3-for-3 in last week’s 16-13 overtime victory over New England, yesterday earned his third AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award.’

‘"I’m still waiting to get a tryout with some premiership soccer team," Christie said with a laugh.’

‘If Al Gore and George W. Bush can wait, why not Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson?’

‘The more Buffalo coach Wade Phillips insisted Wednesday that there is no quarterback controversy on the Bills, the more controversial it became.’

‘”I’m going back to a stadium where I played seven years and that was home to me,” said Smith, the Bills’ No. 1 draft choice in 1993. “It’s definitely going to be emotional. It’s going to be different coming into that stadium and not being on the home sideline, being on the visiting sideline. I have some emotional ties to it because Buffalo gave me an opportunity drafting me and I’ve been there my whole career.”‘

‘And he’s got a point. The Bears have three quarterbacks who get along and are 2-7. The Bills have two quarterbacks who don’t and are 5-4 and alive for a playoff berth.’

‘"Their two nose tackles present a challenge for any center in the league," coach Dick Jauron said. "Washington is a giant man. And he’s a very talented athlete for that size. They’re not asking him to cover a lot of field, but the field that they ask him to cover, he does it very well. He takes two [blockers] at least, and lets their guys run."’