Two Bills Drive

‘Tennessee contacted two veteran kickers yesterday, engaging in preliminary conversations that could lead to visits by John Carney and Steve Christie.’

‘How important are the Bills to this community? When Donahoe officially made the announcement that Johnson was the man at 7 p.m. Wednesday, the news conference was carried live by Channel 2, Channel 23 (Channel 4’s sister station) and Empire. And all three 11 p.m. newscasts led with the Bills’ selection.’

‘Speaking of mistakes, local radio outlets certainly were having a field day with another blunder by WGR-AM on a big Bills story.’

‘Stop the presses. A broadcasting executive has admitted a mistake. Bob Koshinski, the general manager of the Empire Sports Network, deserves some applause for admitting that he blew it when he decided against carrying Thurman Thomas’ retirement as a Buffalo Bill live on Wednesday afternoon.’

‘The Bills saved some more salary cap room by spreading out money in Johnson’s contract. The terms were finalized late Thursday night, an NFL source told The News. The Bills now stand about $2.8 million under the NFL salary cap of $67.4 million, according to a source with the NFL Players Association.’

‘Doug Flutie entered the rotunda of the historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace on Friday with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. This hardly looked like a man who had lost the battle to be the Buffalo Bills undisputed starting quarterback to Rob Johnson.’

‘"I’m not bitter," the 37-year-old quarterback said. "I’m looking at it as a great opportunity for me. For the first time as a free agent in the NFL, I’m not knocking down doors. They’re looking for me."’

‘His 2000 sack total was two more than he recorded in his first three seasons combined. The consensus among NFL observers is that Wiley is capable of being a dominant player for many years.’

‘"The only thing that makes me shake my head is wondering what more could I have done? But they’re basically saying they think Rob is better than I am, but that (sense of hurt) basically lasted for two hours. I’m in the driver’s seat now."’

‘After hearing from four teams in the past two days, the popular quarterback thinks he’ll find a starting job for next season.’

‘Wiley also plans to meet next week with Oakland and Seattle, said his agent Brad Blank. The defensive end has also said he’ll give the Bills a chance to re-sign him.’

‘Butler and Smith have chased Flutie before, when bringing him to the Bills from the CFL three years ago. And while the 5-foot-10 Flutie hasn’t grown since, his NFL stature has, after winning 21 of his 30 starts.’

‘…the moves could help them make a run at quarterback Doug Flutie and defensive end Marcellus Wiley, both of whom were brought to Buffalo by Butler. In fact, Butler spoke with Wiley’s agent, Brad Blank, after the opening of free-agency at 9 PST last night. The two agreed to talk again today to arrange a visit.’

‘"As a businessman, this has been one hell of a ride, and I’ll be forever grateful to Doug Flutie and Buffalo Bills fans," Ballou said. "But marketing is all about reinventing yourself, so that’s what we’ll do. Who knows, maybe we’ll be back with Flutie Flakes for San Diego or Cleveland, or wherever Doug lands."’

‘It is, to put it mildly, counterintuitive to keep a quarterback who has a starting record of 7-10 over the past three seasons and cut a quarterback who went 21-9 over the same span. But it seems to us the Bills made the right choice.’