Two Bills Drive

‘Doug Flutie planned to arrive in San Diego on Monday night and meet with Chargers officials on Tuesday. New Chargers general manager John Butler, who brought Flutie back to the NFL when he was GM of the Buffalo Bills, is angling once again to sign him.’

‘Technically Johnson won the job, but it reality, all he was awarded was an opportunity.’

‘A San Diego radio station (XTRA 690), is reporting that Doug Flutie will meet with John Butler tonight. They say it is a confirmed story and a 2 year contract is being discussed. San Diego is $4 million under the cap.’

Dan Pompei says the West Coast offense is a solution to a league of imperfect passers. Four West Coast quarterbacks – Rich Gannon, Brian Griese, Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb – received Pro Bowl invitations in 2000, and another, Kerry Collins, went to the Super Bowl. None of these players was considered a Pro Bowl- or Super Bowl-caliber performer going into the season…

‘He receives a six-year deal worth $40 million, with a signing bonus of $9 million. His cap number for 2001 is $2 million, when including a $500,000 base salary.’

‘Wiley said he would miss Buffalo and its fans. He said the city opened its arms to him, and he felt as if he belonged. But the lure of returning to Southern California, where he grew up, was too attractive.’

Citing the NFL Management Council, at the start of free agency, Buffalo was $2.0 million under the cap – with a mere 43 players under contract.

The article begins with speculation that if Flutie were to sign with San Diego, he would be unwilling to step aside in two years for Michael Vick. Also: "In his exit physical with the Bills at the end of the 2000 season, Washington weighed 365 pounds. More significant, SportsLine.com has learned doctors found some arthritis in his right ankle." Also: "If you’re wondering why little-used tailback Antowain Smith has not been a part of the Buffalo Bills salary cap purge, it’s because general manager Tom Donahoe actually has a few teams interested in trading for the four-year veteran. Not a major deal, mind you…."

‘It was going to take a free-agent market miracle for the Buffalo Bills to be able to retain defensive end Marcellus Wiley. The miracle did not happen.’

‘That’s easy to do when a hard-luck team is coming off a 1-15 season, will benefit from a fifth-place schedule, and has the rights to the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL college draft.’

‘The red, blue and white of the Bills we know are synonymous with Buffalo. Look around. We’d all be hard-pressed to find someone we don’t know who doesn’t own some piece of Bills’ apparel. Men, women, teens, children. Winter jackets, baseball caps, sweatshirts, golf shirts.’

‘"Of the teams interested in Marcellus, and those in which he was interested, too, the Chargers seemed to be only one with sufficient cap room. The market is bad right now, and it’s going to get worse. We didn’t want to still be out there when all the money dried up."’

‘"Marcellus had certain expectations in terms of money and when he got what he wanted on that front San Diego was his first choice," Blank said. "Marcellus grew up and lives in Los Angeles and the Chargers were the team he wanted to play for."’

‘…the Bills couldn’t compete with the Chargers’ offer. And, so, on Sunday they looked on helplessly as Wiley signed a six-year deal, the second starter on the team’s defensive line to depart in two weeks.’

‘"I want to give John Butler all the credit in the world, but the proximity to Los Angeles was huge," Blank said. "Personally, I’d like to keep him on the East Coast, but he’s been away from home for a long time."’