Two Bills Drive

‘A lot of players had their gripes about the way things were being approached. But it’s paying off. "Coach Groh has set a course, and the ship has sailed, and we’re heading in a good direction." For a change, the ship isn’t beginning to sink before the turning of the autumn leaves.’

‘Because the Bills were down for so long throughout the late ’60s, much of the ’70s and a good part of the ’80s there is the perception that the Bills were never truly born until the Jim Kelly era began in 1986. For long-time observers that is certainly not the case and many can just as easily recite the names of those AFL championship teams as they could the Bills Super Bowl squads.’

‘But finally, what really sealed the deal for the Bills were turnovers. If the game was markedly closer than the score might indicate, the Bills destroyed themselves by committing three turnovers in the game’s final 15 minutes.’

‘Cornerback Marcus Coleman caught a 45-yard scoring pass from Vinny Testaverde on the final play of the first half Sunday, breaking a tie and lifting the Jets to a 27-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills. “We work on that play every Friday, so I knew there was a possibility we would run it,” Coleman said of his spot on the Jets’ alley-oop pass unit. “I was surprised that no one was on me as I ran down the middle. Once the ball was in the air, I don’t care who was around me, I think the ball is mine.’

‘The Jets made all the big plays, getting a 97-yard kickoff return from Kevin Williams in the first quarter and another touchdown on a fourth-down run by tight end Fred Baxter in the second period.’

‘Bill Parcells is a big man … and his shadow is vastly larger than his considerable physical size. That’s Al Groh’s problem. The latest coach of the New York Jets is going to have a hard time establishing an identity away from his long-time friend and current benefactor.’

‘"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.’