Two Bills Drive

‘Levy wound up as a runner-up in four Super Bowls when he was handling the Buffalo Bills, not that that diminished him, in my thinking. His team taught us something about gallantry, about striving and failing and coming back to strive and fail some more. That was the Bills’ triumph and it was all of ours.’

‘But Gray’s departure didn’t surprise veteran running back Thurman Thomas.

“You don’t always see everything when you’re watching the game from the outside,” Thomas said. “A guy might not be playing as well in practice as he is in a game. (Gray) made a lot of mistakes and that might have cost him.”‘

‘The biggest surprise in that group was Gray, who had 156 yards on 43 carries with two touchdowns while averaging four yards per attempt during preseason. He seemed to have secured a roster spot in Saturday night’s 16-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, with 50 yards on 10 carries plus a 36-yard run that was wiped out by a holding penalty, it appeared Gray, a free agent from Western New Mexico, might have moved ahead of fumble-prone Jonathan Linton on the depth chart. Also surprising was the waiving of McDaniel, who had eight receptions and a touchdown catch during the preseason.’

‘It was expected that the Bills would keep five running backs, and after Smith, Thomas, Jonathan Linton and Sam Gash, Gray appeared to be head and shoulders above the other candidates in training camp. And he very well might have been, but coach Wade Phillips decided to keep only the four running backs.’

‘Doug Flutie will be the 13th different season-opening starting quarterback in the 40-year history of the Buffalo Bills…The only ones to win their first start were Flores, Ferguson and Collins. Their overall opening-week record is 17-22.’