Two Bills Drive

‘”The doctors wrote [my father] off about six or seven years ago,” Smith said last month. “They said he had six months to live, and my father’s still hanging around. He’s not in very good shape but he’s still passing on knowledge and experiences and wisdom, and that’s where I get my will to keep pushing on.”‘

‘Hansen is coming off a knee injury that ended his team-high ironman streak of consecutive starts at 86. It reminded teammates and media yet again just how underrated Hansen is while he plays alongside perennial Pro Bowlers Ted Washington and Bruce Smith, Buffalo’s all-time sack leader with 164.’

‘Hull and Levy think Spielman will make an exceptional coach but that it will take a special person to play for him. “We have a lot of the same qualities,” Hull said. “But I’m not sure I could play for him. He comes from a different breed. I will tell you this. If he decides to coach and finds the right players, they’ll be winners. He’ll take average and make them great.”‘

‘”He’s had some (stingers) so we thought we’d rest him a bit and give him some treatment,” Phillips said. “We’re on top of it. He’s had his MRIs.” Phillips said it hasn’t been determined if Panos will play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.’

Wow! ESPN actually gives the Bills one full sentence! Thank you ESPN. How can we ever show the depth of our gratitude?

‘It’s possible Bruce Smith will miss Saturday’s final preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘”I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Zeigler, the Bills starter at center since Kent Hull retired after the 1996 season. “I’m looking at it like whatever happens happens. If I get cut, hopefully some other team picks me up. Maybe it won’t happen right away, it might be in mid-season if somebody gets hurt. You’re always an injury away from playing. I can see that happening.”‘

‘Players cut Monday included quarterback Mike Cawley, …wide receivers Tony Akins, Todd Floyd and A.C. Tellison; guards Mercedes Hamilton, Corey Hulsey and Andy Meyers; linebackers Craig Guest and Dusty Renfro; running back Kendall Cleveland, safety Raion Hill, tight end Eric Stocz and kicker Jaret Holmes.’

‘”The cause of the fire was determined to be an infant child playing with a butane lighter igniting clothing in the bedroom,” East Aurora police said in a news release.’

‘Gray survived yesterday’s first roster cut, and with seven running backs/fullbacks left, seems assured of being one of the five ball carriers the Bills normally keep.’

‘Based on past numbers kept at each position, the Bills have no cuts to make at quarterback (three) or linebacker (nine). They do need to trim three receivers to get to five, two offensive linemen (nine), one tight end (three), two running backs (five), two defensive linemen (nine), two defensive backs (nine) and one punter (one).’

‘I’d feel comfortable with either Flutie or Johnson as starting QB. In my opinion, Flutie would be the more effective of the two coming off the bench.’

3. Buffalo Bills 10-6

‘The sponsorship agreement adds to the Bills’ impressive list of corporate sponsors that includes Pepsi, Wegmans, Xerox, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Anheuser Busch, Molson, Cellular One and McDonalds. The Bills, according to the National Football League, are among the top tier franchises in generating revenue through local and regional corporate deals.’

‘Is it possible that Rich/Bills/Ralph Wilson Stadium may one day again have a different name on it? That, it seems, may hinge on what kind of deal the next owner of the Bills strikes…”What the contract says is the Bills have a right to name the stadium,” said Michael Hughes, spokesperson for Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski, of the new lease agreement signed earlier this year. “The county has the rights to review it if the Bills sell the name of it.”‘