Two Bills Drive

Another excellent article by TBD feature writer, Bob Lamb.

‘”We’d still like to utilize Kevin as a receiver because he can play,” coach Wade Phillips said. “He made some big catches for us last year. He’s got great speed and he’s a threat to run with it after the catch. But we’d like to pick up our return game and we’re emphasizing that as much as we can with him.”‘

‘Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson already is receiving a strong push from some members of the NFL media corps for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2000. He deserves it.’

‘There are “signs” this just may very well be the Bills’ swan song in Fredonia, as in directional signs with a Wegmans logo on them that greet drivers as they exit the New York State Thruway…Wegmans, the supermarket chain based in Rochester, is now the “presenting sponsor” of training camp…Ironically, though, there is not a Wegmans store to be found around the Dunkirk/Fredonia area.’

‘The Buffalo Bills didn’t hear the whispers that 5-foot-8 Antoine Winfield was too small to play cornerback in the NFL. Today, they’re glad their hearing wasn’t real sharp.’

‘In his Pro Football Hall of Fame speech Saturday, Billy Shaw thanked just about everybody. Except his wife.’

‘”It’s going smoothly now,” Price said. Last week I was nervous and wondering if I could compete at this level. Once I got my feet wet, I became more comfortable. I picked up most of it, I’m still learning how to do the blitz pickups and the spread offense, but as soon as I get that down, I can go out and react on every play.”‘

‘”Our competition level is certainly up this year,” Phillips said. “Last year we needed some guys to come through and we got that so we were able to be successful. This year there’s a lot of competition going in and as we’ve gone along here. They say during the Super Bowl years they had that kind of competition here, so that’s a good positive note for us.”‘

‘”Sometimes the good guys don’t win. That’s life. But it doesn’t mean you have to lose your faith,” Irvin said. “Just because you’ve lost in the game, you don’t lose in life. Marlon is probably more of a man because he believes he’s going to come back. Nobody wants to go through difficulties, but that’s life, too. You have to overcome things.”‘

‘”I want to be in the same situation where we can rest Bruce and we still play winning football. I’m starting to see the gray hairs coming out of (Smith’s) nostrils, so it’s almost my turn, but it’s not there yet, I have to wait until the full beard turns gray.”‘

An article promoting Bob Hayes (former Dallas Cowboy and a current Jacksonville resident) for the Hall Of Fame. The article includes a comment from former Cowboys president Tex Schramm (who also drafted Billy Shaw only to see Shaw sign with the Bills): “As for Billy Shaw, a Bills guard in the 1960s who was elected into the Hall of Fame this year by the Seniors Committee, Schramm said, ”You tell me what Billy Shaw did. I don’t even remember who he was, and I was in the league.””

‘In the offseason Moulds was ordered to serve a 30-day jail term for contempt of court for delaying child support payments. Moulds, who is appealing the sentence, paid all of the back child support and complied with the other arrangements a few days before he was to go to court over the matter. He didn’t dodge the issue at training camp Friday. “There were some things that happened in my past that came back against me,” Moulds said. “It’s something I have to learn from.”’

‘Billy Shaw, you are the only Hall of Famer who spent his entire career in the AFL. You were always a gentleman when you played. Many of today’s stars could take a lesson from you. You pumped your arms and clapped your hands Friday morning, and Friday night. Yes, you are finally here, and deservedly so.’

‘”It’s not going to be exactly a scrimmage,” Phillips said. “We’ll go through all of our game procedures like making substitutions, things we’d do in a game. It will be physical, but we’re not going to tackle them and take them to the ground. It’ll be physical, but not a scrimmage per se.”‘

‘”Buffalo was a great place to play,” he said. “The people of Buffalo are wonderful, they took this southern boy in and put their arms around me. I can’t say enough for the treatment I received from the people of Buffalo.”‘