Archives for August 2001

‘”I couldn’t have picked a better scenario than to stay in Buffalo and have the West Coast offense come here,” Van Pelt said Friday. “I think this is a great fit for me.”‘

‘Fans en route to the stadium will find construction at the Thruway near the Route 190 interchange; Transit Road in Elma and West Seneca; Union Road in Cheektowaga near William Street; Orchard Park Road in Orchard Park; Route 5 in Lackawanna and Route 179 in Hamburg.’

‘Coach Gregg Williams isn’t a fan of rookie hazing. "I believe that young guys in this league have to earn their place," Williams said. "I don’t think there needs to be unnecessary hazing because we have to have young guys step up and improve this team. We are not about hazing. We are about making you earn your dues. Those kind of things we haven’t been doing and won’t do."’

‘It makes the Oct. 28 meeting between the Chargers and Bills in San Diego one of the dream matchups of the coming NFL season. Bills owner Ralph Wilson guaranteed that. When Wilson became incensed that Butler was bolting for San Diego, he was quoted as saying he’d rather beat the Chargers than win the Super Bowl.’

‘Doug Flutie remembers the snickers around the league when he first became a Buffalo Bill in 1998 — that at age 35 he was too old. Now he sees becoming a 40-something quarterback in the NFL as a badge of honour that may be his lasting legacy.’

‘Williams said his headset system connects him to all his offensive assistants and his defensive assistants with the flip of a switch. He has a direct line to offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard, who will work from the press box and relay play calls through quarterbacks coach Steve Kragthorpe, and defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who will be on the sideline.’

‘Head Coach Gregg Williams thinks any one of the three leading candidates at running back — Sammy Morris, Shawn Bryson and Travis Henry — is capable of starting at the position. What Williams doesn’t know is which one it’s going to be when the Buffalo Bills open the regular season Sept. 9 against the New Orleans Saints.’

‘"It’s not just three of us out there doing the work," says Williams, who turns 29 on Oct. 24. "Now, it will be me and Phil (Hansen) and Shawn Price and Erik Flowers and some of the other young guys. I don’t see the pressure being on just me. It’s on the entire line because we are trying to replace not just Ted but also Marcellus Wiley."’

‘"It’s hard to find a flaw in the organization," he said. "They have a lot of good teachers, they’re getting things installed and they’ve got a really good, solid plan that the players seem to believe in. They’re doing it the right way."’

"I think this will be a good test for [us], going into the first pre-season game," coach Gregg Williams said at his press conference today. "[The Titans] played St. Louis in the second pre-season game when I was at Tennessee last year, and also we had the opportunity to practice against them in the first week of training camp, just like we did with Cleveland this past week.

"For the fans, the pre-season’s tough to judge. It’s hard to determine exactly where your team is, but we feel our fans will see regardless of who’s on the field, a well-prepared team that will play hard and with a lot of enthusiasm. I think those are the things the fans can look for as the pre-season begins to unfold."

‘"If you know Billy, when you’re in meetings with him every day for the past four years, you know that the only thing that he’s lacking is experience," veteran tackle John Fina said Friday during training camp at St. John Fisher College outside of Rochester, N.Y. "As far as the calls being made, Billy can make them in his sleep."’

‘The last time the Bills played a game in Orchard Park, it was one of the worst weather conditions ever seen for a Bills game, with snow, wind and ice making for a blustery afternoon in Buffalo’s home finale against New England.’

‘FULL SQUAD SIGNING ON FRIDAY: While there are no more Monday night

practices, the Bills would like to alert fans that there will be a total of six practice sessions between now and the end of camp when the entire team will sign autographs following the session.’

‘Bills quarterback Rob Johnson answered questions e-mailed from buffalobills.com users. Thanks to Rob for taking time out to answer the questions, as well as the fans for sending them in!’