Archives for October 2001

‘This should be brutal. This should be acrimonious. This should be nasty and cold-blooded. This should be wonderful.’

‘Enjoy it while it lasts, San Diego. Before you know it Butler will be dealing out oversized contracts to every middle-of-the-road Charger, spending your franchise into salary-cap poverty. And when the deed is done, when the options are to either tough it out or find a new sugar-daddy owner to feed his spending habit, Butler will reach for the money faster than the toad inhales the fly. Just ask us. We know.’

‘Buffalo Bills starting right tackle Jonas Jennings missed practice Monday and will be evaluated through Wednesday before the team determines if he will be able to play in Sunday’s game at San Diego.’

‘Flutie, who is close to sainthood in Buffalo — Chargers games now regularly televised in Western New York gather ridiculously high 14 ratings — loves the Buffalonians. But he echoes Butler when discussing Wilson’s statement. “He’s got a lot of explaining to do to his players,” Flutie said.’

‘"I look forward to these types of games," Johnson said on Monday. "It kind of reminds you of a college-type rivalry and that sort of thing. Definitely, it gives fans something to talk about and makes it a little more interesting." Maybe more than a little.’

‘Seau is cautiously optimistic that he’ll be able to play in San Diego’s grudge match against Buffalo despite a groin pull that kept him out of the second half of the Chargers’ 27-10 win over Denver on Sunday…Flutie, meanwhile, will face a forest of birthday candles when he turns 39 on Tuesday. Flutie says he feels more like he’s 25 on game days.’

‘The second shot in advance of Sunday’s Flutie-Rob Johnson showdown came out of San Diego where former Bills linebacker Sam Rogers had this assessment: "This is a game we should win by 10 points at least," Rogers said. "I don’t think (the Bills) can sneak one out."’

‘"It’s of no significance to me," said Williams when asked about Wilson’s feud with Butler. "It’s the most important game of our season — because it’s the game we have this week."’

‘Buffalo management has cut too far and too deep. These players aren’t the Buffalo Bills to me. This is like an expansion team with an old, familiar name. I hope the Bills do leave western New York. I don’t want my taxes supporting these impostors.’

(tie) Buffalo QB Rob Johnson and New England WR David Patten. Johnson, with his 23-of-30, 1 TD performance in the Bills’ first win of the season Thursday night at Jacksonville, is a symbolic pick.

Don’t place blame — find solutions. That’s what the Buffalo Bills did this week. They simplified their game-plans and worked on fundamentals. They didn’t run that 4-6 defense with all the clever blitzes.

Buffalo at San Diego Rob Johnson vs. Doug Flutie . This is one game that I really think Buffalo prefers to play on the road. The general sentiment in Buffalo is that the fans love Doug Flutie. Johnson had a very good game against Jacksonville. I think San Diego has learned their lessons on the road — they have to earn every victory. This will be a very hyped game in both cities.

‘It’s about Johnson and Flutie. It figures to stay that way until Sunday. And probably long after.’

‘”It’s the best game I’ve seen out of Rob,” said A.J. Smith, the Bills’ former pro scouting director who now fills the same duties for the San Diego Chargers. “He did an outstanding job. He looked very comfortable, made all the plays. And his accuracy, it was outstanding.”

‘Fred Rogers, from TV’s "Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood": "Sometimes a football game makes us very happy, like after an onside kick that our team recovers on the first play of a game. Other times, it makes us sad, like when some knucklehead on our team gives the ball back on a fumble. It’s best to draw pictures of the play that made you the angriest, then have Dad roll it up in a big envelope and send it to One Bills Drive, c/o Gregg Williams. He’ll be very happy you shared your feelings."’

‘Some observers believe Wilson went too far with his statements about how badly he wants to win this game. Given the lost season this is turning out to be for the Bills, the "Ralph Bowl" is about as good as it’s going to get.’