Archives for January 3, 2002

"I’m really proud of how Alex has done, and I think I’ve said several times before, there wasn’t another team in the National Football League that was willing to give him a shot as a number three, and we brought him in here to be a two, and he’s done a great job with that. He’s rallied the team, has played very well, and will be there with a good game plan going in there this week to play the Dolphins, and we’re comfortable with Alex, and want him to continue to be a Buffalo Bill."

‘Brown has been selected to the AFC’s team every year since 1996, and joins Steve Tasker, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith as one of only four Bills to be selected at least six years in a row. For Centers, he becomes just the sixth player to represent each conference in the league’s All-Star game, having been selected to the 1995 and 1996 NFC squads as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.’

"Pleasantly surprised, and as always it’s an honor to be voted by your peers and coaches and the fans out there who are watching us play. As an offensive lineman, it’s a big honor. I can’t do it alone, I have teammates who help me be me, and I’m pretty fortunate in having John Fina, who’s been my partner for seven years, and Billy Conaty, who did a great job for us this year and helped me do my job and a lot of the credit goes to those guys."

"Rob has had a difficult season because of the injuries. He played a couple of games where he was very good in Jacksonville and San Diego, to name two, and I thought even our first game in Indy, he played well in that game. Unfortunately, early in the year we had some injuries, we had a lot of things going on with the offensive line, and the offense in general that made it hard to evaluate Rob fairly."

"Being in Buffalo would be great, either way – starting or back-up. If we both come back, Rob comes back and I’m here, I would be in a position to back Rob up, which is fine with me. I understand that, and that’s a situation which would make me just as happy, being here."

‘In terms of progress, the last half of the season, this team has played a lot better football. We didn’t play well in San Francisco, but other than that game, each game since the middle of the year we’ve been competitive, and it’s come down to the end, and we’ve had chances to win. We haven’t won as many as we should have, and we’re disappointed in that, but there’s been progress. ‘

‘It’s apparent that the high cost of the final year of Johnson’s contract will make his return questionable. Very questionable.’

‘The selection was the sixth straight for Brown, an honor only three other Bills have achieved.’

‘Moulds said Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made contact with him last offseason about Moulds’ potential interest in giving the NBA a shot.’

‘"This is a place where we’ve made our home, my daughter was born here, we have another one that’s going to be born in February here," Van Pelt said. "We have a house here, we love it here, if possible we’d love to stay here."’

‘There have been some years when it seemed like Brown made the Pro Bowl purely on reputation, but this was not one of them. This may be the 305-pounder’s best season.’

‘With his sixth season drawing to a close, however, Moulds, 28, said he yearns to play basketball professionally, the sport he loves the most.’

‘Despite posting double-digit victories in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1984 and 1985, the Dolphins actually lost ground in the annual beauty contest that is the Pro Bowl.’

‘Linebacker Zach Thomas was limited in practice and had a Magnetic Resonance Imaging exam done afterward Wednesday but was listed as probable for Sunday’s game against Buffalo.’

‘The Dolphins’ two Pro Bowl selections are considerably down from their total of seven a year ago.’