Archives for June 2003

‘This is a football bearing the signatures of more than half the members of the Buffalo Bills 1965 American Football League championship team. There’s Jack Kemp and Daryle Lamonica. Mike Stratton and Marty Schottenheimer. Billy Shaw and George Saimes. Twenty-five players all told.’

‘The Bills have hired Terry Wooden and Tom Roth in the scouting department.’

‘"It’s very comfortable being back with Drew," Gash said. "We went through a lot of wars and a lot of battles together. He knows me and my personality and he knows I’m going to give everything that I have to the team. I don’t think there’s a better quarterback in the league. It’s amazing how much he’s grown as a player since we’ve played together."’

‘Wooden, who completed a nine-year playing career with Oakland in 1998, was hired as an area scout. He also played seven seasons at Seattle and a year at Kansas City.’

RB O.J. Simpson rushed for an NFL record 250 yards on 29 carries and Larry Watkins also topped 100 yards.

The team set records for rushing yards (360), attempts (51) and rushing first downs (18).

The Bills today announced that the team has made some additions to its scouting staff, hiring Terry Wooden as an area scout and Tom Roth as College Scouting Administrator.

“I think the sleeping giant is about to awaken in Buffalo,” says Colts GM Bill Polian, the lead architect of the Bills’ Super Bowl run in the early 1990s. “Last year, (Bills GM) Tom Donahoe did a great job repairing their offense, and this year he appears to have done a similarly great job of fixing their defense. So much, of course, can still happen, with injuries, bad bounces of the ball, etc. But on paper, that’s now a football team that has to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball.”

‘Drew Bledsoe…$ 9,501,530’.

‘I didn’t have thoughts about not talking about [my alcoholism]. I had great thoughts of talking about it because I was put in a situation where I can help people. I was up (in Buffalo recently) for Jim Kelly’s (golf) tournament and all the guys were really proud of me for what I’ve been through and for the things I’ve said once I made that announcement. They’re just extremely proud of me. A lot of them go through some situations that they really don’t care to talk about, but my point was more of – ‘hey, I’m an athlete. I’ve always been an athlete and I want to help as many people as I possibly can, even if they’re athletes or not.’"’

Defensive lineman DeVonte Peterson, who spent the recently concluded 2003 NFL Europe League season with the Scottish Claymores, has reached a contract agreement with the Colts. Peterson played at both DT and DE and posted 22 tackles, one sack and one pass defensed on a unit that was arguably NFLE’s best defensive line. Peterson was in the Buffalo Bills’ training camp in 2001.

‘Certainly, no one has ever questioned Spoon’s toughness. But after suffering a sprained knee, dislocated elbow and torn biceps muscle in his first two NFL seasons, staying healthy has taken on greater importance.’

‘Compared to those players, Henry was a virtual pauper, earning $303,000 in his second season.’

RB Travis Henry had a banner season in 2002, rushing for 1,438 yards that ranks fifth on the Bills' single season chart. He became the 8th Bills' RB with a 1000-yard season and moved into the Bills' top 20 in career rushing yards.

I 100%, most definitely have BUFFALO BILL PRIDE oozing out from every part of my being. I am the best and most devoted Buffalo Bill fan in Maine!!!

In drills this spring, special teams coach Danny Smith has had to make adjustments to Lindell’s kickoff style in order to improve his consistency in getting the ball inside the 10-yard line.

“His consistency wasn’t very good on his kickoffs,” Smith said. “We’ve changed his approach and we’re kicking off better right now.”

But is it good enough to have Lindell, who signed a four-year, $4.25 million deal, kick away as far as he can as a strategy?

“To be honest, I don’t think so,” Smith said. “There’s only a handful of guys in the league who can do it and he’s not one of them. He’s a good kicker, but we’re going to have to move the ball around.”