Archives for May 17, 2006

‘Buffalo’s special teams coordinator said he and his head coach have hand numerous discussions about personnel and several other aspects of the team and the organization, but what responsibilities his new title might carry hasn’t been covered. "Coach Jauron is swamped as you are any time you change jobs," said April. "It’s a nightmare to get acclimated to the people here and your personnel and the new personnel you acquire. I tried to stay away to let him do all of those things."’

‘Whether you love Flutie or hate him, you can’t deny this simple fact: He was a winner. His 21-9 record as a starter in Buffalo is far better than his successors. He was knocked for never winning a playoff game here, but the Bills haven’t been to the postseason since he left.’

‘His signing in 1998 by the Bills was bigger news in Canada than it was in Western New York. In the Canadian Football League, he was a winner from British Columbia to Toronto. At that point in the NFL, he had not lived up to the Heisman hype with either the New England Patriots or Chicago Bears. But the Bills gave him one more shot – and, in a sense, he saved the franchise for the region.’

‘"Quite often, I get asked, ‘What’s a Hokie?’ I would tell a few guys, you just have no idea. But they want to know, so I say, ‘OK, here you go: A Hokie is an ass-kickin’ chicken.’ "’

‘The Norfolk native initially thanked his parents, for the way they raised him. Then Smith, 42, credited Bill Dooley, his coach at Virginia Tech. “He had a profound impact on my career, and my life as well,” Smith said of Dooley, the Hokies coach from 1978 to’86.’

‘No, he won’t be remembered as one of the greatest players in Bills history. But in just three seasons with the team he established himself as one of their greatest entertainers and one of their greatest winners.’