Two Bills Drive

‘”This year’s president is Mark Brammer, Vice President is Lou Piccone, Treasurer is Charley Ferguson, and Bills Alumni Will Fowler and Bob Dugan are also officers. Ed Rutkowski, Ernie Warlick, Booker Edgerson, Jeff Nixon, Hilton Crawford and Carl Byrum are also extremely active. There are over 30 Alumni living in the WNY area and they all try to stay involved in one form or another. Their dedication to the WNY area is extremely admirable.”‘

‘”We were hopeful we could have some discussions, but they just seem to be pretty firm in the fact they want to get out there and test it,” Donahoe said Tuesday. “There’s not much we can do. When somebody doesn’t want to talk, it’s not a very good conversation.”‘

‘”We have interest,” said Bills general manager Tom Donahoe Tuesday when asked how serious the club is in making a Henson deal. “It was a good workout but there are a lot of hoops to jump through. Houston has to get him signed before they can trade him. Whether he’s signable is a major issue.”‘

‘AstroPlay, comprising synthetic blades of grass and crushed tires, has a lifespan of about eight years in extreme weather conditions. The surface needs a once-a-year grooming by a ride-on broom machine.’

‘"I was surprised although the fact that Chuck and I didn’t get along, it probably shouldn’t have surprised me," Seymour said. "But I was surprised that it was an unconditional trade and that (the Steelers) didn’t know that I was coming off (knee) surgery. In fact, I told them that they were really getting the short end of the trade because I was still recovering. The week before (the trade) I could barely walk, but they put me in on a couple goal line plays in a game against Detroit and showed the film to Pittsburgh and said that I was okay. Pittsburgh believed it."’

‘Bess still makes his home in Minnesota with his wife, Sonia, and their daughter, Brittany, who is a high school junior. For the past 14 years, he has worked as a industrial technology teacher and this year became Minneapolis North High School’s school-to-work coordinator in tech education. He is also the school’s head football and baseball coach.’

CFL WR Jason Tucker is one of the most coveted free agents on the market. He has worked out with the Buffalo Bills and expects to hear later this week whether they’ll make an offer. His first choice in the CFL is Edmonton, but he’s open to other offers.

‘”It took a little while to put this staff together, longer than some other teams have done, but it was important, for the sake of the personality of the team, to make sure we had the right fit,” said Mularkey, the former Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator who was hired on Jan. 13. “To be honest, I was very lucky to get all of these guys and keep the guys around here that we did.”‘

‘There are six unrestricted free agents but GM Tom Donahoe is expected to allow each to test the market, including starting CB Antoine Winfield. The Bills have been in talks with Winfield but the player would like to explore his options. The franchise (guaranteed top five salary) or transition tags would give Buffalo right-of-first-refusal options but they are not likely to be exercised.’

‘McNally is among the very best at his craft and he’ll have his work cut out in Buffalo, where the Bills allowed an NFL-most 51 sacks last season and quarterback Drew Bledsoe is among the easiest targets to hit.’

‘Already, two things are apparent: It’s good to have Wyche’s sense of humor back in the league, and the Bills will be heard from when it comes time for the Henson deal to get done. We’re not saying Henson, the former Michigan standout turned baseball player turned Houston Texans-owned trade bait, should start picking out a winter coat for upstate New York. It’s just that, for the second time in three years, Buffalo might be in the best position to trade a high-round pick for a quarterback being shopped far and wide.’

‘Granted, Drew Bledsoe’s dismal season in 2003 raised serious questions about the position in both the short and long run. For the immediate future, Donahoe’s clearly banking on Mularkey, Clements and Wyche to rebuild Bledsoe’s faulty mechanics and soothe his fractured psyche through better coaching and game planning.’

"We do have 40 suites to sell yet. That will be a big challenge for us," said Erland "Erkie" Kailbourne, still chairman of the Business Backs the Bills committee that, then and now, is very involved in lining up clients for the open suites and club seats.

‘Bledsoe has been sacked 103 times the past two seasons. Some of that has to do with Buffalo’s offensive line, but Wyche plans to teach Bledsoe how to help them help him. For one thing, Bledsoe can tuck the ball and run more. Bledsoe, run? “Sometimes you’re groomed one way and you don’t test yourself in certain areas,” Wyche said. “We’re going to test him.”‘

It appears Tucker will go to camp with a chance to win the starting spot at right guard, where he played very effectively in the second half of last season. In his first Bills start, in November, the offense totaled 403 yards. The Bills rushed for over 200 yards in his second start.