Two Bills Drive

‘While Millen’s comments had no effect on Sunday’s game and have been largely forgotten by the players, there is still a lingering uneasiness with the coaching staff. By all accounts, Mornhinweg was white-hot mad at Millen over the weekend, first for saying anything in the first place and, second, for leaving town and making Mornhinweg clean up his mess.’

‘Cornerback Marcus Floyd, released by the New York Jets last month, was signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad on Tuesday.’

‘”The big thing for this team is that we’ve gotten better each week … we’ve seen continuous improvement across the board. Our offensive line loses a player like Mike Williams (first round draft choice) and Marcus (Price) comes in (at right tackle) and we just keep rolling.”‘

‘What this means, as I see it, is that while no one should get too carried away with expectations, it is becoming clear most of us underestimated what Drew Bledsoe would mean to this team. If he stays healthy, and other key people don’t go down for extended periods of time, there’s no reason this team can’t continue to surprise us. It’s far from a one man effort, but that sure is where this all starts.’

‘Floyd was released by the New York Jets last month. He takes over the spot vacated by Ahmad Brooks, who was promoted to the Bills’ active roster last week to fill in for injured starting cornerback Antoine Winfield.’

The Bills announced that the team has signed defensive back Marcus Floyd to its practice squad.

Floyd (5-9, 185) was with the Jets in the 2002 preseason and spent the first two weeks of the regular season on New York’s 53-man roster before being released on 9/22/02

Several Buffalo Bills players are spending their day off in the community. Among them, linebacker London Fletcher will attend an autograph signing session at Verizon Wireless in the Boulevard Mall from 5:00 – 6:00 PM to promote the HopeLine Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign.

‘Henry’s 132-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday gives him 631 yards for the season, fourth best in the AFC and sixth in the NFL. Of all the running backs with 100 or more carries, Henry’s 4.8 yards per attempt is second only to Marshall Faulk’s 4.9.’

‘They could take a four-game winning streak and a 6-3 record into the bye week. That’s a big leap, but they believe they can do it. If it happens, Williams will have gone from a "coach on the hot seat" to hot young coach, and – brace yourself – maybe even a candidate for coach of the year.’

‘"Mike Williams had a great workout Saturday, Sunday and (Monday). Hopefully we can work him back out on the field this week. We’ll take a look at how he is (today), but Wednesday will be a crucial day to see how far along he’s come."’

‘The 4-3 Bills are averaging 31 points per game, the third-highest average in the NFL. If the Lions, who haven’t won a road game since the 2000 season, are going to keep pace they can’t afford to make the same mistakes they made against the Bears. Detroit committed 10 penalties for 79 yards, not including the 63-yard kickoff return which Chicago had in the fourth quarter after the Lions were called for offside and had to rekick.’

‘”We came out in the second half and everyone knows we’re going to run it and the offensive line still did a good job against one of the top defenses in the league,” Bledsoe said. “It’s a nice feeling … and it all starts up front. It’s a young group that keeps getting better every week.”‘

‘Even if they are 6-3 after this two-game homestand heading into their bye, I can see a scenario where the Bills will need to beat the Bengals in the final game of the year just to hit .500.’

‘At the start of the season, Sunday’s game between the Bills and the Detroit Lions looked like a real dog, a game between two teams that combined to win five games in 2001. Now, as we approach the midway point of the 2002 season, Ralph Wilson Stadium will be sold out, and the game is vitally important for the Bills, and reasonably important to the Lions.’

‘They have not won a road game since Mornhinweg took over last year. The road losing streak has reached 11 games, and they will be underdogs when they play Sunday at Buffalo.’