Two Bills Drive

‘"We couldn’t go wrong either way if we had taken Michael Vick," Chargers General Manager John Butler said this week. "We thought that he was just one heck of a football player. But we needed more than just one player."’

‘In negotiating a new lease with Erie County for the stadium that now bears his name, Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. extracted a variety of concessions and flat-out grants that amounted to a $123 million package when the deal was finalized in 1998.’

‘The last time the Chargers were in Kansas City – Dec. 23 of last year – it was 28 degrees. “That was so co-o-old,” said defensive end Raylee Johnson. That was the sixth consecutive game played in chill below 40 degrees that the Chargers lost.’

‘It’s late, it’s freezing, snowing hard, and Bills are Buffaloed when Drew Brees hits Doug Flutie with the winning touchdown pass. Chargers, 24-21.’

Last year, the Bills were 3-13. The season will obviously be an improvement, but by how much? That's a question only the Bills can answer in the next three weeks. A 9-7 finish-or even 8-8-would certainly give the team a strong springboard into 2003.

‘The only ex-Bills contributing on the field this season for San Diego are kicker Steve Christie and defensive end Marcellus Wiley.’

‘[Q:] Have you hit the rookie ‘wall’ yet? [A:] ”I’m actually doing OK. Last year in college, I played 15 games, a bowl game and two All-Star games. I didn’t stop playing football until February. The way I look at this season, is that we’ve got three weeks left and then hopefully we’ve got the playoffs.”’

‘”I just don’t think we’ll ever see anything like that again,” said the man who was one of the primary architects of Buffalo’s Super Bowl run of the early 1990s. “We had a special group of guys. They were resilient, and we were able to keep them together for a long time. The way the game has changed with free agency and the salary cap, I just can’t see that happening again where you are able to retain a corps of players that defy the odds and go to four straight Super Bowls.”‘

‘Yeah, the Buffalo Bills are still alive in the AFC playoff race … and David Letterman might take over for Dan Rather on the CBS Nightly News.’

‘He ranks third in the league in rushing with 1,375 yards. And considering the Bills have the 31st-ranked run defence — which the Dolphins exploited to the tune of 228 Williams yards two weeks ago — it’s not hard to guess the Chargers’ game plan.’

‘As the ball sailed through the air, some players on both sidelines held hands, and when it went right, the Bills were stunned, not only because the game was lost, but also because Norwood had connected on several last-minute, game-winning kicks in previous years. They weren’t simply hoping Norwood would connect, they fully expected him to.’

”’I used to laugh at articles in the paper when they used to say the opponents are going to be at a disadvantage,” Wiley said. ”I was like, ‘Man, I play with the Bills and I’m not used to the cold.’ They’re going to be just as cold as we are. I don’t care who they are or how many years they played there.”’

Tom Donahoe knows about salary cap problems. He knows about seasons sacrificed to the concept of salary cap repair, and about weathering the storm of criticism that accompanies self-imposed losing, and about somehow remaining firm and committed and hopeful of what a couple seasons of sacrifice will mean to the long-term health of the franchise.

When did you start wearing earplugs and why? – Dan (Dudley, MA)

“I learned it from Jeff Feagles my first season, preseason, with the Seahawks. He’s been doing it for years and he got me into it. I started doing it religiously over in Europe when I was over there (for the NFL Europe season) because they have very loud stadiums with all the noisemakers they use. I just feel like it helps me concentrate – block out the background noise – and let me focus on what my job is.”

The Ft. Lauderdale, FL-based Sports Fans of America Association, Inc. has awarded its 2002 NFL Sports Fan’s Quality Award to the Buffalo Bills as the league’s “Fan Friendliest” team.