Two Bills Drive

‘The "Big Three" of the Buffalo Bills came up big.’

‘”That’s what the New England Patriots underestimated,” Milloy said last week as the Buffalo Bills prepared for today’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. “They underestimated me as a man and the things I went through. A weak person wouldn’t have been able to make that decision. A weak person would have said “OK’, and signed whatever they wanted you to sign. I couldn’t sell my soul.”‘

‘"It’s an entirely different challenge than we had going into the Patriots game, where you’re trying to account for all the different fronts," said Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe. "These guys don’t try to fool you, they just line up and say, "Here we come.’ "’

‘"It’s been my experience in my time in the league that sometimes success can be as hard to deal with as failure," quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. "I’ve been on a couple teams in the past that started out very fast and went on and stumbled down the stretch and didn’t end up tackling that early success and carrying it through the season."’

‘Taylor’s skills as a runner are enough to keep the Bills on their toes. But with the Jaguars’ receiving corps missing its best player, Jimmy Smith, Taylor could play an even bigger role in the passing game. As he showed last week, Spikes is an excellent cover linebacker with great hands and the speed to run with most backs. He’s also a sure tackler in the open field. Limiting Taylor’s touches will limit QB Mark Brunell’s options in passing game.’

‘Buffalo is a good team. Time will tell if the Bills have greatness in them.’

‘The position of pro scout is undervalued by too many teams. He’s the man who seldom sees his own team play since he’s crisscrossing the nation watching the 31 other teams. He compiles dossiers on players who might be of interest to the Bills through trades, waivers or, most frequently, through free agency.’

‘Buffalo Bills player James R. “Bob” Kalsu, the only U.S. professional football player to die in action in the Vietnam War, will be honored today at the opening of a new Hamburg veterans organization.’

‘Jacksonville is trying to avoid its first 0-2 start since losing its first four games in its inaugural campaign in 1995.’

‘Can they focus on the Jaguars and not look ahead to next week’s return visit to Florida to face the rival Miami Dolphins, or the week after that when the Philadelphia Eagles come to Orchard Park? We’re about to find out.’

‘”They pay me to make sacks and tackles, not to return interceptions, but it helped the team win and that’s what’s more important. It was cool. It was fun. But it was over after I did it. We still had three quarters to play and now we face Jacksonville. It’s imperative we take another step forward.”‘

‘Williams, of course, knows Alltel all-too-well. As defensive coordinator for the then-Oilers, he faced the Jags in their first-ever, regular-season home game, winning 10-3.And in his subsequent trips there, Williams’ teams are 5-2, including a 13-10 victory in 2001, his first triumph as Buffalo’s head coach.’

‘Bledsoe is sympathetic to his contemporary’s plight, and figures Brunell will land on his feet. “It has been a crazy situation for him,” Bledsoe said. “But I don’t know if there’s been a player who has been more important to his team than Mark.”‘

”He added, “It’s not a lack of fan passion for the Jaguars. It’s a large stadium, a small market, a tough economic environment and less disposable dollars. When you put all those things in the mix, we just have to work harder.”‘

‘”The reaction’s been a little bit too giddy, but that’s good,” Donahoe said in a telephone interview last week. “We suffered the past couple of years, and our fans deserved to be enthusiastic. We’re trying to keep it in perspective on the team.”‘