Two Bills Drive

‘PLAYER OF THE WEEK: RB Joe Burns — The punishing former Georgia Tech star ran hard against Tennessee (4 carries, 32 yards) and turned a screen pass from QB Travis Brown into a nifty 33-yard TD. The Bills No. 1 and 2 ball carriers are set with Travis Henry and free agent Olandis Gary, and Sammy Morris is the club’s special teams captain. But Burns is having another solid camp and the coaching staff is likely to keep four RBs again, with Burns possibly becoming the top reserve if Henry or Gary to be injured. Burns does too many things well and plays too hard to cut.’

‘Is this a guy who’s going to be ready to start at left defensive end, as was expected entering training camp?’

‘Ten of the 16 infractions occurred in the second half. Major infractions accounted for most of the yardage.’

‘It’s been fun hanging out with the guys too. We’ve been trying to keep busy during our time off. We have a lot of card tournaments but this week it should get exciting. NFL Madden 2004 was released for PlayStation so I’m going to head out to pick that up. There are always great Madden tournaments going on around here. The guys love it and I heard the Bills are pretty good on the game this year. That should keep us busy for a while.’

‘Football has obviously consumed most of my time the past two weeks but I have needed some time to myself to just wind down and relax. You need to know your body when you are using it this excessively. Sometimes I like to hang out with the guys at night, and others I try to get to bed early. I have to stay rested so I can always remain on the top of my game both physically and mentally.’

‘Gregg Williams, the former Tennessee defensive coordinator, said he kept everything very basic because the teams will meet again in December. But he could not be happy with the lack of discipline again, as the Bills were flagged 16 times for 178 yards in penalties, including six for 93 in the first half.’

“After the play, I felt a bruise on my knee,” Posey said to The Tennessean. “I knew he had taken a big hit.”

‘DeLamielleure, who played at Center Line St. Clement High, was Buffalo’s second-round draft choice out of Michigan State in 1973. He was a starter from his first day in training camp. "It was incredible," DeLamielleure said. "We go there, and from day one, we knew we were going to be pretty good."’

‘The best news of the game for the Bills: no starters suffered injury.’

‘The Bills were 0 for 4 on third-down conversions in the first half.’

‘Who is the best golfer on the Bills? Probably one of our kickers, Jason Witczak. If he wasn’t playing football, they say he could have made it a go on the (pro) tour.’

‘What’s had Bills’ fans so excited this pre-season is a defense improved by the addition of four quality veterans. But that was nowhere in evidence against the Titans.’

‘The Bills, expected to be one of the NFL’s most improved teams, were far from regular-season form. Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe was just 5-of-11 for 47 yards and was forced to get rid of the ball early on several throws. The Titans had four sacks. ”They have a really good front,” Bills guard Ruben Brown said. ”They’re outstanding. If we can block them, we’ll be able to block anybody. As you see, we need a little more work.”’

‘Tennessee gave up one giant play, a 62-yard dash by running back Travis Henry, but it came after the Titans had started to insert backups. Take out that run and Tennessee yielded just 109 net yards before the half.’

‘McCareins made with three catches for 57 yards last night against the Bills. Two were touchdowns – a 2-yarder from Steve McNair and a 35-yarder from Billy Volek.’