Two Bills Drive

Throughout the years, only a handful of players have caused the Rich Stadium, or now, Ralph Wilson Stadium faithful to chant their names in unison. Last season, you’d hear "Drewww" for Drew Bledsoe. Before that it was "Bruuuce" for Bruce Smith and "Juuuice" for O.J. Simpson. One other name that has echoed around the stadium in the past was "Louuu" for wide receiver Lou Piccone.

“Jon is the real deal as a magician, but we need him as a long-snapper first,” Smith said. “He’s a good kid and he’s got some great skills. But I’ve told him, ‘You’ll see one helluva magician if you don’t do your stuff right, because I’ll make you disappear!’ ” Punter Moorman, who also holds on place-kicks, already has confidence in Dorenbos. “I’ve never seen a guy snap the ball so fast,” Moorman said. “They are kidding me that I’m going to need gloves.”

Based on our defense last year, we actually started paying attention to the entire linebacker market from the midway point of the season on. We knew we would like to get two linebackers, but we weren’t sure we would be able to do that cap-wise or talent-wise. Takeo was a guy that we really targeted, but we didn’t know what his status was going to be with the Bengals. We didn’t know if they were going to franchise him or if they were going to try to get a deal done with him. When they put the transitional tag on him, we were excited because we knew we would at least have a legitimate chance to try and go get him. He clearly was the best guy available. He’s a guy who performed at a very high level all five years he was in Cincinnati, and that’s not an easy thing to keep doing when your team is losing a lot. People might not know as much about Posey, but we are very excited about him, too. We studied him very hard, and we believe he is on the verge of becoming a very, very good player.

Williams is a good man but one who has grown reserved in his words, seemingly uncertain of his standing as his strings have been pulled regarding everything from when to speak to the media to whom to hire for his staff. The exodus of offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard in 2002 and offensive line coach Ronnie Vinklarek and linebackers coach Miles Aldridge this offseason was not a result of Williams concluding that he needed to go in a new direction. It was Donahoe telling him to.

As she lay in her hospital bed, nursing her newborn, reports of a Japanese prime minister named Takeo kept popping up in the news on the television screen. “Hmm,” she thought to herself. “Takeo Spikes. I kinda like that. Has a nice ring to it.” She decided to do a little research and discovered the name was Japanese for “great warrior.” And that is how the linebacker, who could transform the Buffalo Bills defense from awful to very good this fall, became known as Takeo Spikes.

“I could’ve gotten more money up front to go to Cincinnati, but I love this city,” says Adams, who walked away from a $5 million bonus offered by the Bengals and their new coach, Marvin Lewis, his former defensive coordinator in Baltimore, to sign an incentive-laden deal with Buffalo. “I’ve always been envious of the Bills’ crowd and the support they got. I want to be here. People have asked me a lot about the money, but I could care less. There are things like integrity and principle.”

‘Buffalo Bills free-agent defensive tackle Sam Adams was recently named commissioner of the North American Football League, a 5-year-old organization of 102 minor league teams.’

That means that while the Bills are going to try to run more, Bledsoe’s arm isn’t going to fall off due to rust. “Now that we’ve changed our complexion a little bit, I think you’re going to see us be a more balanced offense and I think you’re going to see us be more patient with the running game,” he said. “But it’s not going to take away our aggressiveness. We’re going to throw the ball, we’re going to be effective with it. If there comes a time when we have to throw it a bunch to win a game, we’ll do that.”

‘Use the right pen. Use a Sharpie marker for players to sign trading cards, 8-by-10 pictures and mini-helmets. A paint pen works best on footballs.’

‘After starting all 16 games at a new position, you would think Marques Sullivan’s job would be secured. Think again.’

‘"We like some of the things we’ve been able to do with players and with the coaching staff. Now we get to the important phase, and really the fun phase of trying to put it all together."’

‘Bledsoe threw 10 of his 15 interceptions during last season’s 3-5 slide in the second half. Many now wonder if his record-setting first eight games were merely the product of adrenaline and the element of surprise after being dissed by New England and traded to Buffalo. Maybe the second-half Drew is closer to the real thing. A solid player but one who is a lot closer to Brad Johnson than Brett Favre. He’ll play to the level of his teammates, but nothing more.’

‘” Assuming everything is going great with his rehab, I wouldn’t want him back to full contact before nine months,” said Bronstein, who estimates he performs 100 ACL repairs and three to four multiple-ligament reconstructions per year.’

‘A season-ticket holder, Kelly is very excited about his old team’s chances this season. ” How can you not be excited after what they did for the defense this off-season?” he asks. ” I think everything is there for them to go a long way."’

Instead of heading into training camp with more holes to fill than a road crew in Western New York, the Bills’ starting 22 – give or take a position – is set.