Two Bills Drive

‘"The fans in Buffalo are awesome," said Adams, who plans to live in Ted Washington’s Buffalo-area home. "You come from a place like Oakland, the only other place you can go is Buffalo to find the fans that players want to play for. From the moment I stepped off the plane in Buffalo until I left, I just said, "I can’t wait to get back here and start working with my teammates and doing my part to help this team win the Super Bowl.’"’

‘The Bills needed a new kicker after contract talks with free agent Mike Hollis fell apart. Lindell, 25, is younger and at 6-foot-3 and 237 pounds looks more like a linebacker than a kicker.’

‘That ’88 team wasn’t quite mature enough for great things. The Super Bowl run came two years later. This team might not be ready yet, either. But it’s a different NFL; teams can achieve big things in a hurry.’

‘The friendship between George M. Steinbrenner III and former Buffalo Bills coach Lou Saban has endured since the summer day they met on a playground in Cleveland 55 years ago.’

‘”Nothing fazes this guy,” said Paul Sheehy, Lindell’s agent. “His mentality is absolutely perfect for a kicker. He’s never too high or too low. I think this is a great fit.”‘

‘The playing time incentive takes into consideration Buffalo’s use of rotating linemen and the fact that the Bills potentially could be protecting a lot of leads using extra defensive backs against the pass.’

‘”It’s not breaking my heart that I’m leaving (Seattle),” said Lindell, who was born in Vancouver and attended Washington State.’

‘Lindell had one streak of eight consecutive field goals last season, and two with seven in a row. He also missed three attempts in two games at one point, and Coach Mike Holmgren was close to replacing him on several occasions in the past two years. The Seahawks have had six workouts for kickers in that time span, but Holmgren never found the right person to take over the job.’

”'(Buffalo) almost has a college town feel to it,” Lindell said. ”It kind of reminded me of a bigger Pullman – a huge Pullman. So I thought it would be the perfect place for me.”’

‘The Seahawks were generally satisfied with his field-goal kicking, but wanted more depth on kickoffs. The Bills cited Lindell’s kickoffs as a plus in making a four-year, $4.2 million offer last week.’

‘Unfortunately for Gary, none of those teams has a starting running back job available. Travis Henry is entrenched in Buffalo’s backfield, Fred Taylor in Jacksonville, Tiki Barber in New York and James Stewart in Detroit. What’s left now are backup jobs and backup wages. Most likely, the 27-year-old Gary will sign a one-year contract that allows him to showcase his skills before testing the free-agent waters next winter, when Denver’s former 1,000-yard rusher hopes the need for his services will be greater.’

‘”What we had to ask ourselves is who is he as a kicker? We think he’s a good kicker. But probably at that level ($4.2 million), we wanted a great kicker."’

‘Lindell made 23 of 29 field-goal attempts and all 38 extra- point tries last season for a career-high 107 points. He’s made 58 of 78 career field-goal attempts, including seven of 12 from 50 yards or longer, and has six game-winning kicks. He’s also made all 96 of his extra-point attempts.’

‘Bryson ran for 967 yards and two touchdowns during his first four NFL seasons, all with the Buffalo Bills. Bryson will compete for the backup spot behind James Stewart.’

‘Lindell is not worried about the swirling winds that are common in Ralph Wilson Stadium during the winter. He played at Washington State and kicked for two years at Husky Stadium while the Seahawks’ new facility was being built. “For me it’s just about kicking the ball,” Lindell said.’