Two Bills Drive

‘"It gives us another guy to compete," head coach Steve Mariucci said. "He is a veteran and he has been a good player in this league. He is a good special teams player. He has some size to him. You like to have corners with some size to them. They don’t all have to have size, but it is good to add another one who has that."’

‘"Sam is a special talent that I’ve always admired and I wanted to get for years," Krumrie said. "Now I come here and I’ve got an opportunity for him to play for me. He is a true competitor, a fine defensive tackle and I’m excited he’s here in Buffalo."’

‘"Goodbye, Al Dorow!" shouted Cookie, "Hello, Jack Kemp!"’

‘"I grew up watching the Bills and going to all the playoff games," the Buffalo native said during the Bills’ minicamp for rookies and selected veterans. "It’s a great opportunity and it would be a blessing and a dream come true for me to be out here wearing the red, white and blue and playing for my hometown team."’

‘If you want to second-guess the McGahee pick, the most legitimate argument would be Donahoe should have taken University of Miami defensive tackle William Joseph, who went No. 25 to the New York Giants.’

‘Many players offered Henry, who gained over 1,400 yards last season, support but also said a team can never have too many stars — providing the chemistry is right.’

‘Donahoe chose to gamble on youth and medical science. He’s betting that the improvements both in surgical procedures and rehabilitation techniques are such that McGahee can come back to nearly full strength after tearing two ligaments in one knee. McGahee has shown thus far that he heals quickly and is willing to do all he can to speed up the process. Now the Bills are in a position to slow it back down and wait for him to catch up. That is why it was a bet worth making.’

”I’d say you’ve got your story skewed,” Reed said Saturday, after the Bills completed their second day of a three-day weekend minicamp. ”Peerless was here, and that was the position he played. And there’s no replacing him. It’s just playing the position.”’

In instant demand following his release by the Buffalo Bills earlier this week, free agent cornerback Chris Watson has quickly found a new address, with ESPN.com learning that he reached a contract agreement with the Detroit Lions on Saturday evening.

"I think for the most part a lot of the stuff is the same as Cincinnati. I think more so that anything, just veteran leadership and trying to show the young guys how to do it. I'm hungry man. I just want to win. I want to get to the playoffs, I want to get to the Super Bowl and win it all."

Rookies and veterans had a chance to meet for the first time when organized team activity got underway at the team's training facility in Orchard Park on Friday.

‘It looks like new players may win at least a third of the starting positions – eight out of 24 spots counting the kicking positions. The Bills have added 11 veterans from other teams in the free-agency signing period. Then they drafted eight new players. So it’s possible that 20 new players will make the 53-man roster – or about a 40 percent turnover from last year’s 8-8 squad.’

‘"Buffalo fans are awesome, a lot like Nebraskans," the defensive end said. "Where I come from, that’s all there is to do in Nebraska, play Cornhusker football. Buffalo Bills fans are the same – it’s 12 months out of the year."’

‘The ability of the Bills’ brass to keep their plans a secret was evidenced by how long it took ESPN’s Chris Berman to speculate that the Bills were going to gamble on McGahee. Berman, who always gets the Bills’ pick accurately from "a cab driver," didn’t actually say it was McGahee until a second before the pick was announced.’

‘”The only thing different about where you’re picked — first, second, third round, whatever — is the money aspect and I’m not in this for the money,” Kelsay said. “Anybody I’ve ever been around or played with will tell you that. Sure, some people said I’d go higher but I’m thankful to go as high as I did. And I was grateful when that phone rang and the Buffalo Bills were on the other line.”‘