‘Beebe suffered six severe concussions during a National Football League career during which he made six trips to the Super Bowl, four of them with the Buffalo Bills. Additionally, he estimates that two or three times a game his thought process and awareness were scrambled by collisions that jarred his brain against his skull.’
BillsBeat - August 7, 2001
Camp still a hot ticket
‘Compared to a year ago when the Bills relocated their camp from Fredonia to Rochester in order to grow their fan and business base, attendance is down by an average of 1,182 per day for the first six days of full-team workouts.’
Lombardi taught tough love
‘"If Gregg wins early, it will make him stronger because this style, I know, doesn’t work well when you’re losing. It gets old real quick."’
BillsBeat - August 6, 2001
Fisher finding his defensive niche
‘Fisher saw time with both the first and second team defense, as well as the dime unit as a pass rusher. For a team in need of defensive-line depth – they’ve lost starters Bruce Smith, Marcellus Wiley and Ted Washington over the last two years – Fisher helped himself.’
Chuck Knox - next coach headed to HoF?
Everywhere he went, a playoff berth soon followed. Was he imaginative or an innovator? Geez, his old nickname, "Ground Chuck," screams for a negative response to that one. Knox is the sixth-winningest coach in league history and all five of the guys in front of him have their likenesses in bronze here.
Kelly believes Bills can win with Johnson
‘"I’ll tell you what. They don’t come much tougher than Rob. He got the hell knocked out of him a bunch of times last season and he still got up. I just hope he can throw that ball away when he has to, and save that body, because we need him."’
Bills can capitalize on flap
‘Could the Buffalo Bills of all teams benefit from a quarterback controversy in their season-opener Sept. 9 against visiting New Orleans? Saints Coach Jim Haslett says his team’s starting QB job is up for grabs between Jeff Blake and Aaron Brooks.’
BillsBeat - August 5, 2001
It all started here for Levy
‘Eastern Iowa should be proud to call this Hall of Famer one of its own.’
Simply Marv-elous
‘From Canton to Western New York to all the pockets of transplanted Buffalonians around the country, Levy’s Hall of Fame induction Saturday was a celebration of Bills fandom and the man who led the team to its golden era.’
Levy notes importance of steps along the way
‘His goal was to get his team to prepare the best it could each day, to get the players to get the most out of themselves, to leave everything they had out on the field. If they did all those things, there’s a good chance winning would result.’
For the record: Text of Marv Levy's acceptance speech
‘"To know the game is great. To play the game is greater. But to love the game is the greatest of them all."’
Bills still not passing the protection test
‘For the Bills, Saturday’s gathering against the Cleveland Browns bared that the running game is making progress and the defense is solid, but the pass protection, which allowed 11 "sacks" (defenders touched but were not allowed to tackle the quarterbacks), needs work. The outcome was a very ambiguous 30-12 Bills loss, but the score was secondary. The primary reason for the scrimmage at Sox Harrison Stadium was evaluation.’
Williams shows Lombardi's toughness; does he have his touch?
‘The point of this story? It’s that it isn’t clear whether Gregg Williams knows when to play ’em and when hold ’em.’
Brown's ejection leaves Bills feeling blue
‘Brown and Cleveland Browns rookie defensive tackle Gerard Warren were ejected for fighting late in the controlled scrimmage at Edinboro University, and Brown’s loss was felt immediately. Brown was replaced by rookie tackle Marques Sullivan and he and lineman Robert Hicks had a difficult time keeping the Browns’ defenders away from quarterback Rob Johnson.’
Levy carved greatness with sharp intellect
‘Perhaps better than any, Marv Levy typifies what a Hall of Famer is. The former head coach of the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs doesn’t just break the stereotype of dumb jocks. He shatters it with a set of encyclopedias.’