Two Bills Drive

Ed Rutkowski could have been labeled with the nickname "Slash" nine years before Pittsburgh’s Kordell Stewart was born. His six-year, multi-position career with the Bills began in 1963, when he came to Buffalo along with two University of Notre Dame teammates, Daryle Lamonica and Ed Hoerster.

“I wanted to do this part,” admits Voight, “because I wanted to see the Bills win the Super Bowl in my lifetime. The Bills have had some great teams, but there’s no resemblance between me and [former Buffalo head coach] Marv Levy.”

Recently, the Pro Football Hall of fame announced the preliminary list of nominees vying to be named to list of 15 finalists for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2003. Included on list of 74 former players, coaches, and contributors were several with strong Buffalo Bills ties.

‘It starts with beating the Green Bay Packers on the road, a monumental accomplishment under the best circumstances but even bigger in December. However, even a victory would be merely drawing an ace when a royal flush is required.’

‘The trio of Eric Moulds (6-feet-1, 204 pounds), Peerless Price (5-10 1/2, 190) and rookie Josh Reed (5-10, 203) has been terrific.’

‘The Packers probably haven’t played a team with three greater threats than Travis Henry, Eric Moulds and Peerless Price.’

‘Buffalo’s Eric Moulds and Peerless Price are big-play men. Moulds has 86 catches and 1,167 yards, Price 84 and 1,156. Both have nine touchdowns. Rookie Josh Reed has 33 catches. As well as the Packer receivers have played and stepped up this season, they’re not an equal threat.’

‘The pleasant surprise about "Second String" is how fast and energetic the movie can be and how the filmmakers don’t turn the players into caricatures like in the Charlie Sheen movie, "Major League."’

‘In the underdog football genre, it ranks slightly above "Necessary Roughness" (Scott Bakula as a 40-year-old college freshman, Kathy Ireland as a placekicker) and "The Replacements" (a movie that asks you to root for scab players), and is only a bit more plausible — even ignoring the basic idea that the Buffalo Bills might finally win a championship.’

‘Bills fans will love the happy ending. And with the way the Bills are playing this year, they might have a chance to make the story come true. For his team’s sake, quarterback Drew Bledsoe should stay away from shellfish.’

‘New England (8-6), the defending Super Bowl champs, has to lose its remaining two games, against the Jets (7-7), and Miami (9-5), both at home.’

‘Kragthorpe, a 37-year-old son of a coach, will be TU’s 27th football coach.’

‘There appears to be a front runner for a football coach at the University of Tulsa. Hurricane officials are zeroing in Steve Kragthorpe. Steve is currently the Quarterback coach for the Buffalo Bills…An announcement will be made on Thursday.’

‘COACHING- Marty Schottenheimer decided to put in Flutie with a little over 8 minutes to go. Flutie did not respond. Brees was simply the victim of dropped passes and the decision to go away from the running game in the fourth quarter is baffling. The coach also decided not to kick a field goal in two situations where any other team in the league would have. The sorry state of the Chargers special teams and lack of confidence hurt them on this day. Grade: F’

‘The Chargers find themselves back in the playoff pack after letting a winnable game slip away in upstate New York, where on late Sunday and early Monday morning 7 inches of snow fell to go with 21-degree weather. Buffalo fans take the weather in stride. More than 61,000 hearty souls stood in the misty rain to watch the Bills sneak past the Chargers on Sunday. Doug Flutie is right when he says, "They love their Bills." I can’t imagine 61,000 Chargers fans coming out to Qualcomm Stadium if the weather was the least bit nasty.’