Two Bills Drive

‘Q — Didn’t the Bills expect to be better than 5-4? A — They lost Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Kurt Schulz and Thomas Smith all at the same time, so they suspected there might be a transition period. They lost consecutive games to the Jets, Colts and Dolphins but believe they have righted the ship.’

‘Allen had 16 carries for 85 yards in a victory last week against the Colts, one of three teams in the NFL (along with the Ravens and Bills) that have not allowed a 100-yard rusher this season. The Bears haven’t had a 100-yard rusher in 26 games.’

‘"It’s a very good stadium for the home team, very loud, great fans, some of the greatest fans in football. They get to tailgate before the game, eat, drink and be merry. By the time they get into the game, they’re excited, they really are. They’re very exciting fans, and they really create a 12th man in the stadium."’

‘"That’s our motivation (for the Bills). It’s not that we beat a team that was just all right; like if we beat them we were supposed to beat them. We weren’t supposed to beat them at all, by people’s outlook, but we did. We go out and we beat Buffalo, and that’s two weeks in a row we beat somebody we weren’t supposed to beat."’

‘After helping Buffalo to 66 regular-season wins and a Super Bowl appearance in the past seven years, cornerback Thomas Smith has traded places.’

‘His nickname is "Haggis," in honour of his Scottish and Irish roots. Steve Christie eats it up too – the food and the nickname.’

‘Four of the Bills’ five wins heading into today’s sellout home game against the Chicago Bears at Ralph Wilson Stadium have come on late Christie field goals.’

‘Few franchises have been run as well as Buffalo, which surely would be recognized as one of the game’s great dynasties if the Bills had won just one of those four consecutive Super Bowls in which they played.’

‘"We don’t see them as a 2-7 team, that’s for sure," cornerback Ken Irvin said of ‘da Bears. "They have good athletes, so regardless of their record, you know you have to respect them."’

‘For 30 years, the wife, daughter and son of James Robert Kalsu have attempted to fill the huge void created by the Vietnam War. For 30 years, they’ve been on a journey of discovery that has been profoundly gratifying and sad.’

‘Bills win if . . . They keep in mind that Indianapolis came to Ralph Wilson Stadium and beat them, but couldn’t go into Soldier Field last week and defeat the Bears.’

‘By not decisively naming a starting quarterback since midway through the second Clinton administration, Buffalo’s coach earned the wrath of fans, commentators, columnists and a lot of other people whose opinions, in the end, don’t count for much…’

‘With Rob Johnson’s shoulder not fully recovered, Doug Flutie will make his fourth straight start at quarterback for Buffalo when Chicago visits Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday…’

‘Even with debate raging throughout the region and the nation about Bush and Gore, Flutie and Johnson, the networks’ premature evaluation and a coach’s maddening indecision, with the impact of drunken driving arrests thrown in as a wild card, there remains a message everyone can agree on…’

‘Flutie is as smooth as silk, and he has a knack for saying the right things when he wants to. But he also knows how to get under the skin like few players, and he doesn’t hesitate to do it when he feels like it.’