Two Bills Drive

‘The Dolphins went the long route more than they had in the previous five games. It paid off in one touchdown, kept the Bills off balance and showed promise for the future.’

‘Trace Armstrong, that grizzled old Gator, dropped onto a stool in front of his locker, wearing a sweat-drenched T-shirt whose sleeves had been raggedly removed by scissors. He was too tired to ponder the meaning of what he had just accomplished and certainly too drained to realize that he had just hit 100 sacks.’

‘On the eve of the Dolphins’ 22-13 victory over Buffalo on Sunday at Pro Player Stadium, coach Dave Wannstedt took his players to watch the new Denzel Washington movie about a racially integrated Virginia high school football team that won a state championship in the early 1970s. Wannstedt moved his team meetings up an hour and ordered buses for his surprised players to attend a private screening at a Miami Lakes movie theater.’

‘Buffalo guard Ruben Brown couldn’t control his mouth on Sunday any better than he could control Dolphins’ defensive linemen. Brown was so frustrated by the Dolphins after the 22-13 loss, he took a shot at the Dolphins and defensive tackle Jermaine Haley in a postgame interview. "They’re not that tough," said Brown, who some thought the Dolphins should have pursued in the offseason. "They’re not nowhere tough, especially that No. 94. He’s a chump. He’s a little kid out there playing with the big boys. I can’t wait to see his little butt next time. That’s it."’

‘"I hate it," said Bills defensive end Phil Hansen. "It’s like putting peanut butter and jelly on a hamburger. It’s just not right."’

‘There are a dozen ways to cut this win, from the Dolphins’ 120 rushing yards to the Bills’ 76, from the Dolphins’ six sacks to the Bills’ one, from Dolphin quarterback Jay Fiedler not missing what little he was asked to do and Buffalo quarterback Rob Johnson missing on too much. But Sunday really came down to what this season comes down so far. It comes down to the Dolphin defense.’

‘It’s a pact that Taylor, Armstrong and Zach Thomas made with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, one of the country’s foremost clinics dealing with spinal-cord injuries. Every time one of those three makes a sack, they donate $1,000 to the project. Every time one of those three makes a tackle, they donate $100. So far, the trio has raised $20,000 this season, and expects to raise more than $100,000 by season’s end.’

‘Said Dolphins center Tim Ruddy: "We’re not tearing it up. We’re having bright spots and low spots. But we’re trying to work on the consistency and getting the offense together." The same can be said of the Bills (2-3), who now have three division losses. Johnson, who completed 11 of 26 passes for 178 yards, was sacked five times and forced from the game after banging his right elbow late in the fourth quarter.’

‘"We fought our [rear] off," said Buffalo quarterback Doug Flutie, who replaced Johnson on the game`s final drive. "As poorly as things went for three quarters, we got the ball back down by less than a score. You just had that feeling that we were going to take it and go."’

‘Scott Galyon, the Dolphins’ top backup linebacker, is expected to miss the remainder of the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Galyon suffered the injury while tackling Buffalo’s Chris Watson on a first-quarter kickoff.’

‘"We`re not shocked," Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler said after another solid yet unspectacular day. "No matter what our critics said before the season, we knew we had a good team."’

‘Miami dominated for most of the afternoon. Still, with 8:34 left, the Dolphins’ lead had been trimmed to 15-13 when Buffalo quarterback Rob Johnson led his team on a three-play, 82-yard touchdown drive in the blink of an eye. The Dolphins sputtered on offense and gave the ball right back. But once again, the Miami defense stepped up. Johnson flipped a little pass to running back Sammy Morris. Cornerback Patrick Surtain knocked the ball out of his hands. Cornerback Sam Madison scooped the ball out of midair and returned it 20 yards for the touchdown that settled the outcome.’

‘Like so many times in the past, the showdown between AFC East archrivals Miami and Buffalo ended with Thurman Thomas holding a game ball. Only this time Thomas provided a spark for the Dolphins rather than the Bills, and he did it not so much with his running as with his taunting. Thomas repeatedly talked trash to his former teammates, and Miami’s defense backed him up with a smothering performance Sunday to beat the Bills 22-13. “I’m 1-0 against the Bills. I’m happy,” Thomas said. “Once I strapped it on today, everything I did for 12 years in Buffalo went out the window.”‘

‘Thurman Thomas dominated the headlines this week, but the defense of the Miami Dolphins dominated the game. With most of the attention focused on Thomas in his first game against the Buffalo Bills, Trace Armstrong led a ferocious pass rush and Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain and unheralded rookie Jermaine Haley also starred on defense in a 22-13 victory.’

‘”Our special teams players are young … and the fact people are tired of hearing that doesn’t make them any older. We have six rookies on our kickoff coverage team … five of them next to each other. Eventually, they’re going to be pretty good,” he said. “One thing we’ve started to do is take things game-by-game. Once you’ve given up a (97-yard kickoff return) you’re not going to move up very much (in the kick coverage standings). So we’re concentrating on ‘How did we do this week (compared to the other 30 teams).’ A big part of my job is being part psychologist or psychiatrist to these players. And right now, they have to do a better job of preparing to win.”‘