Two Bills Drive

‘Bills coach Wade Phillips said he watched the Jets-Dolphins game until the score was 30-7 and was shocked to learn of the Jets’ comeback the next morning. "It’s just like with Dewey and Truman," Phillips said. "I expected to see it in the papers and it wasn’t there." Phillips was an infant in 1948 when the Chicago Tribune mistakenly proclaimed Thomas Dewey the winner over Harry Truman in the Presidential election. … Sure enough, The Miami Herald ran a headline touting a Dolphins’ victory on its Web site early yesterday morning.’

‘In general, the Bills are grumpy about their 3-4 record, with all four losses coming in the last five games. Specifically, they weren’t thrilled about nearly upsetting the unbeaten Vikings at Minnesota before falling, 31-27, Sunday. "Especially when you come off a loss," said quarterback Doug Flutie, who will start a second straight game for the injured Rob Johnson, "you’ve got to get a win and get the bad taste of the loss out of your mouth. We can’t wait till Sunday." And while the Bills aren’t saying anything provocative this week, some expressed irritation after they held the Jets to 234 "legitimate" yards and one "genuine" touchdown in Game 3, only to be beaten by Kevin Williams’ kickoff-return touchdown, Testaverde’s 45-yard Hail Mary scoring pass to cornerback-turned-receiver Marcus Coleman, and their own special-teams gaffes.’

‘Al Groh concurred with several commentators who accused him of committing an error during the Jets’ Monday night comeback win over Miami. "It was a mistake by the head coach," Groh said Wednesday of his decision to go for two points after the Jets had cut their deficit to 30-13 early in the fourth quarter. "I don’t have a chart. I just have a gut and a heart and I try to use those. I just made a mistake. It wasn’t good thinking."’

‘Two Jets players who were listed a questionable last week are doubtful this week. Tight end Anthony Becht’s knee has gotten worse and he likely won’t play against Buffalo. John Abraham definitely won’t play because of an abdominal strain in his stomach.’

‘I was at the greatest comeback in NFL history. I was sitting in the press box, rubbing my eyes and shaking my head in disbelief, just as I did several times Monday night at Giants Stadium. But what happened Monday night did not equal what happened on the afternoon of Jan. 3, 1993 in Orchard Park, N.Y. Not in terms of sheer drama and absolute jaw-dropping, eye-popping, heart-stopping shock.’

‘"I feel I’m right at 50-50. It felt a lot better than last week," Riemersma said Wednesday after practicing with Buffalo’s first unit for the first time since his injury. "But I think the true test will be tomorrow on how I feel. I worked it pretty good today, but I’m going to see how it jumps back tomorrow and take it day to day."’

"I’m going to take the blame," said Irvin, whose third-down holding penalty on Moss sustained Minnesota’s other touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. "I didn’t do the things I on that last play that I needed to.

"Too many mistakes," said linebacker Sam Rogers, whose third-quarter interception set up what looked like the clinching Buffalo touchdown. "I hate to say that week in and week out, (but) that’s what’s killing us. Mistakes always seem to wind up as touchdowns."

‘Buffalo Bills coach Wade Phillips isn’t quite ready to say it, but tight end Bobby Collins will: Jay Riemersma will return for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets in Ralph Wilson Stadium. "He’ll be back this week," Collins said.’

‘"I wouldn’t say the window’s starting to close," linebacker Keith Newman said. "There’s still a lot of things that gotta happen in the division. The Jets gotta come here this weekend. Miami’s gotta come here the beginning of December. And Indy hasn’t played either of them. "But you don’t want to count on the other teams."’

‘Doug turned 38 Monday. He’s too old for this team. It needs time to grow and he doesn’t have that sort of time left to watch them grow. Beyond that Rob Johnson needs to play in order to develop. He hasn’t had enough starts to constitute an entire season. He needs to be allowed to make mistakes, to see every situation a couple of times, gain the experience necessary to operate as Flutie did Sunday.’

‘The teams that Buffalo has lost to on the road — Jets, Dolphins and Vikings — are a combined 17-2 and the Bills were in every game. In fact, the Bills have outgained six of their seven opponents so far in total yardage and tied the other (Miami with 254). "Certainly, we gave a great effort," coach Wade Phillips said of the loss to the Vikings, in which the Bills rang up 406 yards and controlled the clock for 36 minutes but yielded two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. "We’ve played some tough teams on the road and we could’ve beaten all three. But, we’ve got to find a way to beat them.’

‘Flutie has it all over Johnson in terms of experience, coolness under pressure, and pocket awareness. There were times in this game when I’m sure Johnson would have taken an untimely sack, or would have needed to waste a timeout because he couldn’t communicate the play properly. This, of course is unacceptable. Johnson has to learn to deal with adversity, and he has to learn to cope with noise and to win on the road, something he’s done only once in five career road starts as a Bill. That said, Flutie did not win the game.’

‘Flutie is 17-9 as starting QB for Buffalo and Johnson is 7-7 over that span. The Flutie-Johnson debate seems pretty simple to me: Short-term gain vs. long-term potential. Flutie is the more experienced, charismatic and entertaining player. At this stage of their careers, he might win a game or two more per season than Johnson. It is understandable that the majority of fans would prefer to go with the proven commodity at QB. Johnson has the physical talent to win in the NFL but still has lots to learn. He’s not going to develop sitting on the bench. The Bills are a relatively young team and figure to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender in a year or two — assuming they don’t lose Eric Moulds to free agency and can shore up the offensive line. Quarterback is the most important position, and from an organizational standpoint it is logical to have him play now to grow with the rest of the team.’

‘"We just made some mental errors," second-year linebacker Keith Newman said on Monday. "We didn’t close things out in the fourth quarter. We didn’t put the stamp on the victory."’