Two Bills Drive

‘In the course of a year, the offensive lineman has gone from Buffalo’s practice squad, to jetting across the Atlantic to play in NFL Europe, before returning to take part in Bills training camp this past month.’

Christie, who travels to Scotland every off-season, affirms that Europeans don’t pay a lot of attention to American football. “They’re not that interested; they don’t care about it that much,” he said. “They see it in the wee hours of the morning, 2 or 3 in the morning. They’ll stay up and watch the Super Bowl, but that’s about it. Soccer is that game, and they’re fanatics.”

‘Our director, Nancy,requires each Jill to perform 25 hours of community service each year. Last year I did 60 and actually received an award at our end of year banquet for the Jill who did the most community service. I think it is great that she requires us to do this and I have had many rewarding experiences.’

‘The Bills’ punting and kickoff jobs appear to be Moorman’s to lose after the team released his only competition, Jay Taylor, on Wednesday. Moorman, NFL Europe’s leading punter the last two springs, has never played in a regular-season NFL game.’

‘Hey, what do you say we kick around Ronnie Jones, just for old times’ sake?’

‘It was the second Bills camp in suburban Rochester, but the first for Donahoe and Williams, both of whom were impressed by the operation.’

"We wanted to come out relatively injury-free. As you look across the league, I think we did that. We did have one injury with Jerry [Ostroski] here this past week. He’s coming along well in that respect, but in the whole, we came out of camp with the tempo we had, the aggressiveness we had, relatively injury-free."

‘The much-anticipated countdown to NFL 2001 has begun in Buffalo. In 18 days, on Sept. 9 vs. the Saints, the Gregg Williams era of Bills football begins at the Ralph. What it all means, nobody knows. But, to start the season, it likely won’t be pretty.’

‘Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, assistant secondary coach Steve Jackson and quarterbacks coach Steve Kragthorpe give the Bills seven coaches with Houston-area connections. "We’re like a family," said Thomas, who coached with Indianapolis after he left Houston and was in private business when Williams called to offer a job. "Not only has Gregg put together a hell of a staff, but we’ve got the kind of camaraderie that can take years to build."’

‘"Typically, the last practice of camp is sloppy and a mishmash because focus and concentration is someplace else, but I think you saw today it wasn’t," he said. "They came out today with an attitude to get a lot done in practice and it may have been one of our better ones today."’

‘Quarterback Jack Hawley had about 10 hours of sheer joy yesterday. And then it wore off in a hurry.’

‘Confidence is not a problem for either Schobel or Edwards. The question is, when will that confidence start manifesting itself into meaningful production?’

‘Next summer will be the third of the five-year deal with Fisher. The team will most likely hold more night practices and will explore hosting a scrimmage, said Russ Brandon, vice president of business development and marketing. "We always take a look at opportunities to make camp better and obviously that (a scrimmage) would be exciting," he said.’

‘Rookie running back Travis Henry sat out his third straight day of practice because of a slight groin injury, but coach Gregg Williams said Henry could return to practice today when the Bills resume workouts at Orchard Park. "Travis probably could have gone today, and I really anticipate him going tomorrow, and if he comes through that practice OK, he’ll play some this week," Williams said.’

‘After 3 years of being embroiled with popular Doug Flutie in a quarterback controversy that turned ugly, can Johnson ever win over Bills fans now that his archrival is gone?’