Two Bills Drive

‘Gardener is expected to miss the remainder of the season, although the Dolphins still were holding out faint hope he might return if the team makes the playoffs.’

‘”He believes in his arm,” Miami safety Brock Marion said. “He’s not going to try to put the ball where he can’t put it. He’s not going to beat you with his arm. He’s making the right reads.”‘

‘If the Dolphins had what they thought was a better alternative, they would use it, but what they have has been good enough for 6-3, and 6-3 ought to be good enough to be left alone.’

‘But when Fiedler is struggling throughout a game and the Dolphins are losing badly and it’s getting late and desperation has arrived, there is great cause then to seek a spark by giving the backup a shot. What have you got to lose?’

‘Dolphins fans from New York to California grumble about the team as if it were 0-6.’

‘Prediction: Dolphins 24, Bills 10.’

‘"My rookie year I saw a whole line of people lined up against a fence mooning us as the bus was coming in, and there was actually an old lady and an old guy out there doing it, too," he said.’

‘"There’s no question Van Pelt gets rid of the ball quicker," Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He doesn’t take sacks. He looks like he’s got a better feel for the offense than Rob Johnson did, to be honest with you."’

‘Instead of letting things play out like a broken record, Louis Oliver decided to break a record.’

‘In fact, there’s some question whether Gardener will even play again after his second back surgery in the past 14 months.’

‘Prediction: Dolphins 27, Bills 12.’

‘The porcelain cold nature of the NFL — just call it the Nominal Forbearance League — has been on inglorious display in the Dolphins’ handling of Gardener’s scary situation. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s how it works in the primeval forest that is professional football.’

‘”No more than us,” Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We’re desperate for a win. That’s how we’ll approach it. It’s going to be a heck of a ballgame. It’s Bills-Dolphins, 75,000 fans. They’re talking this is their season. This is the biggest game on their schedule.”‘

‘"Without question this is the biggest game for us," safety Keion Carpenter said, noting that the Bills get a similar reception whenever they play at Miami. "I’ve had some fans tells me they could care less about the other 14 games on the schedule. Any time we line up against those cats, it’s basically like our playoff or championship for us."’

‘"The turnover thing is what’s killing us this year," Wannstedt said in a conference call to Buffalo this week.’