Two Bills Drive

‘Johnson is the starter now. Flutie, when he returns from a severe groin injury a month into the season – as Dennis Miller would say, aren’t groin injuries always severe? – will be on the bench. He will be ready to come in, as good a change-of-pace artist as there is in the NFL. He will get another chance to do his thing, as backup NFL quarterbacks always seem to do. He may even take the Bills back to the playoffs, and spark another controversy for another day. Until Flutie is healthy again, the pressure on Johnson is immeasurably less.’

‘And while there were several less memorable sequences for the Bills quarterbacks, there doesn’t appear to be any need for injured quarterback Doug Flutie, who started the first 15 games of the 1999 season for the Bills, to hurry his return.’

‘When it was over, Buffalo was on the positive side of a 21-20 score as Erik Flowers preserved the win by blocking Doug Pelfrey’s 29-yard field goal on the final play of the game, but that, of course, really didn’t matter. This was a game Bills coach Wade Phillips said he was going to use for individual player evaluations, and he’ll have plenty to evaluate in film sessions over the next two days.’

‘When the Bills selected Tennessee State wide receiver Avion Black in the fourth round of last April’s NFL draft, the scouts raved about his sprinter’s speed. They weren’t exaggerating. Black turned a five-yard catch into an electrifying 34-yard touchdown play at the end of the first half, giving the Bills a 14-10 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals in last night’s preseason opener at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘The defense may have been ranked first in yards allowed last season, but it ranked almost at the bottom in takeaways with 21. Nothing last night indicated the Bills have suddenly become pirate-like.’

‘"We put ’em every which way but loose, but they won on the scoreboard," coach Bruce Coslet said. "We’ll take the positives out of, and, boy, we’ve got to learn from some of the boo-boos we made."’

‘Rookie linebacker Corey Moore blocked Doug Pelfrey’s 29-yard field goal attempt with no time on the clock, and the Buffalo Bills hung on for a 21-20 victory in both teams’ preseason opener.’

‘Rookie defensive end Erik Flowers made a favorable first impression on his new teammates. Flowers blocked a potential game-winning 29-yard field goal by Doug Pelfrey as time expired, giving the Buffalo Bills a 21-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the exhibition opener for both teams.’

Find out how you can hear the preseason games over the internet.

‘Former Miami University linebacker Dustin Cohen is fighting for a slot as a second- and third-team strong-side outside linebacker with the Buffalo Bills.’

‘A backup center starting for the Bengals. A slimmed-down Ted Washington tag-teaming with Pat Williams. Who wins that battle?’

‘Johnson is the starter. Any ounce of leftover doubt vanished the moment Flutie suffered a groin injury in training camp that could keep him sidelined for the first three games of the regular season. This is Johnson’s team now. Tonight, Johnson will be behind center when the Bills open the preseason against the Cincinnati Bengals at Ralph Wilson Stadium. His performance against the Bengals will have no bearing on the depth chart at quarterback. For the first time since 1998, Johnson can start a game without controversy. "I’m just anxious to get back in the groove and throw the ball well," Johnson said. "Actually, last year, when they named me the starter, it was outside Buffalo where they were more shocked. The team was very supportive. That’s what made it so easy for me."’

‘”It would be helpful for us to win games in the preseason,”, club president Mike Brown said. “If you have an established team, there isn’t the emphasis put on it. But for us, it’s different. We have to build from the bottom up. And part of that is re-establishing our confidence and getting to feel a little better about ourselves.”‘

‘Dustin Cohen, a Summit Country Day graduate and former Miami University football star, is trying to make the Buffalo Bills as a linebacker. Cohen 23, a two-time Mid-American Conference defensive player of the year for the RedHawks, was signed by the Bills as an undrafted college free agent. Working against Cohen is that the Bills had the NFL’s top-rated defense in 1999. Working for him is the linebacker-oriented style of defense Buffalo plays, a true four-linebacker setup with three linemen.’

‘Good fair preview of season for the Bills.’