Two Bills Drive

‘As for Canton, the QB who led the Bills to four straight Super Bowls and eight playoff berths in a span of nine seasons, seems a lock … though not necessarily on the first ballot.’

‘Hasselbeck isn’t the engineer that drives the Seahawks’ train, but rather a passenger holding a ticket.’

‘On the other side of the ball, the Bills are a mess. Their top receiver is a fullback and their top running back is a rookie who averages 3.2 yards per carry. Expect the Seahawks to tee off on immobile QB Alex Van Pelt.’

‘Nobody flew Chris Gray down to Los Angeles for a television appearance last week.’

‘He has led his team in receiving seven times in the last nine years and leads Buffalo in this his first season with the Bills. In fact, he leads all NFL running backs with 47 catches. He also has caught passes in 128 consecutive games, the third longest active streak in the NFL behind Jerry Rice (233 games) and Tim Brown (132).’

‘One year removed from his comparatively low-profile duties as quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks, Sheppard is fielding the tough questions as offensive coordinator for the 1-7 Bills.’

‘The Bills snapped up Brown because he spent the one season learning the West Coast offense from Holmgren, a master, and was recommended by Bills offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard, the quarterbacks coach under Holmgren in Seattle.’

‘Steve Freeman, the outstanding Bills safety from 1975 to ’86, will serve as the field judge for Sunday’s game.’

‘Overall, the Bills are starting or getting regular contributions from 14 rookie or first-year players.’

‘P-I PICK: Seahawks, 27-17.’

‘Joseph, a safety who started 14 games for the Seahawks in his first tour with the team, is just glad to be back in the NFL.’

‘During his first three years as the Seattle Seahawks’ special teams coach, Pete Rodriguez saw his unit give up a total of two return touchdowns. In eight games this year, the Seahawks have already matched that number.’

‘Technically, Sunday’s game between Seattle and Buffalo is the Bills ninth regular season contest of 2001. In reality, it marks the start of the 2002 preseason. Playoff hopes disappeared for all but the most optimistic in late September. The primary goal for the rest of the season — building a functional offense around Rob Johnson, making a decision possible on whether the quarterback is worthy of the contract restructuring and extension that salary capenomics mandate — crashed to the turf at Foxboro Stadium last Sunday afternoon.’

The Bills today announced that the team has signed veteran center/long snapper Mo Unutoa (pronounced oo-nuh-TOE-uh) to the 53-man roster. To make room on the roster, the Bills released center Michael Early. Unutoa will wear jersey #68 with the Bills.

‘”I want to make sure that the Bills get back to (their) standard of football before (I think) about going anywhere else.”‘