Two Bills Drive

‘It was a horror show the Buffalo Bills special-teams players couldn’t possibly forget. And, as his first order of official business, new special-teams coach Ronnie Jones wasn’t about to let them. When the Bills convened at training camp in Rochester, N.Y., in mid-July, Jones began his initial meeting with special-teams players by showing the gruesome video of the Music City Miracle, an epic tragedy for an NFL team all to familiar with high-profile failure. "Guys were screaming at me to turn it off," Jones said of his first chance to make a bad impression. "They were upset and tired of seeing it but I let it run. You have to see it. The veterans don’t need to be reminded, I suppose, but the rookies haven’t been through that."’

‘At 6-foot-4, Eddie George of the Tennessee Titans is one of the NFL’s tallest running backs, and more susceptible than most to punishing blows from opposing defences. Still, George rarely sits out a play and hasn’t missed a start in his four years in the league. So, as punishing a blow as last January’s 23-16 Super Bowl loss to the St. Louis Rams was, George expects to rebound the same way. "I think it definitely made us hungry, you know, to try to get back to that point again," said George, who intends to pick things up in tonight’s season opener, a Music City Miracle rematch against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium (8:35 p.m., TSN). "We want to be a better football team and grow off of it," he said. "I think that was just a building block."’

‘”I would rank the indignation by people in Buffalo over ‘Home Run Throw Back’ to more than ‘No Goal,’ ” said sports writer Larry Felser, who has covered the Bills for the past 40 years. “Because ‘No Goal’ happened late at night, people woke up to it. This thing happened in front of God and everybody. “It was an instant explosion. People were instantly indignant and have stayed that way.”‘

‘"We should be winning convincingly now," defensive end Kenny Holmes said. "I see what we did last offseason, I see what we did this offseason. We worked even harder. Going to the Super Bowl wasn’t an excuse for us to take the summer off. "We want to get back and win. We didn’t win, so it was all for naught."’

‘Titans 27, Bills 23’

‘No miracles required [for Buffalo] to return to the playoffs.’

‘Verizon Wireless will plug in a mobile cellular site that it calls "cell on wheels" for the Buffalo Bills game, the company said. More than 70,000 fans can fill the stadium’s bowl during games, the equivalent of a small, garrulous city that can overload Verizon’s four transmitters in the area, marketing director John O’Malley said. "We did have instances where some sites experienced blocking of calls," he said. Cellular companies can divide their frequencies among an almost unlimited numbers of users, but the feat takes multiple transmitters to accomplish. The temporary site, hidden in 12-foot enclosure near a stadium gate, can connect 100 calls at once, effectively doubling Verizon’s capacity in and around the stadium, O’Malley said. It will be in place throughout the football season, using an antenna mounted on the stadium’s administration building. The temporary tower is part of Verizon’s deal with the Buffalo Bills as its official provider of wireless service, O’Malley said.’

‘"I like this offense," [Jay Riemersma] said. "We’ve got some talent, so it’s just a matter of the coaches putting guys in the right spots because we have that ability. There might be more opportunities for me to catch the ball. If I get the opportunity to do that this year, I’ll try to take advantage of it as much as possible."’

‘While QB Doug Flutie sits, Rob Johnson needs to show pocket poise he’s noted for… RB Antowain Smith needs breakout season . . . Bills return to playoffs as a wild card.’

‘"The game will be a kind of trial by fire for security," said Samuel McCune, the Orchard Park police chief. "It’s a night game and there’s a holiday the next day." Scott Berchtold, the Bills vice president for communications, said team officials are well aware of the potential for problems. But he said tighter security measures adopted last season and in place for this season should help. "We’ll do our best," Berchtold said. "And it’s not as if we haven’t gone through this before."’

‘When the Bills quarterback was asked this week if Tennessee’s sack machine, Jevon Kearse, is the kind of player a quarterback has to account for as soon as he gets to the line of scrimmage, Johnson said, "You can’t really worry about him. I’m worried about where the safeties are. I have confidence in them (the offensive line) that they’re going to get those guys blocked." Sure, Rob. And you didn’t look at the pictures after you finished reading that interview you gave to Penthouse magazine.’

[AFC East, 3.] Buffalo Bills: The league’s second smallest market might be home to the biggest sideshow this year. The Doug Flutie against Wade Phillips/Rob Johnson feud got heated in preseason and may come to a boil if the Bills start slowly. Johnson is the No. 1 guy but Flutie has supporters in Buffalo and was 10-5 as a starterlast year.’

‘Cowart’s recollection: "After we kicked the field goal, the kickoff team huddled up and the linebackers and DBs were back on the sidelines. We were going over deep coverage for a Hail Mary and the long ball. We were drawing up different scenarios on what they possibly were going to do. Out of the blue, we heard the crowd just erupt and thought there was a fumble or something. I looked up at the ‘Tron and saw Dyson jogging into the end zone. The first thing I did was look around and I thought there had to be a flag somewhere. And then once I saw the replay and saw the throwback I thought, ‘Oh no, this is stuff we work on every day.’"’

‘"I think [Rob Johnson’s] proven to everyone he’s the quarterback here," said linebacker Sam Cowart. "On the field he’s a lot more serious, he came in in tip-top shape. I think he’s just established himself." On the field, yes, Johnson is the guy. The Bills want Johnson’s arm in the lineup.’

‘Bills right tackle Robert Hicks, all 6-foot-7, 330 pounds of him, will spend the most time across from Kearse tomorrow night. Buffalo Coach Wade Phillips has said Hicks will get some help at times but on many plays Hicks "is just going to have to rise to that challenge." Hicks was bothered by an ankle injury when the two teams met in the AFC Wild Card game. "It’s a great matchup, I think," Hicks said. "But it’s not a tough matchup just for me, it’s a tough matchup for him, too. "Last time I played a nice game against him on a bad ankle. I’m ready for the challenge and he should be ready for the challenge, too."’