Two Bills Drive

‘Since Ted Rogers bought the Blue Jays – what, already? – and installed Paul Godfrey as the tallest forehead, hardly anyone holding the reins of power seems to be talking baseball. Somebody thought Rogers would leap into the fray to buy the Maple Leafs, once the Honest Grocer (ret.) was eased out, and there were suggestions The Cable Guy take over the Argos, too. But it turns out the real sporting passion for the new baseball proprietors seems to be a favourite old fantasy friend and trend, the NFL coming to Toronto…But if we’re thinking NFL – and the usual suspects are because of Godfrey’s re-emergence into the limelight – let us consider the following: That new $700 million (U.S., of course, meaning more than $1 billion Cdn.) price tag for NFL expansion franchises apparently is no matter any longer. Because now Toronto is going to sit on a Ralph Wilson mortality watch and wait for the Buffalo Bills to become available? Hmmmm. The suggestion, obviously, is that the NFL will allow the move of a team out of an established market, one with an 80,000-seat stadium, into an unestablished market, one that is governed by trends (Raptors in; Blue Jays and Argos out). Most importantly, it also is a market that contains no stadium suitable to the NFL. The only way you buy this scenario is to believe that the stadium will be provided. How? Well, you know how. That 100,000-seat Olympic 2008 stadium, the one that is going to be 20,000 permanent seats with 80,000 Meccano-set seats added on.’

‘Pat Williams has surprised everyone in the NFL. Everyone, that is, except for the Buffalo Bills. Signed as an undrafted free agent for the NFL minimum salary in 1997, the defensive tackle Williams is emerging as a force in the Bills’ new-look scheme. Lining up alongside fellow heavyweight nose tackle Ted Washington, the two 310-plus-pounders provide an effective and — after one game — unstoppable one-two punch. “It worked good. Not anybody can stop me or Ted,” Williams said after practice Wednesday. “(Washington) softens then up for me, and then I go out and punish them a little more. “So Ted punishes them, I punish them, and they be done.”‘

‘Let’s talk sexy defense. No, not the Bills’ defense. While they’re very good, probably a top-five unit – possibly No. 1 again – they’re not sexy. They’re into fundamentals. They play sound, they play great, they rarely take risks. They stuff the run, they stop the pass.’

"You Make the Call" is a presentation of both real and imagined NFL scenarios, where we invite you to "make the call" based upon the Official Rules for the NFL for 1999. Good luck, because you’ll need it.

Game day photo gallery from Sunday where the Bills avenged their dramatic playoff defeat against the Titans.

‘Gabe Who? That’s what a lot of Buffalo Bills fans are saying after outside linebacker Keith Newman’s performance during Sunday night’s thrilling 16-13 win over the Tennessee Titans. The second-year pro had a tremendous night with the first two sacks of his career and was solid against the run. Although his first tackle was wiped out by a Tennessee penalty, Newman’s hit on running back Eddie George on the game’s first snap set the tone for a dominating night for the Bills’ defense.’

‘It was no fluke that cornerback Antoine Winfield led Ohio State, a school famous for linebackers and hard-hitting safeties, in tackling his senior year. For the Bills, it’s like having an extra linebacker on the field.’

‘Now that Gilbert Brown’s career has eclipsed you might not find a better pure run-stopping nose tackle than Ted Washington and Pat Williams. The problem for the Packers is they both play for Buffalo. "Those two big fat guys they play inside are really good athletes," an executive in personnel for another team said Tuesday. "If you go in there and just try to run the ball, you’re going to be in trouble. The run defense of their front seven is probably the best in the National Football League."’

‘[Paul] Godfrey [the new president and CEO of the Blue Jays] and his Rogers friends [of Rogers Communications] have identified four NFL teams as being vulnerable to franchise moves — the most logical of the four being the geographically correct Buffalo Bills. With team owner Ralph Wilson turning 82 next month, and Wilson being very aware of his own mortality after a life spent in the insurance business, the Detroit-based owner is very aware his time frame for selling the team and not putting his family in a mess of inheritance tax is short.’

‘The Bills got some misguided inspiration even before kickoff. As coach Wade Phillips noted, "When they came out and introduced their special teams, they got some of our guys mad because that was last year." His reference was to the unit that produced "Home Run Throwback", the kick return for a touchdown that beat the Bills in last January’s playoff game at Nashville. But the Titans weren’t trying to show up their hosts. The introductions were a tribute to Tennessee special teams coach Alan Lowery, who designed that fateful play, but had severe chest pains earlier in the week, was hospitalized, and didn’t make the trip to Buffalo.’

‘Johnson was still sore on Monday, but walked without a noticeable limp. More important for the Bills, he is expected to practice Wednesday and start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. "It’s a little weak right now," Johnson said following team meetings. "It was like a stinger in the shoulder. You lose power and feeling in it, so it can come back in five to 10 hours or a couple of days. It’s good that the feeling is coming back. "I hurt this ankle in Jacksonville and I played on it and I couldn’t even walk (afterwards). That could be what’s making it worse than it should be. But I don’t think it will be bad at all."’

‘I’m not sure what Cottrell has to do to get respect in the sport. A year ago, his defense finished No. 1 in the league. It allowed the fewest yards by an AFC team in 21 years. And yet, half a dozen head coaching jobs came open without him getting so much as a sniff. During the offseason, the Bills lost four defensive starters. Experts assumed an inevitable drop-off. One national publication predicted they’d be the 16th-best defense this year. Then, in Sunday night’s opener, Cottrell and his staff turned in another defensive gem. They wiped the floor with Tennessee’s new offensive staff and left Buffalo fans wondering if this year’s defense might actually be better than last year’s version. "Ted was really in touch with what they were doing," said Chuck Lester, the Bills’ linebackers coach. "He was able to anticipate and makes the calls – bang, bang, bang, bang."’

‘The Titans nearly pulled off another Music City Miracle when Derrick Mason was one missed tackle away from taking a kickoff for a touchdown in the final minute of Sunday night’s game after a 33-yard Steve Christie field goal had put Buffalo in front, 16-13, with 33 seconds left. Mason’s 57-yard return almost was enough to set up a field goal that would have forced overtime. Phillips said the entire return unit was not to blame. "Our left side of our kickoff coverage didn’t stay in their lanes," he said. "They got out of their lanes or let guys push them by. We may shuffle people around a little bit." The left side included rookies Corey Moore, Sammy Morris, Travares Tillman and Fred Jones in addition to special teams veteran Donovan Greer. Phillips said the right side, which included cornerback Antoine Winfield and safeties Keion Carpenter, Daryl Porter and Raion Hill, did a good job. Winfield came across the field to assist on the game-saving tackle on Mason. Phillips might move Hill to the other side to balance things out a little, but ultimately it’s up to the rookies to get the job done. "They’ll get better once they see the film," Phillips said. "It just takes time for those guys. It’s just a process for some guys."’

‘"They are one tough team," Titans head coach Jeff Fisher said. "And when you play a team like Buffalo, you have to catch balls and not make mistakes. This is the first time in a while we’ve dropped this many balls, and the rest is history. To win, you have to make the plays when you have a chance. We didn’t.’

‘Despite the big plays that weren’t made, Fisher found some good in the loss. "If an average team goes up to play in a place like Buffalo against the quality players and systems that they have and converts two third downs out of 14 attempts — zero in the second half — drops four balls for probably over 100 yards and touchdown opportunities, has 12 penalties, gets zero turnovers, they should get beat convincingly," Fisher said. "’So if there are any positives in this loss, it’s that we did not play well, yet we had a chance to win the game."’