Two Bills Drive

‘If the season opened today, Phillips said Flutie would start because that’s the way ’98 ended. “But we’re not playing today,” Phillips said. “Doug made the Pro Bowl and he deserved it. And the other guy didn’t do anything wrong. I want to give Rob an opportunity to play.”‘

“For a seventh straight year, general manager John Butler got all the team’s draft picks signed on time.”

‘”Of course it caused me some concern,” Smith said about Buffalo’s serious effort to land Phillips. “Maybe it sent a message to me that they aren’t as happy with me as they need to be. I just took it upon myself not to worry about it. He’s a great athlete, I can’t take nothing from him, but I don’t consider myself a slouch. Basically, it gave me some incentive to come out here and work hard and show them they don’t need anybody else, that I’m the No. 1 man.”‘

1999 Training Camp Facts

“I know we started 0-3 (last year), but we weren’t the same team once we started winning,” Phillips said. “If we can regain that . . . with the same players, and hope to get better, if we do that, we’ll be awfully strong.”

“It’s believed general manager John Butler and agent Jack Wirth hammered out a one-year extension, tying Reed to the Bills through 2001. A bonus could double Reed’s 1999 pay, set at $1.3 million, and the extra year will provide the Bills salary cap room.”

Wooohooooo!

It’s finally here! After being deprived of real football for months, we can now drink up!

Bills are finally marketing regionally. Lets hope this type of smart marketing keeps the Bills in Buffalo for at least another 40 years.

“On his own team, the 35-year-old Reed has seen teammates with much less time and contributions to the Bills soar past him on the salary chart. This off-season, 36-year-old quarterback Doug Flutie, tackle Jerry Ostroski and cornerback Ken Irvin were given deals averaging $5.5 million, $3.125 million and $2.7 million.”