Two Bills Drive

‘While he plans to instill his aggressive get-after-the-ball philosophy, Gray is aware that he can’t foul up what has consistently been one of the league’s best defensive units since 1997.’

‘John Butler & A.J. Smith, Buffalo’s ex-head office team, have not even been introduced to Ryan Leaf, the poster child for spoiled players. Another reason why rumors keep flying about Rob Johnson or Doug Flutie going to San Diego keep appearing. Of course with with the Chargers having previously a 1-15 season, any moves made by Butler are going to look good.’

‘The Buffalo Bills’ new defensive coordinator, Jerry Gray, isn’t ready to say he wants to re-create the defensive scheme he helped coach in Tennessee the past two years. But he definitely wants to re-create the results.’

‘Thurman Thomas plans to retire and will sign a one-day contract with Buffalo so he can leave the NFL as a Bill, his agent said Tuesday.’

‘"His desire is to retire as a Buffalo Bill, after the long and successful career that he had there," Steinberg said. "That seems right to him."’

‘”He would hope to play a few more years, but Thurman is very intelligent,” Steinberg said. “He wants to go out on top and cap what should be a Hall of Fame career in the right way. Clearly pushing it to try and continue playing is not something he wants to do.”‘

‘But by waiving Thomas before March 1, the Dolphins save $100,000 due to a roster bonus Thomas was scheduled to receive.’

‘Greg Johnson, Moulds’ New Orleans-based representative…characterized the talks as "at a standstill" but he remained confident that Moulds will be re-signing with the Bills well before the free agency signing period begins March 2.’

On the defensive philosophy: "We’re going to play the run with numbers and play the pass with speed." On the inexperience factor in the Bills special teams: "I’m not sure how big a factor the inexperience was. We’re in the process of going through the tape and evaluating the problems."

‘The Buffalo Bills filled out their defensive staff by appointing Pat Thomas defensive backs coach on Tuesday amd Steve Jackson as a defensive assistant.’

‘The 46-year old Thomas enters his eighth year coaching defensive backs in the NFL. He spent the past two years running his own business. His previous stops included the Colts (1994-97) and the Oilers (1990-92). He began his coaching career with the Houston Gamblers (USFL) in 1983 …’

‘By Yahoo Sports/The Sporting News/The Warroom

Fall changes in coaches may not bring everything their fans are expecting.

‘Traditionally, Buffalo has been a 3-4 defensive team, but Williams won’t stop there. He will run some 4-3 man and even more 4-6 zone. The Bills might get outplayed next season, but they won’t be outschemed with Williams at the helm.’

NFLTalk says that ‘Flutie is willing to restructure (get more bonus money rather than salary) contract to lower number if he is named starting QB.’

‘Since there are not many NFL-caliber QBs available to draft this year, one

option for the Bills is to sign a CFL QB when Flutie or Johnson is cut. Unfortunately it is not as easy as it sounds for CFL players need to be signed by end of February and both hot prospects have no training camp experience hence money needs to come out of rookie pool.’

Nice article about the fine people of WNY: "This lovable rust-belt city is full of blue-collar guys of every ethnic background who get together on Sunday to watch the Bills and remove their shirts in 35-degree weather. (We) support everything from tractor pulls to the philharmonic — and hardly any drive-by shootings…"