ESPN.com - NFL/TRAININGCAMP00 - Bills: It's Johnson's job, for now

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 Thursday, August 10
Bills: It's Johnson's job, for now
 
 By Mark Cannizzaro
Special to ESPN.com

The only place to start with the 2000 Buffalo Bills is by looking at who's not with the team anymore.

 
CAMP AT A GLANCE
 Rob Johnson
Rob Johnson heads to training camp as the Bills' starting quarterback.
  Location: St. John Fisher College (Pittsford, N.Y.)
Rookies report: July 20
Veterans report: July 20
Preseason schedule:
   Aug. 4: Cincinnati
   Aug. 12: at Detroit
   Aug. 19: at St. Louis
   Aug. 24: at Philadelphia

Gone are the Bills' "big three" connections to their four Super Bowls -- defensive end Bruce Smith, running back Thurman Thomas and receiver Andre Reed. All were released in Buffalo's offseason salary cap purge. Also gone are fullback Sam Gash, cornerback Thomas Smith, safety Kurt Schulz -- all starters, too.

Bills coach Wade Phillips has a terrific 22-11 record in his two seasons in Buffalo, but he has yet to win a postseason game (0-2 with the Bills and 0-3 overall as a head coach). He insists the drastic changes on the team will not turn the Bills into also-rans.

"We're still a good team," Phillips insisted. "We suffered some key losses, certainly, but I think we have the potential to be as good, if not better, than we were a year ago."

A year ago, Buffalo lost that wild AFC wild-card game to the Titans on Tennessee's miracle final-seconds kickoff return. How the Bills recover from that, long with the key personnel losses, remains to be seen.

Man in the spotlight
The pressure unquestionably is on quarterback Rob Johnson. Is he the man to lead the Bills' back into Super Bowl contention? This is a question Phillips believes he knows the answer to -- otherwise he would never have made the stunning decision to bench Doug Flutie in last January's playoff loss to Tennessee.

Key position battle
We believe quarterback will continue to nag Phillips as an ongoing controversy. The people in Buffalo love Flutie, 37, because he has done nothing but win (17-8 as a starter the last two seasons). There'll be a lot of pressure on Johnson, 27. Flutie won nine games for Buffalo last season, but he ranked 24th in the NFL in passing efficiency, prompting Phillips to commit to Johnson, who has been knocked out of four of the 11 games he's played for Buffalo. Johnson must get off to a good start or they'll be clamoring for Flutie Flakes in Western New York.

Biggest adjustment
Where will Buffalo find its pass rush without Smith? Letting Thomas and Reed go was prudent; neither was producing much anymore. But Smith remains one of the best defensive ends in the game despite having played in the league for 15 years. Fourth-year veteran Marcellus Wiley is slated to take over Smith's spot at right end, but Wiley is fresh off back surgery and will have a late start to training camp.

Rookie report
Tying in with the Bills' biggest adjustment, as mentioned above, Buffalo drafted a pair of pass rushers -- Arizona State defensive end Erik Flowers in the first round and Virginia Tech's Corey Moore. Flowers had 10 sacks as a senior and could be an immediate factor in passing situations. Moore had 17 sacks in his senior year at Tech, actually breaking Smith's career sack record at the school. He is, however, only 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, and he's projected as an NFL linebacker.

Second-rounder Traveres Tillman, a safety from Georgia Tech, could challenge for a starting spot as a rookie.

Buffalo Bills
Signed Waived/released/lost
*TE Jay Riemersma
*OG Ruben Brown
*OL John Fina
*G Marcus Spriggs
*CB Donovan Greer
*DB Daryl Porter
*OT Jamie Nails
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Acquired via trade

Retired

DE Bruce Smith to Redskins
CB Thomas Smith to Bears
RB Thurman Thomas to Dolphins
WRAndre Reed
S Kurt Schulz to Lions
DE Dan Brandenburg to Eagles
C-G Dusty Ziegler to Giants
DT Sean Moran to Rams
FB Sam Gash
WR Kevin Williams
WR Kamil Loud to Falcons
DE Gabe Northern to Steelers
 
 
 
 
 
Traded


 



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AUDIO/VIDEO
audio
 Peerless Price says the Bills are Rob Johnson's team.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 Ruben Brown is excited about the Bills' QB situation.
wav: 105 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 Coach Wade Phillips likes what he sees in rookie running back Sammy Morris.
wav: 80 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 Doug Flutie describes his injury.
wav: 244 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 Wade Phillips doesn't expect to see Doug Flutie back until the regular season.
wav: 65 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6