Very little went right on the turf in Indianapolis. Thurman Thomas got hurt on the first play of the game and it went downhill from there. It was an awful performance from the QB, the running game, the Offensive Line, and the defensive backfield. The only unit they showed up in the 31-14 loss was the special teams that blocked a field goal and gave the club good field possession throughout. Peyton Manning threw the ball well to receivers Marvin Harrison and E.G. Green in leading the Colts to the victory. The only Bills to play well were Phil Hansen, Kevin Williams and Eric Moulds. MORE.

September 11, 1999

Bills Announce Four Inactives: The first four players that were made inactive for tomorrow's game includes the only two players on the injury report. Dan Brandenberg, Joe Panos, Jay Foreman, and Victor Allotey are the early inactives. Brandneberg was suppose to be ready to go, so he is a surprise inactive. Allotey was on the inactive list all season last year and Foreman as a rookie is not a surprise either. The club will announce four more inactives tomorrow morning.

Burris Injured: Former Bill and current Colt DB Jeff Burris dislocated his thumb during practice yesterday and may be forced to miss the game tomorrow. If he can't go dime back Tony Blevins would play in his place. This could be a bad blow for the Colts.

September 8, 1999

Injury Report Released: The NFL has released its weekly injury report and it is very small for the Bills.

Practice Squad Player Added: The fourth player on the practice squad is DT Geno Bell. He spent last season with the Jets, the early part of the season he was deactivated and the rest of the year he was on their practice squad. The club is expected to leave the fifth spot on the practice squad open for now.

Ziegler to Start: Shout is reporting that Dusty Ziegler will start at left guard this week for Joe Panos. Jamie Nails will also see time as the two will alternate.

September 7, 1999

Panos Cleared to Play, But Will He? Empire is reporting that Joe Panos has been cleared to play but Wade Phillips may still hold him out of Sunday's opener.

Bills Name Three To Practice Squad: Three players were named to the practice squad today. RB Lennox Gordon, FB Brian Edwards and WR Jeremy McDaniel are on the 5-man squad. With two backfield members already on the squad it looks like Anthony Gray will be left off of it.

September 5, 1999

Bills Make Cuts: There were three surprises as the Bills cut 13 players to get their roster down to 53. A stunning move was the cutting of Anthony Gray leaving the Bills with just 4 running backs on their roster. They also surprised some by cutting WR Jeremy McDaniel leaving them with just 5 wide receivers on the roster. Eric Smedley was the only veteran player cut today. That is a surprise since Smedley is an excellent special teams player. Here is the complete lists of cuts:

• RB Anthony Gray
• RB Brian Edwards
• RB Lennox Gordon
• WR Jeremy McDaniel
• S Eric Smedley
• WR Reginald Allen
• WR Robert Scott
• TE John Jennings
• DL Zach Carter
• DL Pene Talamaivao
• OL David Mudge
• P Bill Kushner
• S Armon Hatcher

Surprise New Bills: The biggest surprise and only undrafted free agent to make the team was free safety Keion Carpenter. He took Smedley's place on the roster and since Smedley played strong safety look for Carpenter to see some time there. The Bills decided to keep 10 offensive lineman (not including Ethan Albright as a lineman) most likely because of the unsettled injury situation with Joe Panos (see below). The surprise here was that Bill Conaty was kept, he will be the third string center. He was probably kept around because he's the backup long snapper. A mild surprise was that project Victor Allotey also made the team. Hatcher was the only draft pick cut, he did not have a good camp so this was expected.

Panos May Miss Opener: Panos has been diagnosed with a bulging disk, which is the cause of his neck stingers. The club hopes rest will do the trick, so he may miss the opening game. There is a chance he will need surgery which will cost him a lot of playing time. That is the reason their was only one offensive linemen cut.

September 4, 1999

Bills Win: The club did something they usually don't do, and that is finish the exhibition season with a winning record. Their 16-14 win over Pittsburgh gave them a 3-1 mark in the preseason. Here are some of the details:

Flutie drives for TD on only series: Doug Flutie had a short night tonight and drove the team 70 yards in 7 plays on his only offensive series, using the no-huddle, that ended in a 16 yard touchdown pass to Jay Riemersma. Rob Johnson replaced him and struggled completing 11 of 16 passes for 91 yards, he did drive the team to two Steve Christie field goals. The star of the game was DL Pat Williams who was all over the field making big plays. Antoine Winfield played well on defense also, he made big hits and picked off a pass in the fourth quarter.

On the downside: Jonathan Linton fumbled again, and the offensive line was awful. They had a few holding penalties and opened up no holes for the running game. The pass protection wasn't much better. Jamie Nails had a bad game and his roster spot may be in jeopardy.

Injury Front: The best news as the Bills appeared to come out of the game healthy. The only injury seems to be to Marcellus Wiley who re-aggravated a groin injury.