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| WEEK IN REVIEW - APRIL 9TH - APRIL 15TH, 2001 | PREVIOUS WEEK |
Schedule Released
The NFL released it's schedule this week and it gives the Bills a season opener at home against New Orleans and two primetime games that are both on the road on ESPN. The marquee grudge matchup with San Diego is scheduled for the eighth week of the season and comes at the end of a streak where the Bills will have 11 and 10 days off between games thanks to a well timed Thursday night game following a bye week. Our Take: Since the Chargers have to play on primetime at least once, it is a total surprise that the game with the Bills isn't an early season Sunday night game. The Bills play 5 of 7 games at home during a stretch in November and December but pay for it by ending with two straight road games. The first three games will be critical since two are road divison games and all three are against playoff teams. The schedule does get easier after that, so if they survive the first three games they could be OK. Tom Donahoe talked about the draft this week in a luncheon with the media. He spoke about how it could be likely that the Bills will try to trade down out of the 14th spot or in other rounds since they want more draft picks. Coach Williams continued his emphasis on a big, strong cornerback on draft day but again mentioned the obvious need positions on both lines. Dwight Adams said the procedure for the draft hasn't changed and his work was praised by Donahoe, who seems to be working well with John Butler's old scouts. Our Take: I'm not opposed to us trading down for more picks but a better solution would be to add middle round picks for a player like Antowain Smith. If they can recoup the 4th round pick they traded away for him, they should grab it. That may not be a possibility though. It seems the scouts and Donahoe work well, let's hope the Bills give Adams a nice new deal before his contract expires next off season. For more on the draft including our complete seven round Bills mock draft, check out our draft page. The Bills made one signing this week, when they inked quarterback Pete Gonzalez to a one year deal at the minimum salary of $389,000. This wasn't a surprise since Donahoe signed Gonzalez in Pittsburgh and likes him. Gonzalez was cut in training camp last year by the Colts and didn't play last season. Our Take: Gonzalez has shown talent in previous exhibition games and he is expected to challenge Van Pelt for the backup job. Expect Van Pelt to win that battle easily since he has more experience and knows the new offense. If the Bills draft a quarterback fairly high up, Gonzalez may not make the team. In free agent coming and goings, one player the Bills had a keen interest in signed elsewhere this week. Marcus Robertson chose the Seahawks over Buffalo and Oakland because the Bills couldn't guarantee a second season and couldn't afford a signing bonus because of cap problems. Our Take: Keion Carpenter showed a lot of talent last year, so the money that would have went to sign Robertson will be used better elsewhere. Former Bill Ted Washington as expected landed with an NFL team this week. He signed a three year deal with the Bears worth $7.5 Million Our Take: Washington received bad advice from his agent. If he took a pay cut and stayed in Buffalo he would be making more money than he is in Chicago. As it turned out, Williams doesn't like his conditioning and didn't want him here anyway. In other free agent news, former Bills were busy with visits last week. Sam Rogers visited with the Jets on Wednesday where he may be reunited with Ted Cottrell. Don't look for the Jets to make any moves before the draft. Depending on the outcome of the draft, they may try to sign Rogers who has only visited the Lions and Jets. Marcus Spriggs was the latest player to visit the enemy in Miami. The Dolphins may be interested in him as a versatile backup but he left Thursday's visit without a contract. There interest also depends on the draft and the status of Richmond Webb. Our Take: Free agency and the salary cap is starting to hurt the players too much when quality players like Sam Rogers can't find work. If Spriggs goes the Bills can get someone more talented in the draft. The Bills announced this week the dates for ticket sales. Season tickets are currently on sale and group sales will start on May 21st. Season ticket holders can by extra individual game tickets before then on May 14th. Regular season individual game tickets go on sale July 14th. Our Take: With the schedule and dates of ticket sales out, it is time to make fall plans! In some sad news, the wife of former Bill Chris Spielman has had a reoccurence of her breast cancer. Spielman missed an entire season with Buffalo because of his wife's illness. Our Take: Our hearts and prayers go out to Stephanie and the Spielman family. Talk about it on The Stadium Wall
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