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BILLS STILL SEEKING ANSWERS WITH REGULAR SEASON LOOMING

By David Staba

Thanks to the quirks of the National Football League's preseason schedule, the Buffalo Bills got nine days between their exhibition finale and Sunday's regular season opener against New Orleans.

Good thing.

Pittsburgh's 13-0 win against the Bills on Aug. 30 featured a disjointed performance by Buffalo's starting offense and a game-breaking touchdown on a punt return.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Gregg Williams entered his first training camp as a head coach at any level facing a number of questions, but none bigger than these two -- can the offensive line protect Rob Johnson, and can the perpetual quarterback of the future realize his vast potential?

Answers -- not yet, and still dunno.

And with the Saints, they of 66 sacks last year, serving as the opening-day guest, the first query takes on more meaning than ever.

With right guard Jerry Ostroski out indefinitely with a fractured tibia, Johnson's biggest worry looked like the right side of the line, where rookie tackle Jonas Jennings and almost-equally green guard Corey Hulsey started the final two August contests. But two of the four sacks endured by Johnson against Cincinnati came through left tackle John Fina, the team's most veteran lineman.

Fina was hardly his quarterback's best friend last year, either, surrendering 5 1/2 sacks in two games against Miami. As the left tackle, he's charged with blocking the best opposing pass rusher on just about every team.

Not that Buffalo has many options. Fina, Ruben Brown, Bill Conaty, Hulsey and Jennings comprise Buffalo's starting line, whether the Bills like it or not. Barring the desperation signing of a washed-up cast-off from the waiver wire, Buffalo's season depends on them.

Them, and Johnson.

He's always had the arm and mobility to become a top quarterback. For the first time in Johnson's Buffalo career, he also has the unqualified, unquestioned support of his coaches. His preseason performance, limited by a nagging sprained index finger on his throwing hand, did little to silence his doubters outside the organization, though.

To do that, Johnson has to find a way to shake the injury-prone label. The running game looked decent during the last three preseason games, but the Bills still have to figure out how to get better up front with what they have.

At least they have a couple extra days to do it.

As for the rest of the team:

QUARTERBACK: Anyone who got excited about Van Pelt's preseason numbers must not have watched the games. He went 17-for-26 playing with the first unit against Philadelphia, but it would be tough to come up with a set of more misleading statistics. If opponents leave the middle of the field wide open and rush no more than four linemen, as the Eagles did, he'll be fine.

Problem is, most teams engage in what they call game planning during the regular season. Van Pelt has a lot of good qualities, but the arm to throw the deep out (or the short out, or the deep post, or anything else besides a dump over the middle) has never been one of them.

RUNNING BACK: Each of Buffalo's top three ballcarriers has looked good at times during the preseason, but if Travis Henry stays healthy, he'll wind up with more than half of the team's rushing attempts.

Henry has shown much better natural running ability than Shawn Bryson or Sammy Morris. He's a pure north-south runner, but has a knack for moving a half-step to the left or right to make tacklers miss. The third-round pick from Tennessee rarely gets hit head on and spins or dives for an extra yard or more on almost every carry. Henry needs a lot of work blocking against the blitz, though. He bounced off Pittsburgh's Jason Guildon in the exhibition closer, creating the only sack suffered by Johnson.

Bryson is the biggest and fastest of the three, but has yet to slip a tackle in a year-plus with the Bills. If the front line can create a clear gap in the defense, he can get through it, but lacks the instinct or elusiveness to create on his own. His skills are best put to use on swing passes, where he can use his speed in open space.

Morris is a little shiftier than Bryson, but needs to overcome a tendency to bounce outside at the first sign of traffic up the middle. That resulted in an occasional decent run, but for every 15-yarder, he got dropped in the backfield twice.

Larry Centers brings two of the elements missing from former offensive coordinator Joe Pendry's fullback-free offense -- a solid blocker to lead running plays and pick up pass rushers and a reliable safety valve for Johnson. At 33, he's no breakaway threat (his longest reception last year with Washington was 26 yards), but provides the Bills with their best third-down option out of the backfield since Thurman Thomas' peak.

Buffalo's most sensible option for keeping Johnson ambulatory is to rely heavily on the backs to help pick up the pass rush, give him a place to dump the ball when the line breaks down and, most of all, pound away on the ground.

WIDE RECEIVER: The quarterback mess and late-season meltdown overshadowed Eric Moulds' numbers last year -- 94 catches for 1,326 yards and five scores despite near-constant double-teaming. The new offensive system should boost the first two by at least 10 percent and double the touchdowns. While Johnson won't be looking deep as often, even if the line does hold up, Moulds' size and run-after-the-catch ability make him ideal for the West Coast attack.

Of course, it would help if Peerless Price started to live up to, or at least approximate, his name. His 2000 stats (52 catches for 762 yards) were OK, but emptily so. His best game came in the who-cares season finale at Seattle, and we all know what that did for Doug Flutie and Antowain Smith. If Price doesn't start producing when it matters and stop yielding key fumbles, he could backslide behind Jeremy McDaniel on the depth chart.

McDaniel has had a quiet camp, but showed a knack for playmaking as a rookie that Price has only hinted at. With the emphasis on protecting Johnson, the Bills will use fewer three wideout sets than in the past, so McDaniel may not see as much time unless he supplants Price.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Aside from the aforementioned starters, the Bills have no experience here. That provides some security for the first unit, but not much for Johnson.

TIGHT END: Jay Riemersma provides security for Johnson and a reliable target near the end zone -- when he's healthy. That's been a problem each of the past two seasons and neither of his backups is in his class as a pass-catcher.

Sheldon Jackson became a scapegoat for Pendry's schizophrenic system. Too often, he was out of position as a quasi-fullback, with predictable results. He's a much better blocker in the trenches as a true tight end or motion H-back than he looked out in the open last year.

Dan O'Leary's performance in camp made Bobby Collins expendable. His long-snapping ability didn't hurt him, either.

DEFENSIVE LINE: After Johnson's durability and the offensive line's level of competence, this is Buffalo's most questionable area.

Phil Hansen is still Phil Hansen -- steady, durable and a contributor at left end against the run and at right tackle in pass rushing situations.

Pat Williams should benefit from the switch to the 4-3, which should highlight his quickness and strength.

After that, it's a crapshoot.

Erik Flowers dumped Scott Mitchell for a safety in Buffalo's third preseason game, but it was, after all, against the Bengals. The modified 46 defense Gregg Williams ran in Tennessee depends on speed coming off the edge. No one expects Erik Williams to be Jevon Kearse, but a more consistent portrayal of a first-round pick would help.

Shawn Price has been a solid backup and special-teams player for much of his career with the Bills. After making six starts last season, most in place of an injured Hansen, he gets his shot as a full-time starter in his ninth NFL season.

The rest of Buffalo's linemen are very similar -- quick, but small. Bryce Fisher, who spent the last two summers with the Bills while finishing his commitment to the Air Force, led the Bills in sacks during the preseason. His quickness off the snap should get him the most playing time after the starters, if he doesn't join them.

After choosing not to fight the annual battle with Ted Washington's waistline and allowing Marcellus Wiley to sign with San Diego, Gregg Williams said the Bills would stop the run with numbers.

He's got the numbers to work with, but Buffalo struggled against the run when the first units were on the field against St. Louis and Cincinnati before getting bulldozed by Pittsburgh. The Bills didn't show much of a pass rush, either, but defensive coordinator Jerry Gray kept blitzes and stunts to a minimum through the preseason.

LINEBACKER: That figures to change when the season opens for two reasons -- the 46 is predicated on pressuring the quarterback from all angles and Buffalo possesses dangerous blitzers in Sam Cowart and Keith Newman.

The Bills turned Cowart loose against Tampa Bay last year and he delivered 2 1/2 sacks in little more than a quarter before going out for the season with an ankle injury. At times last year, it seemed like he was in on every play. Operating out of the 4-3, there's no reason that should change.

Newman took over as a starter last season. He started strong and got better as the year went on. He should fit perfectly into the new system.

Jay Foreman, like Newman a 1999 draftee, follows his classmate into the starting lineup. Foreman was a bit overwhelmed after stepping in for Cowart late in the year, but seems more comfortable at weak-side linebacker than he was inside in the 3-4.

Kenyetta Wright and Fred Jones mainly played special teams last year, providing the very few highlights produced by those units, but enter the season as the primary backups to the starting trio.

SECONDARY: This was the most stable unit until Sunday, when the Bills released 11-year veteran strong safety Henry Jones.

Jones' release gives Raion Hill a shot to start. Hill can hit, which Williams demands from his strong safeties, but lacks Jones' coverage ability and experience. In a defensive scheme already vulnerable to big plays, that could be fatal.

If Hill flops on the strong side, Keion Carpenter could shift over with Travares Tillman stepping in at free safety.

Antoine Winfield has already shown that he deserved his selection as Buffalo's No. 1 draft pick in 1999. His knack for getting to the ball and making big hits could put him at Pro Bowl level as early as this season.

The starter on the opposite corner, Ken Irvin, will probably never get there. But he's adequate to keep the spot warm for this year's top pick, Nate Clements.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The complete ineptitude of Buffalo's special teams last year played a huge role in Wade Phillips' dismissal.

Up until the 78-yard punt return by Pittsburgh's Troy Edwards, things looked a lot better on kick coverage. Blame for that falls largely on rookie punter Brian Moorman, who booted a short line drive to the wrong side of the field, away from coverage, and failed to turn Edwards back toward inside.

While Clements and Avion Black showed promise running back punts, nobody emerged as the top kickoff returner. That's critical if the Bills are to improve on last year's enormous disadvantage in field position.

Steve Christie struggled as he adapted to a new snapper and holder. With the Bills looking at other available kickers and punters, there's no guarantee he or Moorman will still be around come opening day.

OUTLOOK: While the Bills' progress this summer hasn't been as marked or immediate as some would like, Buffalo has turned over two-thirds of its roster over the past two seasons. It won't help that the first month of the season features visits from the Saints and Steelers and road trips to the two top teams in the AFC East, Miami and Indianapolis. But Williams' defenses in Tennessee exemplified intensity and effort, and instilling those qualities in the Bills has been his first order of business.

Trying hard doesn't always equal winning, and dismantling one of the league's top defenses opens Williams and general manager Tom Donahoe to second-guessing if Buffalo starts slowly. Both men talked about the importance of overcoming adversity, and that early schedule ensures that their team will get a chance to do just that.

Personnel moves, starting with the release of Doug Flutie and running right up through Sunday's release of Jones, leave no doubt about whose team this is and remove any excuses the new regime may have had.

The Bills enter the season with plenty of holes. But so does just about every other team in the league, particularly the AFC East. Buffalo will improve as the myriad youngsters learn their roles. If things break right, the Bills could even make some noise in the division. But with questions still far from answered on both lines, on special teams, at quarterback and now at strong safety, a 7-9 season looks more realistic.