NFL NOTES : Say It Ain’t So: Bills Positioned for Another Run at Super Bowl

What I’m about to tell you may come as a shock, especially if you are one of the millions of Americans who had grown weary of watching the Buffalo Bills lose by an average of 16.5 points per game in four Super Bowls.

What I’m about to tell you is that you may have to prepare yourselves for what once was unthinkable but now is possible: Get used to it. The Bills just might do it again.

And you thought the Bills were done last December when the up-and-coming New England Patriots thrashed them, 41-17, and signaled the end of one era and the start of another. Goodbye to the Super Bowl losers once and for all. Hello to Bill Parcells’ Patriots for the start of a championship run.

Yeah, right. The teams meet at Rich Stadium Sunday, but the backdrop is decidedly different. The Patriots (4-7) are virtually out of the playoff race and the Bills ... well, the Bills are very much alive despite a rash of injuries, the illness of their beloved coach and further free-agent depletion.

“This is a very special group of guys,” says Coach Marv Levy, who missed three games after undergoing cancer surgery last month. “It’s a very determined group to overcome the odds.”

And certainly the odds have been against the Bills getting back to the Super Bowl. But here we are, 11 games into the season, and Buffalo is atop the American Football Conference East at 8-3. And if Jim Kelly stays in one piece, don’t be surprised to see that record improve to 12-4.

So how in the world did the Bills get to this point? Six reasons:

1. Adding some Paup to the defense. The signing of former Green Bay Packers linebacker Bryce Paup was the best free-agent signing of the year. Paup has 14 sacks, has taken pressure off of pass rushers Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett and has turned the Bills into a team that now relies primarily on defense, not the K-gun offense.

2. Drafting Darick Holmes. It isn’t often a seventh-round draft pick becomes the focal point of the offense, but he has become just that, especially in light of Thurman Thomas’ hamstring problems. Holmes has been a godsend, rushing for 487 yards and keeping the offense breathing. The rushing offense still isn’t what it needs to be, but just imagine the trouble they would have encountered without Holmes.

3. Re-signing Bill Brooks. Because of pressing salary-cap problems, the Bills cut the veteran receiver, then re-signed him shortly before training camp. Good thing. With Andre Reed out because of hamstring problems, Brooks has become Kelly’s go-to receiver. He had two touchdown receptions Sunday in a 28-26 victory over the New York Jets, and now has 34 catches for 529 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns.

4. Drafting Ruben Brown. After two years of losing at least one cornerstone offensive lineman, General Manager John Butler’s decision to draft the Pitt guard in the first round was huge. Kelly has been sacked only 19 times and hasn’t missed a start.

5. Retaining Bennett. Butler used a franchise move to keep Bennett, still one of the most gifted linebackers. Bennett hasn’t had a monster season, but he is still an invaluable member of the defense.

6. The intangible. Call it heart. Call it desire. Call it perseverance. Whatever it is, the Bills still have it. Lots of it. “This team refuses to quit,” Smith says. “It’s a mindset that keeps us playing to a certain level.”

Right now, that level is first place in the AFC East. A few more victories, and it might be homefield advantage in the playoffs. And after that ...

Get used to it. They just might do it again.

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Over the last two years, the NFL has launched an ambitious plan to change several rules in hopes of increasing offensive production and making the game safer. Now the question is: Are more changes planned in the future?

Not likely. “We’re really not looking to tinker unless the statistics show that things have to be reviewed,” says New York Giants General Manager George Young, co-chairman of the competition committee. “What we have to do is make sure that if any changes are needed, it’s not just an overreaction to something that may be happening one year but isn’t necessarily indicative of a long-term trend.”

NFL executives are generally pleased with the results of rules changes aimed at opening up the offense, as evidenced by the increased production of quarterbacks and wide receivers.

Also, scoring is up significantly. Last Sunday, teams combined to average 47.9 points per game, lifting the season average to 42.3. The league is on a pace for its highest scoring average since 1985, when the average was 43.1.

“I don’t see how you can design the rules and direct it toward the passing game any more than we (have),” says Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, a competition-committee member. “I think we’ve gone as far as we can go.”

Jones also says the increased emphasis on protecting quarterbacks, which has resulted in numerous fines for defensive players who have delivered blows with their helmets, has helped keep the league’s premier position in better shape.

“I think we’re sensitive to the injury factor, but it will become even more as we go along,” Jones says. “We’ve got to make sure our players stay on the field so our product can be the best it possibly can be.”

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For weeks, Giants Coach Dan Reeves has been telling everyone that he plans to fulfill his contract, which runs through 1997. But when someone asked him the other day what he plans to do once that contract is up, Reeves uttered the words that likely will get him fired after this season: “Let’s put it this way, the way things are run right now, no, I wouldn’t be interested (in coming back). If I had to go through two more years like the past two years, then no, I wouldn’t be interested.”

Although he originally accepted that he would not have final authority over all personnel matters, deferring to George Young, Reeves is clearly unhappy at the power structure. But by publicly saying he won’t be back unless he gets more power, Reeves has in effect fired himself. After all, what good would it do for the Giants to hold Reeves against his will for the final two years of his contract?

Despite having an underachieving team that Reeves had thought was capable of competing with the Cowboys for the National Football Conference East title, he remains one of the NFL’s top coaches. But if his public whining about the Giants’ front office leads to his exit, then he deserves all the criticism he gets.

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It is generally considered a foregone conclusion that owners will overwhelmingly approve the Browns’ move to Baltimore from Cleveland, that the threat of a lawsuit will render the league powerless to stand in the way of Art Modell’s deal.

Not so fast. Though there has been speculation Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will simply rubber stamp the move and avoid an expensive antitrust lawsuit, Tagliabue isn’t necessarily in favor of choosing the path of least resistance. In fact, he is believed to be ready to fight the move.

Unlike the departure of the Rams from Los Angeles to St. Louis and the Raiders’ move back to Oakland, the Browns’ issue is complicated by the fact the team has such overwhelming support from Browns fans as well as the approval of a tax extension that would provide funding for a major renovation of Cleveland Stadium.

Remember, there was no solid stadium plan in place for the Rams or Raiders, although the league had established the parameters of a stadium deal for the Raiders.

But with such heavy public pressure to keep the Browns in Cleveland, and with the likelihood that the Browns don’t meet the criteria required for franchise movement, Tagliabue is going to think long and hard before risking the league’s credibility -- and his own -- by approving the move.

Don’t be surprised if Tagliabue tries to keep the Browns in Cleveland and award Baltimore some other team. Any other team.

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Quick hits: Before Miami Dolphins Coach Don Shula retained defensive coordinator Tom Olivadotti this season, he offered the job to former Jets Coach Pete Carroll, who instead opted for the San Francisco 49ers’ coordinator job. As part of the recruiting pitch, Shula suggested Carroll one day could get the Dolphins’ head-coaching job. ... The Atlanta Falcons won’t negotiate a contract extension with quarterback Jeff George until the offseason. George becomes a free agent in ’96 and he could be one of the hottest passers available. ... Minnesota Vikings Coach Dennis Green likely will ask Warren Moon to come back. Minnesota has an option on Moon’s contract for 1996, but Green believes Moon still has enough left to help the team. It also would give rookie Chad May another year to mature. Moon has thrown four touchdown passes in consecutive games for the first time in his career. ... Houston Oilers veteran defensive tackle Ray Childress was expected to undergo surgery to repair a dislocated left shoulder, an injury that could mean the end of his career. Childress will be 34 next year and is scheduled to make $2.3 million.