No one's saying they have second thoughts, but maybe the Buffalo Bills are having second thoughts about choosing Rob Johnson over Doug Flutie as their quarterback.
No one has compared Johnson's release to Dan Marino's, but after a so-so preseason and poor play and five sacks in the opener, patience is growing thin in Buffalo.
"I think there's a personal responsibility of himself to get rid of the ball quicker in some instances," Coach Greg Williams said. "I think this offense is set up to get rid of the ball quicker and has better answers for him. But he is a player who really has a tough time giving up on a play.
"He always wants to make a play down the field, and I think that's a positive trait, but one that has to fit in with the constraints of your offensive system, and that's not to take negative yardage plays. He understands that."
The Bills switched to a West Coast offense this season, which puts a heavier burden on the quarterback taking shorter drops to get rid of the ball more quickly. If Johnson doesn't get better at it today at Indianapolis, the Steelers could see backup Alex Van Pelt play against them next Sunday.
Billick whines
Even during these times, the football paranoia pours out of Brian Billick like bad blood.
First, Baltimore's coach moaned about the Ravens not playing on the first Monday night as befits the defending Super Bowl champions. After their second game Monday was postponed like all others, Billick issued a warning to the NFL when the game was rescheduled for the final Monday night of the season.
"I've got to rely on the good graces of the league to not put us in the position to play on Monday night, then turn around and play on a Saturday," Billick said of a possible playoff opener for the Ravens. "I doubt that they would have done that to Tennessee. I'm not so sure they won't do that to us."
The pity parties coming out of Baltimore are getting tedious.
Servants' reward
Here's something every NFL team that has extra tickets should consider: Seahawks owner Paul Allen will offer free tickets to his region's civil servants.
Those that go unsold -- and the Seahawks have plenty -- will be given away to cops, firefighters, emergency workers and military personnel. The Seahawks have about 17,000 available for their game against Philadelphia this week.
"This is a small way to say thank you for the job they do," Seahawks President Bob Whitsitt said.
Teams such as the Steelers, who are always sold out, cannot follow suit. But maybe the Steelers could create a dropoff for fans who do not plan to use their tickets each week and distribute them to Western Pennsylvania's civil servants.
Spikes might spike Grbac
At least one Bengals player has extra incentive to go after Baltimore quarterback Elvis Grbac today.
Linebacker Takeo Spikes is offended that Grbac took less money as an unrestricted free agent to go to Baltimore than he was offered by Cincinnati in March.
"He snubbed us," Spikes said. "Because it was more money on the table here than it was in Baltimore, so to me I take that as a slap in the face that he didn't want to come here because he felt like we weren't winners.
"But you've got to do what you've got to do, so it's time for us to do what we've got to do."
Esiason saved lives
Boomer Esiason broadcast the Sept. 10 game between Denver and the New York Giants for CBS Radio Sports/Westwood One, and he may have saved some of his employees' lives by giving this order: Report to work later in the day on Tuesday.
The offices of the Boomer Esiason Foundation were located on the 101st floor of 1 World Trade Center. None of the employees, which include his former Bengals teammate, center Dave Rimington, were at work when the terrorists struck that morning.
Quick slants
Today in Cincinnati, Baltimore begins a stretch of six road games in eight weeks, a round-trip of 8,882 miles.
Miami is 27-9 in September since 1991, the NFL's best record in that month over the past decade. They have won 18 of 19 home games in September since 1990.
AFC Notebook: Johnson's ability in doubt for Bills 
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