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Opponent History: Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets

sireric — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:23 -0000

Buffalo Bills (4-7) vs New York Jets (5-6)
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 8:20 PM EST
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Woot! A Thursday night game! As this is a Thursday night game this week, I probably should have had this up sooner, but I didn't even think of that until just now, so that is why this gets posted now.

These two teams have a long history against each other, dating all the way back to 1960 when they first met. Fast forward 50 years, and this will be meeting No. 99 between these two franchises. The Bills hold the edge 54-44 all time, including a stretch from 1987 to 1992 where the Bills won ten straight games. The last five meetings between these two teams in Buffalo are after the jump.

Sunday, November 7, 2004: Bills 22, Jets 17
In what seems to be a common theme in Bills/Jets games, the Bills ground out 157 yards on the ground, spearheaded by Willis McGahee's 132 yards on 37 attempts - one for a touchdown. When the Bills have big days running the football against the Jets, they normally win. Lee Evans added a touchdown catch and Rian Lindell kicked two field goals; Big Pat Williams even tackled Curtis Martin in the end-zone for a safety. For the Jets, Chad Pennington got knocked out of the game, and former Cowboy Quincy Carter had to finish up. Carter hit Santana Moss for a 51-yard touchdown to make it close late, but the Bills held on for the win.

Sunday, October 16, 2005: Bills 27, Jets 17
Another Bills win over the Jets, another 177 rushing yards from Buffalo. McGahee was once again the workhorse with 143 yards on 29 attempts and a touchdown. Kelly Holcomb added two touchdown passes, one each to Jonathan Smith and Eric Moulds to help pace the Bills' scoring. This time, the Bills had Vinny Testaverde to go against, and the speed rushers of the Bills took advantage. (Please note use of sarcasm.) Ryan Denney (2.0), Tim Anderson (1.0), Sam Adams (1.0), and Angelo Crowell (1.0) all recorded sacks for the Bills.

Sunday, September 24, 2006: Jets 28, Bills 20
The Bills controlled time of possession and moved up and down the field with ease, but turnovers and costly penalties killed them. The Bills ran for 169 yards, once again led by Willis McGahee (who finished with 150 yards), and J.P. Losman even passed for 328 yards. A Victor Hobson fumble return for a touchdown and a key Losman interception gave the Jets the win. Chris Kelsay picked up the lone Bills sack.

Sunday, September 30, 2007: Bills 17, Jets 14
This was the starting debut of Trent Edwards. With the Bills holding a slim 10-7 lead halfway through the fourth quarter, Dick Jauron shows lots of faith in his young QB by going for it on a fourth and one. Jauron's faith was rewarded when Edwards hit Michael Gaines in the end zone for some much-needed insurance points. Less then four minutes later, Leon Washington crossed the goal line for the Jets to pull the Jets to within three points, but the Bills' defense would hold on for the win.

Sunday, November 2, 2008: Jets 26, Bills 17
After Jay Feely hit a field goal for the Jets, the Bills came back with a Derek Fine touchdown pass from Edwards to make it 7-3. It was all downhill from there. Feely hit two more field goals and Abram Elam's 92-yard pick six put the game away for the Jets. The Bills rushed for only 30 yards, and Kris Jenkins singlehandedly shut down the Bills' running game. Jabari Greer added a 42-yard pick six to make it look a little more respectable.

Sage advice from Mo Egger for new/returning Bengals bandwagon fans:

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:37:20 -0000

This is just brilliant satire from our friend Mo Egger's blog over at The Homer. You'll see it was posted a couple of days ago due to the fact that he refers to Brad St. Louis as a current Bengal, but I'll parenthetically repair that. With Mo's permission I lovingly repost this piece that gave me more than one belly laugh yesterday when I read it. Hit the jump to read one of the best things I've read in a while.

-This week, and for a while until the team falters, the number of Bengals bandwagon fans you'll see will increase. I like bandwagon fans. The more people that want to talk about my favorite team, watch games, tailgate, the better. To an extent, we're all bandwagon fans. Your interest in a team or sport ebbs and flows depending on the success of whom your rooting for.

So if you're a bandwagon fan, new to the 2009 Bengals, welcome. We're glad to have you and we hope you're here for a while, though we know we're just a loss or two away from seeing you leave our lives for a while. Let's enjoy the time we do have. Let's go through a couple of things....

First, let's get rid of that "2005 AFC North Champions" shirt. You need some new gear. That shirt isn't gonna help you blend in. It's been four years, and besides, a team from the Bengals' division won the title that year. Keep it as a keepsake if you must, but don't wear it.

Same for the lame "Two Johnsons and one big Willie" shirt you bought about four years ago. There's a Johnson still on the team, his name is Brandon. Rudi's gone, his effectiveness slipping probably around the time you checked out, sometime late in 2006, injured in '07, cut before last year. He's looking for a job. Chad is still here, but he doesn't go by "Johnson" anymore. He's "OchoCinco" now. And Willie's gone too, blown out before last season. Bobbie Williams, who was actually here when you last wore the orange and black, is the wise-old one on the offensive line.

Actually a lot of players you loved when you were last a fan are gone. Justin Smith has moved on. So has Landon Johnson, Levi Jones, Chris Perry, Madieu Williams, and Eric Steinbach, just to name a few.

Carson is still the quarterback, though he's just now rounding back into form after missing most of last year, when you were wondering why people still went to games and figuring out ways to scalp some Colts tickets.

Remember how much fun you had saying "Houshmandzadeh?" Yeah well, he's not here either. The fun name to say is "Maualuga." (MAH-WUH-LOO-GA)

The crazy hair guy is Domata Peko. Defensive line. Where John Thornton used to play. Shayne Graham is still on the team. He hangs out at 2009's place for the pretentious, Bootsy's. Speaking of Bootsy's, he's so 2005. Crack Sauce is the new Bootsy.

Oh yeah, and speaking of pretentious, Paul Brown Stadium still has luxury suites, football domain of the pretentious and bandwagon jumpers alike. I'm sure if you find your way to PBS, you'll be bee-lining the suites. Give the other a-holes my best. Ask how many people had to be laid off the retain it and how many of their company's lower-salaried workers get to enjoy it.

Also, when you last left us, our men were running up quite the arrest tally. Most of those fellows involved aren't here anymore. Odell Thurman has moved on the something called the UFL (I'd explain that concept, but your head would explode). What may surprise you is that Chris Henry is still here, and believe it or not, acting every bit the model citizen.

Marvin Lewis is still the coach. Mike Brown is still the owner. You won't understand why most of us still can't stand him despite the team's record. Perhaps you do your shopping in Butler County.

Let's see, who else might you be looking for? David Pollack? Neck injury forced him to retire. Sam Adams? Biggest free agent bust in team history, though he was possibly a worse owner than nose tackle. Owned a team called the Jungle Kats that played Arena Football. Actually, he might've been a worse owner than Mike Brown. Torry James is gone too. Replaced by Leon Hall. He and Jonathan Joseph are forming quite the duo in the defensive backfield. Cedric Benson is the new Rudi, wearing number 32. He's doing quite well. However, screams of "Ceeeed" are not repalcing "Ruuuuudi." Just yell "go!" when he carries it. There's also this newcomer named Andre Caldwell...he's been money late in games, caught the game-winning TD passes against both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, which since you might have been rooting for the Steelers at the time, is probably something you remember.

Brad St. Louis is now the object of our frustration. He's the long snapper. (Note from Craig, here's the reference to St. Louis I wrote about earlier. When this was posted two whole days ago he was still a Bengal.) Actually he was the long snapper when you were last with us, but you didn't know who he was because no one knows who the long snapper is if he's good, which he is not. You'll hear some grumbling about a guy named Andre Smith too. He was the Bengals' first round pick this year. He weighs as much as your Prius.

Anyway, welcome back to the bandwagon. It's great to have you. Throw on your new Bengals t-shirt (iron out the folds) or your Maualuga jersey and settle in for the season. At least until they lose two in a row.

Opponent History: Buffalo Bills vs Cleveland Browns

sireric — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:30:15 -0000

Buffalo Bills (1-3) vs Cleveland Browns (0-4)
Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 1:00 PM ET
Ralph Wilson Stadium - Orchard Park, NY

Random, unexpected pre-post note: Cleveland on Wednesday morning traded WR Braylon Edwards to the Jets in exchange for WR Chansi Stuckey, LB Jason Trusnick, and two undisclosed draft picks. Essentially, Buffalo will be playing against Edwards soon - it's just been delayed a week. Report comes via ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Well, it took last week's "game" to finally bring out the pessimist in me. This Buffalo Bills team is really killing my enthusiasm for football. But the cupcake Cleveland Browns are coming in this week, so they should be pushovers, right? I'm fairly certain that is the sentiment that most of us had the last two seasons when the Bills played the Browns, and look how that turned out. If you forget how that turned out just, skip the rest of my rambling and hit the jump.

The Browns and Bills have met fifteen times during their histories, despite being less then 190 miles from each other, that includes one playoff game. The Browns hold an all-time edge in the series 10-5, including wins in their last two meetings. Hit the jump for the last five meeting in greater detail.

Sunday, November 4, 1990: Bills 42, Browns 0
Ah, the good old days when the Bills could take a weaker team behind the wood shed and beat them senseless. The Bills ran for only 102 yards on the day, but four runs ended in touchdowns. Thurman Thomas had three touchdowns on the day (two rushing and one receiving), while Jamie Mueller and Kenneth Davis punched in the other two offensive scores. Darryl Talley picked off two Mike Pagel passes, taking one of them 60 yards to the house to cap the scoring for the Bills. The Browns had 43 rushing yards on the day and committed 13 penalties for 87 yards to aid the Bills. Marvcus Patton and Hal Garner recorded a half-sack each.

Monday, October 2, 1995: Bills 22, Browns 19
Steve Christie (three field goals) and Matt Stover (four) had very active days for their respective teams. The Bills got two Jim Kelly touchdown passes - one to Justin Armour and the other to Andre Reed - while the Browns got a 69-yard punt return for a score by Derrick Alexander to round out the scoring. Vinny Testaverde hit his favorite target, Andre Rison, to the tune of 6 catches for 126 yards, but it wasn't enough for the Browns. Phil Hansen (1.0), Bruce Smith (1.0), and Bryce Paup (1.0) all recorded sacks for the Bills.

Sunday, December 12, 2004: Bills 37, Browns 7
Ah, the good old days when the Bills could take a weaker team behind the wood shed and beat them senseless... again... but this time with defense. Luke McCown and the uber-popular Jeff Garcia combined to go 9 of 21 passing for 62 yards while getting sacked 8 times for a loss of 108 yards. Add to that the pitiful 29 yards rushing for the Browns, and Buffalo's defense held Cleveland to 17 total yards of offense on the day. Ouch. And you thought the Bills' offense was bad? Willis McGahee ran for 105 yards and two scores to pace the offense. Sam Adams (2.0), Chris Kelsay (1.0), Jeff Posey (1.0), Aaron Schobel (2.0), Lawyer Milloy (1.0), and Troy Vincent (1.0) all recorded sacks, and Vincent and Nate Clements added interceptions.

Sunday, December 16, 2007: Browns 8, Bills 0
This was the "Blizzard Game" from 2007. You remember - the one that started a three-game slide to end the season and eliminated the Bills from playoff contention. Jamal Lewis put the Browns on his back to the tune of 163 yards rushing. The Bills' offense, on the other hand, did almost nothing, with the exception of a single long run by Marshawn Lynch that didn't result in any points. And, of course, on the final play of the game, with the Bills attempting to tie it up... well, you know.

Monday, November 17, 2008: Browns 29, Bills 27
Trent Edwards came out of the gates firing in this one! Three interceptions to the Browns in the first quarter really set the tone for this game. Cleveland capitalized by going up 13-0 on two Phil Dawson field goals and a Josh Cribbs two-yard touchdown run. Two Rian Lindell field goals and a Marshawn Lynch 18-yard touchdown catch sandwiched another Dawson field goal to bring the Bills to within three points at 16-13. Jerome Harrison then broke Buffalo's back by rumbling 72 yards for a touchdown. Yes - that remains the lone career touchdown of his four-year career. Leodis McKelvin then resuscitated Bills fans by taking the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a score to stay three points down. After another Dawson field goal, Edwards plunged into the end zone to give the Bills a 27-26 lead. But that jerk Dawson hit his fifth field goal of the day - and then Lindell missed one wide right as time expired - to give the Browns victory.

Panthers Back in the Hunt for a DT

Jaxon — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:09:14 -0000

More photos » by John Amis - AP

3 months ago: FILE -- This is a Sept. 20, 2009, file photo showing Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Louis Leonard (94) coming off the field injured during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, in Atlanta. Leonard broke his left ankle on the final defensive play of the game. Coach John Fox on Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, wouldn't say for sure that Leonard will be placed on injured reserve, but the Panthers will almost certainly have to sign another defensive tackle. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)

Browse more photos »

The Panthers are going through defensive tackles like my family goes through gallons of milk. "Hi honey I'm on my way home from work. Do I need to stop and get anything? Well yes, stop and get another 320 lb defensive tackle please, they are going quick this week".

So two weeks into the season and we will have 3 DT's on IR and another hobbling about with a bum toe. Don't fear Panther fans there are plenty of no-name DT's out there ready to jump into our starting line-up:

daringantt#Panthers working out some widebodies today, including DT Antwon Burton. When they sign their guy, chances are you won't recognize the name.

Well hey, the store brand milk is just as good as the name brand! It comes from the same place and it's cheaper. Besides, with that million dollar a game DE we need to pinch some pennies somewhere.

Seriously now, does anyone know anything about this Burton guy? More after the jump...

Surely we would all prefer a veteran to fill the void and there are some known names out there:

They kept George Hypolite on the practice squad, but would prefer someone with more size. Multiple sources said they're focusing on finding someone 325 pounds or more.

That's a group that would include veterans such as Terdell Sands, Kenderick Allen and Sam Adams, but the Panthers have tried to avoid going too old (and too expensive) this offseason. One league source said the team might have no choice but make another trade, since the market's so thin.

Yet the Panthers could stand firm if Nick Hayden can be ready by Monday Night. Here's why:

"Well, we'll evaluate that," Fox said of future moves. "We do have Nick Hayden, who wasn't active for the game due to an injury; we'll wait and see how his progress comes. Typically we only go into a game with three (active). We'll evaluate who's available and what our best move will be."

Yeah but those three on have 5 good big toes between them. Yet even with two good toes I'm not exciting about going into Dallas with Lewis, Hayden and Harris as our rotation. I guess we really have little choice otherwise so let's see if Meeks and Baker can coach em up!

We are not the only ones crying the IR blues. The Falcons also lost a DT for the season is the game:

There was a spot after first-rounder Peria Jerry was lost for the year with a knee injury.

At least our latest DT loss will cost a lot less.

Oh and I can never let a classic Fox favorite quote go by without mention. He dropped an oldie but a goodie in response to a question about special teams play:

Asked if it was a matter of new personnel (though only three members of the kickoff coverage team are new here this season), Fox shrugged.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I'm not going to sit here and try to make excuses, but the reality is yes.”

Yes it is John and thank you for that wonderful Fox moment!

More Bills/Patriots chatter with NEPatriotsDraft.com

Brian Galliford — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:00:27 -0000

You can bet that we'll be talking about the New England Patriots for much of this week; we've got a little more Pats content for you this afternoon, as we swapped some questions with NEPatriotsDraft.com about the Buffalo Bills' first game of the season.

You can see the Bills-centric interview (complete with my own glowing optimism) right here. James from NEPatriotsDraft.com was kind enough to answer a few of my own questions about his favorite team, which appear - with some thoughts of my own - after the jump. (Warning: some of the territory covered has been charted by Pats Pulpit; more than one take on a specific situation, however, is never a bad thing.)

Rumblings: Is there any possible chance the Pats stumble out of the gate in their home opener, just to give the Bills a chance?

James, NEPatriotsDraft.com: The Patriots have stumbled in openers to the Bills before - who can forget Sam Adams rumbling into the end zone? The only way I see it this year is if T.O. can beat double coverage on a consistent basis.

Since when does an opposing player have anything to do with stumbling? Plus, if Owens is doubled, Lee Evans is going to have a fun time torching Terrence Wheatley all night - particularly if Trent Edwards can get him the ball when he does.

Rumblings: I've heard Tom Brady described as "rusty." How accurate is this?

James, NEPatriotsDraft.com: His shoulder might need some "oil," but other than that, he is at where he usually is. If anything, Joey Galloway is the player that is rusty - he can't seem to learn how to run routes in the Patriots offense.

Honestly, Joey Galloway is one of the very last players on New England's roster that I'm worried about in this game.

Rumblings: How legitimate are the claims that the Pats are switching to a 4-3 defense? Is it a base defense, or more of a wrinkle? How has it looked?

James, NEPatriotsDraft.com: As legitimate as any claim can be about a Belichick defense. I can see the Patriots employing the base 4-3 in quite a few games this year, as our LB corps is pretty thin. Meanwhile, our D-Line has shown that it is very tough to run on in a 4-man front. Pressuring the quarterback out of the 4-3, however, has proven difficult.

That's the strangest part about the Pats' apparent transition to a 4-3 scheme to me - it's being pegged as a move to not only fit personnel, but to increase the pass rush. That makes no sense. It's certainly possible to generate a pass rush out of a 4-3 alignment, but it's much more difficult to disguise things. This has to largely be a personnel matter; nothing else makes much sense.

Rumblings: How concerned are you with the Patriots' completely-revamped (and as I hear it, struggling) secondary?

James, NEPatriotsDraft.com: Shawn Springs needs to be healthy and productive quickly if the Patriots are going to have a good defense in the first half of the season. Darius Butler shows the skills, but you can tell that he doesn't have all the nuances down yet. Jonathan Wilhite and Leigh Bodden have shown flashes of greatness, but there are still too many mistakes. Our safeties have played well at times, but Patrick Chung has not proven himself worthy of a second round pick as of yet.

The secondary was a concern last year before Rodney Harrison got hurt (he's now retired), and since then, Ellis Hobbs has been traded. New England's secondary is very young, and veterans like Bodden and Springs are crucial to fielding a competent unit this year. If they falter, New England's young guns will swap between brilliant and mistake-prone. For now, they are talented and vulnerable.

Rumblings: I'd love to hear your predicted order of finish in the AFC East.

James, NEPatriotsdraft.com: I originally predicted the Jets to go 6-10, but Mark Sanchez has looked better than I thought. Miami and New England will both be in the playoff hunt at about 11 or 12 wins. Buffalo and New York will both hover around .500 in my opinion. I would agree with you that all four teams have the ability to make a playoff run if the planets align just so.

1. New England
2. Miami

3. Buffalo
3. New York

Strength in numbers; an examination of who the Bengals started the regular season since 2006

Kirkendall — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:05:45 -0000

When the preseason marches towards a welcomed conclusion, discussion and debate takes place on who the team cuts and keeps. Sometimes the topic goes into salary cap causalities; veterans that are cut, like Willie Anderson and Rudi Johnson last year. Other times, the debate talks about players that surprisingly make the roster. As jsl413 broke down, the Bengals depth is strong in some areas, weak in others. Which means the Bengals could strengthen weaken positions by increasing the depth. It's a numbers game.

You see that notably with linebackers. In 2006, Brian Simmons was nearing retirement; his production was falling. David Pollack, while great with potential, was only then starting to adjust from being a defensive end in college to an outside linebacker in the NFL. Rashad Jeanty was a rookie. Landon Johnson was arguably our best linebacker. If you look back to that season, only one linebacker remains (Jeanty) with the Bengals and as far as I can tell, three are still in the NFL (Jeanty, Johnson and Ahmad Brooks). The position didn't improve in 2007 and grew worse when it was decimated by injury. Dhani Jones, an unlikely stability force who would join the team later in the year, became the most productive middle linebacker during Marvin Lewis' tenure. By 2008, the linebackers were on pace to be the most talented group assembled, taking less into the regular season while numerically increasing their numbers at other spots, like running back, defensive tackles -- two spots with limited production. You'll obviously see that again this year, with Jones, Jeanty, Rivers, Brandon Johnson and Rey Maualuga as the depth leaders.

Running backs is another example. In 2006, and even 2007, Rudi Johnson was considered the team's feature back. No competition. Hands down. After all, he set franchise rushing records in 2004 and 2005. However, along with the offensive line's degradation, he started degrading (some will note his inadvisable weight loss regiment, losing all of his strength in 2006) until he was finally cut in 2008. More importantly, the Bengals decided to take two fullbacks because Jeremi Johnson was simply not the force he used to be and the team liked Coats' enough to make room for him. While the talent level dipped, the team decided to strengthen the depth with numbers.

Take note of this. Am I saying that the depth and position is stronger because there's more players? Obviously not. You either have talent or you don't. A combination of average talent still makes that position average. But it is a luxury that most teams have, which largely depends on play-calling philosophy, as well as projecting your opponents philosophies. If you take on more defensive backs in any given year because your passing defense is poor, it allows you additional packages. But it's also dictated by strength. You will note how once the team had Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, they believed the position strong enough to only take four cornerbacks in 2008, as opposed to five in 2007 and 2006. Safeties increased because a long-standing issue of giving up big plays was still unanswered. You can bank on at least six safeties this year.

After the jump, you can see which players the Bengals took after cutdown day and how many players the team took at each position.

First thing we should note are the roster cut deadlines:

DATE	EVENT
September 1st	Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players
September 5th	Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players

Here's a breakdown on what positions the Bengals after final cutdown heading into the regular season.

Position	2006	2007	2008
Quarterbacks	3	3	3
Running backs (including FB)	4	4 (1)	5 (2)
Wide Receivers	6	6	6
Offensive Linemen	9	8	9
Tight Ends	2	3	2
Total on Offense	24	24	25

Defensive Ends	4	5	4
Defensive Tackles	4	3	5
Linebackers	8	7	6
Cornerbacks	5	5	4
Safeties	5	6	6
Total on Defense	26	26	25

Specialists	3	3	3

After the jump, we chart which players the Bengals kept since 2006.

2006

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson
RB / FB	4	Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Quincy Wilson, Jeremi Johnson (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry, Tab Perry, Antonio Chatman, Kelley Washington
O-Line	9	Levi Jones, Eric Steinbach, Rich Braham, Bobbie Williams, Willie Anderson, Andrew Whitworth, Eric Ghiaciuc, Stacy Andrews, Scott Kooistra
TE	2	Reggie Kelly, Tony Stewart

DE	4	Justin Smith, Bryan Robinson, Robert Geathers, Frostee Rucker
DT	4	Sam Adams, John Thornton, Domata Peko, Shaun Smith
Linebackers	8	Brian Simmons, Landon Johnson, David Pollack, Rashad Jeanty, Marcus Wilkins, Ahmad Brooks, A.J. Nicholson, Caleb Miller
Corners	5	Deltha O'Neal, Tory James, Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff, Greg Brooks
Safeties	5	Dexter Jackson, Madieu Williams, Kevin Kaesviharn, Ethan Kilmer, Herana-Daze Jones

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

2007

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Rowe
RB / FB	4	Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Clinton Dawson, Jeremi Johnson (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Tab Perry, Glenn Holt, Skyler Green, Antonio Chatman
O-Line	8	Levi Jones, Willie Anderson, Bobbie Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Stacy Andrews, Scott Kooistra, Eric Ghiaciuc, Alex Stepanovich
TE	3	Reggie Kelly, Daniel Coats, Nate Lawrie

DE	5	Justin Smith, Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson, Frostee Rucker, Jonathan Fanene
DT	3	Domata Peko, John Thornton, Michael Myers
Linebackers	7	Ahmad Brooks, Rashad Jeanty, Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller, Lemar Marshall, Andre Frazier, Anthony Schlegel
Corners	5	Deltha O'Neal, Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff, David Jones
Safeties	6	Dexter Jackson, Chinedum Ndukwe, Madieu Williams, Marvin White, Herana-Daze Jones, Ethan Kilmer

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

2008

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jordan Palmer
RB / FB	5	Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, DeDe Dorsey, Jeremi Johnson (FB), Daniel Coats (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Glenn Holt, Antonio Chatman, Andre Caldwell, Jerome Simpson
O-Line	9	Stacy Andrews, Levi Jones, Eric Ghiaciuc, Bobbie Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Dan Santucci, Kyle Cook, Scott Kooistra, Anthony Collins
TE	2	Reggie Kelly, Ben Utecht

DE	4	Antwan Odom, Robert Geathers, Jonathan Fanene, Frostee Rucker
DT	5	Domata Peko, John Thornton, Jason Shirley, Pat Sims, Michael Myers
Linebackers	6	Keith Rivers, Rashad Jeanty, Dhani Jones, Darryl Blackstock, Brandon Johnson, Corey Mays
Corners	4	Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Simeon Castille, David Jones
Safeties	6	Dexter Jackson, Kyries Hebert, Herana-Daze Jones, Corey Lynch, Chinedum Ndukwe, Marvin White

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

History of the Bills: 1999-2003

MattRichWarren — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:00:09 -0000

Eric Moulds (ESPN)

View full size photo »

Yeah, we know. Buffalo Bills training camp is ongoing. We'll have an open thread up for today's two practices - as well as a recap - but for now, enjoy reminiscing about Buffalo's last playoff appearance (and not necessarily the way that particular game ended).

1999 - Home Run Throwback
11-5 record, 2 of 5 in AFC East, 4 of 16 in AFC, 5 of 31 in NFL
The Cleveland Browns rejoined the league in 1999 and were added to the AFC Central. The Bills lost linebacker Chris Spielman, wideout Quinn Early, tight end Lonnie Johnson, and running back Darick Holmes in free agency. Buffalo selected Ohio State cornerback Antoine Winfield in the first round and in the second added wide receiver Peerless Price. The other major change to take place in 1999 was the expiration of the Rich Stadium naming rights deal. The Bills' home stadium had been named after Rich Foods for 25 years - ever since the move from The Rockpile. The stadium was renamed Ralph Wilson Stadium in honor of team founder and President Ralph Wilson, Jr.

1999 was a season that will live on in infamy as long as the Buffalo Bills remain an NFL franchise, and forever in the city. Right now, it's the last time the Bills made a trip to the playoffs, and the way in which their season ended remains one of the most famous and controversial plays in NFL history.

On the first play of the year Thurman Thomas suffered an internal injury and was lost for the first ten games of the year. After losing the opening game to the division rival Colts and Peyton Manning, the Bills won three straight games on the back of the defense. 17-3 over the Jets, 26-0 over the Eagles, and forcing three turnovers in a 23-18 win in Miami. The offense stepped up the following week gaining 365 yards in a win over the Steelers to push the record to 4-1. Doug Flutie enjoyed an outstanding day completing 21 of 32 passes for 261 yards and 3 TDs while adding another 39 yards on 7 rushes. The next two weeks saw Buffalo's offense sputter. Flutie threw an interception on the first play of week 6 en route to three on the day in a loss to the Raiders. The next week was not any better with WR Eric Moulds, TE Jay Riemersma, OG Ruben Brown, LB John Holecek, and DE Phil Hansen all out with injuries. Flutie threw two more picks, lost a fumble, and completed only 24 of his 50 passes in the Bills second straight loss, dropping them to 4-3. Buffalo's defense turned the tide the next week in another difficult week for Flutie. It was the quarterback's third straight week with three turnovers but the defense held the Ravens in check and the Bills squeaked out a win. The next week the offense played mistake-free football and the defense was dominant and the Bills beat the Redskins holding the team to 19 minutes of possession. The next week the Bills beat Miami 23-3 to improve to 7-3, only a half game behind the Dolphins (whose only two losses had come to the Bills) and Colts for the division lead. But a loss to the 3-6 Jets knocked the Bills back down to 7-4 before a win before the bye brought them back up to 8-4, a full two games behind the streaking Colts. After the late bye, desperately needed for Buffalo with their top three running backs ailing, the Bills gave the Giants everything they could handle before a defensive stand and last-minute field goal gave the Giants a 19-17 win. The 8-5 Bills were now three games behind Indianapolis with three to play and tied with the Dolphins a Wild Card berth. After a victory in Arizona the Bills were 9-5 with New England coming to town. The Colts had also won, thus clinching the AFC East crown. Buffalo was playing for a wild card spot. In a dramatic but low-scoring game, the Patriots and Bills slugged it out to a 10-10 tie with six seconds remaining. The Bills knew their playoff chances were good win or lose but a win would lock it up. Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri pushed the kick wide right but had another chance in overtime to win with a 44-yard attempt. This one fell short and Buffalo marched down the field for the winning Steve Christie kick. It clinched a wild card spot for Buffalo and in the final game of the season Buffalo's backups beat Indianapolis in a meaningless game for the Bills to run Buffalo's record to 11-5 and drop Indy to 13-3. Indianapolis had clinched the AFC East but was still fighting with Jacksonville who won in week 17 and gained home field advantage with a 14-2 record. In the final game, quarterback Rob Johnson got his only start of the year. Andre Reed passed Art Monk that day to rank second in career receptions, passed Steve Largent to rank fourth in career receiving yardage, and recorded his 50th catch of the year to give him his 13th career season with 50+ catches tying Jerry Rice for the NFL record.

After leading the Bills to a 10-5 record and resting in the final game of the season, Wade Phillips stunned the football world when he named Rob Johnson the team's starter for the playoff game against the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers franchise). Johnson's first mistake was a Jevon Kearse strip/sack in the end zone which resulted in a safety. After the kick the Titans marched down the field and scored on a Steve McNair touchdown run giving them a 9-0 lead. After a controversial replay moved a ball spot giving the Titans a first down, Tennessee advanced into Buffalo territory at the end of the first half but mercifully missed a field goal and leaving the halftime score 12-0 in favor of the Titans. Buffalo's offense responded in the second half scoring a touchdown on the first drive to make it a 12-7 Titan lead and another Buffalo score gave Buffalo a 13-12 lead after the two-point conversion failed. An Al Del Greco field goal put Tennessee back on top 15-13 with only 1:48 to play. With no timeouts and little time Buffalo's offense executed a two-minute offense to near-perfection and Johnson threw a 19-yard completion to Peerless Price without his shoe on to put Buffalo into field goal range. Steve Christie knocked home the field goal with 16 seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff Titans tight end Frank Wycheck was given the ball by the fielder and ran to his left before turning and firing the ball across the field to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. Dyson returned the kick 75 yards for the game-winning TD. The play was reviewed by replay where it was confirmed to be a lateral and not a forward pass. The homerun throwback, later dubbed the "Music City Miracle", handed Buffalo it's last playoff loss to date. Longtime special teams coach Bruce DeHaven was made the scapegoat and fired after coaching the Bills since 1986.

Buffalo's rushing offense was very good in 1999. They ranked 8 in rushing yards behind 695 from Jonathan Linton who played in several games for an injured Antowain Smith who was second on the team with 614 yards. Doug Flutie added 476 and Thurman Thomas contributed 152 in only three starts and five games in his last year as a Bill. Flutie also threw for the most yards by a Bills QB (3171) since Jim Kelly in 1993 and ranked in the top ten in completions, attempts, yards, and passing touchdowns. Eric Moulds led the team in receiving for the second time catching 65 passes for 994 yards, The Bills defense finished first in the league allowing only 4045 yards and second in points with 229 points allowed, an average of less than 14 points a game. Fullback Sam Gash (with no rushes on the year) and guard Ruben Brown were the only two Bills selected to the Pro Bowl. The Bills did not add a player to the Wall of Fame in 1999 but added longtime trainer Ed Abramoski. Abramoski was head trainer for Buffalo from 1960 (when he accompanied Ralph WIlson from Detroit) until 1995. In 1999 the second Bills player was selected to the Hall of Fame as AFL era guard BIlly Shaw joined O.J. Simpson in Canton. Shaw is the only player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without ever playing for the NFL. He was named to eight AFL All-Star teams and was a member of the all-time AFL team.

2000 - End of an Era
8-8 record, 4 of 5 in AFC East, 9 of 16 in AFC, 17 of 31 in NFL
The Bills had severally mortgaged their future salary cap space for one last go in 1999. On a sad day in Buffalo history, the Bills released Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith two days after the Music City Miracle. Thomas hadn't been the leading rushing since 1996, Reed hadn't been the leading receiver in two seasons, and Smith had his lowest single-season sack total since his rookie year (outside of his injury-filled five-game 1991 season). Other salary cap cuts were fullback Sam Gash, and a host of defensive players including Kurt Schulz. The Bills hoped to restock via the draft but were disappointed by the haul. Defensive end Eric Flowers was supposed to replace Smith but had only four sacks in his two years in Buffalo. Travares Tillman was brought in to replace Schultz and played only two years in Buffalo as well. LB Corey Moore, WR Avion Black, RB Sammy Morris, DE Leif Larsen, and WR Drew Haddad and LB DaShon Polk all failed to make large impacts in Buffalo. Both quarterbacks, Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson, entered training camp with legitimate shots at being the starting QB in 2000. Ultimately Flutie would tear his groin in the preseason and Johnson won the job.

To open the 2000 season the Bills played host to the same Tennessee Titans that had knocked them out of the playoffs the year before on a questionable call. This time, the Bills would avoid a late-game charge by the Titans and back-up quarterback Alex Van Pelt, in for an injured Rob Johnson, led the Bills to a 16-13 win. In week 2 Johnson bounced back and led the Bills to a victory over the Green Bay Packers. In week three the Bills turned it over four times in a loss to the division-rival Jets. After the bye the team lost two straight games to the Colts and Dolphins before a last-second field goal in regulation and a Doug Flutie-led field goal drive in overtime beat the Chargers. It was Flutie's first appearance of the year due to his injury. The next week Flutie started for Buffalo but they ran into the juggernaut Vikings offense and lost a high-scoring affair 31-27. The Bills then beat the Jets at home on a last-second Christie field goal, 23-20. The following week Christie tied it again on the final play of regulation and in overtime booted through the game-winner. The following week Flutie once again started for the Bills against Chicago. The Bills knocked the Bears' QB from the game and third-string Shane Matthews came in and turned the ball over four times. Just before the end of the first half Johnson was inserted under center to test his injured shoulder. He led the team on a field goal drive and took the lead before going back to the bench to start the second half. Flutie came back in at the start of the second half and led the team to a touchdown in the second half and the defense thoroughly dominated the Bears' offense in a big win for Buffalo to move them to 6-4 on the year. Rob Johnson started the next week and scored a diving touchdown with under three minutes left to lift the Bills to a victory and a 7-4 record. They were one game behind the Dolphins and tied with the Jets and Colts in the AFC East but lost to the Buccaneers in a game where they outgained Tampa Bay 433 to 180 but still lost by two touchdowns. The Dolphins could now clinch the division by beating the Bills and a 24-0 halftime lead all but ensured it. After two straight losses to Bills were now 7-6 and in danger of missing the playoffs. At 16-6 late in the third quarter of the next game against the Colts, Rob Johnson was sacked by former Bill Jeff Burris. Johnson fumbled and Indianapolis ran it in to go up 23-6 and held on to win 44-20 in a wild second half. The loss eliminated the Bills from the playoff chase with their third straight defeat. An Adam Vinetiari kick in overtime handed the Bills their fourth straight loss in a game where Rob Johnson was once again knocked out due to injury. After the game Ralph Wilson fired G.M. John Butler. A season-ending rout of the Seahawks led by Flutie evened the Bills' record at 8-8. After the season, Wade Phillips refused to make changes to his coaching staff and was fired.

The Bills offense clicked under Johnson, who threw for 177 yards a game and 12 touchdowns in his 12 games but the team was only 4-7 in games he started. He was sacked 49 times (third-most in the league) in only 11 starts, a rate of 4.5 a start. Flutie went 4-1 as a starter but averaged only 154 yards a game. Together the two combined for over 3800 passing yards and 20 touchdowns, both would have been top ten in the league. While they were a top ten offense, the scoring didn't mesh with the yardage and the Bills fell to 20 in points scored. The defense under coach Phillips was once again remarkable, allowing the third-fewest yards. But like the offense the defense numbers didn't mesh. The defense ranked 18 in points allowed despite the low yardage totals. Once again no Bill rushed for more than 600 rushing yards with Shawn Bryson leading the way toting the rock for 591 yards. One very bright spot on the offense was Eric Moulds who caught a then-team record 94 receptions for 1326 yards (second-most in team history) and five scores. Defensive end Marcellus Wiley led the defense with 10.5 sacks and linebacker Sam Cowart had 88 tackles to go with his 5.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.

Wide receiver Eric Moulds, guard Ruben Brown, nose tackle Ted Washington, and linebacker Sam Cowart were selected to the Pro Bowl and Cowart and Brown were second team All-Pro selections. Two AFL names joined the Bills Wall of Fame in 2000 as offensive lineman Bob Kalsu and safety Geroge Saimes were added. Kalsu was honored for holding down the fort at right guard in his rookie campaign before leaving the team to serve and die for his country in Vietnam. Saimes was a standout in the Bills' defensive backfield on both AFL Championship squads and was selected to the All-time AFL defensive team.

2001 - Salary Cap Prison
3-13 record, 5 of 5 in AFC East, 16 of 16 in AFC, 29 of 31 in NFL
After firing John Butler and Wade Phillips, Ralph Wilson needed to find a new general manager and coach. First he selected Tom Donahoe to fill the GM spot. Donahoe had led the Steelers to perennial appearances in the playoffs as general manager and was greeted with open arms by Buffalo fans. Donahoe's first act was to hire Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as head coach. Donahoe inherited a team $5M over the salary cap and major changes were needed. After a substantial evaluation of the roster by Williams and Donahoe they parted ways with Doug Flutie to save $5M. Linebacker John Holecek, defensive end Marcellus Wiley, and kicker Steve Christie all joined Flutie in San Diego where Butler was hired following his release from Buffalo. Other cap casualties were RB Antowain Smith, RB Jonathan Linton, OL Jamie Nails, DT Ted Washington, P Chris Mohr, and safety Henry Jones. The Bills' draft was better than the previous year. After the Bills traded their top pick to the Bucs and moving down in the process they selected cornerback Nate Clements. (Tampa Bay selected Kenyatta Walker - not exactly an all-world tackle.) In the second round Buffalo used their pick on defensive end Aaron Schobel and the pick from Tampa to select running back Travis Henry. All eleven draft picks made the final roster after the salary purge and the complete overhaul of the roster. The only major free agent addition was fullback Larry Centers and the Bills signed a punter from NFL Europe named Brian Moorman.

Buffalo began the year with four straight losses of two touchdowns or more. It was obviously a rebuilding year with a new coach and several new players. To make matters worse the Bills lost Pro Bowl linebacker Sam Cowart in the season opener with an Achilles tear. He would be gone for the season. Rob Johnson also could not stay healthy and left both the week 3 game against Pittsburgh and the week 4 game against the Jets giving way to Alex Van Pelt. After the bye week Buffalo won their first game 13-10 over the Jaguars. The next week Buffalo would travel to San DIego to play several former mates. Doug Flutie scrambled on a broken play and scored the winning touchdown in a 27-24 loss for Buffalo that included a blocked field goal at the end of regulation. The next week saw Payton Manning run a 33-yard naked bootleg for a score in a loss to the Colts and continued Buffalo's losing streak. The streak went a total of six games mostly without the services of quarterback Rob Johnson. Three were one score games and the final was a 35-0 shutout at the hands of San Francisco in a game where the team committed five turnovers. A one point win against the 1-11 Panthers gave Buffalo an ugly 2-10 record. Following two three-point losses the Bills got their final win of the season defeating the New York Jets 14-9 capitalizing on the Jets' three turnovers. A week 17 loss in Miami with third string quarterback Travis Brown at the helm dropped the Bills to a miserable 3-13 record.

Alex Van Pelt and Rob Johnson both started 8 games for the Bills in 2001. Van Pelt threw more passes, had more passing yards, and threw far more touchdowns than Johnson. Van Pelt also had a better winning percentage (2-6 to 1-7) as starter. Both the offense and defense were in the bottom five in scoring. Ultimately it was a forgettable year for Bills players. Some moral victories could be had in Travis Henry's rookie performance gaining 729 yards in 12 starts and Eric Moulds and Peerless Price both gaining close to 900 yards through the air. Rookie corner Nate Clements started 11 games and had three interceptions and fellow rookie Aaron Schobel tallied 6.5 sacks. The future was looking all right but the present was pretty awful. Offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard was fired after a single season on the job, replaced by Kevin Gilbride. Fullback Larry Centers and guard Ruben Brown were named to the Pro Bowl. (preseason cuts DT Ted Washington and DE Marcellus Wiley also made the squad.) During the season, Jim Kelly and Fred Smerlas were added to the Bills Wall of Fame. Kelly ranks number one in every major passing category in Bills history and at the time held every major single-season record as well. Smerlas was a great defensive tackle for Buffalo in the 1980s and played 155 straight games, the second-longest streak in team history. On a completely different tone from the season, former Bills coach Marv Levy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame prior to the 2001 season. Levy is the winningest coach in team history (123 wins), led the Bills to 8 playoff appearances in 11 years, and currently ranks 17 on the list of all-time wins. He became the third Bill to earn enshrinement joining players O.J. Simpson and Billy Shaw.

2002 - Escape from Salary Cap Prison
8-8 record, 4 of 4 in AFC East, 10 of 16 in AFC, 17 of 32 in NFL
For coach Williams' second season the Bills made several key changes. Kevin Gilbride came in as the new offensive coordinator. DE Phil Hansen retired and the Bills cut some dead weight from the roster by releasing injury-prone QB Rob Johnson and former top pick DE Erik Flowers. LB Sam Cowart also did not re-sign after missing 2001 with an Achilles injury. Now that they had some salary cap space, the team also brought in some free agents signing Rams linebacker London Fletcher and Broncos OL Trey Teague. On draft day Buffalo selected massive Texas tackle Mike Williams fourth overall. In the second they picked WR Josh Reed and traded up to pick DE Ryan Denney before selecting Coy Wire in the third. Prior to day two of the draft Buffalo sent the Bills 2003 first round pick to New England in exchange for QB Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe had become expendable with the emergence of Tom Brady the year before. The NFL also had a notable addition with the arrival of the Houston Texans. A division was added in each conference and both conferences were re-aligned. The Seahawks moved to the NFC. The Colts moved from the AFC East to the newly created AFC South leaving Buffalo, New York, Miami, and New England as the four teams in the division.

In the season opener, the Bills special teams could not compete giving up two kickoff return touchdowns including the game-winner in overtime to the Jets. Week 2 saw overtime as well but this time a Bledsoe to Price 48-yard bomb won it for Buffalo in the extra session. After a loss to the Broncos in week 3 the Bills found themselves in overtime again vs. Chicago. This one would end favorably and Drew Bledsoe's dump off to Travis Henry turned into a 28-yard touchdown reception. After a shootout loss to eventual AFC Champion Oakland the Bills got back on the winning track beating the expansion Texans and followed that with wins against Miami and Detroit. The 5-3 Bills then took on the defending champion Patriots in a highly anticipated game featuring Drew Bledsoe facing his old mates. Unfortunately Brady had four touchdown passes inlcuding two to former Bill Antowain Smith in a Patriot rout. Following the bye the once-hot Bills lost by one to Kansas City to even their record at 5-5. After a loss to the Jets the Bills were in real danger of completely collapsing but Bledsoe would have none of it. The next week against Miami he threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns as the Bills knocked out quarterback Ray Lucas to get a win over visitng Miami. Buffalo won despite a huge game from Ricky Williams, who carried 27 times for 228 yards and two scores. The following week Bledsoe threw four INTs against his old club and New England beat Buffalo 24-17 in a game that was never really that close. At 6-7 heading into week 15 the Bills needed to win out to have any chance at the playoffs. With Doug Flutie and the Chargers coming to town the Bills had to be ready. After Flutie tied the score in the fourth quarter Travis Henry ran in the winning score and Buffalo at 7-7 was still on playoff life support. That is until Vonnie Holliday sacked Bledsoe five times, forcing three fumbles in a 10-0 loss to Green Bay that eliminated Buffalo from the playoffs. The final week saw the Bills hand the Bengals their 14th loss of the year and even Buffalo's record at 8-8.

Bledsoe had a monster year throwing for the most yards in team history (4,359, second in the NFL) on the most completions (375) and attempts (610). He also endured the most sacks in team history (54). The Bills' passing offense ranked fifth in the league and overall the Bills offense was 11. Travis Henry rushed for 1438 yards, the most by a Bills running back since Thurman Thomas in 1992. Eric Moulds set a team record that still stand with 100 receptions and Peerless Price matched the previous team record with 94 receptions. Both also exceeded 1250 yards; Moulds with 1292 and 10 touchdowns, Price with 1252 and 9 TDs. The defense, Williams specialty in Tennessee, was still giving up too many points ranking 27 of 32 in scoring defense. With the potent offense if the defense had been more capable this team could have gone places. Drew Bledsoe, Travis Henry, Eric Moulds, and Ruben Brown were named to the Pro Bowl. Moulds and Brown were second team All-Pros. In 2002 the Bills added Super Bowl center Kent Hull to the Wall of Fame. Hull retired after the 1996 season. Also prior to 2002 the Hall of Fame welcomed QB Jim Kelly as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Kelly joined O.J. Simpson and Billy Shaw as the only Bills players to gain enshrinement. Coach Marv Levy is also enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

2003 - Regression
6-10 record, 4 of 4 in AFC East, 9 of 16 in AFC, 20 of 32 in NFL
After winning five more games in 2002 than 2001 and featuring one of the most potent offenses in the league, you'd think the Bills would continue improving in 2003. The biggest weakness in 2002 was the defense and to aide in improving that weakness Buffalo brought in fired Bengals coach Dick LeBeau as a defensive consultant and assistant head coach. They also added players to their linebacker corps signing Jeff Posey when free agency opened and later inking LeBeau's former defensive terror in Cincinnati, Takeo Spikes. To help the run stopping ability of the defense the Bills signed massive defensive tackle Sam Adams. On offense, Peerless Price was a free agent but Tom Donahoe franchised the wideout before trading him to Atlanta for a first round pick to replace the one dealt for Bledsoe. Donahoe also traded for tight end Mark Campbell (to replace Jay Remiersma) and signed fullback Sam Gash (to replace the departed Larry Centers). To finally solve the revolving door that had existed at kicker since the release of Steve Christie in 2000, Buffalo signed kicker Rian Lindell. With the first-round pick they acquired from Atlanta, Buffalo selected injured Miami running back Willis McGahee. McGahee had been injured in the national championship game and wouldn't even be able to play in 2003. To add to the question marks, Buffalo had a top-flight running back in Travis Henry. In later rounds the Bills added DE Chris Kelsay, LB Angelo Crowell, and DB Terrence McGee. Just prior to the start of the season the Patriots cut safety Lawyer Milloy and the Bills swooped in and signed the Pro Bowler.

In the opening week Milloy would get a chance to stick it to his former team. He recorded a sack and an interception to go along with five tackles in a 31-0 blowout win. Sam Adams also had a memorable play. Adams dropped into pass coverage on a zone blitz, one of LeBeau's favorites, and picked off a Tom Brady pass. Adams rumbled, and I mean rumbled, in for the 37-yard interception return touchdown. Brady threw four picks on the day. In Week 2 the Bills kept rolling, running over Jacksonville with three Henry TD runs and two Bledsoe touchdown passes. The offense was great in the first two games but in week 3 Miami shut down Gilbride with a running game on Ricky Williams' back. Williams carried 42 times for 153 yards and Miami held the ball for 41 minutes. Buffalo's only points came on a Nate Clements INT return. With their two top running backs out with injuries, Buffalo fell to Philadelphia the next week and evened their record at 2-2. Henry returned the next week, playing through pain, and scored the winning touchdown in overtime against the Bengals. The following week Buffalo was manhandled by the winless Jets, scoring only 3 points and committing four turnovers. But Henry and the Bills would bounce back the next week beating Washington before falling to Kansas City the next week. Buffalo quarterbacks were picked off five times and the team committed seven turnovers in the loss and entered the bye 4-4. Drew Bledsoe's woes continued and in the game following the bye his longest pass was 18 yards and he was sacked three times in another Bills loss. The Bills offense was a no-show again the next week, failing to score a TD for the third straight week in a 12-10 loss to Houston. Buffalo scored a touchdown against the Colts but still lost 17-14, falling to 4-7 on the year. The cries for Williams' job that had already begun grew louder. A seventeen-point second quarter and three Schobel sacks in week 13 helped the Bills rout the Giants 24-7. At home against the Jets the Bills won again, raising their record to 6-7 on the back of another stellar performance by the dinged Travis Henry. A failed two point conversion at the end of the fourth quarter helped Tennessee hand Buffalo their eighth loss on the year and the Bills lost two more to finish the year 6-10. The Bills mustered only 3 points in Week 16 and in a rematch with the Patriots, New England returned the season-opening favor and beat Buffalo by the same score, 31-0, that the Bills had earlier in the year. Following the season the entire Bills coaching staff was dismissed, despite Buffalo climbing to the second ranked defense.

On the year Drew Bledsoe led the NFL with 49 sacks which led to Alex Van Pelt and Travis Brown appearing in 8 games total. The offense that was great the year before fell to 30 in points and yards.Bledsoe threw for only 2860 yards and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10). Travis Henry was once again solid on the ground going for 1356 yards and ten touchdowns. On defense, Aaron Schobel compiled 11.5 sacks to help the defense ranked second in yards and fifth in points. Guard Ruben Brown and linebacker Takeo Spikes represented Buffalo in the Pro Bowl. Bills linebacker Darryl Talley was added to the Wall of Fame in 2003. Talley never missed a game in his twelve years in Buffalo and played on all four Super Bowl teams. He is the Bills' all-time leading tackler with 1,137 and averaged 120 tackles a season. His 188 games for Buffalo ranks fifth in team history. Prior to the 2003 campaign two former Bills were slected for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Joining fellow lineman Billy Shaw was Electric Company guard Joe Delamielleure. Joe D. opened some huge holes for O.J. Simpson (another Bills Hall of Famer) and was a six-time All-Pro. Joe D. was also a member of the 1970s All-Decade team. The other Bill to be elected was wide receiver James Lofton. Lofton played in Buffalo for four years and while in town became the all-time leading receiver in NFL history.

Next week we finish up our look back at the first fifty years of the Bills with a look at the recent past under coaches Mike Mularkey and Dick Jauron. The Bills begin playing games in Toronto but struggle to make the playoffs.

Gregg Williams: A Complete History

Saintsational — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:10 -0000

We know the Saints have the offensive firepower to win an NFL championship, so those Saints fans who are holding out hope that 2009 will finally be the year the Saints break out of their forty year funk and go to the Super Bowl, are all working under the same basic assumption that new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is going to have what it takes to turn the Saints defense around. You believe that he will bring the Saints all the answers they seek. You believe all the defensive moves the Saints have made this off-season are all for the best. But what do you really know about him? Chances are, probably not as much as you should know about the man charged with saving this franchise. I've done a lot of research on the man, the myth, the legend that is Gregg Williams and what I have found is nothing short of interesting. I share it with you.

How did he wind up in New Orleans?

Gregg Williams grew up in suburban Kansas City in a town called Excelsior Springs, Missouri. He was a talented athlete throughout high school who played quarterback, pitcher, point guard; all key positions in their respective sports. He attended college at Central Missouri State. His entrance onto the NFL scene was through a ten year stint with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans that started in 1992. Starting out as Defensive Quality Control Coach, Gregg eventually worked his way up to defensive coordinator in 1997. But he really put himself on the map when his defense took the Titans to the Super Bowl in 1999. So much so that Williams was able to parlay his success into a head coaching job with the Buffalo Bills from 2000 to 2003. But things didn't turn out as he planned.

Probably thinking about some fancy new blitz. (Photo Source)

"They wanted me to be hard," he [Williams] recalled.

And so he was.

"Gregg did everything that was asked of him. He was a team player," said Tom Donahoe, who was the Bills' president at the time and hired Williams.

He had some moderate sucess in transforming the Bills but his new tough-guy persona was beginning to sink in and become the norm as Williams gained a reputation for being an arrogant know-it-all, something he never was before. Said an anonymous league general manager...

"A lot of people said he changed in Buffalo. He thought he was all that."

Williams was also disturbed by a lot of the off-the-field stuff they don't tell you about when you become a head coach in the NFL, particularly living in the public eye. Shortly after moving into his new house in Buffalo he and his wife attended a party at a their new neighbors house. He spent the entire night pinned in a corner by guests but two days later there were sports radio reports claiming he was drunk, arguing and an embarassement. He was hurt and never the same.

"I'm not [exaggerating] on this story," he said. "If you talk about an edge to me or an arrogance to me, well, I do get my feelings hurt and I do have a sensitive side to me that I protect with an edge.

"Now that's on the air."

Eventually Gregg was fired after the 2003 season and returned to his old position as defensive coordinator, this time with the Redskins. It was an immediate sucess. He was able to take everything the Redskins already had and put together a solid defense. The third best defense in the league in fact. It would only get worse from there, however, as the Redskins defensive ranking fell to ninth overall the following year and thirty-first in the entire league in 2006. Rumors of his arrogance began to swirl yet again. He let a lot of key players like Antonio Pierce walk via free agency, believing it was his coaching talent that made his defense so great, but it blew up in his face and the defenses suffered noticeably.

But there is another side to the story. The Redskins hired Al Saunders as offensive coordinator in 2006, largely because Williams spoke so highly of him, and he brought with him a fast paced offense that either scored quickly or went three and out; never sustaining drives. Thus Williams' defense was on the field incredibly more than usual and the effects were too much. This fact has been debated and may or may not be true. Williams himself credited the decline to playing the increasingly strong offenses that were blossoming in the NFC East at the time.

Last year Gregg started a one-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead of being given a new contract his old Redskins contract was merely transfered to Jacksonville. Thus, when last season ended the Jags had the option to let him go or re-sign him. He was never able to put anything substantial together in Jacksonville and the results were disappointing. They parted ways amicably and in early January of this year the Saints signed him.

What is Gregg's coaching style?

I'm a firm believer that a coach's personality can be seen in his on-field product and no more so is this evident than with Gregg Williams. Throughout all my research for this piece I came across one word more than any other that was used by Williams or about him.

Tough.

When he was first hired by the Saints, the Times-Pic introduced New Orleans to the new DC with this article. In it Williams explains to us what we might expect from his coaching philosophy...

"We want to be a tough defense, we want to be a smart defense, and everywhere I've been able to play, we've been pretty nasty," Williams said. "We've been able to play with good aggressiveness. Those are the things that I think win you football games, tough close football games -- that's toughness and intelligence."

In the same article he also details what he expects from his new players...

"There's going to be some blisters and some hurt feelings, but trust me, there will not be one player who leaves that meeting that isn't clear on what I want and what my expectations are," Williams said. "I can't do anything with the DNA your momma and daddy gave you, but I can make sure you're tough and play hard."

Interestingly enough, he gave the same spiel in Jacksonville after being hired there. Here it is from the Jacksonville Jaguars official website.

"If you want to play on a defense (Del Rio) coaches or I coach, you'll have to be a tough football player," Williams said following Tuesday's practice. "I'm not going to apologize for being competitive. You've got to think you're the best and you have to play with an attitude."

If you think Williams is full of hot air, however, think again. His former players all confirm what Gregg is preaching. Antonio Pierce speaks about his former coach...

"Gregg Williams is a very tough, very verbal coach. When I was there, I respected him a lot," said Pierce, now with the Giants. "He may be killing his players in practice, but he was the first guy patting you on the back after you've made a big play."

So does Sam Adams...

"He's an aggressive, hard-charger. He's going to dog you as he sees fit. Some cats can't handle that."

And also Lawyer Milloy...

"Guys don't need him to bring a pacifier to the game. This is a man's league."

Williams giving instruction while in Washington. (Photo Source)

You're getting my point. Williams is not a dude you want to piss off in practice. Simple as that. Some players respond positively to his coaching style while others can't stand it so it will certainly be interesting to see how specific Saints players react. Perhaps we'll even see some shake ups on the roster because of attitude conflicts.

One definitely enticing aspect of Williams' coaching is his ability to work with what is already given him and create a great defense from it. He did it in Tennessee...

One of Williams's great strengths has been his ability to take the base "46" defense of his first NFL mentor, Buddy Ryan, and adapt it to whatever situation arises. For instance, when he was the Tennessee Titans' defensive coordinator in 1999, the season they went to the Super Bowl, his teams used lots of man-to-man coverage on pass plays. The next year, with a defense less suited to such coverages, he used almost no man-to-man. The Titans wound up with the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL that season.

And he did it again when he arrived in Washington...

"I'll give Williams his credit. A lot of us were surprised by what he got out of them, but there is not a lot of talent there," said one general manager who did not want to be quoted by name because he was speaking about another team. "They kind of did it with smoke and mirrors."

Even with Jacksonville he attempted to take what they already had and make lemonade with the lemons he was given.

"We've looked at the things they've been able to do here for many, many years. We'll try to meld it all together,"

This is definitely good news that Saints fans really want need to hear right now because he will certainly have his work cut out for him with the current Saints defensive roster.

What kind of defense can we expect from Williams?

Ahhh, now this is the million dollar question all Saints fans want to know. In short, it's a 46 defense also known originally as the Bear 46. It was created by Buddy Ryan while he was the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and the name comes not from any formation but from Bears safety Doug Plank's jersey number. Here is the basic theme behind it.

The "46" was an innovative defense with a unique defensive front; designed to confuse the quarterback. The line was shifted dramatically to the weak side (opposite the Tight End), with both Offensive Guards and the Center "covered" by the Left Defensive End and both Defensive Tackles. This front forced offenses to immediately account for the defenders directly lined up in front of them, making it considerably harder to execute blocking assignments such as pulling, trapping, and in general, pass protection. Moreover, the Right Defensive End would align outside of the Left Offensive Tackle, leaving him "on an island" when trying to block him.

Another key feature of the "46" is that both outside linebackers play on the same side of the formation. To avoid confusion the strong side linebacker (who is no longer lining up on the strong side) is frequently renamed to the Jack Linebacker. The linebackers line up behind the linemen two or three yards from the line of scrimmage. The primary tactic is to rush five to eight players on each play, either to get to the quarterback quickly or disrupt running plays.

At it's most basic form, this is what the base "46" formation looks like.

Let's look at it a bit more deeply by position.

Defensive Line: The "46" requires a lot of pressure from the front four, particularly the defensive ends. Pressure is constantly being applied from the outside and a lot is required from the two end positions.

Linebackers: The outside linebackers play just off the line of scrimmage acting basically as two extra down lineman. The middle linebacker is also in the box next to the strong safety.

Safeties: The strong safety is so far up that he is essentially a fourth linebacker. He has the option of blitzing or dropping back, always leaving defenses questioning. The free safety is left alone in the backfield for cover help.

Cornerbacks: The cornerbacks are responsible for playing tight man-to-man so they must have great coverage ability because safety help is minimal and limited to only the lone free safety in the middle of the field.

We all know Williams is a tough guy off the field and that attitude will definitely show through in his defense. The main objective of the "46" is attack, attack, attack the pass protection from all angles in an effort to shutdown the quarterback. With eight men in the box, pressure can come from anywhere; from all eight men to simply the front four and anywhere in between. The trick is constantly mixing up the pressure packages and formations in an effort to test the opposing offense and look for weaknesses to exploit later in the game. It's also meant to always keep the offense guessing where pressure will come from next. This is an inheritently aggressive defense built around a lot of blitzing. And blitz Williams will do. This is no secret. He told us so when he first arrived here in New Orleans.

"You've got to be excited about the offense," Williams said. "... If you like to (play) pressure defense like I do, then you get a chance to pin your ears back and rush the passer more when you can put points on the board."

But don't expect the defense to look exactly like this. It would be considered a bit unusual in today's NFL and after Bill Walsh developed the West Coast Offense to exploit the "46", too many teams now can easily take advantage of the traditional formation. It is more likely that the Saints will use the basic philosophy behind the "46" but in an adjusted version that will probably look more like the traditional 4-3 with lots of different pressure packages.

How will this all mean for the Saints?

I'm not gonna lie to you...it's gonna be tough. The good news is we don't need Gregg to turn water into wine. Just give this offense a middle-of-the-road defense next year and it should make a world of difference.

First of all, expect more blitzing and a lot more excitement. Gone should be the days of Gary Gibbs and the term "vanilla" defense. Williams is an aggressive guy who likes to play an agressive defense. Will Smith and Charles Grant will need to step up their games and start earning those fat paychecks. That is fact. With Williams' scheme, the pressure from the defensive ends is crucial. If they can't give him what he wants from his defensive ends he may very well tell them to take a long walk. This is also probably why the Saints picked up Paul Spicer. Depth at this position will be important.

Also needing to step up their game will be Saints cornerbacks, particularly sophomore Tracy Porter and new acquisition Jabari Greer. Jason David, this system is not for you. It appears the free agency acquisition of Greer was a crucial one and neccessary if the Saints really want to implement Williams' defensive strategy. If the CB's can't stay with their receivers, however, this system will break down.

So there he is, Saints fans, in all his glory. Williams has the weight of the entire Who Dat Nation on his shoulders. Honestly, I think it would be quite an accomplishment for any coach, let alone Williams, to make something out of the Saints defensive nothing. But to believe in the 2009 Saints is to believe in Gregg Williams. And so, with all this new knowledge I have only one question to ask you.

Do you believe?