The Zone in the mid-'80's

[YardRat]

"Bill Polian? Are you freakin' serious? Who the hell is he? Just another promote from within, cheap-ass Ralph Wilson hire. We'll never get to a Super Bowl!"

"OMG!! I can't believe we just hired a CFL reject for head coach. A GAWDDAMN special teams coach to boot! Hell, Marv Levy had a 31-42 record in his only other shot at running a team and got above .500 once...THAT'S RIGHT, ONCE (and barely at that)...in FIVE seasons. ****, I hate this team."

"Jim Kelly sucks. He wasn't even the best QB in a league that couldn't serve as the NFL's farm team, maybe even not top 5 to boot. 22 TDs and 17 INTs just isn't going to cut it. If we don't trade up to get Vinny Testeverde or Kelly Stouffer in this draft I am going to be pissed. Jesus Christ, to think we could have had Tony Eason or Ken O'Brian...dumbass front office, anyway."

"How bad is this organization? WE CAN'T EVEN KEEP A COORDINATOR FOR A MONTH before he bolts ass outta here. Losing Bobby Ross so quickly is a huge loss for this team. ****ers!"

[pmoon6]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

"Bill Polian? Are you freakin' serious? Who the hell is he? Just another promote from within, cheap-ass Ralph Wilson hire. We'll never get to a Super Bowl!"

"OMG!! I can't believe we just hired a CFL reject for head coach. A GAWDDAMN special teams coach to boot! Hell, Marv Levy had a 31-42 record in his only other shot at running a team and got above .500 once...THAT'S RIGHT, ONCE (and barely at that)...in FIVE seasons. ****, I hate this team."

"Jim Kelly sucks. He wasn't even the best QB in a league that couldn't serve as the NFL's farm team, maybe even not top 5 to boot. 22 TDs and 17 INTs just isn't going to cut it. If we don't trade up to get Vinny Testeverde or Kelly Stouffer in this draft I am going to be pissed. Jesus Christ, to think we could have had Tony Eason or Ken O'Brian...dumbass front office, anyway."

"How bad is this organization? WE CAN'T EVEN KEEP A COORDINATOR FOR A MONTH before he bolts ass outta here. Losing Bobby Ross so quickly is a huge loss for this team. ****ers!"

HaHaHa. That's why Fans are reduced to whining on an innocuous message board and guys like Swartz actually are paid to coach a team.

I remember in '89 a lot of people I talked to wanted Kelly gone. Even after we went to two Super Bowls, there was a big faction that wanted Reich as the starter.

[feldspar]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

Of course, everyone reads this and thinks it's not them, it's the other guy.

Just like if you were to say "most people are idiots," most people would agree.

[MidnightVoice]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

You have to understand that 50% of Americans have less than average intelligence

[pmoon6]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

You have to understand that 50% of Americans have less than average intelligence

Yes, of course. They were still smart enough to whip some British ass and send them back to England with their tails between their legs.

[pmoon6]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

Of course, everyone reads this and thinks it's not them, it's the other guy.

Just like if you were to say "most people are idiots," most people would agree.

I agree, but the posting histories of the people that Yardrat is speaking of bears his premise out.

[YardRat]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

Yes, of course. They were still smart enough to whip some British ass and send them back to England with their tails between their legs.

He's just pissed because he just realized 51% of Americans voted for Obama, and 47% for Romney.

[bigbub2352]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

Lol thats the truth

[X-Era]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

You have to understand that 50% of Americans have less than average intelligence

Shouldn't it be 49%?

[MidnightVoice]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

Shouldn't it be 49%?

I guess it should really be 50% are of average intelligence or lower :). And it is equally true of all of Europe

And given that nearly everyone on this board is a bills fan...........

[DynaPaul]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

I doubt it. Sports coverage wasn't as detailed then and we hadn't been out of the playoffs for 14 years.

[cookie G]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

My memories might be a little fuzzy and I wasn't in Bills' country for much of the mid 80's, but mine go something like this...

-Did they really just give the biggest contract in Bills history to a QB..and then bring in a coach who runs the Winged T?

-A big tackle in the 1st...good, solid move..Jones and Devlin are getting up there..

-You know, this guy's kind of an ass...but he can find the open receiver AND get the ball to him in stride, and hit him in the hands...its amazing what an offense can look like with a good QB.

-Great to see Jerry Butler healthy again and with a good QB to get him the ball...OH crap....hurt again ...(few Bills I've ever felt more sorry for than Jerry Butler.)

-Who the hell is this Andre Reed guy? He just seems to get open...short, deep, whatever..the guy looks pretty good;

-"Giving the QB the business?""" ROFL.. (Ok, no one really ROFL'D in 1986);

-Good to see Greg Bell healthy again

-Kelly seems to like this power forward, this Metzebaum guy.

-Will this Ronnie Harmon ever run straight? Good god kid, cut it up field..if only just once;

-OK, the LB from Penn State is another piece in the puzzle for the defense.

-the defense is starting to make some strides...

-THEY GAVE UP WHAT IN THE TRADE????? Well, if nothing else, the guy is a stud, prime grade. Putting him opposite Bruce is going to scare the hell out of people.

-The offense still needs some weaponry, and the running game stinks again...but the defense is really, really looking good. They went from one of the worst LB corps to one of the best in less than a year.

-Thurman Thomas really went that low? Maybe his knee is worse than I thought..but it sure didn't look bad against Oklahoma last season...

-Wow...from 2-14 ....terrible on both sides of the ball...to 11-2, the first division crown in forever...in just a few years. That's incredible. I can't even remember what the 1985 team looked like...what a difference spending a little money can do.


Sorry Yardie...I was a lot more upbeat about the Bills 86-89. Maybe it was just me, but I don't think so. I remember coming home for Xmas, and was invited to a December game...cold, windy...but there was a buzz about the team, especially the defense. The Bennett trade wasn't just talked about in Buffalo...that was a national buzz...the trade of the decade, it was called.

But then...they were a team on the upswing. And the world took notice...for once, they were talking about what the Bills did RIGHT in comparison to other teams..

From the Orlando Sentinel in 1988

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1988-12-04/sports/0080450103_1_cornelius-bennett-perkins-great-defense

Well, the way it worked out is that today's opponent, the Buffalo Bills, appear to have a the great defense with Bennett as the cornerstone, and the Bucs still are waiting for Testaverde to show signs of becoming the great pro quarterback.

Buffalo, of course, already had its quarterback in another University of Miami superstar, Jim Kelly. Then the Bills gave up enough draft picks to start an expansion team in order to get Bennett, turning their future into present-day success.

The rest, as they say, is history. The Bills were 4-12 in 1986, but are 11-2 now; the Bucs were 2-14 in '86 and 3-10 now.



Give me a team that's 11-2 and has turned it around....

not another 3 years of...its going to take another 3 years to turn it around. We've gone through 4 1/2 "3 year turnarounds" already.

[YardRat]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

Love the post cookie...I remember some of those myself...kind of like the Bills equivalent to JFK or 9/11, I know exactly where I was and what I was doing when the news of the Bennett trade broke ...the most important part, however, may be the last paragraph. The Levy-Kelly era started at the end of '86, 4-12...'87, 7-8...it took until the third season to really get things rolling.

[TacklingDummy]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

"OMG!! I can't believe we just hired a CFL reject for head coach. A GAWDDAMN special teams coach to boot! Hell, Marv Levy had a 31-42 record in his only other shot at running a team and got above .500 once...THAT'S RIGHT, ONCE (and barely at that)...in FIVE seasons. ****, I hate this team."

Enter Smith, Thomas, Hull, Reed, Tasker, Jones, Conlan, Bennett, Paup, Loften, Beebe, Hansen, Ritcher, Wolford, Odoms, Davis, etc..., and the leader of them all Jim Kelly

Now enter that reject CFL coach who was 31-42 in the NFL.
He doesn't look so bad now.

[WagonCircler]

Re: The Zone in the mid-'80's

At the end of the Ralph Wilson era, the story will be that he alienated the best, smartest and most talented coaches and executives because they weren't yes-men, and he replaced them with cronies, losers and mediocrities with whom he was personally comfortable.

His election to the Hall of Fame is a farce akin to a grade school participation trophy.