the "bickering bills" reference refers only to the '89 season, in which the abovementioned remark was made. things were not going well for the team and there was definitely some tension in the locker room. after thurman mouthed off on some talk show about kelly having too high an opinion of himself, it blew up in the media.
thankfully marv had the people-skills to get everyone back together, and the bills squeaked into the playoffs. they were so done bickering by the time the playoffs started that i still remember them practically holding hands and singing kumbaya on the sidelines in cleveland. then ronnie harmon dropped an easy touchdown and we got beat. that sucked of course, but then we started winning, so by the 90s, they were no longer "the bickering bills."