BillsPride12

Not only did the Bills miss the playoffs that year but it would also be the first year the Bills weren't playing in the Super Bowl in four years. I can remember younger kids being confused then "This isn't the Super Bowl the Bills aren't playing in it" Amazing when you think about it after what was to follow

My favorite random part of watching that last night was one of our coaches puffing on a big old stogie on the sidelines . Could you imagine seeing that today? I wouldn't have been surprised at all seeing that if you showed me a game from the 60s or maybe even the 70s but this definitely caught me off guard. Seeing as I grew up during the Super Bowl years I guess it doesn't truly register with me how long ago that was and how different times were even back then. Loved all of the crowd shots too, those fans were absolutely nuts back then.

Back to the original point of the OP....That Giant's era defense is generally considered to be a bottom tier 10 ten defense of all time by most people who know football which I think is fair for them. Of course the top dogs that are debated for the Top 3-5 spots such as 85 Bears, 2000 Ravens, 02 Buccs etc. are going to get more attention and accolades as opposed to the ones a little further down the ranks. But I don't think those Giants defenses get forgotten about at all.

I was happy we got in that year because we finally broke the drought and 17 years(and potentially longer) was just way too long to not make it into the postseason but with that said it always felt weird to me because it didn't feel like a true playoff team. We went 9-7 and didn't even clinch our playoff berth until we received a miracle gift from the Cincy-Baltimore game. It was also weird because a new regime had just taken over and we knew going forward that team really wasn't going to be our team. This season truly feels like the end of the drought years. We have our players that the current regime brought in now and we won at a minimum 10 games(very good chance we finish with 11) and we controlled our own destiny. I know this is just my own personal perception on things and everybody will feel differently about it but I guess my point is I woudn't call the "2017 Backing into the playoffs" a BS narrative, there was definitey some merit to it. Nobody can question the Bills as a true playoff team this year and going forward the Drought years are officially a thing of the past now.

Thank you for sharing this. It's funny i was just talking to my grandmother the other day and she randomly brought up how she still remembers being at my Aunt's apartment when the Jim Kelly retirement was first announced on the news and how she got very emotional and shed some tears as she watched. I will have to show her this now!

I guess I don't care what happens to them one way or another. Going into their stadium on primetime and beating them to clinch our playoff spot is all the justice/revenge I needed for that 04 game. On to Houston!

But will they know your name?

We will find out tomorrow!

It was cool when we ended the drought just so we could get that damn monkey off our back finally. But I also thought even at the time that it was kind of anti-climatic because we really lucked into sneaking into a wild card spot that year as a pretty mediocre 9-7 team. I also knew that wasn't our team going forward. This year feels completely different. Now we have OUR GUYS going forward. We earned it. We controlled our own destiny, we punched our ticket in. We are only going to continue to get better. A new era is here. If you don't understand the excitement for this after the previous two decades then I question how you can even be a Bills fan??

I've never seen Buffalo 66 or any of his other movies so I've always just remembered him as that guy who talked about how much Buffalo sucked and how lousy the Bills were in the NFL Films video "A town, A team, A Dream"....I wonder what he's up to right now indeed. GO BILLS!

Family atmosphere. Love it. Now let's just take out all this pain and frustration on Brady this weekend

I understood and was in favor that these guys would probably be moving on to greener pastures after this year going into this season but wow it's really going to be a much more complicated situation now. Not only have we gotten a lot of production out of these guys but these guys really bring some bravado and have become a huge part of the defensive identity of this team. It seems like both guys have bought into what McDermott is selling. I am all for getting as much continuity as possible but the biggest question will obviously be can we afford to resign both of them or at least one of them? Because you know all the McBeane draft picks White, Edmunds, Oliver, Milano will be getting extended offers. Will be the most interesting offseason of Beane yet.

No I'm right there with ya bud, on both accounts, it was that kind've weekend. Luckily I don't go back to work until tomorrow. Best road game I've ever been to

Yes getting on the road in about an hour. Will be at the Bills Backers tailgate and possibly the party at Mario's Saturday night. I still have nightmares from the game at the Ralph in 04. I really, really, really hope we can repay the favor this time around

Sounds like there's alot of cold ones in the forecast for this weekend

I think I heard on WGR today it was 37.5

Another blast from the past. I miss the days when players and coaches would call it like it is in the post game interviews. Nowadays it's all standard PC babble. BORINGGGG Or Fred Smerlas too...it's a shame we had two great Nose Tackles sandwiched in between the Super Bowl runs while it was clearly a huge weakness during the actual run.

If he can get the deep ball going consistently we can call him "The Cannon"

Allentown Rifle

As a local WNYer one trend I am starting to notice that might also play a role into this is that it seems so many people are into doing the Bills road trip thing now and with the Steelers Sunday night game coming up next week I feel like a lot people are going to that game so in a sense it almost seems like people are overlooking this game. Personally I know many more people that are amped up and talking about going down to Pittsburgh for the big prime time game than talking about going to the Ravens game. I'm not saying this is the only factor but I do think it plays a role. I know people have always done the road trips but it really seems to be a growing phenomenon.

Well deserved! I feel like this is only the beginning of accolades he will be receiving in his career. Feels great to have a front office that knows how to draft impact players for a change.

Maybe everybody is saving their money for playoff tickets this year?

It does seem like a generational thing to me as well but I'm not exactly sure why. A lot of the superstar athletes from the 90s and I'm sure before then had a larger than life feel to them and they carried themselves that way whereas it seems a lot of athletes nowadays seem a bit more grounded. Part of me wonders if its the power of social media and if they are being coached up to carry themselves a certain way.

You really need to see this piece then. It will give you a different perspective of Bruce as a person, or who he grew into as a person I should say. I know my father wasn't a huge fan of Bruce as a person but I told him about this and he DVR'd it and I am going to go over and see him later today and watch it with him. I think a lot of those superstar players from the Super Bowl years were jerks originally but they really became outstanding men in life and I think Marv Levy deserves a huge credit for that the way he had an impact on them as men not just football players. Very special stuff He was in Cheektowaga for an autograph signing the weekend of the Patriots game and he was still in great shape for a 94 year old!

He was a very good player, a classic overachiever but to me not close to a Hall of Famer. He belongs on whatever is the equivalent to Miami's Wall of Fame. He could already be inducted into that by now for all I know.