Homerun throw"forward"

[Ramius]

Which goes to show you who was making the decisions. Johnson's only start that year was the final game against Indy's backups. I think the Bills won something like 31-6 with RJ having one of those "I'm going to be a free agent soon" games. With the money they were paying RJ, someone probably figured it was time for him to earn it.

 

But when your starting QB takes you a 10-5 record....yeah, the right thing to do was start the #2 guy in the playoffs.

 

While Flutie should have started the game, don't try and fool anyone by saying that the dwarf "took" us to a 10-5 record. The defense carried us in 1999 and the dwarf rode their coattails to a 10-5 record.

[BuffaloWings]

While Flutie should have started the game, don't try and fool anyone by saying that the dwarf "took" us to a 10-5 record. The defense carried us in 1999 and the dwarf rode their coattails to a 10-5 record.

Which is one of the reasons that Johnson got the start. Flutie's weaknesses were showing all year long and I recall the offense struggling for a few stretches.

 

That said, he was still the starter. You DON'T change how you run your team once the playoffs start...go with what brought you there.

[8-8 Forever?]

What would have been if the refs had done their job in that game. I really think that we could have gone to the Super Bowl.

 

We got hosed on some very important calls in that game.

 

i am a die hard bills fan, but when you really look hard at home run throwback, it was a legal play (barely, but legal) and an awesome call with awesome execution. kudos to the titans for pulling it off. move on.

[Ramius]

Which is one of the reasons that Johnson got the start. Flutie's weaknesses were showing all year long and I recall the offense struggling for a few stretches.

 

That said, he was still the starter. You DON'T change how you run your team once the playoffs start...go with what brought you there.

 

Agreed. Flutie was the starter all season, so he deserved to start the playoff game. The time to change QBs was a month earlier, not prior to your first playoff game.

[Jerry Jabber]

While Flutie should have started the game, don't try and fool anyone by saying that the dwarf "took" us to a 10-5 record. The defense carried us in 1999 and the dwarf rode their coattails to a 10-5 record.

 

Okay, maybe that's true to some extent. Flutie was not an elite QB, but he was much better than Johnson. Look at the following season when Johnson had the majority of the starts, the Bills were 8-8, Johnson was 4-7 and Flutie was 4-1. Also, the season afterwards, when the offense was suppose to be tailored to Johnson's strength's, he only won 1 game in that 3-13 season.

 

Yes we had a great defense a and QB (Flutie) that did just enough on offense to outscore the other teams. Well, I'd rather have a QB that just did enough to win us games, than a QB that couldn't stay healthy and could barely win games (Johnson). Bottom line, the QB switch cost us the playoff game vs the Titans and possibly a trip to the Superbowl that season.

 

One final point on QB's that just did enough, a perfect example of that is the 2000 Ravens with Trent Dilfer. I'd take that anyday over the garbage we've seen from the Bills this decade.

[BuffOrange]

What would have been if the refs had done their job in that game. I really think that we could have gone to the Super Bowl.

 

We got hosed on some very important calls in that game.

 

This +1,000,000.

 

It is unfortunate that the kickoff is the only thing anyone remembers about that game. Every NFL fan should watch this just to see how incredibly one-sided the 1st half officiating was. It was as close as I've ever come to thinking a game was rigged.

[BuffOrange]

i am a die hard bills fan, but when you really look hard at home run throwback, it was a legal play (barely, but legal) and an awesome call with awesome execution. kudos to the titans for pulling it off. move on.

 

I think he might be talking about the Peerless Price catch inside 2 min's left in the half which would've put us in FG range, but somehow wasn't reviewed. Followed by a McNair 3rd down scramble that was reviewed (after further review we're only reviewing calls that go against Tennessee). Followed of course by a defensive holding call on a missed FG that gave them 3 pts.

[BuffOrange]

Trying yet again to put to rest the "Bills played against the Colts backups" ...

 

While the Bills were locked into their playoff seed and rested several starters, Indy was still playing for home-field advantage that day -- both they and Jacksonville were 13-2, 9-2 in conference, and unbeaten against common opponents. If both teams won their final game, the tiebreaker would have come down to net points in conference games -- Jax was +81 after 15 games, Indy +67, so the Colts knew they'd need to win by at least two touchdowns more than the Jags did.

(This per Lary Bump, in that week's Shout! magazine game preview.)

 

Manning was 18-for-29, Edge James had 18 of the Colts' 19 rushing attempts, and they didn't pull their starters until they were down big and they knew Jacksonville was up 10 on Cincinnati.

 

I probably pointed this out ~600 times on various boards between 1999 and 2001. Mighty Mouse fans didn't want to acknowledge these facts 9 years ago when it was fresh in everyone's minds. What are the chances they start now?

[Dan]

Right...even though they still should've covered the kickoff.

 

I remember asking why they were kicking with 20 seconds left. There was plenty of time to get closer - even if they ran the ball or completed a pass in bounds, they could have still spiked the ball with about 4-5 seconds left.

Just watched the end of the game on NFL Network. Shoeless Rob completed a 2nd down pass to Price, who goes out of bounds with 20 seconds left (hell of a play all the way around!). Then we kick the FG. My first thought was exactly what you said... what coach kicks that with 20 seconds still on the clock?

 

Now the thing they never showed was whether or not Price got the first down. It looked to me like he did (but then again that lateral looked forward to me too), but it was hard to tell with everyone on the sideline and they never displayed the down and distance on the FG try. So, if it was 3rd and short, I can see going for the FG because if you do a QB sneak and don't get the first down, you have no time to get the FG off on 4th down. However, if it was a first down, then Wade blew it horribly. I'd say either way he blew it, because if it was 3rd down, he should have asked for a measurement because it had to be close. That would have bought some time to at least think about things.

 

 

Trying yet again to put to rest the "Bills played against the Colts backups" ...

I understand all that. And its all well and good. However, there's a reason that was the first and only time that a season long starter, whom was healthy, was benched the week before a playoff game. Regardless of how we got to 10-5, we got there. And if it ain't broke, you don't fix it.

 

As it turns out, Rob played well enough to win that game. However, I still say you don't disrupt the team chemistry that got you there. Could Flutie have scored more than 16 pts? Who really knows? I guess it's fun to speculate and debate (for some). However, I didn't like the move then and I don't like it to this day. Not because of Rob or Flutie's play, but because of what it meant for our team.

[Red]

Just watched it (again).

 

Some interesting observations:

 

- It was obvious that this was the beginning of the end of the glory years. Though Thomas, Smith, and Reed were still on this team, pieces of greatness had long since chipped off and transition was clearly in place.

 

- I really think that it is time that the current Bills scrap this 'Tampa 2' defense. The reliance on undersized players IMO really serves to undermine the overall ability to stop most NFL offenses. Tampa does not play it anymore, and the Colts are successful because Manning is so d@mn good, not for any defensive prowess. The 'Tampa 2' had its time- in Tampa- but now the league has moved on. The Bills were always a solid 3-4 defense. Ted Cottrell had players tackling (and wrapping up), as they rose to the #1 defense in the league. No special gimmicks. Just pin your ears back and go. And the LB's were bigger. Maybe when Jauron is fired, they can take the outdated and undersized 'Tampa 2' with them.

 

- Benching Flutie was boneheaded.

 

- Johnson did not look too bad in this game. It was obvious (familiar theme here?) that the injuries to the offensive line and its makeshift nature caused alot of problems. I'm so confused with Bills QB's. I know that Johnson had many flaws, but he did sure hit alot of receivers for nice, quick gains in this game. Now, the receivers caught the ball, but he seemed more decisive than Trentative.

 

- I miss Antoine Winfield and Pat Williams.

 

- This was the last time that Bills had competent people in the front office and there was a difference between that team and the Bills squads of the past 9 years. Those Bills looked like they belonged on a professional football field. There was a swagger. An attitude. Alot of this may have been because of those Bills greats still on the team, but they played with much more confidence that this bunch.

 

- I'm sick of Jauron, Modrak, and Guy (can't get an post in without mentioning that).

 

- Will the Bills ever reach the playoffs again?