MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) I started thinking about this last night. Who are the best Bills coaches and players at each position during the drought years? For this I want players who played most of their time as a Bill during drought years. FYI, I'm a pretty young guy. Most of my Bills memories are from the drought. Head Coach: Doug Marrone (Drought Years - 2) He had a .469 win percentage, second only to Rex Ryan in the drought years. But Rex would have had the same win percentage if he had not been fired before the last game. Offensive Coordinator: Chan Gailey (Drought Years - 3) I realize he was also the head coach, but he called a good offense, putting Fitz and company into a position to succeed. It was one of the only time during the drought when we had a fun offense to watch. Defensive Coordinator: Jim Schwartz (Drought Years - 1) His time in Buffalo was short, but he picked up the defense and made it something special. Rex Ryan brought an end to that. The defense under Schwartz led the league in sacks and was a top 5 unit overall. QB: Tyrod Taylor (Drought Years - 2) Case can be made for Drew Bledsoe, but Tyrod had a far better QB Rating, far fewer INT's, and less sacks. Bledsoe did pass for more TD's, however. RB: Lesean McCoy (Drought Years - 2) Easy one. He is an elite back. The other guy you could make a case for is Fred Jackson, or even Travis Henry. WR1: Eric Moulds (Drought Years - 6) Man did I love watching Moulds play. He was awesome. I know he played in some non-drought years, but he played 5 or 6 seasons during the drought. WR2: Lee Evans (Drought Years - 7) Evans posted Top 5 numbers following Eric Moulds as the number 1 in Buffalo. Would have been interesting to see what he could do with a real QB. I remember him catching those 80+ yard bombs. WR3: Stevie Johnson (Drought Years - 6) Johnson had four 50+ catch seasons and is the only Bills WR to have consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. TE: Charles Clay (Drought Years - 2) This position is kind of bleak. You could also make the case for Scott Chandler. [I'm a little fuzzy on the offensive line] LT: Jason Peters (Drought Years - 5) Many are STILL angry that we lost Peters. He is considered by some to be a future hall of famer, but most of his career is with the Eagles. Still, he was good in Buffalo as well. LG: Richie Incognito (Drought Years - 2 (3 if you count 2009)) Came back to Buffalo and went to multiple pro-bowls. Case could be made for Andy Levitre. I'm leaving Ruben Brown off because he played many years pre-drought. C: Eric Wood (Drought Years - 8 ) What a mainstay during the drought years. He was never elite, but he was a solid starter who went to a pro bowl. RG: Kraig Urbik (Drought Years - 6) He started for a few years and was decent. This is another bleak spot. RT: Langston Walker? (Drought Years - 2) This may be the worst position. Other possibilities are Erik Pears or Mike Williams? Man, we've had a bad right side of the Oline for a long time. DE: Mario Williams (Drought Years - 4) It didn't end well, but Mario Williams was a dominant player for his first few years in Buffalo. He was part of a defensive line that many thought was one of the best in the league (even if he did take plays off occasionally). DE: Aaron Schobel (Drought Years - 9) Schobel played nine seasons, wracking up 78 sacks, second only to Bruce Smith in franchise history. Very solid and underrated player. DT: Kyle Williams (Drought Years - 11) Kyle WIlliams has been a mainstay interior lineman for years, and a great leader. He is a sure-fire wall of famer. 5 time pro bowler and 2nd team all pro in 2010. DT: Pat Williams (Drought Years - 5) Pat Williams was good, right? Case could be made for Dareus or Sam Adams as well. LOLB: Manny Lawson (Drought Years - 3) Manny Lawson was a decent starter. I had trouble coming up with good outside linebackers. Kawika Mitchell? MLB: London Fletcher (Drought Years - 5) Easy pick here. Fletcher was a great starter. He was an 8-time pro bowl alternate. Case could also be made for Paul Posluszny. ROLB: Takeo Spikes (Drought Years - 4) Solid player. He made the pro bowl with the Bills. CB1: Antoine Winfield (Drought Years - 4) Solid player. CB2: Nate Clements (Drought Years - 6) Clements had 23 interceptions and 87 passed defended with the Bills. Him and Winfield were a great tandem. CB3: Terrence McGee (Drought Years - 10) Had to throw on a third corner to include McGee. Despite the myriad of injuries he was a solid corner in the drought years. Case could be made for Stephon Gilmore. FS: Jairus Byrd (Drought Years - 5) It didn't end well, but Jairus Byrd was a great player for the Bills. He had 22 interceptions with the Bills, 9 of them as a rookie! SS: Donte Whitner (Drought Years - 5) This definitely didn't end well, but Whitner was a solid player in Buffalo. George WIlson was also a solid player at the position. K: Rian Lindell (Drought Years - 10) Easy. He left Buffalo as the most accurate field goal kicker in team history, second in franchise history in scoring and broke team records by connecting on 18 straight field goals and 225 consecutive extra-point attempts. P: Brian Moormon (Drought Years - 12) Legendary. 2× Pro Bowl, 2× First-team All-Pro, 2× Longest Punt in NFL, 1× NFL Yards per Punt Leader, NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary Team. There were years where he was our best player on the team easily, and that's good because we punted a lot. Edited May 17, 2018 by MJS 2
Guest K-GunJimKelly12 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 IMO, if you are going to do this, you can't have guys who played in playoff games for the bills in the 90's like Moulds and Pat Williams.
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) I suppose you're looking at players who were specifically good while with the Bills, rather than players who were successful elsewhere and played for the Bills? Because my WR Corps would be TO at X, Watkins at Z, and Stevie in the slot. If you want to ignore injuries, Percy Harvin might get the nod over Stevie. Edited May 17, 2018 by BuffaloHokie13
Chris from Rochester Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 9 minutes ago, K-GunJimKelly12 said: IMO, if you are going to do this, you can't have guys who played in playoff games for the bills in the 90's like Moulds and Pat Williams. And maybe not include players who played on last years team as well. But nice write up, fond memories of many of those players
JohnBonhamRocks Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 9 minutes ago, K-GunJimKelly12 said: IMO, if you are going to do this, you can't have guys who played in playoff games for the bills in the 90's like Moulds and Pat Williams. Does Kyle Williams get the boot for the same reason?
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 Can’t be on the drought team unless you were only part of the drought.
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Posted May 17, 2018 17 minutes ago, K-GunJimKelly12 said: IMO, if you are going to do this, you can't have guys who played in playoff games for the bills in the 90's like Moulds and Pat Williams. I said the OP that I'm including guys who played a significant portion of their time during the drought. Pat Williams and Moulds played for many years on drought teams. 2 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said: Can’t be on the drought team unless you were only part of the drought. If you want to make a list like that, you can. That would also be interesting. I stated that I'm including players who played a significant portion of their time with the Bills on drought teams. But man, how could you take guys like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood off a drought list? That would be tough.
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, MJS said: I said the OP that I'm including guys who played a significant portion of their time during the drought. Pat Williams and Moulds played for many years on drought teams. If you want to make a list like that, you can. That would also be interesting. I stated that I'm including players who played a significant portion of their time with the Bills on drought teams. But man, how could you take guys like Kyle Williams and Eric Wood off a drought list? That would be tough. Because playoffs baby!!!
Guest K-GunJimKelly12 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 Guys like Kyle Williams and Wood who suffered through a larger portion of the drought and were part in ending it should be on the list.
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Posted May 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, hmsmystic said: Common thread is a lot of "didn't end well" Lots of angry guys leaving Buffalo. Some of it was caused by bad coaches and some of it from bad management.
HalftimeAdjustment Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 I think players who were part of the end (Williams, McCoy, Wood, etc) should be eligible if they played at least one year previously. But anyone who played in a pre drought playoff, ineligible. Just my opinion. 1
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Posted May 17, 2018 18 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said: I suppose you're looking at players who were specifically good while with the Bills, rather than players who were successful elsewhere and played for the Bills? Because my WR Corps would be TO at X, Watkins at Z, and Stevie in the slot. If you want to ignore injuries, Percy Harvin might get the nod over Stevie. Yeah, I think it makes more sense to have players who were good with the Bills. Watkins? You'd have Watkins over Moulds? 1
Juice_32 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 19 minutes ago, Chris from Rochester said: And maybe not include players who played on last years team as well. But nice write up, fond memories of many of those players This, when I think of the all drought team it has to be guys who didn't get to the playoffs in the 90's or last year. My list will be forthcoming.
Virgil Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 !@#$ Aaron Schobel, Whitner, and Peters. I also agree that you have to remove players that made the playoffs with us last year. I don’t know that I’m not putting Bledsoe at Qb.
Buffalo716 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) I read the OP but Moulds Really doesnt belong ... our drought was 17 years.Moulds made the playoffs 3 times as a Bill and was only here for 6 years of the drought 3 playoff appearances and 6 drought years... he is not like Kyle who was here for it all or Fred... even though thank God Kyle made it its a personal thing but I wouldn’t include him Edited May 17, 2018 by Buffalo716
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Posted May 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, Virgil said: !@#$ Aaron Schobel, Whitner, and Peters. I also agree that you have to remove players that made the playoffs with us last year. I don’t know that I’m not putting Bledsoe at Qb. What do you have against Schobel? 1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said: I read the OP but Moulds Really doesnt belong ... our drought was 17 years.Moulds made the playoffs 3 times as a Bill and was only here for 6 years of the drought 3 playoff appearances and 6 drought years... he is not like Kyle who was here for it all or Fred its a personal thing but I wouldn’t include him Most of his time with the Bills was during the drought. I do see your point. But he was my favorite player as a kid, so he stays
Buffalo716 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) 5 minutes ago, MJS said: What do you have against Schobel? Most of his time with the Bills was during the drought. I do see your point. But he was my favorite player as a kid, so he stays All fair... but 4 non drought years and 6 drought years doesn’t seem like a huge majority split almost 50-50... Moulds was just behind TO and Moss at one point for best WR in league imo Edited May 17, 2018 by Buffalo716
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Posted May 17, 2018 14 minutes ago, MJS said: Yeah, I think it makes more sense to have players who were good with the Bills. Watkins? You'd have Watkins over Moulds? Moulds was disqualified as a pre-drought player for me. 1
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Posted May 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said: All fair... but 4 non drought years and 6 drought years doesn’t seem like a huge majority split almost 50-50... Moulds was just behind TO and Moss at one point for best WR in league imo Yeah, he was great. My earliest football memories are from like 1998-1999, but I didn't really start following closely till 2000 and on. I would have been 10 or 11 years old. Eric Moulds was the man. 2 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said: Moulds was disqualified as a pre-drought player for me. Fair. How do you explain Percy Harvin? He's pretty much been a bust everywhere except his first couple years.
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