I think it was the 1982 season opener against Marv Levy's Chiefs where I saw a huge sign draped over the wall in one corner of the end zone that read "RALPH WILSON: DEEP POCKETS, SHORT ARMS."
This was just a couple of years after the Bills had the #1 pick in the draft (thanks to trading O.J. to San Francisco) and couldn't sign him, as OSU linebacker Tom Cousineau went to the CFL instead. In 1983, Cousineau came back to the NFL and the Bills still had his rights (not sure if it still works that way; doubt it), so they traded the rights to Cleveland for their first-rounder... which they used to select some guy named Jim Kelly. And, of course, Kelly went to the USFL. It wasn't until 1986 (Polian took over as GM on 12/31/85) that the worm turned: the USFL went belly-up, Polian signed Kelly instead of trading him to the Raiders (as everyone thought would happen), he drafted Will Wolford and Ronnie :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: Harmon in the first round, and midway through the season he and Ralph fired Hank Bullough and replaced him with Marv Levy, right around the same time Polian plucked Steve Tasker off the waiver wire from Houston.