MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest K-GunJimKelly12 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris from Rochester Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBonhamRocks Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Can’t be on the drought team unless you were only part of the drought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmsmystic Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Common thread is a lot of "didn't end well" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest K-GunJimKelly12 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalftimeAdjustment Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juice_32 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo716 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo716 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Share 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 1 minute ago, MJS said: Fair. How do you explain Percy Harvin? He's pretty much been a bust everywhere except his first couple years. I only take Percy if we are discounting injuries. When he was healthy he was an incredible player and returner that could score any time he touched the ball. Unfortunately he was very rarely healthy. The idea with a trio of TO, Watkins, and Harvin is that they have diverse enough skillsets from each other, but each had to be accounted for on every play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talley56 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I would put both Bledsoe and Fitz ahead of Tyrod. At this point IMO the only thing Tyrod has working in his favor is that he was the QB when the drought ended. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo716 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, MJS said: 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. Fair. How do you explain Percy Harvin? He's pretty much been a bust everywhere except his first couple years. Moulds got really sour with how his 120+ Game catch streak ended Lee Evans had 3 TDs against Dolphins in the first quarter iirc and Moulds took himself out saying he hurt his Achilles The coaches tried telling him to go back in but he wanted to get looked at quick... he told them no and didn’t go back in... he was suspended the next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 1 minute ago, Talley56 said: I would put both Bledsoe and Fitz ahead of Tyrod. At this point IMO the only thing Tyrod has working in his favor is that he was the QB when the drought ended. I think his stats speak for themselves. Wins and losses, TD to INT ratio, QB Rating, etc. I wanted him gone too, but I think he did more than the other guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 1 minute ago, Talley56 said: I would put both Bledsoe and Fitz ahead of Tyrod. At this point IMO the only thing Tyrod has working in his favor is that he was the QB when the drought ended. And the team did it's most consistent winning throughout the drought when it started him, during a period where the defense was average at best. And the team scored the most points throughout the drought when he started. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 5 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said: Moulds got really sour with how his 120+ Game catch streak ended Lee Evans had 3 TDs against Dolphins in the first quarter iirc and Moulds took himself out saying he hurt his Achilles The coaches tried telling him to go back in but he wanted to get looked at quick... he told them no and didn’t go back in... he was suspended the next week I don't begrudge players who got "sour" with drought coaches and/or management. It sucks to play for sucky coaches and management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corta765 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Gilmore should be in over McGee. He was really really good despite fan hatred towards the guy. Otherwise your pretty spot on with this. Nigel Bradham I may also put in over Manny Lawson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, corta765 said: Gilmore should be in over McGee. He was really really good despite fan hatred towards the guy. Otherwise your pretty spot on with this. Nigel Bradham I may also put in over Manny Lawson Great suggestions. I thought about Nigel Bradham. It was a close one. The case can be made for Gilmore, but I felt like he was always terrible the first half of the season and really good the second half. And what do you know? The same thing happened in New England. Pats fans hated him at first. His consistency issues (among other things) give me a bad impression of him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalftimeAdjustment Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 If you eliminate the players from last year's team then I think I would go with Fitz at QB. Fred obviously at RB. But a few spots would be hard to pick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 To me, an all-drought team should be players who ONLY were Bills during the drought. QB: Bledsoe or Fitz WR: Evans, TO, Stevie RB: Spiller, Fred, BeastMode (although McGahee really embodies the drought to me - a wasted draft pick on a position of strength at the time) RT: Mike Williams RG: Kraig Urbik C : Trey Teague LG: Andy Levitre LT: Jonas Jennings TE: Scott Chandler P: Brian Moorman K: Rian Lindell LS: Jon Dornbos DE: Aaron Schobel DT: Sam Adams DT: Marcel Dareus DE: Chris Kelsay OLB: Takeo Spikes MLB: London Fletcher (Posluszny) OLB: Angelo Crowell CB: Nate Clements CB: Leodis McKelvin S: Donte Whitner S: Jairus Byrd 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 5 minutes ago, JÂy RÛßeÒ said: To me, an all-drought team should be players who ONLY were Bills during the drought. QB: Bledsoe or Fitz WR: Evans, TO, Stevie RB: Spiller, Fred, BeastMode (although McGahee really embodies the drought to me - a wasted draft pick on a position of strength at the time) RT: Mike Williams RG: Kraig Urbik C : Trey Teague LG: Andy Levitre LT: Jonas Jennings TE: Scott Chandler P: Brian Moorman K: Rian Lindell LS: Jon Dornbos DE: Aaron Schobel DT: Sam Adams DT: Marcel Dareus DE: Chris Kelsay OLB: Takeo Spikes MLB: London Fletcher (Posluszny) OLB: Angelo Crowell CB: Nate Clements CB: Leodis McKelvin S: Donte Whitner S: Jairus Byrd No Mario Williams? You'd have McKelvin over Terrance McGee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 1 hour ago, MJS said: What do you have against Schobel? Always thought he was overrated and never liked how he left the team. The fact that he was willing to come out of retirement for other teams, but was done with us. He had no problem spending our money. So yeah, !@#$ him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunken Pygmy Goat Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) 13 minutes ago, JÂy RÛßeÒ said: To me, an all-drought team should be players who ONLY were Bills during the drought. QB: Bledsoe or Fitz WR: Evans, TO, Stevie RB: Spiller, Fred, BeastMode (although McGahee really embodies the drought to me - a wasted draft pick on a position of strength at the time) RT: Mike Williams RG: Kraig Urbik C : Trey Teague LG: Andy Levitre LT: Jonas Jennings TE: Scott Chandler P: Brian Moorman K: Rian Lindell LS: Jon Dornbos DE: Aaron Schobel DT: Sam Adams DT: Marcel Dareus DE: Chris Kelsay OLB: Takeo Spikes MLB: London Fletcher (Posluszny) OLB: Angelo Crowell CB: Nate Clements CB: Leodis McKelvin S: Donte Whitner S: Jairus Byrd Dareus was a Bill for several games last year, so he's disquified. And Mario should be ahead of Kelsay. Far, far ahead... Edited May 17, 2018 by Drunken Pygmy Goat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talley56 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 53 minutes ago, BuffaloHokie13 said: And the team did it's most consistent winning throughout the drought when it started him, during a period where the defense was average at best. And the team scored the most points throughout the drought when he started. The defense was way worse when Fitz was QB. It may not have been great when Tyrod was QB but Fitz has it much worse when it came to defense. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloHokie13 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 7 minutes ago, Talley56 said: The defense was way worse when Fitz was QB. It may not have been great when Tyrod was QB but Fitz has it much worse when it came to defense. Was mostly a shot at Bledsoe, but the D in '15 and '16 was very similar to Fitz's in '10, '11, and '12. DVOA Ranks: Taylor Years: 15th, 27th, 24th Fitz Years: 27th, 24th, 28th, 8th Bledsoe Years: 1st, 7th, 24th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 No J.P. Losman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said: No J.P. Losman? Dang. Someone needs to make a Bills All-Drought Worst Team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankoElTanko Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, JÂy RÛßeÒ said: To me, an all-drought team should be players who ONLY were Bills during the drought. QB: Bledsoe or Fitz WR: Evans, TO, Stevie RB: Spiller, Fred, BeastMode (although McGahee really embodies the drought to me - a wasted draft pick on a position of strength at the time) RT: Mike Williams RG: Kraig Urbik C : Trey Teague LG: Andy Levitre LT: Jonas Jennings TE: Scott Chandler P: Brian Moorman K: Rian Lindell LS: Jon Dornbos DE: Aaron Schobel DT: Sam Adams DT: Marcel Dareus DE: Chris Kelsay OLB: Takeo Spikes MLB: London Fletcher (Posluszny) OLB: Angelo Crowell CB: Nate Clements CB: Leodis McKelvin S: Donte Whitner S: Jairus Byrd Solid List and I really dig your explanation for McGahee (Spiller at the time too!)... I may throw a honorable mention to David Nelson for two years but the ALL TIME EPITOME of how painful the drought was can be summed up in ONE front office move and here is ONE EXAMPLE (of many) personnel moves that kept us back. Keeping Dick Jauron and KNOWING he was waiting to be fired... and starting Keith Ellison for the year and neglecting to upgrade for years while defending his play to the fans... barf Edited May 17, 2018 by FrankoElTanko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 21 minutes ago, MJS said: Dang. Someone needs to make a Bills All-Drought Worst Team. That would really be depressing. It would be hard to pick a coach, although Rex would be right up there with Rick, Mike, and whoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willyville Guy Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I'd find room on my all-drought roster for rookie year Kiko Alonso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts