Can someone take a minute and explain the 1994/1995 season to me?

[ThurmasThoman]

My first "exposure" to the Bills was as a kid during the Super Bowls, but the first season that I followed from the preseason on was the 1994/1995 season. Full disclosure: I was 10.

I learned most of the rules to the game by playing Tecmo Super Bowl on the Super Nintendo. And living out of market, I relied on games that got national broadcasts to see the team. We had a dailup 14k modem at the time, and the sports news I had access to was on AOL. Suffice it to say, following the team from afar took a good amount of work back then, but I loved it. Buuuuuut I also think I missed most of the major details.

 

The next season, the year Buf lost to Pit in the divisional round after beating Miami at Rich made a little more sense to me, and by 97 when Kelly went down vs Jax I was hooked.

 

But now that I'm older and I look back at the Bills of the 90s, that 1994/95 season sticks out like a sore thumb. The only other year they missed the playoffs that decade was the year Kelly retired, but then they were right back to excellence with Flutie. 

 

Im sure the answer is something like "fatigue" but is that really it? 

To the old timers: did it feel like they had a shot that season? Was there hope going into the season? Or did you think the team was done and needed to retool?

Help put this mystery of my childhood into context for me, anyone, please!

[GRHater69]

The offensive line was a mess in '94. In two successive years they lost Will Wolford and Howard Ballard. They really didn't recover from that. Teams had caught up to the no-huddle attack and they were missing some speed on the outside with Lofton long gone. Also the defense was struggling in '94. Jeff Wright was a good player but was not meant to be a nose tackle and teams out muscled the Bills in the middle all season. Wright had shoulder issues that year an retired after the season. They also needed help in the secondary. They were starting Mickey Washington at corner and he was a backup at best. Add all that in with Walt Corey's bend but don't break philosophy and the D really hurt them in '94.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by GRHater69

[Seasons1992]

It sucked. No SB.

[JESSEFEFFER]

Off hand I would say that John Butler tried to keep the team intact as best he could for one last run. By that time age, free agency salary cap crap and such meant that the end was approaching in some inevitable way.  It was jsut a matter of when.  One big issue that I remember was the decline of the o-line.  The Bills lost both tackles (Wohlford and Ballard) to free agency,  Wohlford in 93 to some shady contract language that prevented the Bills from matching which has since been made illegal.  Ballard was replaced by Jerry Crafts who I likened to a bank vault door swiveling on a hinge.  The Bills got caught without  a decent replacement for Ballard, and Crafts was the weak link of that line who was huge by the standards of 25 years ago but was remarkably slow footed, imo.

[djp14150]

Understand how free agency worked then...

 

Buffalis roster depth got raided over the years.  Thry lost other pkayers to free agency. The biggest one was Eollford.  Wollfords contract had escalator clauses that are now illegal.  He had clauses that guaranteed he would bethe highest player paid on offense .  Not an issue with the colts. But with Buffalo it woukd have bern costly.

They also Lost Ballard there two Tackles were gone.

 

thry also list their top CB in Nate Odomes who left as a UFA.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by djp14150

[JESSEFEFFER]

14 minutes ago, GRHater69 said:

The offensive line was a mess in '94. In two successive years they lost Will Wolford and Howard Ballard. They really didn't recover from that. Teams had caught up to the no-huddle attack and they were missing some speed on the outside with Lofton long gone. Also the defense was struggling in '94. Jeff Wright was a good player but was not meant to be a nose tackle and teams out muscled the Bills in the middle all season. Wright had shoulder issues that year an retired after the season. They also needed help in the secondary. They were starting Mickey Washington at corner and he was a backup at best. Add all that in with Walt Corey's bend but don't break philosophy and the D really hurt them in '94.

 

 

 

Ha!  I took to long to type my answer but at least we agreed on the o-line point.  As to Jeff Wright, he may have been among the Bills best defenders in Super Bowl XXV.  Conlan had a great game too but neither was involved in that Mark Ingram 3rd and 13 play that killed their chance to end that first Giants drive of the 3rd quarter.

[Tuco]

The '94 season was the first season with a salary cap - even though free agency began in 1993. After giving big contracts to Thurman and Bruce, as well as front loading a bunch of other guys in '93 to help with the oncoming cap, the Bills still went into the '94 season almost $10 million over the cap. That doesn't sound like a lot these days, but the cap in '94 was $33.6 mil and the Bills were at $44 mil. So they were about 30% over.  That would be like being almost $60 million over today.

 

Just getting under the cap made it almost impossible to keep their free agents. Having lost Wolford to the original poison pill the year before, the line was further devastated in losing House Ballard and Jim Ritcher. Add in other free agent losses like Nate Odoms and Kirby Jackson and, well, we just weren't as good of a team any more. 

 

 

[SirAndrew]

My earliest memories of the Bills are quite similar to yours. I remember the last two Super Bowls, but the first full season I recall was 94. I’m not sure how accurate my memory is, but I remember thinking Kelly had begun to decline quite significantly. I was too young to fully understand the game, and the team certainly had other issues, but Kelly stood out to me. 

[BADOLBILZ]

2 minutes ago, Tuco said:

The '94 season was the first season with a salary cap - even though free agency began in 1993. After giving big contracts to Thurman and Bruce, as well as front loading a bunch of other guys in '93 to help with the oncoming cap, the Bills still went into the '94 season almost $10 million over the cap. That doesn't sound like a lot these days, but the cap in '94 was $33.6 mil and the Bills were at $44 mil. So they were about 30% over.  That would be like being almost $60 million over today.

 

Just getting under the cap made it almost impossible to keep their free agents. Having lost Wolford to the original poison pill the year before, the line was further devastated in losing House Ballard and Jim Ritcher. Add in other free agent losses like Nate Odoms and Kirby Jackson and, well, we just weren't as good of a team any more. 

 

 

 

 

All true.............but even with that they had finished the previous two AFC playoffs in dominating fashion.........which re-inforced the idea that they would do it again.

 

On December 4 they beat the 8-4 Dolphins in an exciting game in Miami and appeared to be taking control of the AFC East back.

 

The AFC was weak...........it seemed like they were going to catch fire and win out and probably go to another SB(and get beaten by either SF or Dallas who were dominating).

 

The next week reality set in..........they looked tired and flat at home against Minnesota and the notoriously dirty Dungy/Teerlink Vikings hit Kelly with a cheap shot to the knee and that was it.

 

Season over.

 

One forgotten aspect was how awful Frank Reich was filling in for Kelly........they totally unraveled with Frank's feeble game manager skillset after being carried by Kelly all year.

 

After that you stopped hearing all the muttering about how Frank would have done better...........Kelly was respected much more by the fanbase as a whole after that season.     

 

 

[row_33]

Football identifies the year of the season by the date the season started

 

there is no 1994-95 season, you mean the 1994 season

 

and yes.... NFL football playoffs have been in January since around 1965, but college and pro football do not call it a split year like hockey and basketball, which go into June or is it now July?

 

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by row_33

[BADOLBILZ]

48 minutes ago, JESSEFEFFER said:

Off hand I would say that John Butler tried to keep the team intact as best he could for one last run. By that time age, free agency salary cap crap and such meant that the end was approaching in some inevitable way.  It was jsut a matter of when.  One big issue that I remember was the decline of the o-line.  The Bills lost both tackles (Wohlford and Ballard) to free agency,  Wohlford in 93 to some shady contract language that prevented the Bills from matching which has since been made illegal.  Ballard was replaced by Jerry Crafts who I likened to a bank vault door swiveling on a hinge.  The Bills got caught without  a decent replacement for Ballard, and Crafts was the weak link of that line who was huge by the standards of 25 years ago but was remarkably slow footed, imo.

 

 

The worst part of losing Wolford was then watching the NFL hand the Eagles and Cardinals the 13th and 20th picks in round one of THAT 1993 draft just to ease their pain for losing Reggie White and Tim McDonald.    They literally just made up two extra comp picks in the middle of round one for those dudes.

 

The Bills..........who were actually HARMED by the NFL leaving a loophole in the CBA allowing the Colts to create an elevator clause that would cause the Bills to pay Wolford the same as Jim Kelly if they matched..........a tactic that was banned immediately after the Bills lost the ruling..........and they got only the 48th overall pick in THE FOLLOWING draft.   Wolford was worth A LOT more to teams that McDonald and that's before you factor in the league being semi-responsible for Wolford leaving.

 

 

[JESSEFEFFER]

30 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

The worst part of losing Wolford was then watching the NFL hand the Eagles and Cardinals the 13th and 20th picks in round one of THAT 1993 draft just to ease their pain for losing Reggie White and Tim McDonald.    They literally just made up two extra comp picks in the middle of round one for those dudes.

 

The Bills..........who were actually HARMED by the NFL leaving a loophole in the CBA allowing the Colts to create an elevator clause that would cause the Bills to pay Wolford the same as Jim Kelly if they matched..........a tactic that was banned immediately after the Bills lost the ruling..........and they got only the 48th overall pick in THE FOLLOWING draft.   Wolford was worth A LOT more to teams that McDonald and that's before you factor in the league being semi-responsible for Wolford leaving.

 

 

Details long forgotten by me.  Woodford leaving via the means he did hurt.  The fact that there was not an at the replacement for him made the hurt linger.

[Utah John]

The amazing thing is that the Bills stayed as good as they did for so long.  They had a very good team in 1988, going 12-4, winning the AFC East and losing in the AFC championship game. They won the AFC East again in 1989.  They went to the SB in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993.  Six years in a row making the playoffs and really dominating the AFC, and also the NFC East during the regular season.  Really the only team that's been able to surpass that level of sustained dominance is the Patriots. 

 

They probably could have kept it going longer.  They didn't draft all that well in the early 90s, they had the Polian spat with Wilson's daughter, there was Plan B free agency, then Ralph fired John Butler, and the salary cap and inability to keep all the stars.  Kelly finally retired, and we had the Flutie/Johnson drama. Somehow they kept it together pretty well through the end of the decade, but they were definitely trending downward.

 

[DBilz2500]

Kelly regressed sooner than expected, Thurman was nearing the 30 year mark and had clearly lost a step, and our O-Line became a mess overnight. Add on the fact that the no-huddle was starting to get figured out by Def coordinators and you end up with that 7-9 season. 

[Thurmal34]

28 minutes ago, Utah John said:

The amazing thing is that the Bills stayed as good as they did for so long.  They had a very good team in 1988

 

I called it on 8/16. It’s 1988 all over again. Bills lose in AFC championship to a better team. After that, all bets are off.

 

Book your flight for a parade. It’s not going sideways this time. Watch. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

36 minutes ago, Thurmal34 said:

 

I called it on 8/16. It’s 1988 all over again. Bills lose in AFC championship to a better team. After that, all bets are off.

 

Book your flight for a parade. It’s not going sideways this time. Watch. 

That 1988 team was one of my favorite teams. I was absolutely crushed by the loss to the Bengals in the playoffs, but then minutes later, knew next year was our time (with absolute certainty). 1988 just felt like it clicked and we arrived. 

[Thurmal34]

22 minutes ago, JR in Pittsburgh said:

That 1988 team was one of my favorite teams. I was absolutely crushed by the loss to the Bengals in the playoffs, but then minutes later, knew next year was our time (with absolute certainty). 1988 just felt like it clicked and we arrived. 

 They weren’t ready - Bengals were better. Of course if bickering Bills didn’t happen they would have been in SB in 89. Remember hearing stories from Berman about how hard they were partying in 90. #######s.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2019 by Thurmal34

[bbb]

3 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

The worst part of losing Wolford was then watching the NFL hand the Eagles and Cardinals the 13th and 20th picks in round one of THAT 1993 draft just to ease their pain for losing Reggie White and Tim McDonald.    They literally just made up two extra comp picks in the middle of round one for those dudes.

 

The Bills..........who were actually HARMED by the NFL leaving a loophole in the CBA allowing the Colts to create an elevator clause that would cause the Bills to pay Wolford the same as Jim Kelly if they matched..........a tactic that was banned immediately after the Bills lost the ruling..........and they got only the 48th overall pick in THE FOLLOWING draft.   Wolford was worth A LOT more to teams that McDonald and that's before you factor in the league being semi-responsible for Wolford leaving.

 

 

 

I could have sworn we never got compensated for Wolford.  It seemed like they kept delaying it..........I didn't get why Wolford signed that tender.  He was never going to get the kind of money like that on the Colts roster - not in the Jim Kelly range.

 

2 hours ago, JESSEFEFFER said:

Details long forgotten by me.  Woodford leaving via the means he did hurt.  The fact that there was not an at the replacement for him made the hurt linger.

 

John Fina wasn't too bad.  

3 hours ago, row_33 said:

Football identifies the year of the season by the date the season started

 

there is no 1994-95 season, you mean the 1994 season

 

and yes.... NFL football playoffs have been in January since around 1965, but college and pro football do not call it a split year like hockey and basketball, which go into June or is it now July?

 

 

 

Especially since the Bills didn't even play a game in 1995, unfortunately.  

[machine gun kelly]

8 hours ago, GRHater69 said:

The offensive line was a mess in '94. In two successive years they lost Will Wolford and Howard Ballard. They really didn't recover from that. Teams had caught up to the no-huddle attack and they were missing some speed on the outside with Lofton long gone. Also the defense was struggling in '94. Jeff Wright was a good player but was not meant to be a nose tackle and teams out muscled the Bills in the middle all season. Wright had shoulder issues that year an retired after the season. They also needed help in the secondary. They were starting Mickey Washington at corner and he was a backup at best. Add all that in with Walt Corey's bend but don't break philosophy and the D really hurt them in '94.

 

 

 

I couldn’t stand Jeff Wright.  The claim was he was more athletic than Smerlas, but Smerlas was meant to be a 3-4 Nose Tackle.  He clogged the middle just like big old Teddy Washington later in the 90’s.  What was amazing to me was how the all time sack leader in Bruce, was an end in a traditional 3-4 DE.  

 

When the debate over him and White comes up who was fantastic, what Bruce did in this system was nothing short of amazing.  He should go down as the GOAT of DE in the NFL.  I know that was a tangent but just reminded me of those days.

 

What is amazing now is this defense and team is ascending and a dynasty is coming.  Of course would love to win the SB, but if we can convincingly beat the Texans and pay back the Pats if we draw them and beat them in NE.  I can live with losing to KC or Baltimore this year and get more talent for next year,

[BreezeMafia]

8 hours ago, GRHater69 said:

The offensive line was a mess in '94. In two successive years they lost Will Wolford and Howard Ballard. They really didn't recover from that. Teams had caught up to the no-huddle attack and they were missing some speed on the outside with Lofton long gone. Also the defense was struggling in '94. Jeff Wright was a good player but was not meant to be a nose tackle and teams out muscled the Bills in the middle all season. Wright had shoulder issues that year an retired after the season. They also needed help in the secondary. They were starting Mickey Washington at corner and he was a backup at best. Add all that in with Walt Corey's bend but don't break philosophy and the D really hurt them in '94.

 

 

 

Spot on summary of the '94 season.

[BigPappy]

Too all you fan faithfuls that can even remember the 94\95 season, kudos to you. I barely remember seasons from 5 or 6 years ago....forget 24\25 years ago. ?

[RiotAct]

that was also the first season that I followed religiously... doh!

 

Recall clearly attending the game against New England where Ben Coates had like 200 yards receiving against us.  ?

[JESSEFEFFER]

I basically remember who or what I fault when things go poorly.  For some reason that's what sticks with me.

 

37 minutes ago, BigPappy said:

Too all you fan faithfuls that can even remember the 94\95 season, kudos to you. I barely remember seasons from 5 or 6 years ago....forget 24\25 years ago. ?

 

[row_33]

8 hours ago, DBilz2500 said:

Kelly regressed sooner than expected, Thurman was nearing the 30 year mark and had clearly lost a step, and our O-Line became a mess overnight. Add on the fact that the no-huddle was starting to get figured out by Def coordinators and you end up with that 7-9 season. 

they weren’t good with Kelly the first two years, then got to the AFC Championship Game, then flopped with Ronnie Harmon’s oops moment the next season

 

i thought they were done at the time, so getting to the next four SB was a great rebound for me

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

11 hours ago, bbb said:

 

I could have sworn we never got compensated for Wolford.  It seemed like they kept delaying it..........I didn't get why Wolford signed that tender.  He was never going to get the kind of money like that on the Colts roster - not in the Jim Kelly range.

 

 

Yeah in the end the Bills would have matched what he actually got but they had put the transition tag on him so he had to negotiate for it.    It was very irritating that he kind of undermined the Bills AFC dynasty by leaving........they weren't the same offense without him and his loss was bigger than Ballard the following season....... but he was from nearby Louisville KY so he basically was leaving for the team closest to his home.   Still stupid when you are on a 3 time AFC champ.   Unless you care less about winning a SB than playing close to home.    I don't forgive Wolford.   ***** that guy.  He did the Bills and their fans dirty.  He did almost get lucky and get to a SB with Indy in 1995.

[LABILLBACKER]

It just shows you that other then the Patriots unique era of HOF qb/HC and league favoritism, NFL teams do not usually have long windows of success. I think we have one about to start.

[Bermuda Triangle]

15 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

All true.............but even with that they had finished the previous two AFC playoffs in dominating fashion.........which re-inforced the idea that they would do it again.

 

On December 4 they beat the 8-4 Dolphins in an exciting game in Miami and appeared to be taking control of the AFC East back.

 

The AFC was weak...........it seemed like they were going to catch fire and win out and probably go to another SB(and get beaten by either SF or Dallas who were dominating).

 

The next week reality set in..........they looked tired and flat at home against Minnesota and the notoriously dirty Dungy/Teerlink Vikings hit Kelly with a cheap shot to the knee and that was it.

 

Season over.

 

One forgotten aspect was how awful Frank Reich was filling in for Kelly........they totally unraveled with Frank's feeble game manager skillset after being carried by Kelly all year.

 

After that you stopped hearing all the muttering about how Frank would have done better...........Kelly was respected much more by the fanbase as a whole after that season.     

 

 

The Bills were never 8-4 that season....in fact, they didn't even win 8 games on the season, as they finished 7-9.    The Bills were 7-6 after they beat Miami, and both Miami and NE finished 10-6.

 

Also, while Reich certainly didn't play well in the final 2 games, he wasn't "awful"

[billsfan89]

13 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

It just shows you that other then the Patriots unique era of HOF qb/HC and league favoritism, NFL teams do not usually have long windows of success. I think we have one about to start.

 

A window for success in the NFL is usually about 2-3 seasons unless you have a great QB (and even then you will ebb and flow as the team has to adjust to paying a QB a lot of money.) Everyone thought that after 2013 the Seahawks were going to run off multiple Super Bowls and have this long window of success. After 2014 and that brutal loss in the Super Bowl to the Pats they went 4 straight years with 10 or less wins and not getting out of the divisional round. 

 

I think the Bills have a 2 maybe year window with Josh on his rookie deal to have a high degree of success. BUT if Josh can't develop into a top 10 QB this team will fall quickly under the weight of retaining talent and quickly find its self in a rebuild. A lot rides on how good Josh can be. Even the Seahawks recent success has post 2014 has been because Russell Wilson is the real deal at QB. Their defense up until this season has been far from elite in a long time. 

[TheBrownBear]

We somehow got swept by a bad Jets team and I recall the Thanksgiving day loss to the Lions being a real killer with Kelly throwing a pick six to ice it.  We also turned the ball over a bunch that season. 

 

Actually, just checked the stats and it looks like the big difference was turnovers forced.  We forced 47 in 1993 and only 28 in 1994.  The offense was petty much the same from 93 to 94, at least statistically. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by TheBrownBear

[DC Tom]

17 hours ago, djp14150 said:

Understand how free agency worked then...

 

Buffalis roster depth got raided over the years.  Thry lost other pkayers to free agency. The biggest one was Eollford.  Wollfords contract had escalator clauses that are now illegal.  He had clauses that guaranteed he would bethe highest player paid on offense .  Not an issue with the colts. But with Buffalo it woukd have bern costly.

They also Lost Ballard there two Tackles were gone.

 

thry also list their top CB in Nate Odomes who left as a UFA.

 

 

 

 

 

Did you type this with mittens on?

[2003Contenders]

That was a very interesting season, and I remember many of those games well:

 

-- The season started off on the wrong foot right away with an upset loss to the Jets at home. That was the game where Thurman supposedly said some off-putting things to a young fan after the game.

 

-- The shootout against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day that ended with a Kelly pick-sick in the final seconds.

 

-- Kelly and  Reed having a highly publicized argument on the sidelines of a MNF game against Pittsburgh. The following week against Green Bay, Reed set the (then) NFL record for the most receptions in a game.

 

-- Although Miami won the division, the Bills went on the sweep them in the regular season.

 

-- In another back-and-forth game against the Vikings, Kelly went down with a knee injury. Reich was unable to lead the Bills to victory -- and lost the final two games filling in for Kelly.

 

-- The defense was really bad that year. In fact, when the season was over, Marv finally fired the DC and brought in Wade. 

[billsfan89]

5 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Other than New England and maybe Pittsburgh I have to think Seattle has been the best team in the league record wise over the past 8 or so years.... They really should have 2 Super Bowl victories if not for a cluster ***** call..... either way I would absolutely take the success the Seahawks have had recently.

 

Otherwise I agree, a perennial winner now a days really hinges on good QB play and good coaching. Seahawks have both. 

 

I guess my point was that had Russell Wilson not ended up being a top 5 QB the Seahawks would have quickly been a losing team after winning the Super Bowl in 2013. Their defense began to erode after the 2014 season when injuries, age, and free agency took their toll. They were still a good defense in 2015 but by 2016 the cracks started to show. Granted just as their defense and surrounding parts began to erode Wilson began to ascend. 

 

That's why I think the Bills window for sustained success beyond 2 seasons will be defined by continued good drafting and Josh improving. 

[bbb]

9 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

 

I couldn’t stand Jeff Wright.  The claim was he was more athletic than Smerlas, but Smerlas was meant to be a 3-4 Nose Tackle.  He clogged the middle just like big old Teddy Washington later in the 90’s.  What was amazing to me was how the all time sack leader in Bruce, was an end in a traditional 3-4 DE.  

 

When the debate over him and White comes up who was fantastic, what Bruce did in this system was nothing short of amazing.  He should go down as the GOAT of DE in the NFL.  I know that was a tangent but just reminded me of those days.

 

 

 

I actually saw this discussed a few months ago on some national football show.  But, somebody said "Come on, Cornelius Bennett was acting like another defensive end in those days"  Which was a point I hadn't thought about. 

 

40 minutes ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

The Bills were never 8-4 that season....in fact, they didn't even win 8 games on the season, as they finished 7-9.    The Bills were 7-6 after they beat Miami, and both Miami and NE finished 10-6.

 

 

For some reason, I read that exactly as you did, and was going to reply to it last night.  But, then I re-read it and he's saying Miami was that team that was 8-4.  

[Bermuda Triangle]

Just now, bbb said:

 

 

 

 

For some reason, I read that exactly as you did, and was going to reply to it last night.  But, then I re-read it and he's saying Miami was that team that was 8-4.  

Whoops...

[Big Turk]

17 hours ago, GRHater69 said:

The offensive line was a mess in '94. In two successive years they lost Will Wolford and Howard Ballard. They really didn't recover from that. Teams had caught up to the no-huddle attack and they were missing some speed on the outside with Lofton long gone. Also the defense was struggling in '94. Jeff Wright was a good player but was not meant to be a nose tackle and teams out muscled the Bills in the middle all season. Wright had shoulder issues that year an retired after the season. They also needed help in the secondary. They were starting Mickey Washington at corner and he was a backup at best. Add all that in with Walt Corey's bend but don't break philosophy and the D really hurt them in '94.

 

 

 

In addition the previous year Thurman had 355 rushes during the regular season and was never the same after that. 

 

He had 3 more consecutive 1000 yard seasons but never cracked 1100 yards and averaged under 4 YPC for all 3 years...

 

It would appear all those carries in the regular season and playoffs and the heavy overuse in 1993 finally took its toll on Thurman.

[Bermuda Triangle]

5 minutes ago, 2003Contenders said:

That was a very interesting season, and I remember many of those games well:

 

-- The shootout against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day that ended with a Kelly pick-sick in the final seconds.

 

-- The defense was really bad that year. In fact, when the season was over, Marv finally fired the DC and brought in Wade. 

 

The defense did a great job against Barry Sanders on Turkey Day, but made Dave Kreig look like a first-ballot HOFer.

[RocCityRoller]

21 hours ago, GRHater69 said:

The offensive line was a mess in '94. In two successive years they lost Will Wolford and Howard Ballard. They really didn't recover from that. Teams had caught up to the no-huddle attack and they were missing some speed on the outside with Lofton long gone. Also the defense was struggling in '94. Jeff Wright was a good player but was not meant to be a nose tackle and teams out muscled the Bills in the middle all season. Wright had shoulder issues that year an retired after the season. They also needed help in the secondary. They were starting Mickey Washington at corner and he was a backup at best. Add all that in with Walt Corey's bend but don't break philosophy and the D really hurt them in '94.

 

Great synopsis.

 

Funny how the replies are Thurman got old, Kelly struggled, Reich stunk are littered in here. The underlying problem on offense was the OL. This is exactly why old timers and mid old timers keep pounding the table to continuously improve the OL. That team had lost 3/5ths of its 1987-1993 run.

 

John Fina (LT), Corbin Lacina (LG) and Glenn Parker (RT) were no replacement for

Will Wolford (LT), Jim Ritcher (LG) and Howard Ballard (RT)

 

They could not run the counter or draw the same, or set up screens as well.

 

The fact Jim Kelly did as well as he did behind that line is a testament to Jim Kelly.

 

In the backfield you had Mickey Washington, a rookie Thomas Smith and Matt Darby trying to replace JD Williams, Nate Odomes and Mark Kelso.

 

Can't lose 3/5ths of your very good starting OL and 3/4 of your solid DBs and succeed.

[LB48]

13 hours ago, BillsinChesterSprings said:

 

Spot on summary of the '94 season.

At the break the Bills were 5-3.  A loss to Detroit on T-Day was unbearable to watch.  They lost the last 3 games of the season and that was that.

[Livinginthepast]

There are only 2 things I truly remember about this awful season. 1. The Thanksgiving turkey that the Bills served up vs Detroit where they got embarrassed. 2. After the Bills were eliminated from playoff contention, the almost national celebration by Bills haters that we wouldn't be going back to ruin another SB . For me I can remember the disappointment that we had 4 chances to win a SB and we blew it. Although we did come back in 1995 and we were 1 win away from the AFC championship, it was never really the same.

[Buftex]

13 hours ago, BigPappy said:

Too all you fan faithfuls that can even remember the 94\95 season, kudos to you. I barely remember seasons from 5 or 6 years ago....forget 24\25 years ago. ?

Been watching the Bills since 1972, when I was 7. I have missed only one game since 1987 (the trouncing by the Colts in 1989 that lead to the birth of the "bickering Bills".  I swear to to you, i can remember vividly the OJ seasons, the "talkin' proud" years of the Chuck Knox, the misery of the mid-80's, the Super Bowl years, Flutie/Johnson wars...I remember the seasons, the games....but after about 2004, the seasons are just a blur to me...I have a hard time differentiating all the 6-10, 7-9 seasons....the other day,  Schoop mentioned Kyle Orton, and I had almost completely forgotten that he played for us...all the losing takes its' toll.  The McBeane era, so far, has been a blast...