Cleveland 1989

[SectionC3]

Ask a friend if you’re too young to remember.  But this is where we’re at right now.  I remember being ill after the Ronnie Harmon drop and losing that game.  But we all knew we were on to something.  We discovered the no huddle.  Cleveland was one of the big dogs in that era and, just like yesterday, their fans left that game knowing that the Bills were really, really, really good.  

 

Yesterday we confirmed that we have the best quarterback in the league (you read that right, Mahomes fans).  We know there is a paper thin margin between the best team in the league and us. We also know now, just like the 1989 Bills, what it’s like to be the “hunted” and how important it is to bring our best every week.  Buckle up.  It’s going to be a great ride, and this team is only going to get better.  Go Bills. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by SectionC3

[Warcodered]

I just kind of have this feeling that Josh is going to be a ***** monster next year.

[SectionC3]

2 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

I just kind of have this feeling that Josh is going to be a ***** monster next year.

He’s a monster now.  And I agree with you.  Next year is going to be special.  This kid has it all.  He’s a great leader.  Best QB in football.  We will be in every game for the next 10 years.  We will crack the Mahomes nut sooner or later.  Probably sooner, actually, because Kelce is what makes them tick and he’s getting older.  

[Warcodered]

1 minute ago, SectionC3 said:

He’s a monster now.  And I agree with you.  Next year is going to be special.  This kid has it all.  He’s a great leader.  Best QB in football.  We will be in every game for the next 10 years.  We will crack the Mahomes nut sooner or later.  Probably sooner, actually, because Kelce is what makes them tick and he’s getting older.  

I mean I know what you mean, Josh has been great essentially all year, but he was a Monster in the playoffs, the only way he was beaten was by not getting to have the ball in his hands at the end.

[teef]

if nothing else we know that last year was absolutely not a fluke year for allen, and he's worth every penny he makes.  i understand the sting of the loss, but this team will be just fine going forward.  they'll compete for the sb every year.  we need to be patient and understand that every year will be a new opportunity.

[CincyBillsFan]

1 minute ago, Warcodered said:

I mean I know what you mean, Josh has been great essentially all year, but he was a Monster in the playoffs, the only way he was beaten was by not getting to have the ball in his hands at the end.

And it started in the unofficial "playoff" game against NE to grab back control of the division.  The Bill's sleep walked through the next two games which ere played in snow and against the Jets , intense wind.

 

Something seemed to click in Allen starting with the 2nd NE game. He was taking check downs as long as they offered them up and then when the safeties creeped up he unloaded his howitzer. He also used his legs to devastating effect.

 

 

[Bleedbuffaloblue]

13 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

I just kind of have this feeling that Josh is going to be a ***** monster next year.

Absolutely! I have a feeling Josh is going to come back next season with the attitude we WILL win every game. No more going on the road in the playoffs!

[Success]

Josh Allen is so far beyond anything I expected.

 

Sorry to make this comparison - but he is a bit like Brady in his determination & competitiveness.  He was just willing us to victory yesterday - just finding ways.  There just isn't anything he can do about it when he's not on the field, but I think if he had gotten the ball back w/ 13 seconds left, he would have done the same thing as Mahomes.

 

Guys like that win Super Bowls.  We're going to get there.

 

[TheBrownBear]

I honestly thought that Josh was going to be a "monster" this year.  I thought he'd go for something like 45 TDs/5 Ints and a 15-2 regular season record.  We finally saw that Josh late in the season and into the playoffs.  Lets hope we can just pick up where we left off this September (with some improvements, of course, and a healthy Tre).

2 minutes ago, Success said:

Josh Allen is so far beyond anything I expected.

 

Sorry to make this comparison - but he is a bit like Brady in his determination & competitiveness.  He was just willing us to victory yesterday - just finding ways.  There just isn't anything he can do about it when he's not on the field, but I think if he had gotten the ball back w/ 13 seconds left, he would have done the same thing as Mahomes.

 

Guys like that win Super Bowls.  We're going to get there.

 

I agree.  The last guy to touch the ball was going to win that game.  No doubt in my mind that Josh was going to conjure up whatever was needed when he got the ball back.  Unfortunately, we were on the short end of the clock and the coin flip.

[Wyobills89]

I agree with Josh going to be a monster next year. He never stops working, already planning on being with palmer. I'm sure he is sick of going to Missouri. I fully believe he is going to have a season we haven't ever seen next year. Next level mvp type. 

[out]

Cleveland loss was due to a poor play by a player who was run out of town. Yesterday was  caused by ineffective coaching that will be here for the foreseeable future

[Talley56]

We finally might be on to something when we say "wait til next year"

[LittleSammy]

37 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

Ask a friend if you’re too young to remember.  But this is where we’re at right now.  I remember being ill after the Ronnie Harmon drop and losing that game.  But we all knew we were on to something.  We discovered the no huddle.  Cleveland was one of the big dogs in that era and, just like yesterday, their fans left that game knowing that the Bills were really, really, really good.  

 

Yesterday we confirmed that we have the best quarterback in the league (you read that right, Mahomes fans).  We know there is a paper thin margin between the best team in the league and us. We also know now, just like the 1989 Bills, what it’s like to be the “hunted” and how important it is to bring our best every week.  Buckle up.  It’s going to be a great ride, and this team is only going to get better.  Go Bills. 

I was at that game in Cleveland. The Browns fans stoned our bus, put batteries in rags/lit them on fire and tossed them at us. Nothing like the ambiance of a game in Cleveland! The Harmon drop ripped our hearts out. It felt almost as bad as last night. But, life goes on and we will live to fight another day.

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

2 minutes ago, tenderland said:

Cleveland loss was due to a poor play by a player who was run out of town. Yesterday was  caused by ineffective coaching that will be here for the foreseeable future

Was just about to say this. Not only that, but the coach won’t even admit the mistakes. He was asked about the final 13sec 3 times in the post game presser, but refused to answer each time. 

[Big Turk]

42 minutes ago, SectionC3 said:

Ask a friend if you’re too young to remember.  But this is where we’re at right now.  I remember being ill after the Ronnie Harmon drop and losing that game.  But we all knew we were on to something.  We discovered the no huddle.  Cleveland was one of the big dogs in that era and, just like yesterday, their fans left that game knowing that the Bills were really, really, really good.  

 

Yesterday we confirmed that we have the best quarterback in the league (you read that right, Mahomes fans).  We know there is a paper thin margin between the best team in the league and us. We also know now, just like the 1989 Bills, what it’s like to be the “hunted” and how important it is to bring our best every week.  Buckle up.  It’s going to be a great ride, and this team is only going to get better.  Go Bills. 

 

I've been saying this since like mid season when the Bills didn't seem to know how to match the intensity of other teams giving their best shot to them...much like 89

[4_kidd_4]

Someday we’ll all let go of the ancient history comparisons.

 

I, for one, welcome that day.

[Helpmenow]

My damn brother has E. metcalf TD football that he dropped in front of him at the goal line. My brother was a photographer for United Press at the time. Damn curse

[SectionC3]

44 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Someday we’ll all let go of the ancient history comparisons.

 

I, for one, welcome that day.

Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.  And this is just like 1989, for what it’s worth.  Just like that season, there was friction within the team and we diddled around most of the year until we figured it out. And by then it was too late. 

1 hour ago, tenderland said:

Cleveland loss was due to a poor play by a player who was run out of town. Yesterday was  caused by ineffective coaching that will be here for the foreseeable future

Daboll is out of here, if you’re referring to the fact that we were on 22 points 58 minutes into the game. Frazier … ugh.   

[bills6969]

It’s so hard to win a Super Bowl (stating the obvious, I know).  

There are some many good, young QBs in the AFC, it’s going to be a dogfight every year to come out on top:

 

Allen

Mahomes

Burrow

Herbert

Jackson

 

On top of that,  you need health and a little bit of luck.  
 

Next year’s schedule is brutal.  Really can’t afford to drop any gimmes (ie like Jax this year) as the key will be to get homefield advantage in the playoffs.

[Reed83HOF]

1 hour ago, SectionC3 said:

He’s a monster now.  And I agree with you.  Next year is going to be special.  This kid has it all.  He’s a great leader.  Best QB in football.  We will be in every game for the next 10 years.  We will crack the Mahomes nut sooner or later.  Probably sooner, actually, because Kelce is what makes them tick and he’s getting older.  

It's Hill that is the issue, look at the catch he caught and took it to the house. No other WR in the league makes that play. It's his speed that you have to account for to make sure you don't get burned and that does open things for Kelce. Kelce is a normal TE (he's great), but he is nowhere near the threat Hill is, who is the unicorn. The matchup becomes much more normalized without him...

[Tim Tindale]

1 hour ago, tenderland said:

Cleveland loss was due to a poor play by a player who was run out of town. Yesterday was  caused by ineffective coaching that will be here for the foreseeable future

That’s not what everyone was saying then. It was the ‘Bickering Bills’ year and people thought Marv lost the locker room, with some players mailing it in in Cleveland. The difference is that there wasn’t social media and 24-7 sports news turning the volume up on 11 in the aftermath like today.  
 

What I remember about that game is that Thurman and Kelly were unstoppable, and I kept thinking these guys have to be “The Ones” that take us there. 
 

The OP is definitely onto something, in my view.  That 1988-1989 journey of learning how to win, learning to be the hunted, learning how to impose your will - feels analogous to the 2020-2021 experience.  The Josh Allen I saw the last month looks like another level, a la Kelly around that same timeframe. 

[Ray Stonada]

I love this post, OP.

 

Everyone says 2021 has nothing to do with 1989.

 

But the analogy works well.

 

Josh last year was elite, but in two games against the best (KC), he underwhelmed.

 

This year he played lights out, calmly, in both KC games.

 

That’s incredible growth.

 

I see us in the Super Bowl multiple times in the next five seasons. 

[out]

1 hour ago, Tim Tindale said:

That’s not what everyone was saying then. It was the ‘Bickering Bills’ year and people thought Marv lost the locker room, with some players mailing it in in Cleveland. The difference is that there wasn’t social media and 24-7 sports news turning the volume up on 11 in the aftermath like today.  
 

What I remember about that game is that Thurman and Kelly were unstoppable, and I kept thinking these guys have to be “The Ones” that take us there. 
 

The OP is definitely onto something, in my view.  That 1988-1989 journey of learning how to win, learning to be the hunted, learning how to impose your will - feels analogous to the 2020-2021 experience.  The Josh Allen I saw the last month looks like another level, a la Kelly around that same timeframe. 

 

This is  GREAT response However the bills did have Bruce Smith

[SectionC3]

22 minutes ago, tenderland said:

 

This is  GREAT response However the bills did have Bruce Smith

Another fair point.  And one I thought of when I started the thread.  In the flip side, this iteration of the Bills has Josh Allen.  Kelly was great, but this kid is the best QB the franchise has ever seen.  

[Tim Tindale]

1 hour ago, SectionC3 said:

Another fair point.  And one I thought of when I started the thread.  In the flip side, this iteration of the Bills has Josh Allen.  Kelly was great, but this kid is the best QB the franchise has ever seen.  

They had Bruce, but another thing people don’t remember about the 1988-1989 seasons. This was circulating. That 1989 year was one thing after another:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-11-sp-260-story.html?_amp=true

[SectionC3]

10 hours ago, Tim Tindale said:

They had Bruce, but another thing people don’t remember about the 1988-1989 seasons. This was circulating. That 1989 year was one thing after another:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-11-sp-260-story.html?_amp=true

It was.  Kind of like this year, with all of the fires in social media. Not quite the same, but close.  
 

Bottom line for this year is that the last game should have been played in Buffalo.  But we screwed up the Titans game, the Steelers game, and the Jags game.  Frankly a lot of where we are now falls on McD.  Not for strategy at the end of the Chiefs game (it’s debatable, but the chiefs screwed a lot of stuff up too in that game and we never should have been in position to win with 13 seconds remaining).   But for the body of work this year.  The team itself lacked that killer instinct.  Sort of like 1989.  We are in the cusp of something great.  Enjoy the ride, because the next five years are going g to have some pretty great “ups.”  Can’t wait. 

[JMF2006]

16 hours ago, SectionC3 said:

He’s a monster now.  And I agree with you.  Next year is going to be special.  This kid has it all.  He’s a great leader.  Best QB in football.  We will be in every game for the next 10 years.  We will crack the Mahomes nut sooner or later.  Probably sooner, actually, because Kelce is what makes them tick and he’s getting older.  

 

The wrong side of 30 for TE is not optimum  

 

He might have 1 or 2 years left.

 

[zow2]

I like the analogies comparing stuff that has happened in the past to stuff we have experienced now.   However, that's where it ends.  You can't project anything forward.  The Bills have come close 2 straight years.  With coaching changes, players turnover, other teams getting better, injuries, etc..  we could experience a regression next season, OR they could be amazing.  Nothing from 30+ years ago will have any bearing on 2022-2023.