For some of you young, spoiled fans, here’s what the rest of us had to deal with. 1984 Buffalo Bills

[Sierra Foothills]

5 hours ago, billsfan714 said:

Following this team for over 50 years, I can say without hesitation that no Bills fan is spoiled.

 

45 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I’m not sure what was worse.  The teams of the mid 80s or those from ‘69-‘71.

 

AI is useful for some things...

 

"The Buffalo Bills' worst five-year stretch, based on win percentage, was from 1967 to 1971, with a 19% win rate. During this period, they had records of 4-10, 1-12-1, 4-10, 3-10-1, and 1-13 for a total record of 13-55-2."

 

Over a 17 game schedule this would be the equivalent of the Bills averaging 3.3 wins and 13.7 losses per season.

 

Imagine winning less than once every 5 games over a five season period.

 

Let that sink in next time you want to whine about McBeane.

 

[chris heff]

17 minutes ago, folz said:

 

 

Yeah, I was at that Dallas game too. The win was euphoric after what we had been through. I was sitting in the upper deck with a buddy and his dad. We had almost the entire section to ourselves. There were maybe two other guys down 7-8 rows and over 20 seats, and a couple more people maybe like 20 rows in front of us. I mean the upper deck was sparse of people. And more than a few fans at the game wore brown bags over their heads (in embarrassment of the team).

 

 

No question the 17-year drought was tough and obviously longer. But, I don't think you guys appreciate how truly bad those earlier years were.

 

1976: We go 2-12 and coach Saban is replaced by Jim Ringo

1977: We go 3-11, and O.J. gets traded away to San Francisco

1978: We go 5-11...but there is some hope with new coach Chuck Knox.

1979: We improve to 7-9.

1980: We finally have a team, under Knox's direction, and go 11-5, making the playoffs (but losing our first playoff game in the divisional round).

1981: Success under Knox continues with a 10-6 season, a playoff berth, and our first playoff win since 1966 in the Wild Card game (lost in div round).

1982: Strike shortened year. We go 4-5. And Chuck Knox leaves Buffalo. If you youngins never lived through a strike year, let me tell you. it's not fun. Lost games, scab players, etc. A strike year alone feels like 2-3 years of the drought at least.

1983: Welcome aboard coach Kay Stevenson 🤦‍♂️. We draft Jim Kelly #14 overall and he refuses to play in Buffalo (because we're so bad). He leaves for the USFL and the Bills go 8-8.

1984: 2-14

1985: 2-14 Stevenson is dumped and we bring on coach Hank Bullough 🤦‍♂️. 

1986: There is hope with the return of Jim Kelly, but we go 4-12 and change coaches mid-season, hiring some unknown coach who was a special teams coordinator for the Chiefs (Marv Levy).

1987: Marv's first (almost) full year we go 7-8, in another strike shortened year. Yes, two strikes, two shortened seasons in 6 years.

[1988 would be the start of the 90s Bills team as we knew it.]

 

So, it wasn't a playoff drought (thanks to Chuck Knox in 1980 and 1981), but it was 12 pretty rough years overall (not just two bad years). I grew up in Rochester, the stadium never sold out, so there was a TV blackout for most of the games. Which meant if you didn't go to the game, you had to listen to it on the radio. I probably heard more games than I saw during some of those years.

 

Our winning percentage during the drought was .412%.

Our winning percentage during these 12 years was .361% (despite making the playoffs 2 years).

 

It was bad times. Six seasons with 4 or fewer wins. Seven seasons with 5 or fewer wins. Two strikes. Six different coaches in 12 years. 

During the drought, we only had two seasons with 4 or fewer wins. Three seasons with 5 or fewer wins (in 17 years rather than 12). Six coaches in 17 years.

 

Both periods were rough (as was '67-'72, as OldMan pointed out, though I was not around/too young to remember those years).

 

Marv was head coach of the Chiefs 1978-1982.

[folz]

2 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Marv was head coach of the Chiefs 1978-1982.

 

Ah yes, thanks for the correction.

[3rdand12]

40 minutes ago, chris heff said:

I was at a game at the old Rockpile when the Bills ran out of QBs, they had to use Ed Rutkowski.

Wow

Good ole days

 

Our Bills have been a long series of trial and tribulation , and more

These are the days to be happy and celebrate !

[chris heff]

2 minutes ago, folz said:

 

Ah yes, thanks for the correction.

And Marv and Bill Polian worked together in KC and Montreal.

[oldmanfan]

12 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

AI is useful for some things...

 

"The Buffalo Bills' worst five-year stretch, based on win percentage, was from 1967 to 1971, with a 19% win rate. During this period, they had records of 4-10, 1-12-1, 4-10, 3-10-1, and 1-13 for a total record of 13-55-2."

 

Over a 17 game schedule this would be the equivalent of the Bills averaging 3.3 wins and 13.7 losses per season.

 

Imagine winning less than once every 5 games over a five season period.

 

Let that sink in next time you want to whine about McBeane.

 

I was a teenager back then.  And those teams were awful.

[chris heff]

13 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

I was a teenager back then.  And those teams were awful.

In 1968 the starting QBs were Jack Kemp, who was done and got injured. Dan Darragh, who started the majority of games, coincidentally he played for Marv Levy at William and Mary, he got injured. Next up Tom Flores, who was acquired in the worst trade ever made, injured. Then the aforementioned Kay Stevenson, who they traded a fifth round pick for, also injured. Finally running back Ed Rutkowski who had been cut earlier, because he wasn’t a very good running back, so they brought him back to play quarterback, which he was worse at. The silver lining is that this mess led to the first pick, OJ Simpson, who was a psychopathic murderer, that was good at football. 

[oldmanfan]

3 minutes ago, chris heff said:

In 1968 the starting QBs were Jack Kemp, who was done and got injured. Dan Darragh, who started the majority of games, coincidentally he played for Marv Levy at William and Mary, he got injured. Next up Tom Flores, who was acquired in the worst trade ever made, injured. Then the aforementioned Kay Stevenson, who they traded a fifth round pick for, also injured. Finally running back Ed Rutkowski who had been cut earlier, because he wasn’t a very good running back, so they brought him back to play quarterback, which he was worse at. The silver lining is that this mess led to the first pick, OJ Simpson, who was a psychopathic murderer, that was good at football. 

And OJ had as HCs the genius John Rauch who wanted to use him as a receiver and decoy, followed by Harvey Johnson who was Ralph’s friend and knew squat about football.  If only Lou had never left.

[chris heff]

10 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

And OJ had as HCs the genius John Rauch who wanted to use him as a receiver and decoy, followed by Harvey Johnson who was Ralph’s friend and knew squat about football.  If only Lou had never left.

Except Lou was nuts, he quit the Bills twice and had 18 different head coaching positions in professional, college and high school football.

[oldmanfan]

23 minutes ago, chris heff said:

Except Lou was nuts, he quit the Bills twice and had 18 different head coaching positions in professional, college and high school football.

Very true

[Chandler#81]

3 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

AI is useful for some things...

 

"The Buffalo Bills' worst five-year stretch, based on win percentage, was from 1967 to 1971, with a 19% win rate. During this period, they had records of 4-10, 1-12-1, 4-10, 3-10-1, and 1-13 for a total record of 13-55-2."

 

Over a 17 game schedule this would be the equivalent of the Bills averaging 3.3 wins and 13.7 losses per season.

 

Imagine winning less than once every 5 games over a five season period.

 

Let that sink in next time you want to whine about McBeane.

 

Sadly,  I have vivid memories of those seasons, but I stayed true blue.

[Orlando Buffalo]

4 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

 

AI is useful for some things...

 

"The Buffalo Bills' worst five-year stretch, based on win percentage, was from 1967 to 1971, with a 19% win rate. During this period, they had records of 4-10, 1-12-1, 4-10, 3-10-1, and 1-13 for a total record of 13-55-2."

 

Over a 17 game schedule this would be the equivalent of the Bills averaging 3.3 wins and 13.7 losses per season.

 

Imagine winning less than once every 5 games over a five season period.

 

Let that sink in next time you want to whine about McBeane.

 

So glad I wasn't born till 77 and never really watched football religiously until 1987.