You gotta love the flutie magic

[Beerball]

I honestly didn't know there were Bills fans who didn't like Doug Flutie until I joined this board. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

It's really not so much that I dislike Flutie...well, I do, but not in a "I hope he gets run over by a rusty truck that dragging a maggot infested smelly dead carcass" kind of way.

 

It's just all you flakes that really piss me off.

[thebandit27]

Bandit, I was at the 1998 week 3 game against the Rams which dropped us in an 0-3 hole. I worked in the Bflo sports media at the time. It was doom and gloom. The sky was falling. Tickets were not selling despite Erkie Kailbourne's efforts in the "Business backs the Bills" campaign. Without the winning streak and the Flutie-Mania, we would not have sold those suites and club seating IMO. Certainly the campaign was not going forward until he led the Bills to that string of victories and businesses started buying the preferred seating. In my mind and in the mind of many other respected observers, Flutie did save the franchise. Furthermore, if there was even the possibility that this was true, then you should be very grateful to the man who at the very least, helped to save the franchise that you love.

 

Secondly I don't see anyone comparing him to Montana/Brady/Manning/Unitas. I compared him to Fran Tarkenton and Jeff Garcia, two excellent QBs who always seem to find a way to win. No one is saying Flutie is a Hall of Famer. But it would be silly to argue that he hasn't been the best quarterback in Buffalo in the last ten years.

 

I've always respected you as a poster but IMO you are very wrong here.

 

Appreciate the words, SJ. I remember the time quite well...

 

Flutie was the focal point from the media standpoint, yes. However, there was much more to why that team won games than Flutie. He was an adequate QB, better than the other guy, which was all Buffalo needed at the time to put a winning team on the field. My personal belief is that any player that was able to manage the game would've gotten the same fan response, as long as the team was winning. Does that diminish his W-L record in the least? Absolutely not, but it does--in my opinion--lend some perspective to the idea that one man saved the franchise. I've always felt that the team could've easily obtained the $4M in revenue that they needed by simply selling the naming rights to the stadium, and I personally believe that would've happened had the team not gone on said winning streak.

 

As for the all-time-greats comparison, here's an example:

 

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?s=&am...t&p=1457666

 

Sorry, but he wasn't and was never going to be "one of the best". And if "all he ever did was win", why couldn't he win at home against Vinny and the Jets for the AFC East title in '98, or at Miami in the playoffs that same year, when it mattered the most? I think that too many people perceive that he was a far better player than he actually was.

 

Am I glad he played well for Buffalo? Yes. Do I have a sense of gratitude toward him for single-handedly keeping the team here? No. It's a team game, and the team needed a guy that was better than Rob Johnson. He happened to be the guy, and thus the fan base latched onto him.

[The Senator]

Am I glad he played well for Buffalo? Yes. Do I have a sense of gratitude toward him for single-handedly keeping the team here? No. It's a team game, and the team needed a guy that was better than Rob Johnson. He happened to be the guy, and thus the fan base latched onto him.

POS > RJ.

[thebandit27]

POS > RJ.

 

LOL, that was sort of my point Senator.

 

[PromoTheRobot]

The Music City Miracle should have never come down to the last play of the game. RJ was absolutely abysmal until the final drive. He was sacked 6 times (including one for a safety) and flat out sucked. He completed only 45% of this passes and averaged a whopping 3.4 yds per pass attempt. If it wasn't for the fact that the Bills held the Titans to 194 yds of total offense and Antowain Smith actually had a decent game, we wouldn't have even been in there.

Flutie had his playoff game in 1999...He had the ball at the Dolphins 1yd line line with seconds left...he was sacked and he fumbled the ball...EPIC FAIL! So please spare me how Flutie would have won the Tennessee game for us. He lost his big playoff start for the Bills.

 

PTR

[extrahammer]

Flutie had his playoff game in 1999...He had the ball at the Dolphins 1yd line line with seconds left...he was sacked and he fumbled the ball...EPIC FAIL! So please spare me how Flutie would have won the Tennessee game for us. He lost his big playoff start for the Bills.

 

PTR

 

To sit here and debate whether or not he was a product of the system or "got by with a great defense" is like talking to a pile of bricks. RJ had his shot, he failed. Flutie got his shot and made something of it. If you want to get specific and detailed about it, Flutie did about 100,000 times better than RJ did.

 

He was the best option for the team, yet, some fans have a bitter regard for the man. Maybe they have tall man syndrome or maybe they have delusionitis. Whatever the case for them may be, when push comes to shove and when pen hits paper, Flutie rocked RJ's world upside down.

 

Hope this helps!

[Ramius]

Can someone refresh my memory as to how many playoff wins the great "winning" QB led the Bills to?

[extrahammer]

Can someone refresh my memory as to how many playoff wins the great "winning" QB led the Bills to?

 

Oh brother....

[WellDressed]

Ain't nothin like a gay lisp baby, ain't nothin like a gay lisp!!!

[WellDressed]

Flutie would have been a damn good rickshaw runner........that's about it.

[Cornerville]

So Fat Stupid Lazy Load Jason Peters undeservedly gets 'named' to the Pro Bowl - based soley on name recognition, and despite leading the league in sacks-allowed - and folks claim he's God-like, while Flutie wins Comeback Player of the Year Award and Pro Bowl honors but folks say he just wasn't very good.

 

Love the consistency.

 

 

Let's see how you are saying that when he is at a dominant level in Philly as the Eagles march to the Super Bowl.

[The Senator]

Let's see how you are saying that when he is at a dominant level in Philly as the Eagles march to the Super Bowl.

Not gonna happen. The imagination's a wonderful thing, but Peters' decline as an elite NFL LT has already begun, and the Eagles aren't going to Miami in February as anything but spectators.

[GR8PRKN]

I was no fan. His second year as a starter here was no where near the 1st.

 

I think you are crazy! Flutie rocked

[reddogblitz]

Flutie had his playoff game in 1999...He had the ball at the Dolphins 1yd line line with seconds left...he was sacked and he fumbled the ball...EPIC FAIL! So please spare me how Flutie would have won the Tennessee game for us. He lost his big playoff start for the Bills.

 

PTR

 

Yeah it's true he (and the rest of the team) lost that winnable game. But really, this was with a coach Wade Phillips who has never won a playoff game. He lost one with the Bills the next year, one with San Diego, and at least one with Dallas with NO playoff wins ever. Also, Flutie threw for 360 yards in that game. If the #1 rated defense in the NFL that year which was, the naysayers say were responsible for all that Flutie wins, could have held Miami to less than 20 points, we might have won that game. So you can't blame that loss all on Flutie. He was one 1 of 22 guys.

 

Check the play at 1:30 of the film and the Jacksonville naked boot. Has anyone who's taken a snap at QB since for the Bills been able to do anything remotely like that?

 

Flutie had a GREAT run with the Bills. Anyone saying anything different is relying on revisionist history. As others have said, he saved the Bills. They'd already be in Tornonto or LA by now if not for Mr. Flutie. Cutting him for RJ was one of the dumbest things the Bills have ever done, right behind starting RJ in the Tennessee game (which we win handily if Flutie starts).

[Tcali]

Flutie could have been and should've been one of the best, had he been allowed to play in the league. His biggest disadvantage was also his biggest advantage. At 5'8"ish, most defenders were unable to properly see him behind the line. Thus, he never telegraphed plays giving that split second advantage to both the running backs and the receivers. In a game of inches every little advantage counts. Its a shame that he was banished to the CFL because all the guy ever did was win. Forget other stats - he just won.

so true. he just won.--not a perfect QB of course----had arm strength issues and accuracy issues...but he won a lot-which of course is not tolerated in Buffalo. We know better than that. Ralph knew better than that.He wanted RJ in there.

Too bad we didnt get him at 30 instead of 35/36.Altho still very good when we got him-father time was catching up to him at about age 38--esp with the arm strength.

[RLflutie7]

Everyone remembers the games he won. Nobody remembers the games he lost...and he lost just as many...including a playoff game in 1999 in Miami that everyone conveniently overlooks. Once defenders stopped biting on his "jump-fake" move, his effectiveness went way down.

 

PTR

 

 

Not true Promo. Most people remember the games he lost. His stats were better and he played better in games the team lost.

 

That's because the defense gave up early leads and they were forced to throw or Flutie made mistakes early and the Bills were forced to throw the ball early, just like John Elway did often during his career. How many of those 4th quarter comebacks were from Elway mistakes.

 

 

Flutie's effectiveness dropped in 1999 because the team had three key offensive players that were injured and A. Smith didn't produce much in the running game.

 

The playoff game against Miami, Smith had 30 something yards rushing.

[RLflutie7]

I think "hatred" is too strong a word. I don't think anyone hates Flutie the man, just the cult of Flutie. He was a good player. Exciting to watch. He won some games. He probably saved the franchise when the Bills needed to sell luxury suites and he got people excited about the team again. (Probably his biggest contribution to Buffalo.)

 

Was he "the answer" at QB? Not even close. His lack of size caught up with him when defenses got the book on him. He was great when he was new, but as soon as defenders figured him out he was ineffective. He was who he was. He had a nice career overall. But those who elevate him to some god-like stauts need to get a grip.

 

PTR

 

 

I think the hate involves the contract that RJ signed. He was the starter based on contract alone. And fans want to see that money used. They don't want to see a guy sit on the bench, collecting a kings ransom, and not playing and having the backup play. And yes Flutie was the backup. But in the NFL draft status is all that matters along with salary.

 

Kind of like Detroit, they're going to have to play the rookie QB based on salary alone.

[BuffaloPride]

I think the hate involves the contract that RJ signed. He was the starter based on contract alone. And fans want to see that money used. They don't want to see a guy sit on the bench, collecting a kings ransom, and not playing and having the backup play. And yes Flutie was the backup. But in the NFL draft status is all that matters along with salary.

 

Kind of like Detroit, they're going to have to play the rookie QB based on salary alone.

The hate involves the fact that Flutie was an !@#$. He wasn't nearly as good as he thought he was. End of story.

[RLflutie7]

To further your point Gordio here are the facts:

 

Flutie signed with the Bills as a free agent and shortly afterwards the team traded for Rob Johnson. The Bills started the 1998 Season 0-3 with Rob Johnson at quarterback. After a week 6 injury to Johnson the Bills installed Flutie as the starter. He led them to an 8-3 finish and the playoffs. Technically he should have been 9-3 as he won in week 6 in a game which Johnson started but didn't throw a pass.

 

Some people blame Flutie for losing that road playoff game in Miami even though he threw for 360 yards and had them knocking at the door at the end. He was sacked by Trace Armstrong and fumbled the ball. However before that play there were several horrible officiating calls which screwed the Bills. That was one of the most exciting and heart-wrenching Bills games in memory.

 

In 1999, despite being less statistically effective at quarterback than the season before, Flutie led the team to a 9-6 record and a second consecutive playoff berth. To protect him from injury, Flutie did not start the week 17 game against Indy. Johnson started and won the regular season finale. For reasons known only to the organization, the Bills decided to start Rob Johnson against the Tennessee Titans. It may be unprecedented in major pro sports that a team has so completely disrespected and emasculated a player who has done so much for them. Of course we lost the game due to the "Music City Miracle." We have not made the playoffs since.

 

The following season, 2000, Flutie was relegated to backup but started 5 games due to injuries to Rob Johnson. Flutie's record in those games was 4-1. Geez what a dropoff in effectiveness (sarcasm)!

 

From 1998 till 2000, Flutie's record as Bills starter was 22-11. It should actually be 23-11.

 

From 1998 till 2000, Johnson's record as Bills starter (with essentially the same team around him) was actually 7-10. His record should actually be 6-10.

 

Oh yeah, and in 1998 when the Bills were not selling enough preferred seating to trigger a lease extension, Flutie saved the Bills with his stretch run and tickets started selling like hotcakes, extending the lease and saving the Bills near term future in Buffalo. In other words, he saved the franchise.

 

His detractors typically point to two things:

 

1) He was a "midget." Give me a midget who wins games. These are the same people calling Trent Edwards a "noodle-armed quarterback." Fine you guys can have Rob Johnson and Kyle Boller (guys who are 6'4" and can throw 60 yards from there knees). Personally I'll take a guy who does whatever it takes to win, even if it's winning ugly. Guys like Flutie, Jeff Garcia, and Fran Tarkenton are the types of players (excellent QBs) who a huge portion of football fans will never embrace because they're hung up on what they think an NFL quarterback is supposed to look like.

 

2) He was divisive and not a good teammate. Look, the guy was disrespected and doubted his entire pro career. He was exiled to Canada because of the prejudice against small quarterbacks. He was kicked in the mouth by the Bills when he was benched for the Tennessee playoff game. He was treated like crap after he saved the franchise. I think I'd be a little bit bitter too. And what of Rob Johnson's role in dividing the team? Was he a good teammate? Was he conciliatory and did he support Flutie when doing so would have been best for the team? No. He sulked and withdrew like the coward that he is.

 

Flutie was maligned by the media who were put off by his ego and the chip on his shoulder. When his popularity waned, he was not helped by his icy relationship with the media. This trickled down to reportage and then to public opinion.

 

Doug Flutie is perhaps the least-appreciated athlete in Buffalo sports history. On no subject are more Bills fans more wrong than on their negative view of Flutie's time here.

 

 

Very good post. Very accurate.

 

However, I don't think that the media disliked him so much. I think they were divided at best. Those at Empire seemed to love him. Larry Felser didn't love Flutie and was the lone holdout to complain about the guy. The national media seemed to love him too. I can't think of one announcer who didn't like Flutie with the exception of Bob Trumpy (early in Flutie's career).

 

The only thing I found was the preseason magazines would rip Flutie. And really they did a every year. But they do that all the time to all sorts of players. I just read a rip job on Marion Barber. How can you rip that guy?

[ChasBB]

Flutie should have been allowed to see at least that one season through to completion. He earned that much.

[extrahammer]

Flutie had his playoff game in 1999...He had the ball at the Dolphins 1yd line line with seconds left...he was sacked and he fumbled the ball...EPIC FAIL! So please spare me how Flutie would have won the Tennessee game for us. He lost his big playoff start for the Bills.

 

PTR

 

BTW, on that last drive they were at the 5 yard line, not the 1.

[Steely Dan]

It's really not so much that I dislike Flutie...well, I do, but not in a "I hope he gets run over by a rusty truck that dragging a maggot infested smelly dead carcass" kind of way.

 

It's just all you flakes that really piss me off.

 

OMG, Deerball wrote a post I exactly agree with. I'm gonna get a cold compress and lie down. Sumpin's wrong wit me lody, lody sumpin's wrong!!

 

 

Appreciate the words, SJ. I remember the time quite well...

 

Flutie was the focal point from the media standpoint, yes. However, there was much more to why that team won games than Flutie. He was an adequate QB, better than the other guy, which was all Buffalo needed at the time to put a winning team on the field. My personal belief is that any player that was able to manage the game would've gotten the same fan response, as long as the team was winning. Does that diminish his W-L record in the least? Absolutely not, but it does--in my opinion--lend some perspective to the idea that one man saved the franchise. I've always felt that the team could've easily obtained the $4M in revenue that they needed by simply selling the naming rights to the stadium, and I personally believe that would've happened had the team not gone on said winning streak.

 

As for the all-time-greats comparison, here's an example:

 

http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?s=&am...t&p=1457666

 

Sorry, but he wasn't and was never going to be "one of the best". And if "all he ever did was win", why couldn't he win at home against Vinny and the Jets for the AFC East title in '98, or at Miami in the playoffs that same year, when it mattered the most? I think that too many people perceive that he was a far better player than he actually was.

 

Am I glad he played well for Buffalo? Yes. Do I have a sense of gratitude toward him for single-handedly keeping the team here? No. It's a team game, and the team needed a guy that was better than Rob Johnson. He happened to be the guy, and thus the fan base latched onto him.

 

Right on dude! Flutie worshipers are a big reason a lot of people don't like Flutie.

 

 

Can someone refresh my memory as to how many playoff wins the great "winning" QB led the Bills to?

 

Also, is it RJ or Flutie who wears a SB ring?

 

I think the hate involves the contract that RJ signed. He was the starter based on contract alone. And fans want to see that money used. They don't want to see a guy sit on the bench, collecting a kings ransom, and not playing and having the backup play. And yes Flutie was the backup. But in the NFL draft status is all that matters along with salary.

 

Kind of like Detroit, they're going to have to play the rookie QB based on salary alone.

 

It had little to do with salary and a lot more about perceived talent. They never would have paid him that if they didn't think he'd be great. So they played him because they wanted him to get playing time and gain experience that's why. No grand conspiracy there.

 

BTW, if RJ had 30 more pounds on him he would have been a lot better. I remember seeing him in training camp for the first time and he was a skinny pole. It's no wonder he was injured all the time.

 

The hate involves the fact that Flutie was an !@#$. He wasn't nearly as good as he thought he was. End of story.

 

If Flutie was as good as he thought he was and as good as his fans think he was he'd the greatest QB in the world has ever seen or ever would see and he'd be President of the world.

 

Flutie was a tremendous QB and one of the all time best QB's, in Canadian Football history. 'Nuff said.

[VOR]

Flutie rode a great team in Buffalo that got screwed by the refs in 1998 (the "just give it to 'em" game against the Patriots*, which would have put the Miami playoff game in Buffalo) and suffered a bunch of injuries towards the end of 1999. Take a look at his work (and W-L record) with the Chargers.

[generaLee83]

I've never been impressed with trolls running around on a football field. Flutie never made it big in the NFL because he wasn't good enough. The guy has a cult following that I'll never understand.

 

Umm, the Bills won games when he played QB and lost them when he did not.

 

Don't really know what else to say except that the Bills haven't had a good QB since him.

 

As for disliking trolls running around a football field how did you feel when the human retard statue Bledsoe was playing?

[Steely Dan]

Umm, the Bills won games when he played QB and lost them when he did not.

 

Don't really know what else to say except that the Bills haven't had a good QB since him.

 

As for disliking trolls running around a football field how did you feel when the human retard statue Bledsoe was playing?

 

Oh well, then he must have been great because all of the Bills QB's since then have sucked.

 

A crap sandwich with cheese is much better than a crap sandwich.

[extrahammer]

Oh well, then he must have been great because all of the Bills QB's since then have sucked.

 

A crap sandwich with cheese is much better than a crap sandwich.

 

Making the playoffs is like a crap sandwich???

[Beerball]

Flutie should have been allowed to see

perhaps if he were a wee bit taller

[Buftex]

I honestly didn't know there were Bills fans who didn't like Doug Flutie until I joined this board. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

I will acknowledge that he supplied us with some of the better moments of the last 12 years, but I almost vomited the day they signed him.

 

He is excellent at PR, but the guy is/was as divisive a locker room presence as TO has been accused of being, at his various NFL stops. I don't think I have ever felt as uncomfortable rooting for any Bills player, as I did Flutie. I have heard tales of his time in Buffalo, and they are not flattering for a "team guy"... and people here get worked up because Drew Bledsoe called the Bills "my team" at the end... Rob Johnson, as talented as he was (and sorry, he was a far better QB than JP Losman has ever been), likely would not have panned out...he was a little fragile in the ego department...from what I have heard (I know, everyone knows someone) Flutie smelt blood, and did everything he could, to undermine Johnson.

 

For all the great moments Flutie had (and again, I acknowledge he had some great moments in Buffalo), people are forgetting how truly awful he was at times. His second season, IMO, they made the playoffs in spite of his play down the stretch, not because of it. Those Bills teams had tremendous defenses...

 

To top it all off, he was a scab...

[extrahammer]

I will acknowledge that he supplied us with some of the better moments of the last 12 years, but I almost vomited the day they signed him.

 

He is excellent at PR, but the guy is/was as divisive a locker room presence as TO has been accused of being, at his various NFL stops. I don't think I have ever felt as uncomfortable rooting for any Bills player, as I did Flutie. I have heard tales of his time in Buffalo, and they are not flattering for a "team guy"... and people here get worked up because Drew Bledsoe called the Bills "my team" at the end... Rob Johnson, as talented as he was (and sorry, he was a far better QB than JP Losman has ever been), likely would not have panned out...he was a little fragile in the ego department...from what I have heard (I know, everyone knows someone) Flutie smelt blood, and did everything he could, to undermine Johnson.

 

Well I would think that would be a great trait to have, competitiveness.

 

On top of that, Flutie commanded respect from everyone including Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith. I remember hearing how the defense would stay on the sidelines after a series to watch Flutie.

 

No he wasn't a prototypical quarterback, which isn't hard to figure out with 175 lbs, he did his best when he didn't pass more than 25 times a game. With our runningback by committee approach at that time, it should have been easy for the Bills to manage. But in 1999, they had Flutie throwing the ball 30-40 times a game.

[TDO'Kearney]

There are a couple of things I have to weigh in on:

 

1) The JACFL game was a great improvisation, not Flutie self-aggrandizing. Flutie had great football sense, and he demonstrated it on more than one play.

 

I remember reading at the time that when he got to the LOS he realized that the formation was wrong for the run play called. Thurman Thomas even contributed to the play before the snap because he realized he was an eligible receiver covering up the line and had to back up a yard before the snap or there would have been an illegal procedure call.

 

And for you junior attorneys out there, I'm not googling around for 20 min to find the linkage, if the pages even still exist. Believe me or don't.

 

2) A couple of posters touched on it a little, but I think the negative feelings people remember about his size were based on what Parcells and Belichick for the Jets were always able to do against him. I believe the basic game plan was to play the linebackers outside and the D-Line inside to contain Flutie in the pocket and force him to throw downfield over the line and take away that roll out-jump pass that appears in the ESPN clip about 12 times. I hate Belichick as much as the next Bills fan but if you look at Flutie's stats against the Jets he had some woeful performances.

 

So, we had a very good QB with great football instincts, but the problem we had is the tyranny of hope. With Flutie, we knew exactly what we had, he was what he was. With RJ and Bledsoe, it was always the idea that those guys had all the "measurables" and would be great if they could just "get it" and see the field like Flutie did, so we would keep giving them more and more chances in the hope that they might get the football sense that Flutie had. Flutie, on the other hand, was NEVER going to get any taller.

 

Just my $.02.

[Alaska Darin]

That maybe true, I am not disputing that, but sadly enough he was the last winning qb we ever had. I guess people would rather root for a guy that goes 11-25 in his career but picks up trash around the fruit belt.

When the BILLS have a team that's as good as the one that surrounded Flutie, they will win with similar mediocre QB play. Flutie was an average QB on a very good football team. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Mr. WEO]

Great post.

 

 

Some people appreciate success and expect it. Other people are satisfied with mediocrity and stautus quo--to the point where they mock success.

 

Go figure.

[VJ91]

my second favorite QB of all time. benching a guy with this much heart is why the football gods have been angry with the bills.

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlig...QBs-Doug-Flutie

 

p.s sorry if the link has been posted, i couldn't see it on the wall.

 

Flutie's magic season was not '99, it was '98. He came in for the injured Johnson and turned the NFL upside down while helping E-Moulds have the best season of his career. Unfortunately, Flutie was the starter in Miami for the Wildcard playoff game after that season, and although he played well and the game was close, he fumbled in the last few seconds inside the Dolphins 10 yard line, and I don't think Wade forgot that when he benched him for the wildcard game in favor of RJ the following season.

 

Flutie's biggest problem was not the NFL coaches that kept benching him in favor of taller QB's. His biggest problem was his 6'5 sized ego. He wasted the 8 prime years of his career being a star in the CFL, because he could not accept the challanges of starting in the NFL. He gave up. He quit. Frank Reich had prototypical size and arm strength GM's and coaches were looking for during his years in the NFL. But he didn't demand to be traded (there was no free agency during Frank's career), or quit and go up to Canada just to be the "star" of a lesser league. He spent almost his entire career backing up Jim Kelly, and made some pretty huge contributions along the way. Finally, during his last couple years in the NFL, Bill Polian brought him to Carolina to start for the expansion Panthers a year or two while rookie Kerry Collins learned the game.

 

Flutie would never accept being a back up. It's too bad. I would have liked watching him those 8 years in and out of starting lineups in the NFL. He was one of the greatest pure athletes to every play pro football, and I loved what he did for the Bills in '98-'00.

[The Dean]

When the BILLS have a team that's as good as the one that surrounded Flutie, they will win with similar mediocre QB play. Flutie was an average QB on a very good football team. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

 

I agree, with this caveat. He was an average QB, but he had above-average scrambling/improvisational ability. (Of course, he had below average size and, by the time he was with the Bills, arm strength.)

 

I understand why people liked to watch him. The little guy, improvising on the fly, making a dramatic play or two late in the fourth quarter...pretty compelling stuff.

 

What they forget is, the reason the Bills weren't nicely ahead late in the game was often due to his poor QB performance earlier in the game. And many times the plays that were so fun to watch were a result of Flutie not being able to make the initial play, due to his size (couldn't see/throw over the linemen).

 

 

Flutie's magic season was not '99, it was '98. He came in for the injured Johnson and turned the NFL upside down while helping E-Moulds have the best season of his career. Unfortunately, Flutie was the starter in Miami for the Wildcard playoff game after that season, and although he played well and the game was close, he fumbled in the last few seconds inside the Dolphins 10 yard line, and I don't think Wade forgot that when he benched him for the wildcard game in favor of RJ the following season.

 

Flutie's biggest problem was not the NFL coaches that kept benching him in favor of taller QB's. His biggest problem was his 6'5 sized ego. He wasted the 8 prime years of his career being a star in the CFL, because he could not accept the challanges of starting in the NFL. He gave up. He quit. Frank Reich had prototypical size and arm strength GM's and coaches were looking for during his years in the NFL. But he didn't demand to be traded (there was no free agency during Frank's career), or quit and go up to Canada just to be the "star" of a lesser league. He spent almost his entire career backing up Jim Kelly, and made some pretty huge contributions along the way. Finally, during his last couple years in the NFL, Bill Polian brought him to Carolina to start for the expansion Panthers a year or two while rookie Kerry Collins learned the game.

 

Flutie would never accept being a back up. It's too bad. I would have liked watching him those 8 years in and out of starting lineups in the NFL. He was one of the greatest pure athletes to every play pro football, and I loved what he did for the Bills in '98-'00.

 

 

 

Bingo! Flutie may have become one of the great backup QBs to play in the NFL, if he would have adjusted his ego/attitude. That experience may have even led to him being something more than a novelty starting QB, in the NFL.

 

By the end of his ride in Buffalo, he was a locker room dividing prick.

[Steely Dan]

Making the playoffs is like a crap sandwich???

 

I forgot that Flutie played defense, sorry.

[extrahammer]

I forgot that Flutie played defense, sorry.

 

Defense alone doesn't score points. But you're saying Flutie had NOTHING to do with the team making the playoffs? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! SERRRRRIOUUSSSLLLLYYYYYY??

 

Do you also think we didn't land on the moon?

 

I honestly think that most Flutie haters don't even read any of the insurmountable evidence and facts that prove he was a good quarterback. You haters are like those 3 year old kids I see in the malls that start screaming and stomping their feet when they don't get what they want.

 

Bottom line, RJ sucked it up, Losman sucked it up, Bledsoe sucked it up, and Flutie just lead us to the playoffs. Facts are there, can't deny it. Hope this helps!

[Steely Dan]

Defense alone doesn't score points. But you're saying Flutie had NOTHING to do with the team making the playoffs? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! SERRRRRIOUUSSSLLLLYYYYYY??

 

Do you also think we didn't land on the moon?

 

I honestly think that most Flutie haters don't even read any of the insurmountable evidence and facts that prove he was a good quarterback. You haters are like those 3 year old kids I see in the malls that start screaming and stomping their feet when they don't get what they want.

 

Bottom line, RJ sucked it up, Losman sucked it up, Bledsoe sucked it up, and Flutie just lead us to the playoffs. Facts are there, can't deny it. Hope this helps!

 

 

I don't recall ever saying he had NOTHING to do with this. I do recall saying he was a lot less responsible than a lot of people think. JMO

[Mr. WEO]

Bingo! Flutie may have become one of the great backup QBs to play in the NFL, if he would have adjusted his ego/attitude. That experience may have even led to him being something more than a novelty starting QB, in the NFL.

 

By the end of his ride in Buffalo, he was a locker room dividing prick.

 

Maybe it's because he was relegated to the back of the bus his whole, intermittent NFL career. He gets his chance, does well as a starter and gets pulled for a bum like RJ. He was certain that he was a better QB than Slow Robbie, and couldn't hide that opinion (he was right, as we all were painfully made aware over the rest of RJs awful career). I think Flutie has forgotten more about playing the position, or football in genaral, than RJ ever knew.

 

"A locker room dividing prick"? If you can identify any of them, why don't you track down any of the guys who sided with RJ and aske them their opinion in retrospect.

 

He's the only winner at QQB we've had in 10 years and you guys trash him. Amazing.

[Guest dog14787]

The one chance Flutie had to prove his greatness in the NFL ( not that he wasn't already great ) and we took it away from him for Rob F$%#king Johnson. I admit, as much as I loved Doug Flutie, I was one of the Fools that thought we needed to get RJ on the field. ( I even tried to suppress the memory until I think Lori reminded me )

 

I just got caught up in all the BS just like some of the BS in this thread.

[The Dean]

Maybe it's because he was relegated to the back of the bus his whole, intermittent NFL career. He gets his chance, does well as a starter

 

 

Let's stop you right here, as you are engaging in your usual, total bulls#it...

 

http://www.nfl.com/players/dougflutie/profile?id=FLU553722

 

Take a peek at his stats, and tell me again about how well he did, as a starter. I know stats don't tell the entire story, but I'm curious to see how you are going to spin these numbers into "doing well". He lost every starting job he ever had, because he wasn't good enough...PERIOD!

 

Why do people persist in believing Flutie was some great QB he couldn't hold the staring job for ANY NFL team he played for? As for his NFL playoff performance, it is relatively unimpressive. He stunk up the field in Chicago's loss to Washington in his first visit to the playoffs:

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxs...98701030chi.htm

 

He played very well for the Bills, before handing the game to Miami (of all teams) on a fumble:

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxs...99901020mia.htm

 

And he was a non-factor in his only other performance with NE (another loss, to Denver):

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FlutDo00.htm

 

Three playoff appearances, his team lost all three times.

 

Where's the NFL greatness, WEO? Show me something that suggests he should be remembered as a great NFL QB.