Buffalo Bills: 5 Reasons Why They Have Been Mediocre

The 1990’s marked the pinnacle of success for the Buffalo Bills. Four Super Bowls, The K-Gun and Bruuuuuuuce translated into four Hall of Famers and a permanent spot in the annals of football. Sadly, the rabid fans of Orchard Park have been denied any sort of success that matches those four seasons. The Bills have wallowed in a sea of mediocrity ever since.

There are many reasons, but these are the five most prominent.

Ralph Wilson Jr. Is a Cheapskate

Ralph Wilson Jr. is a notorious penny pincher. In the past 10 years, he has hardly raised his pen to sign quality talent. If he had spent some cash, he could have built an awesome team around Aaron Schobel, Willis McGahee and Eric Moulds.

They’ve Lacked a Reliable Quarterback

Buffalo had to suffer through Rob Johnson—who held onto the ball so long the Jets D-line could have flown to The Ralph and sacked him before he threw the ball. J.P. Losman arrived from Tulane to replace Drew Bledsoe, which was like Doc Brown handing the keys to the DeLorean to his dog Einstein. When conscious and lucid, Trent Edwards showed flashes of greatness, but he was a health risk.

The Hiring of .500 Coaches

When Marv Levy left, he handed the reins to then defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who took the Bills to the 1999 playoffs. After Phillips, Gregg Williams managed to eek out a 17-31 record over three seasons. After Williams’ departure, Mike Mularkey lived up to his last name. Then Dick Jauron took over after taking the Bears to the Super Bowl. He was fired and Perry Fewell took over for the rest of the season and the 2010 season.

They Let Go of Great Players

If Buffalo is good at one thing, it’s developing good rookies into great players. Sadly, by the time they’re really good, Buffalo lets them go into free agency. Again, Wilson’s inability to hand out some cash plays into this, but the biggest reason is because the players know they won’t win in Buffalo.

They Don’t Address Dire Needs in the First Round of the Draft

Thankfully the trend was broken this season with the drafting of Marcell Dareus, who will fill up that wretched run defense. However, the past several years, Buffalo has had glaring needs and has refused to draft players in the first round to address them.  And when they did draft a dire need, the player was a bust (Aaron Maybin in 2009, J.P. Losman in 2004, and RB Antowain Smith in 1997, anyone?).

Looking Toward the Future...

Chan Gailey is an old school coach with a new school philosophy. He’s installing a college style offense that will be more explosive and quite tricky to defend. Dareus, Pro Bowler Kyle Williams, linebackers Merriman and Barnett, and DB’s McKelvin and McGee make for a much improved defense. The duo of Jackson and Spiller in the offensive backfield, along with breakout star Stevie Johnson and blossoming QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, are going to make Buffalo competitive again. Will this be the year Buffalo circles the wagons and slips into the playoffs once again? We’ll find out in January.