Growing up during the Bills glory years was something I wish I hadn’t taken for granted. There I said it. I took those years for granted. You see, back in the late 80’s and pretty much all of the 90’s our team here in Buffalo was really good. Really, really, really good. Like on the cover of every Football Magazine good. On Monday Night Football 4 times a year good. Like sneaker commercial good…Bad Things man Bad Things! I assumed it was always going to be that way. I assumed Bill Polian would be here forever. I assumed Thurman and Bruce and Andre and Biscuit and Daryl and most importantly Jimbo would be here until they took us to the promise land. As we all know that didn’t happen, but winning during that run was always the expectation. Teams hated to come here (most probably still do but that’s because of the weather not because of the intimidating team on the field that we once had.) Believe it or not, there was a time when fans didn’t realize how lucky we were during that run. In fact did you know the Greatest Comeback in NFL Playoff History was blacked out because it didn’t sellout in time? Could you imagine that even being possible if the Bills shocked the world and made a run this year? Yeah, me either.

It’s been 14 years since Home Run Throwback and I can still see Kevin Dyson running into the end zone. I can still see Wade on the sideline looking like Bills fans have ever since. Honestly though the writing was on the wall in 96. The Bills had found a way to make the playoffs after a very dismal and disappointing year in 95. Things looked pretty good for us as a second year expansion team was slotted to come here for the Wild Card round. Most of you know that team was the Jacksonville Jaguars who were led by a young lefty QB named Mark Brunell and the Jags first ever draft pick Tony Boselli (first ever pick was a tackle!!!). To me this has always been the game that changed the history of the organization. It was the first time I ever saw the Bills lose a home playoff game, and the last time I watched Jim Kelly play football. The game was a nightmare. Boselli shut down Bruce the entire game, Brunell was just good enough, and then it happened. Just when we all thought Jimbo was going to lead us down the field and do what he always did, Chris Hudson changed Bills history forever. Jimbo tries for a few extra yards and gets smashed by Hudson…..and never got up. After that Todd Collins came out and tried to pick up the pieces. We know how that story ended.

The Bills stayed competitive up until 2000 and even won another home playoff game, but never found the leader that could keep the team together like #12 did. The Bills have lacked a polarizing figure at the Quarterback position since 1996. Sure the little guy from Boston College made things fun for a few seasons but the fact that he had to battle with another guy proves my point. When you have a quarterback controversy you don’t have quarterback. EJ is the number one, but bringing in Orton after a horrible preseason and numerous cuts at the position? Makes me wonder if this season will be just like all the rest.

I want to see the team do well. I want to see EJ prove everyone wrong. I want to see Orton with a clip board freezing his a$$ off in December. What I will probably get is more of the same. An impatient fan base that has forgotten that 10 games and a terrible preseason should not be the basis for running another QB out of town. Manuel obviously has a long way to go, but when the lights are on, he has the tools to make things happen. Most first round draft picks get two or three years to audition at their position. Most first round picks get time to learn from a veteran QB before taking the helm. Most first round picks never have to worry about losing their job in their second season. EJ is clearly not a typical first round pick. He has been under the microscope since he arrived here. Many fans disagreed with the pick and wanted him out from day one. Fans have taken shots at him for every decision he makes. First it was he holds on too long instead of running. Then he takes a shot to the knee going out of bounds trying to make a play in Cleveland last year and now he is injury-proned? C'mon guys. He is supposed to be our guy!

The way we judge QB’s in this town will always be how they compare to #12. That is why most don’t last here. Had Jimbo never gone down in 96 and played a few more years he may have had the chance to teach the next guy how to play the position. He could have prepared that guy like so many others did in a league that demands a leader at the QB position. He could have showed him the ropes and mentored his replacement so that a tradition of leadership could be expected at the position. Jimbo never got the chance to do that, and the team has not had a reliable leader ever since. EJ is tough and wants to win right now just as much as all of us do. The pressure is on and nobody knows that more than he does. So if things start looking grim and you feel as though the season is taking a turn for the worst don’t blame EJ, blame Chris Hudson.  Then again it’s your right as Bills fan to blame whoever and whatever you want for this nightmare that we have lived for the past 14 years...