Least favorite Bills offseason: 2000

Key losses: Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Thomas Smith, Kurt Schulz and Gabe Northern

Key gains: Um, Erik Flowers?

It was late February and it was cold as hell in Canada. Being underage at the time, I decided to put the fake ID away and venture off north of the border, to experience the greatness of being 19! So, it was a Wednesday night and I was hanging out at this trendy spot in Niagara Falls called “Daily Planet.” On a side note, that place was sooooooooooooo overrated. They had like $1.50 beers and it was insanely packed on Wednesdays. Like, you had to get there at 8pm, or you would end up waiting in line for two hours. Seriously? This place had the look of a cheesy sports bar. 

Anyways, I was sitting at the bar, probably getting turned down by Canadian girls, when all of a sudden, I looked up at the ESPN Bottom line and it said, “Breaking News: The Bills have cut Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas.” Shock! Awe! Um, what?! Honestly, I could have been talking to Miss. Canada 2000 and it wouldn’t have mattered. I was stunned and I couldn’t believe it. Now, these days, teams normally cut high priced veterans, no matter what their credentials were. And lets be honest here, The Big Three were past their prime. However, this was the first time ever that you would hear of the phrase “cap casualty.” Yes, there were guys like OJ and Unitas, who both finished their careers elsewhere, but those kind of instances were few and far in between. You retired and that was that. Normally, if you were an all-time great, you’d stay on past your prime and have a holiday named after you during your  “Say goodbye tour.”

This was just shocking (Have I said that already?).

I just remember leaving my drink at the bar and looking for my friend. I must have ran as if I saw my best friend’s girlfriend smooch with his brother. Anyways, I was out of breathe and blurted the words: They are gone, all of them?! Afterwards, we sat there as if we found out that we were never going to drink a beer again. It was just so strange at the time. Some might say that those cuts ended the Bills dynstay of the 90’s. Anyways, at that moment, you can sense that we were rebuilding and that things were changing. 

Not only did we lose the big three, but we lost two key members of the secondary.

Thomas Smith and Kurt Schlutz were key anchors in helping the Bills have the best pass defense in the NFL. Yes, both guys didn’t get a ton of interceptions, but their pass coverage was outstanding. Unfortunately for the Bills, they were over the cap and couldn’t match the lucrative offers from the Bears (Thomas Smith’s new home) and the Lions (Kurt Schlutz’s new home). In hindsight, it was probably better that way for the Bills. Smith struggled in Chicago, playing just one season there, while Schlutz was a nice addition, picking off 7 passes in 2000. Oh, and the Bills lost Gabe Northern, who really wasn’t that good. Because the Bills were in salary cap hell, the only move they made was resigning John Fina. Oh, and of course, they had the awful draft class of 2000. You remember those guys?? Erik Flowers, Corey Moore and Travares Tillman. Damn, who drafted this class? Sir. Marv Thomas Modrak? Yeah, not a good a class. 

All kidding aside, The Bottom line is that the cutting of the big three was probably one of the darker moments in the franchise’s history. It was also a wake up call for what the “New” NFL was going to be about.