Key Losses: Cornelius Bennett and Bill Brooks.
Key Gains: Chris Spielman and Quinn Early.
The Bills had just gone through a renaissance during the 1995 season. I had already gone over what it was like to go into that season, as many fans had thought the Bills were dead and buried. For the season, the team finished with a record of 10-6 and won the division title for the 6th time in 8 years. Some fans thought that we should have went further because Bruce Smith had missed the playoff game against Pittsburgh and Andre Reed was still nursing a groin pull, which sidelined him for most of the season. So, if those guys were healthy, who knows how far the Bills could have gone that season.
For this offseason, you kind of sensed that something cool was going to happen in 1996. I wouldn’t say it was on par with the Super Bowl years, but expectations were high. The Bills defense was coming off a 48-sack year, which I still feel was the best defense that the Bills had over the last 20 seasons. Plus, with Reed being healthy and the team coming off almost 2,000 yards rushing, the sky seemed to be the limit. Frankly, I think there were bigger expectations for the 96′ season than the Flutie, Donahoe and T.O. years put together.
Now, the Bills had some major decisions to make, starting with Cornelius Bennett, who was entering free agency. Bennett, was starting to slow down, as he just came off a two sack year. Now, in fairness, the Bills had him playing inside, which they seemed to try and do every 3-4 years. Frankly, Bennett was way better rushing the QB from the outside than manning the middle of the defense. The Bills elected to not match the offer that he received from the Falcons, and for the 2nd year in a row, the Bills lost a major defensive contributor from the Super Bowl years.
However, the disappointment was short lived, as the Bills signed a guy who couldn’t be more of Buffalonian. Chris Spielman was your prototypical inside linebacker. This guy wasn’t Paul Posluszny, who would just rack up tackles 5 yards down the field. He was a tough, gritty inside linebacker, who made plays. As a Detrion Lion, Spielman had over 100 tackles yearly, made the pro bowl 4 times and was named to the all-pro team three times. Not only was Spielman a better inside linebacker, but the Bills already had Paup as the main linebacker rushing the QB. Bottom line: Spielman was better than Bennett.
On the other side of the ball, the Bills decided to let Bill Brooks leave for the Redskins. Brooks, who had been a disappointment during his first two years with the club, came off a great year in which he set a club record in touchdown receptions with 11. However, he only had 50 catches and was too inconsistent during his stay. The Bills must have thought the same. His replacement was Quinn Early, who had just come off back-to-back 80 catch seasons with the Saints. Early had the complete package, as he could burn you deep or be a possession wideout. The guy proved to be a legit number 1 wideout in the NFL and with Andre Reed, the Bills were going to have a 1A and 1B option at wideout. Bottom line: Early was better than Brooks.
Overall, you had to be happy with the Bills offseason. They were getting healthier and with the addition of Spielman and Early, fans were stoked. I kept saying that the defense was sick and if the offense played anywhere near their ability from 90-94, we were going to be a major threat for the Super Bowl.
Post script: The 1996 season represented the swan song for the Bills. It was an up and down campaign. Jim Kelly struggled at the start of the season, throwing for 8 interceptions in his first three games. However, even with the sluggish start, the Bills had a 9-3 record and were sitting atop the AFC East. They had swept the tough NFC East and it seemed like the road to the Super Bowl could be going through Buffalo. However, the Bills went on a dreadful 3-game road trip against the Colts, Seahawks and Dolphins, losing to all three teams by an average of five points. The Bills were on the verge of missing the playoffs, but were able to put it all together against the Chiefs in the season finale, with a 20-9 win.
However, they ended up losing to the Jags in the first round of the playoffs by the score of 30-27. It was a game in which the Bills were in control by a score of 14-0, but a Jim Kelly shovel pass was intercepted by Clyde Simmons and returned for a touchdown. Of course, the main memory focuses around Kelly being carted off the field with a concussion in his last NFL game. However, there were other depressing memories. For one, the defense had like a 1,000 missed tackles. I just remember Natrone Means breaking like 5 tackles on one run. Another thing fans seem to forget is that on the hit that ended Kelly’s career, he actually fumbled, but his knee was clearly done. However, the refs ruled that it was a live ball and the Jags recovered (There was no replay or challenge system). At the time, the Bills were inside the Jags 30-yard line and were on the verge of tying or taking the lead. Anyways, I still think the Bills should have won that game going away, but just mental mistakes killed them.
As for the free agents that the Bills added, Spielman had a nice year with 111 tackles, while Bennett had just three sacks and 52 tackles. As for Quinn Early, his catches dipped down to 50, but he did average 16 yards a reception. By comparison, Bill Brooks started just two games for the Redskins and caught a mere 17 balls.
Lastly, the Bills haven’t had a home playoff game since.
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