One thing I’ve learned when writing is to be flexible. In part one of this series, I mentioned that I’d be focusing on my memories and experiences in reliving the 90’s era Bills teams. After writing the last post, I realized I needed to do a lot of research to at least refresh my recollections. Also, it will be pretty difficult to guarantee personal anecdotes for each & every moment I explore here. So in the end, this series will take different forms – slice of life tie-ins to games and events, commentary on the players and coaching staff, rapid fire observations, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
To give proper credit, most of the factual information in this post and also going forward will be attributed to Sal Maiorana and his fantastic Bills book, Relentless: The Hard-Hitting History of Bufalo Bills Football, 1960-1994, which is an absolute amazing chronicle of Bills history, I must say. Sal always struck me as a negative ninny on Twitter, but his work as a Bills historian is unsurpassed.
Okay, enough prefacing and on to part 2 – Jim Kelly’s 1st regular season game as a Bill.
On September 7, 1986 as our new savior of a QB made his debut vs the Jets, I had the misfortune of not being at home on my couch with a bucket of wings and the remote control in my lap. And no, I wasn’t at the game or even with a group of friends to experience it in classic Buffalo communal style. But I was with others for the 1st half at least. My clan decided this would be a good day for the annual family reunion/picnic. For real? Yes.
Looking back, I still can’t believe I was at a picnic for this game. Let me tell you something about my extended family’s get togethers. I hate them. I have a huge family – I’m the youngest of seven and have probably over 20 cousins. These reunions are beyond large and as a social inept, I’ve never felt comfortable at them. Remembering everyone’s names is a trial upon itself. * A brief aside. I hope I’m not painting myself as someone who avoids his family. Later in this series, you’ll see that my brother’s house was often a venue for viewing Bills games. Hanging with my mom, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews is fun; trying to identify second cousins and come out of my shell is not.* Since becoming an adult I’ve attended just a few of these things over the last 15 years. But back in 1986, I lived with my mom and there was no getting out of this. I was part of the package. I’m sure I was not a happy camper.
Luckily, some intrepid relation mounted a small TV in the shelter area at Chestnut Ridge Park. I probably uttered no more than a few syllables to these “strangers” as I was glued to the screen. Although we clearly cheered together when the Bills scored, I couldn’t tell you who was watching it with me. I was in the zone as they say.
A few moments from this day/game stick with me. One ancilliary aspect was the sign from the crowd, “Kelly is God”. If that sentiment didn’t capture the enthusiasm and passion of Bills fans like none other, I’m not sure I’ve seen it. Sacreligious for sure, but isn’t Bills football a form of religion here? A funny thing – I remember telling my devout and very strict Baptist sister a few weeks later that I loved Jim Kelly. Her response – “Jim Kelly’s not God.” Yeah, I know sis. Thanks for that.
Can you imagine Jim’s thoughts when he saw that sign? Sure, it probably fed into his big ego, but it has to be a bit overwhelming as well. No pressure, Jim, just allow us to worship you. And in your divine omnipotence you’ll never throw an interception or lose any games, right?
Well, Jim proved imperfect that day. The Jets beat the Bills 28-24. But Kelly was very, very good. His stat line was impressive – 20 for 33, 292 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The performance went beyond stats, though. He was simply in command on the field. We all probably remember the old Kelly swagger. Even in challenging times and defeat, you very rarely saw Jim outwardly dejected with hunched shoulders, shuffling back to the sideline like some other QB’s that followed him. And he always fought to the end no matter what, until his body gave out. This kind of confidence and unshakeable belief emanated from him as he led the offense vs the Jets.
It wasn’t just about the intangibles, however. He was a highly skilled QB. Kelly had a rocket arm and even at that early point in this career, knew where to go with the ball. His gunslinging ways and overconfidence would get him in trouble as the year went along with passes forced in coverage, but the TD reward outweighed the interception risk. Like most QB’s back then, he probably preferred to be a pocket passer but wasn’t afraid to roll out or scramble to make a play. And the great thing was he didn’t get rattled when the pressure came (again some of his replacements come to mind). The offensive line at this time was incorporating some new and young players, namely Will Wolford & Kent Hull, but a good quarterback tends to elevate the play of all those around him. As I watched #12 do his thing that Sunday afternoon at the park and later in my living room for the third and fourth quarters, I was validated in my extreme fandom, as was all of the Bills’ nation. The dude was quite good and would probably be great.
But losing sucks. That’s a tough feeling especially for a teenager who just watched two 2-14 seasons & was finally anticipating some victories. There’s conflicted emotions in a game like this – great hope for the future but a crushing sadness in the present. Many years later, that game reminded me of another QB’s first game as a Bill, Drew Bledsoe, oddly enough vs the Jets as well. Great play by the man under center, but in the end not enough to win. They were at different stages of their development, Jim starting off and Drew reaching the end, but the results and feeling of their initial Bills outings were eerily similar.
Some general non-Kelly points about the game:
– Andre Reed and Pete Metzelaars combined for 9 catches and 141 yards. Clearly two important players in this era and favorite targets of #12. Re-watching some highlights on Youtube, Reed was absolutely flying out there.
– I had completely forgotten that Greg Bell was still on the team at that time. Then the light bulb went off in my head that he was part of the Cornelius Bennett trade the following season. More on that later for sure.
– Speaking of running backs, Rob Riddick shared the backfield with Bell. And Bell wasn’t a happy camper about this. Sound familiar? Have the Bills always had a crowded back field?
– The D was starting to put some of the pieces in place, but the pass coverage was victimized twice, especially on what ended up being the winning score, a 71 pass from Ken O’Brien to Wesley Walker. Derrick Burroughs gambled on a pick, whiffed and looked bad while doing it.
– Back to Jim really quickly, I watched the Youtube clips after writing most of this, but wow, he was more dynamic than I even remember. On the final touchdown of the game to Metzelaars, he was tripped by his offensive lineman, scrambled out and threw a Joe Montana to Dwight Clark type pass to Pete in the corner. Absolutely beautiful.
– The crowd was going bonkers. It made me a little sad watching this and then wallowing in the last 11 years for a second. The crowd was the largest in Bills history at that time, 80, 290.
Here’s the Youtube clips for your viewing pleasure:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvi_jcy9A1I&w=425&h=349]
In retrospect, Jim Kelly’s 1st outing was similar to many games for the team that 1986 season. They showed the makings of respectability & improvement, but it all wasn’t quite there yet. The journey has to start somewhere, though. The first step is often the hardest, but many ups and downs were to follow.
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