If only Nate Clements would have knocked down Byron Leftwich's throw in the season opener, instead of vainly trying for an interception.
If only Mike Mularkey had challenged the ruling on Travis Henry's goal-line carry at Oakland.
If only Buffalo's defense could have stopped the Jets on their final drive in the Meadowlands.
If only someone hadn't thought sending Drew Bledsoe on a naked bootleg with a chance to tie New England was a good idea.
If only the Bills had approached the season finale against the motivation-free Pittsburgh Steelers like it meant everything -- which it did.
Coulda. Woulda. Shoulda.
Few seasons among the 45 since the Buffalo Bills, modern version, started playing football have included so many what-if moments and pangs of regret.
Nor have many have involved such jarring turns of fortune, or performance.
There was the putrid 0-4 start, with each loss but a play from going the other way, which turned into a 3-6 mark entering the stretch.
Then came the six-game tear that thrust Buffalo back into contention, needing only a home win against a theoretically unmotivated opponent to reach the playoffs for the first time this century.
That finale, though, provided a microcosm of this Bills' season. Buffalo produced some great moments, suffered some mystifying lapses and, in the end, just wasn't quite good enough to get it done.
Forget griping about who got into the playoffs that deserved it less, or debating how the Bills might have fared had they qualified to play further into January. The bottom line remains the bottom line: Nine wins, seven losses and no playoff berth.
But along the way, they provided the highs that their fans live for, and the lows that sometimes seem fatal.
BILLS MVP: He wasn't technically a rookie, since he spent last year on the sidelines, but no first-year running back had delivered as much impact as Willis McGahee for Buffalo since Cookie Gilchrist wandered south from Canada in 1962 (and no, BillStuff hasn't forgotten about Joe Cribbs).
Replacing an injured and ineffective Travis Henry, McGahee provided a punishing running threat that meshed perfectly with a steadily improving offensive line, taking pressure off Bledsoe and giving the defense the opportunities to play from ahead it had lacked throughout 2003 and the first half of this season.
And just imagine -- most football observers and his own teammates believe McGahee's only going to get better. Just imagine if he'd been starting all year.
TORRID TERRENCE: Terrence McGee got smoked a few times shortly after stepping in for the injured Troy Vincent at cornerback, but improved enough while showing a knack for big plays to allow the Bills to move the veteran to safety upon his return.
McGee's cornerback play was a plus in itself, but went largely ignored due to his phenomenal production on kickoff returns. His three touchdowns (and 26.3 per runback average) earned the second-year speedster a Pro Bowl berth, as well as a spot in Buffalo's record book.
WHAT ABOUT DREW? By not screwing up the six-game win streak, Bledsoe seemingly cemented his status as starter on Opening Day 2005. But the flaws that glared through the 3-6 start -- incredibly bad judgment on key throws and an inability to cope with a serious pass rush -- emerged again in the loss to the Steelers.
He may have declared the Bills "my team" on locker-room cleanout day, but a chorus of we'll-sees from teammates and the coaches and front office guarantee an offseason of speculation. Bledsoe's string of decent performances can't erase the memory of putrid outings in Baltimore, New England, and at home against the Steelers.
If Tom Donahoe and Mike Mularkey believe J.P. Losman can learn enough in the next eight months to take over without torpedoing next year's playoff hopes, Bledsoe's gone, since he doesn't fit the description of capable backup.
But given the time the rookie missed with a broken leg and his lack of meaningful playing time thereafter, it's hard to imagine Donahoe endorsing such a leap of faith.
Bringing in another veteran to caretake until Losman is ready doesn't make a lot of sense either, since anybody out there who's any better than Drew wouldn't have much reason to want the assignment.
So figure on seeing No. 11 under center once again in September. Will he still be there in November? That's quite another matter.
LONG-BALL LEE: After Donahoe's recent history of drafting wide receivers early (Troy Edwards in the first round with Pittsburgh and Josh Reed in the second for the Bills in '02), it was easy to glance somewhat askance at Lee Evans.
Forget about that. Evans provided an ideal complement to Eric Moulds and the true home-run threat Buffalo had lacked since Peerless Price's departure.
After 48 catches, nine touchdowns and a 17.6 yards-per-catch average as a rookie, don't worry whether Evans will be as good as Price. He's going to be much, much better.
Along with McGahee, Evans gives the Bills two-thirds of the quarterback-running back-wideout troika everyone's trying to put together, in order to make like the Peyton Manning-Edgerrin James-Marvin Harrison Colts.
Now, about that quarterback ...
EXCEEDINGLY SPECIAL TEAMS: It wasn't just McGee's end-to-end runbacks, or Brian Moorman's punts, or the two-headed punt return threat posed by Nate Clements and Fast Freddie Smith, or the smothering coverage teams that made Buffalo's special teams the best in the league. It was all of that and more. Special teams coach Bobby April showed a knack all year of unveiling the right innovation at the right moment, like unleashing Jason Peters on the punt rush against Cincinnati.
Mularkey deserves credit, as well, for giving April starters to use on the kicking teams, putting an emphasis on those units not seen in these parts since the days of Marv Levy.
WING REPORT: To the true connoisseur, chicken wings fit nicely into that old joke about pizza and a certain activity that can't be described in a family newspaper. Or this one.
When they're good, they're unbelievable. And when they're not, they're still pretty good. Nobody qualified for the highly sought perfect grade this year, in part because we never made it to Judi's Lounge, maker of the only A-plus wings in BillStuff's three-year history, for a game.
But the BS coverage team discovered a wide range of new varieties, including La Nova's Jamaican jerk hotties and the phenomenal cheese-slathered Sicilians developed by Cole's.
Variety is nice. The hunt for perfection continues, though, and must go on through 2005 and beyond.
JUST WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR. REALLY: Despite the collapse against Pittsburgh, the Bills' future hasn't looked this promising heading into an offseason in a very long time.
The defense figures to keep getting better, particularly if Troy Vincent and Lawyer Milloy stay healthy for a full year at safety, even if coordinator Jerry Gray parlays the success of the past few years into a head-coaching gig. McGahee and Evans will only get better, and the offensive line also figures to keep improving, with or without free-agent-to-be Jonas Jennings.
Mularkey deserves credit for keeping his team looking onward and upward, even after the fiasco in New England. And Donahoe -- even if he was a tad sensitive about wiseguy columnists referring to him as "Ol' Whitey" because his hair is, well, remarkably white -- deserves at least as many kudos for assembling the talent that, for six weeks at least, was as good as any team in the National Football League. And for hiring a pretty good head coach.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Jan. 11 2005 |