Buffalo Bills Information
The Buffalo Bills might forever be known as “second best” for their run of 4 consecutive Super Bowl losses in the early 1990s. The optimistic fans would always leave with the philosophy that they were the second best team that season, and that the following year, they would definitely improve to be the best. The pessimistic fan would say that the team choked, they didn’t deserve to win it all, and all they would remember was that they finished the season on a sour note. Few fans probably expected them to get to that point four years in a row, but the bigger shock might be what has happened to the team since they were at that level.
Mike Mularkey, the 42 year-old former coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, will enter the 2004 season as the Buffalo Bills head coach. Mularkey is definitely familiar with the way the game has changed over the years, and he’s been one of the best coordinators over the same period, but this will be his first attempt at leading a team, and he’ll be the first to admit it’s a totally different animal. He’s brought along a few of the coaches he worked with in Pittsburgh in the hopes of recreating the atmosphere that was so successful with the Steelers.
The offense is led by quarterback Drew Bledsoe, formerly of the New England Patriots. The 32 year-old is going into his 12th season out of Washington State, and he’s been incredibly successful in the NFL. Bledsoe was the first pick drafted in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft, and everyone knew he had a cannon for an arm and that he could lead a team to victory while simultaneously staring defeat right in the face. He stepped into the starter’s role and immediately became one of the stars of the league. Bledsoe had experienced a relatively healthy career until a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis caused a bit of bleeding in his stomach two years ago. Bledsoe sat, Tom Brady became the new starting quarterback, and the rest, as they say, is history. Brady proved to the organization that he could perform as well as Bledsoe at a fraction of the price, so the star quarterback became expendable and signed with Buffalo.
The rest of the offense is a little more uncertain, both at running back and wide receiver. Travis Henry has been one of the best backs in the league over the last three years, but the team is looking more and more ready for the emergence of Willis McGahee, the running back who torn up his knee in his last collegiate game. The team hopes the backs can find a way to coexist and work together for the betterment of the group. The receiving group hasn’t been as dominant since Peerless Price left to join the Atlanta Falcons, but they’re no pushover either. The trio of Eric Moulds, Josh Reed, and Bobby Shaw will keep opposing defenses honest enough to open up holes for the running game all season.
The defense has seemingly been the weak link for the organization since the 2000 season, but the team has made some keep free-agent pickups that should better the defensive unit. London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, and Lawyer Milloy could easily be pro bowlers in 2004, each with more than 100 tackles in 2003, and if youngster Aaron Schobel can improve on his 11.5 sacks from last year, he’s likely to join the group in Hawaii after the season.
The team had two first round draft picks in the 2004 draft which they used on Lee Evans and J.P. Losman. Evans is a receiver out of Wisconsin with breakaway speed that can spread a defense across the field. He’ll likely contribute right away in 2004. Losman is a quarterback out of Tulane that probably won’t play much in 2004, but he has the tools to be a solid QB in the league. He’s insurance against a Bledsoe injury, and he’ll likely receive the reins when Bledsoe calls it quits in the coming years.