Roth: Introducing the Bills’ ‘All Playoff Drought Team’

The Buffalo Bills’ plan to improve alumni relations and promote the slogan, “Once a Bill, always a Bill,” is certainly deserving of our applause.

Each year, dozens of players from the team’s glory eras — the 1964-65 AFL championships, the early ’80s playoff teams and the 1990-93 Super Bowl participants — return to Buffalo for a weekend of revelry and reminiscing, capped by attending a game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The applause of fans can bring a tear to these aging band of brothers, assurance that their efforts were appreciated and they haven’t been forgotten.

But while it’s easy for players from winning teams to come home, it’s not so easy for players who played on losing teams. The Bills have been around for 55 seasons and in 33 of them, the final record was .500 or worse. The team’s current skid of missing the playoffs 15 years in a row is the longest in club history.

These Bills are truly the “Lost Generation,” players who ask themselves “Why would anybody want to remember me?” But the truth is, people — most at least — do appreciate every player who puts on a Bills uniform and represents western New York the best he can.

Football, after all, is the ultimate team game and the chances of 22 good to great starters and their backups coming together at the same time is like winning the lottery. It’s why championships are cherished. And though fans and media can be harsh at times, the effort is always admired and worth remembering.

With the hiring of former cornerback Marlon Kerner as the new alumni director, the Bills and new owners Terry and Kim Pegula have made it clear that celebrating the team’s history means celebrating with everyone.

In that spirit, I’ve compiled my “All Playoff Drought Team.” Despite an overall record of 97-143 (.404) and just two winning seasons, some pretty darn good players have come through Orchard Park since 2000. This team would be tough to beat. My picks:

Offense

Quarterback: Drew Bledsoe. He and Ryan Fitzpatrick rank in the team’s Top 5 of major passing categories and their passer ratings are nearly identical (79.2 vs. 79.8). Bledsoe gets my nod for producing a winning season, 9-7 in 2004, but Fitz (80 TDs) sure deserved a better defense.

Running backs: Travis Henry, Fred Jackson. Henry, a second-round pick, had consecutive 1,300-yard plus seasons in ’02 and ’03 and played four seasons. Jackson ranks third in career yardage (5,646), fourth in rushing TDs (30) and first in hearts won over as a Division III product in his 10th season. Honorable mention to Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch (best talent, worst fit for Buffalo) and C.J. Spiller.

Fullback: Sam Gash. Henry’s wingman, Bledsoe’s bodyguard, and old school all the way.

Wide receivers: Eric Moulds, Lee Evans, Stevie Johnson. The final six years of Moulds’ stellar career were the first six of the playoff drought. He ranks second only to Hall-of-Famer Andre Reed in catches (675), yards (9,096) and TDs (48). Evans posted Top 5 numbers as his successor, and Johnson followed with four 50-catch seasons as a seventh-round pick. Honorable mention to Peerless Price, Josh Reed and Terrell Owens, who gave Bills fans one fun season.

Tight end: Scott Chandler. Caught 182 balls and scored 17 TDs over four years at a position where in Buffalo you battle an inferiority complex. Honorable mention to Jay Riemersma.

Offensive line: Ruben Brown, Trey Teague, Jason Peters, Andy Levitre, Eric Wood. Because of so much upheaval, this is a starting five regardless of position. Left guard Brown went to eight Pro Bowls in nine years as a Bill. Left tackle Peters has made seven Pro Bowls, five with the Eagles. Center Wood has been a starter since his rookie season of ’09 and keeps getting better. Honorable mention to current LT Cordy Glenn (45 starts), who is off to a nice start.

Defense

Defensive ends: Aaron Schobel, Mario Williams. Schobel played nine seasons, wracking up 78 sacks, second only to Hall-of-Famer Bruce Smith (171) in franchise history. Williams, a Smith-like athlete, has 38 sacks the last three seasons and has a lot of time left. A big honorable mention to Phil Hansen, third in career sacks with 61.5, who ended his Wall-of-Fame career as The Drought was starting. And Chris Kelsay, who contributed a decade of honest work.

Defensive tackles: Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus. The ability to stop the run and rush the passer sets these guys apart as the reigning 1-2 punch in the middle of Buffalo’s defense. This loaded position could also include Pat Williams, Sam Adams and Marcus Stroud.

Linebackers: London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Keith Newman. Fletcher and Spikes were a strong duo for four seasons, leading the NFL’s No. 2 ranked unit in ’03 and ’04. True professionals who filled up a lot of notebooks. Newman was an underrated talent who compiled 129 tackles and 14.5 sacks in the first three years of The Drought. Close honorable mention to Paul Posluszny (295 tackles) and Jeff Posey.

Cornerbacks: Antoine Winfield, Nate Clements. These two highly skilled competitors gave the Bills one of the NFL’s best lock-down tandems between 2001-2004 before free agency called. Clements had 23 interceptions and 87 pass defended in a Bills’ uniform. A strong honorable mention to Terrence McGee (439 tackles, 17 interceptions), who was a fourth-round pick and lasted a decade despite myriad injuries. Coming on is the present-day Stephon Gilmore.

Strong safety: Donte Whitner. This is a close call over Lawyer Milloy and not popular, I’m sure, given Whitner’s social media wars with Bills fans. He played five years to Milloy’s three in Buffalo, and has almost as many Pro Bowls (three vs. four) for his career. Honorable mention to the versatile George Wilson.

Free safety: Jairus Byrd. A slam dunk. Played five seasons, compiled 22 interceptions (nine as a rookie) and 33 passes defended. Honorable mention to CB/S Troy Vincent for his air of class.

Special teams

Kicker: Rian Lindell. Consistency and clutch kicks kept him a roster mainstay for a decade. Second only to Steve Christie in career scoring (980 vs. 1,011).

Punter: Brian Moorman. Big leg, big heart. Played 13 seasons, a true pro. Set record for most punts in team history at 923, which I guess isn’t a good thing. But his 43.74 career average is very good.

Punt return: Roscoe Parrish. Holds team marks for number of returns (135), yardage (1,622) and average (12.01). Honorable mention to Leodis McKelvin.

Kick return: McGee. On a team with a rich history of return specialists, he tops them all with 207 tries, 5,450 yards, a 26.33 average and five touchdowns. Honorable mention again to McKelvin.

Coach

Dick Jauron. This is purely on the basis of him lasting nearly four seasons, winning 24 games, and always being close to breaking through with three consecutive 7-9 records. Wade Phillips was top-notch in my book but he coached just one season of The Drought. Doug Marrone had a .469 winning percentage and one of the two winning seasons with Mike Mularkey, but like Mularkey, coached just two years. Bottom line is that no coach during this long dry spell has solved the QB riddle long term.

General manager

Tom Donahoe. He had the longest run at five seasons and around a dozen of his players made our team. His .388 winning percentage is the same as the Buddy Nix/Doug Whaley Era and just behind the Marv Levy/Russ Brandon/Tom Modrak experiment (.422).

As a member of the voting committee, I can see almost a dozen players from The Drought Era being worthy of consideration for the Bills Wall of Fame. It’s been said that winning isn’t everything but trying to win is. The 0-for-15 Bills can know they are always welcome to come home. Remember, once a Bill, always a Bill.