Sentimental journey

Sporting News, The, Jan 8, 1996 by Paul Attner

Two years ago, after Buffalo had lost its fourth consecutive Super Bowl, one of my bosses suggested that the Bills had a certain dignity about them, that even in failure, they represented a courage of sorts, a never-say-die attitude that kept them coming back despite the losses. I quickly rejected the notion. I saw nothing positive in their championship performances, particularly the last three embarrassments. This was a team symbolic of AFC bumbling, of Super Bowl dullness. It was a group that didn't learn a thing from its previous mistakes. I wanted them to go away and stop tormenting us.

But darn it -- and I thought I would never write these words - now you've got to feel a few pangs of appreciation for these Bills.

No longer the ruler of the AFC empire, the Bills have become sentimental favorites. Old and creaky, they have rebounded from a year of playoff exile to advance into the second round of the playoffs. They've got no business hanging around. Most of their stars are already eligible for their pensions, aren't they? Regardless, as younger clubs are celebrating the new year at home, the Bills are preparing for their game Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Surely, however, this is just a fluke, a gift from the snow gods of western New York to the rest of the football world, isn't it?

"No," says Redskins General Manager Charley Casserly, who began his NFL career under George Allen, a man who fully appreciated aging veterans. Even before the playoffs began, Casserly predicted the Bills would win a fifth AFC title, so he is no jump-on-the-bandwagon guy. Casserly has learned from Allen and, latter, Joe Gibbs about the ingredients of a championship team. On the top of that list is experience. And experience is something the Bills have in abundance.

"It is huge," Casserly says. "They have been there before and they have won. So they know what it takes, and they know if they do the right things, they can win.

"There is no guessing or dreaming involved. And they have won on the road in the playoffs, too. Not many teams have done that I mean, you have a guy like (quarterback Jim) Kelly in there, pushing you, and it is hard to measure how valuable that is. Guys just naturally follow someone like that and start believing."

Hang around the Bills and it's quickly apparent who sets the tone. Kelly, Bruce Smith, center Kent Hull. Thurman Thomas has his own agenda, but when he feels like it he can be an inspiration. How many years have we been hearing these names, reading their quotes, marking their accomplishments?

"I think they can ride this experience to the Super Bowl," Casserly says. "It won't be easy, because they are going to have to do it away from Buffalo, and it's difficult to go into someone else's place in the playoffs and win. But they won't be rattled, and they will be prepared to show everyone they shouldn't have been counted out"

The snickering you hear is from the old Bills, the guys who still believe they can win despite their thinning hair. "A lot of people wrote us off and didn't pay any attention to us," says Kelly, a real chip-on-the-shoulder type of guy. "That's why this year has been so much fun." Hey, it's tough to be the one on top that everyone is aiming at. Now, the pressure is on the Steelers and Chiefs, who face the Colts in the other semifinal.

These Bills, particularly on offense, are much more human now, filled with fragility. the old, irritating swagger has been replaced by inconsistency and hesitancy. Kelly has been battered for so long that his body lets him down frequently. He fought through arm problems earlier this season, but it's obvious that the fastball isn't quite as blazing as in his prime. Nor does the hurry-up offense work with quite the efficiency of the Super Bowl years. And Andre Reed has been hobbled with injuries, so his production has tumbled.

Instead of relying on passing, the offense has been carried the last few weeks by the running of Thomas. He, too, has had his ailments this season but has healed at the most opportune time. In vital games against St. Louis and Miami, he rushed for 129 and 148 yards, respectively, then followed that with a

A steel trap: With 158 yards, Thomas tied John Riggins' playoff record of six 100-yard rushing games. 158-yard effort in last Saturday's wild-card romp over the Dolphins. In that contest, Buffalo totaled an AFC-playoff-record 341 yards rushing, destroying whatever pride Miami had left in this horribly disappointing season.

Someone asked the Dolphins' Marco Coleman how his team might have stopped the Bills. "Maybe we should have killed Marv Levy before the game," he said. It got so bad that some Dolphins appeared to simply give up and stop hustling.

The giddy Momas even feels a bit of that old Bins cockiness returning. 'If we keep playing like we played (against Miami)," he says, "see you in Arizona."

I am going to add another element to Casserly's formula for success. Toss in Levy as a pivotal reason for the Bills' resurgence. Probably those four Super Bowl losses will keep him from receiving the recognition for excellence he deserves, but this man can coach. The Bills were 1-2 during his time away after prostrate surgery. As soon as he returned, they started their playoff drive.