Bills defense dared to dream but has missed the mark

By Connor Byrne  |   Thursday, September 29, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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Coming into the 2005 season, the members of the Buffalo Bills' defense honestly believed that they were good enough to be mentioned along with the greatest team defenses in NFL history. Those defenses include the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and even the Pittsburgh Steelers "Steel Curtain" defense of the 1970s.

During the off-season and even into training camp, Bills players London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes led this ridiculous chatter. Some people, such as myself, fell into the trap of believing that they could certainly be great enough to carry a team, dominate the opposition, and in turn, be among the greatest team defenses in league history.

Think about it, their defense is full of big names just like those aforementioned great units. The 2000 Ravens had Ray Lewis, Rod Woodson, and Chris McAllister. The '85 Bears had all-time great Mike Singletary, along with other greats Richard Dent and Dan Hampton. The 2003 Bucs defense consisted of all-pros Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, and John Lynch. The Steelers defense of the 1970s consisted of legends Jack Lambert, Joe Green, and Dwight White.

Much like those defenses, the Buffalo Bills bring big names to the table. Sam Adams, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes (now out for the year), Nate Clements, Lawyer Milloy, and Troy Vincent lead the charge. Buffalo may have the names, but there is one problem; they do not have the cohesion and the chemistry that those legendary defenses possessed. Those defenses were not only special because of the great individual players, they were special because none of those individuals had an agenda, they were all there to win. It's hard to say that about some of the players on the Buffalo Bills' defense.

For instance, all-pro corner Nate Clements seems more concerned about getting paid than winning games. He even stated back in July that he would accept no less than being the highest-paid corner in the NFL. I guess we'll have to wait for the free agency period in the off-season to see how Clements' situation pans out. Before Nate revealed his true agenda, Bills safety Lawyer Milloy was cut by Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick. Why? Because he cared more about his payday than he did winning titles and was too selfish to live with the millions of dollars that he was already raking in. Big mistake considering New England has won three titles in a four year span, and could very well be on their way to yet another. And, with the loss of their best player, Takeo Spikes, it seems that the Bills' goal of being a legendary defense has faded away into the blue skies of Buffalo. There's always next year.
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