Flutie’s retirement triggers memories in Buffalo

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, May 16, 2006  |  Comments( 12 )

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Monday, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie finally retired from football at the age of 43. The 5'9" Flutie played his entire career as the underdog, and always seemed to persevere. Flutie entered the NFL in 1986 and ended up playing for the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Bills and San Diego Chargers. Between 1990-1997 he played in the Canadian Football League, where he became a national idol, winning six Most Outstanding Player awards and a trio of Grey Cup titles.

Flutie crossed the border between Canada and America prior to the 1998 season to play for the Bills, where his "Flutie Magic" helped lead Buffalo from the doldrums and into the national spotlight. He backed up incumbent quarterback Rob Johnson to start the '98 season, but Johnson got hurt after leading the Bills to a lackluster 1-3 start. Flutie came in to relieve Johnson and shocked the football world by going 9-3 as the starting quarterback. He led the Bills to the playoffs, but lost to the division rival Miami Dolphins in a heart-stopping thriller in the AFC Wild Card Game. However, the year was a great success for Flutie, as he won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award and made the Pro Bowl, tossing 20 touchdowns.

In 1999, Flutie and the Bills entered the season with high hopes, and they lived up to those during the regular season. Flutie started the first 15 games of the season, throwing 19 touchdowns and leading the Bills to a 10-5 record. However, in the final game of the season former head coach Wade Phillips elected to rest Flutie and play Johnson, who played tremendously in a blowout victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Amid controversy, Phillips inexplicably allowed Johnson to start the Bills' playoff game the following week against the Tennessee Titans. Although Johnson put the Bills in a position to win before the infamous "Music City Miracle," many believed Buffalo would have won the game outright had Flutie played.

It got worse for Flutie in the 2000 season. A quarterback controversy between himself and Johnson erupted, with Phillips' inability to make a decision coming to the fore. Flutie threw eight touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions that year, but missed five games in favor of Johnson. The Bills went just 8-8, Flutie was released the following offseason and Phillips was fired. Ironically, Johnson ended up staying for another season.

Since Flutie's Buffalo exodus preceding the 2001 season, the Bills have compiled a record of just 31-49 in five seasons. They've shuffled through Johnson, Alex Van Pelt, Drew Bledsoe, Kelly Holcomb and J.P. Losman at quarterback, but have never found a player nearly as consistent as Flutie. In fact, the Bills haven't even made the playoffs since the aforesaid '99 season, when they lost to Tennessee.

Flutie may be an icon in his native Boston for his storied days at Boston College and with the New England Patriots, but he'll always be revered in Buffalo. In a city full of underdogs, Flutie, the biggest of them all (or smallest), helped orchestrate two special seasons with the Bills. His tenacious style will be remembered even more than his "Flutie Flakes" cereal, which was a major hit in Buffalo.

Get more Buffalo Bills insights at Realfootball365.com.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com
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CommentsComments: 12  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
dan ciskal		09:14 AM
05/16/2006
Doug Flutie was special to Buffalo. He showed us all what one can do when one is put down and told he can't do it. He should be...
No.2
Tom Wawrzyniak		09:37 AM
05/16/2006
I agree with your comments 100%. Doug Flutie played with the toughness and resilience that all Bills' fans like to associate with...
No.3
Bill Shannon		09:57 AM
05/16/2006
Doug Flutie's Machiavellian sense of self over team ruined the Bills chemistry and sent the franchise into a tailspin they are...
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