Buffalo Bills: How Long Will the Playoff Drought Last?

Oct 18, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; (Editors note: Caption correction) Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula (left) speaks with general manager Doug Whaley on the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

While the Buffalo Bills approach another offseason, there are many questions about the direction of the team.

Doug Whaley’s press conference left the Buffalo Bills with even more questions.

Who will be the next Head Coach? Who will be the next Quarterback? What will the roster look like next season with 24 free agents ready to hit the market? How will the perception of dysfunction in this franchise affect the coaching and roster changes that are looming?

I have a few questions of my own.

How many years are the Bills going to be considered “close” before they finally realize it’s time for a total rebuild? As bad as that sounds, I would have a better outlook if they forgot about the drought and focused on building a long term competitor.

A majority of the Buffalo Bills‘ losses in recent years have been close games, but in my opinion they have never really been “close” to a playoff team.

When you have the thought process of being close to a playoff team, there is a different approach to how you build your roster. This roster should have been built from the ground up years ago, instead they keep trying to re-tool as if they are gearing up for a playoff run.

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Free Agency and the Draft have been mishandled over the years with the thought that these players could be what they need to get over that hump. Examples include Mario Williams, Terell Owens, CJ Spiller, Sammy Watkins, Kyle Orton. Those are just a few, but the point is that the front office might need to re-examine this team as a whole.

During the drought there have been several teams that have made the playoffs, rebuilt and either made it back to the playoffs or are making strides to get back. The Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NY Giants and Miami Dolphins are all examples of this.

The Detroit Lions might be the best example of all. They went from a playoff team, to 0-16 and now they are back in the playoffs — all during the Bills’ playoff drought. If the Buffalo Bills keep spinning their wheels, we could see Cleveland and San Francisco rebuild and make the playoffs before the Bills.

I think there is too much obsession over the drought. The fans are frustrated (including myself) and that has been made loud and clear. I’m sure that is being heard by ownership and management. The problem with that is, there is a sense of urgency to try and keep things together to make a playoff push.

Let’s get hypothetical for a minute.

If they go with the notion that they are close, this is most likely what would happen in the off season regarding the roster. They keep Tyrod Taylor by picking up the option. Based on how things were handled for the season finale, he made it clear he was not happy. I believe the only way to retain him is to pick up the option.

Next, they have a list of 24 free agents to sort through. The players they would probably try to keep if they want to make a run next year are: Stephon Gilmore, Robert Woods, Lorenzo Alexander, Zach Brown, and Jerome Felton.

The next move would be to address other needs between free agency and the draft. Positions in need of immediate attention are: WR, RT and DB, with depth at other positions needing to be addressed also. This is assuming all of this can even be done without further restricting cap space in the future. Keep in mind they are already getting tight against the cap without any of these moves.

If all these things happen and they avoid major injuries all season, is it enough to finally end the drought?

This is without factoring in who gets hired as Head Coach, which would open up even more questions based on who ends up taking on that tough task. If all this happens to work out, they are probably looking at a wild card birth at best.

Don’t get me wrong, all of WNY would erupt if this happened, including myself, but reality could soon settle back in if they were quickly eliminated in the wild card round. If that were to happen I would anticipate a few more years of trying to recapture that with salary cap restrictions and star players aging.

Don’t shoot the messenger just yet, ever since the greatest comeback against Houston I always try to hold out any sliver of hope possible. I’m just running some possible scenarios and how it could affect the franchise in the future.

I would actually like to see these moves happen and give it one more shot before deciding to blow everything up. It may not be the logical path to take but I just don’t think Buffalo Bills fans can stand the thought of giving up and hitting the reset button just yet. You have to give the Pegulas time to adjust to this league.

Which leads us to our next topic, the Pegulas.

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills owners Terry Pegula and Kim Pegula during halftime against the New York Jets at New Era Field. The Jets beat the Bills 37 to 31. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

It seems like the honeymoon with the Pegulas might be over, but I ask Bills fans to please give them some time to fully adjust to life as an NFL owner.

I can only imagine it’s not an easy job and takes some time to adjust and learn the ropes.

They bought the team a little over two years ago, but they inherited a 15 year playoff drought. They also inherited a loyal and very passionate fan base. A fan base that is also getting impatient and aren’t afraid to express their “concerns”.

Let’s picture ourselves in their shoes for a minute — as hard as that may be. As great as that would sound on the surface, I’m sure there is a lot of pressure and stress behind the scenes. Robert Kraft took over the Patriots in January of 1994 with one of the all time great coaches in place, Bill Parcells. They did have some success in the coming years, making the playoffs 4 out of the next 5 seasons.

It wasn’t until seven years later and their third head coaching hire under Kraft that they struck gold in another all time great, Bill Belichick. Let’s not forget hitting the lottery in the sixth round of the draft with yet another all time great, Tom Brady.

That’s a once-in-a-lifetime combination that we may never see again. The Patriots were at the bottom of the league when Kraft took over. If you look into other changes of ownership there has always been some kind of rebuild process to get that team back into contention.

When Terry and Kim Pegula took over, there had been several years of sever neglect in regards to building and maintaining a competitive franchise. Ralph Wilson was unable to actively be involved for several years prior to the Pegulas taking over. There were many questions leading up to that point as to how things were being run. Ralph Wilson was facing health concerns and it was only a matter of time before the unfortunate passing of a legend.

During that time, the front office was managed with the personnel already in place, most changes and promotions were within the organization. It seemed like a franchise just going through the motions while awaiting their future path.

One thing is for sure, the Pegulas are committed to WNY. Saving both of the professional sports franchises and their investment in the city of Buffalo proves that. They are also fans and want to see success of their teams just as much as us fans do.

Will they make some mistakes? Of course, there is a huge learning curve to building a successful franchise in the NFL. Add in the17 year playoff drought and one can only imagine the pressure of the situation.

Eventually, the time will come when the reset button has to be pushed. The question is when and how? Do they give it one more year of keeping things together? Two or three more years? How long does Doug Whaley have to prove he should keep his job? Is there more going on behind the scenes we don’t know about? Based on the end of season press conference, there just might be.

It’s obvious the intent is there. The Pegulas have shown resources are of no object, hand over fist. They just need to find the right direction. A direction that may have been delayed by the urgency to end the longest post season drought in professional sports history.

Do you think the Pegulas are on the right track or no? Leave your comments below!