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Chargers QB
Doug Flutie
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Obsession. My old Webster’s dictionary defines "obsession" as "the
state of being ruled by one idea or desire; a ruling idea, a mania." That leads me to
a question: What is it with Doug Flutie that makes Buffalo-area residents so obsessed with
him?
Clearly, the dictionary has it right on the money. This is Flutie Mania. Something must
be in the waters of lakes Erie and Ontario that has made some Bills fans delusional.
Some would say that Rob Johnson is what’s in the water, while other Bills fans
would say that’s where they’d like to throw him. They claim that Flutie, who
currently plays some 2,600 miles away from Buffalo, would have this Bills team with a
better record than 0-4.
That’s why I call this a mania. There is absolutely no guarantee that the
diminutive miracle worker from Boston College would have done a better job had he been
kept by the Bills instead of Johnson. But these cries from Flutie fans are nothing new.
The Buffalo strain of Flutie Mania first appeared on Jan. 20, 1998, when the Bills
signed Flutie away from the CFL. The Bills believed he would keep them in solid shape
after their Super Bowl-run veterans were gone. Though Flutie was 35 at the time of his
signing, he played a lot younger.
Flutie Mania’s catalyst, Johnson, arrived less than one month later in a trade
with Jacksonville, and the "fun" began.
Johnson started the first five games of ’98, during which a disturbing trend arose
and became the breeding ground upon which Flutie Mania thrived. In those five games,
Johnson was knocked out of the game three times. In the fifth game, he hurt his ribs so
badly that he did not play in eight of the next 10 games.
By the time Johnson returned to health, Flutie had stepped in and worked his magic. But
the ’98 season’s controversy was miniscule compared to the next two seasons.
The end to the ’99 season was the breaking point for Flutie Mania. Flutie had
started the first 15 games, and the Bills were headed to the playoffs. But Johnson started
the first game of the playoffs. The "Music City Miracle" happened. The Bills
lost on a last-second kickoff-return lateral, and Flutie fans went nuts.
Though Johnson had a mistake-free game and wasn’t on the kick-coverage team, he
was blamed by some Flutie fans for the loss.
Turmoil followed a very poor 2000 campaign. General manager John Butler and head coach
Wade Phillips were fired.
New general manager Tom Donahoe and new head coach Gregg Williams came in knowing the
QB controversy was tearing the team in half. One of the quarterbacks had to go because of
the salary-cap ramifications of keeping both.
Flutie supporters pointed to the fact that he had a better win-loss record as a starter
for the Bills when they clamored for Donahoe and Williams to choose Flutie.
They said Flutie brought an ability to win games on his own, yet they ignored the fact
that Johnson also is quite courageous in the pocket and on the move.
They pointed to the almost magnetic attraction the injury bug had to Johnson, ignoring
the fact that Flutie lost the starter’s job at the start of 2000 because he was hurt.
Donahoe and Williams sat down with the quarterbacks and had interviews with them.
What helped do Flutie in, according to reports, was his attitude during the interview.
When asked about running Williams’ new power-running, West Coast-style offense,
seemingly all Flutie had to do to keep his job in Buffalo was say the right things —
including that he’d be open to doing it.
That’s what Johnson said. Flutie said that also but added that he’d go back
to the way he did things if the scheme wasn’t working.
Note to Doug: When you’re dealing with a well-prepared, high-control head coach
such as Williams, it isn’t good to tell him that if his way doesn’t work,
you’re going to abandon it.
Now, Johnson has led the team to an 0-4 record and is nursing a neck injury during the
Bills’ bye week. Meanwhile, Flutie has been San Diego’s equivalent of Trent
Dilfer while LaDainian Tomlinson and the defense have won games for the Chargers. Flutie
hasn’t been spectacular in San Diego, yet Flutie Mania lives on around Buffalo.
A Rochester, N.Y., radio station chastised the Bills last week for not helping them
secure a contract to carry Chargers games and said the Bills are spiting Flutie fans. The
station says it received hundreds of phone calls inquiring about carrying the games so
folks can follow Flutie’s success.
Well, pardon the Bills for not working to market San Diego’s product.
Further fanning the flames for Flutie is the fact that former Bills players keep going
on record about how they backed Flutie while they were in Buffalo.
The latest one to do it is Patriots RB Antowain Smith, who basically said Flutie
would’ve been a better choice than Johnson.
If it’s female fans who just think "Flutie the Cutie" should be on the
team, if they’re truly football fans, they’d know that other female-fan
favorites (from a non-scientific poll by me) — Kurt Warner, Brian Griese, etc. —
wouldn’t fare so well in this offense either.
To these people who are clearly inflicted with Flutie Mania, which prevents them from
seeing the real problem with the Bills’ offense, I say take a closer look.
The Bills have a porous offensive line, an inconsistent running game and a new offense.
They don’t have Doug Flutie. His fans in Buffalo need to get over it already. |
