Forgotten Buffalo Bills: The 2012 Bills

Usually I stick to one player in this series. This week however, I decided to go with something different since this particular Buffalo Bills team was so mind-bogglingly crazy. The way the front office shaped the 2012 roster throughout the entire season is something that needs to be studied, and is probably why the entire coaching staff was fired at the end of the season. So, let’s check it out.

Wide Receiver

The Bills started the season with four wideouts: Stevie Johnson, Donald Jones, TJ Graham, and David Nelson.

They finished the season with six: Stevie Johnson, Marcus Easley, Ruvell Martin, Donald Jones, TJ Graham, and Brad Smith. (David Nelson went on IR.)

The Bills WR corps didn’t shock the world at any point that season. After drafting track star TJ Graham in the third round, he only played two years in Buffalo, totaling 683 yards and three TDs. Donald Jones spent three years with Buffalo, totaling 687 yards and six TDs in that time. However, new HC Doug Marrone and GM Buddy Nix would not retain him the following season.

Quarterback

The Buffalo Bills kept a whopping four QBs on their roster for most of the season: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyler Thigpen, Tarvaris Jackson, and Brad Smith.

Towards the end of the season, they moved Smith to WR, leaving them with just three (and I say that sarcastically).

Thigpen, the former Chief and Dolphin, spent two years with Buffalo. He totaled 55 passing yards and one INT. Jackson spent the 2012 season with the team, but did not play a single game. Buffalo acquired him via trade with the Seattle Seahawks for a seventh round pick. The Bills re-signed him the following off-season, but released him in June. Brad Smith spent three years with the team, serving as a QB, WR, and special teamer. However, his time with Buffalo ended in November 2013, as he was waived off of Injured Reserve.

Tight End

The Bills kept three TEs rostered most of the season, those being Scott Chandler, Mike Caussin, and Lee Smith. But that changed after Caussin went down with a season-ending injury. After that, they kept two TEs rostered and two FBs. Dorian Dickerson essentially served as the third TE. Chandler spent five fantastic years with the team, and you couldn’t figure out if he was going to catch a pass or drop it any given Sunday. He finished his Bills tenure with 182 receptions for 2,120 yards and 17 TDs (all third-most among TEs in Bills history). Smith mostly served as a blocking TE during his tenure with the team. In his first stint, Smith played four years, totaling 144 yards and three TDs before going to the Oakland Raiders. Smith would come back for a second stint in 2019-2020.

Fullback

The Bills rostered two FBs during the season, the aforementioned Dorin Dickerson, and starter Corey McIntyre. McIntyre spent five years with the team, completely destroying anybody who got in his way. Unfortunately, his time in Buffalo came to an end after the 2012 season, but his memory will forever live on. Dickerson spent only one season with the team, and I can’t figure out why. It may have something to do with not needing two FBs on the main roster? Maybe he couldn’t crack it at TE full-time? Anyway, in his one season with the team, Dickerson totaled nine receptions for 117 yards.

Middle Linebacker

The Buffalo Bills had just two MLBs in 2012: Kelvin Sheppard and Kirk Morrison. (Nick Barnett played ILB in Buffalo’s 3-4 defense the year prior, but moved to ROLB in 2012 when they switched back to the 4-3.) Sheppard spent two years with the Bills (2011-2012), totaling two sacks and 150 tackles. However, he will forever live on as the man that brought Jerry Hughes to Buffalo. Morrison also was with Buffalo in 2011 and 2012. That’s Morrison’s fantastic story.

Kicker

What fantastic front office work. Not only did they keep two kickers rostered, they also used a draft pick on John Potter, a kickoff specialist who was released in November. I don’t think anybody can explain that one to me. Everybody loves Rian Lindell, who was one of the best kickers in franchise history. Lindell spent a decade in Buffalo, and in the 2012 season was 21/24 on FG attempts, and 39/39 on XP attempts.

Running Back

The Bills started out the season with three RBs rostered. It wasn’t a bad group. But it wouldn’t have been great if Fred Jackson or CJ Spiller went down with a serious injury. Behind those two, they rostered Tashard Choice, a waiver claim from the Dallas Cowboys. Choice recorded 389 yards and two TDs in three seasons with the Bills. Those three RBs would be who they finished the season with.

Defensive Line

Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams, and Mark Anderson anchored one of the league’s most dominant defensive lines in 2012. (Though Anderson only played five games in his lone season with Buffalo, totaling one sack and 12 tackles.) Behind them, they had Kyle Moore, Spencer Johnson, Alex Carrington, and Chris Kelsay. Kelsay recorded two sacks and 14 tackles in what would be his final season in the league.

Offensive Line

The Buffalo Bills offensive line was… how you say… dog water. While they had Cordy Glenn, Andy Levitre, and Eric Wood, they also had Kraig Urbik and Erik Pears on the right side. Behind them didn’t look any prettier. Chris Hairston, Colin Brown, Sam Young, and Chad Rinehart were the main backups. (Woof.) The Bills’ weakest link on offense was their line, followed by the receivers.

Defensive Backs

The Bills CB room was honestly pretty talented. With Stephon Gilmore, Aaron Williams, Leodis McKelvin, Terrence McGee, Ron Brooks, and Justin Rogers. The Gilmore/McKelvin duo was a pretty decent core for them to build around (if they had a competent front office to do it back then). But, that’s just a faded memory in Bills fans’ minds.

At Safety, the team had George Wilson, fan favorite Jairus Byrd, and Da’Norris Searcy. Byrd, who wasn’t hated by a single soul in Western New York, spent his first four years in Buffalo. He recorded 76 tackles and five INTs in 2012. Byrd let his “foot injury” sideline him for the first few weeks of the 2013 season, after voicing his displeasure over a contract dispute. Byrd left the following season.

Holdout #Bills S Jairus Byrd can't do long-term deal under CBA but he can negotiate a richer 1-year deal than $6.916 francise tender

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) July 25, 2013

George Wilson played eight seasons with the Bills, totaling 412 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 12 INTs in that period. Unfortunately, Buffalo released him in 2013 when Marrone came to town.

Punter

Now for everybody’s favorite position: Punter! Longtime fan favorite Brian Moorman only spent three games with the Bills in 2012 before being released for… Shawn Powell. Unsurprisingly, Moorman returned to Buffalo just one year later. Powell played in 18 games for the Bills, averaging 44.7 yards per kick with 33 landing inside the 20 yard line. However, after a woeful Thursday Night performance in 2013 against the Cleveland Browns, the Bills went back to Moorman.

Other Notable Players

The Buffalo Bills also rostered WWE fighter Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman, and the greatest QB to ever grace the Bills practice facility, Vince Young.

The Bills claimed Merriman off waivers from the Chargers in 2010, and he would play the last two years of his career in Buffalo. The Bills released Merriman in August 2011, only to bring him back a couple of months later. In 2012, Merriman would play in 10 games, totaling 17 tackles and one sack. Merriman finished his Bills tenure with two Injured Reserve stints. During his first workout with Buffalo, Merriman would suffer a achilles injury, knocking him out for the season. His second IR stint came in 2011 where he suffered a partially torn achilles again. The Bills never got more than 10 games from Merriman in a season.

Vince Young spent two months with the Bills, getting reps during Buffalo’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After the Bills released him, he signed with the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL.

After the Bills finished 6-10, they cleaned house, firing everyone from HC Chan Gailey to two-time ST Coordinator Bruce DeHaven.

Featured Image: Jim Rogash/Getty Images