Twenty summers ago, the Buffalo Bills were bracing for a 20 percent hike in payroll after getting within a whisker of the AFC championship game. Ronnie Harmon was gone after dropping a touchdown pass against Cleveland in the playoffs, but the Bills returned as a team on the rise and the talk of the town.

     The news going into training camp in 1990 was about three players who deserved raises after the Bills locked up quarterback Jim Kelly. Shane Conlan, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas were coming off great seasons in which all three were selected for the Pro Bowl. Thomas, who led the NFL in combined yardage, had two years left on his contract.

     "Ronnie Harmon got $550,000 [signing bonus with San Diego] for dropping a football that cost us a shot at the AFC championship," Bill Polian, the general manager, complained at the time. "Thurman Thomas busted his butt to help get us there. How can I look Thurman Thomas in the eye and say I can't extend his contract, which is at $235,000 a year?"

     Yes, $235,000. Times have changed.

     Forgive me for tapping into better days that are long gone in this town, but all these years later they remain infinitely more compelling than anything happening with the Bills this season. The Bills open training camp in two days at St. John Fisher College, but it might as well be two months away given the communal sense of dread.

     Man, is it ever quiet.

     Not since the gruesome days of the mid-1980s, when Hank Bullough was the head coach, has there been so little anticipation going into a season. This year, we're sitting around waiting to hear if Aaron Schobel will continue collecting from his seven-year, $50.5 million contract after skipping offseason workouts.

     If it were Bruce Smith pulling the same stunt, it would be grounds for daily updates and opinions over the impact his absence might have on the defense. But does anybody really care whether Schobel returns or retires?

     The Bills haven't won a playoff game since 1995, when they knocked out the Dolphins and shoved Don Shula into retirement. The only thing fans in their early 20s or younger know about the feeling that sweeps through town when the Bills are in contention comes from whatever they heard from their parents.

     And that's a shame.

     Once was the time when a loss on Sundays meant miserable Mondays, but fans have become so accustomed to watching them fail that there's a growing sense of indifference about them.

     It hasn't hurt at the gate, of course. Ticket sales this year are expected to be among the top 10 in team history despite a 15 percent increase for a team that hasn't reached the postseason in more than a decade, has no established quarterback and a new coach who failed to move the needle.

     Fans buy tickets for various reasons. Some simply support the team and want to keep it here as long as possible. Some keep going out of habit or to watch the opposing team. Others are there for the party. They can't keep coming back because they're charmed by the product. Sorry, but there's nothing remotely interesting about the possibility of going 3-13.

     Say what you will about Terrell Owens, but at least he created a buzz last season. What's the big attraction this year, Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm slugging it out to determine the bottom two quarterbacks, thereby making the other the No.‚1?

     Buffalo's top free-agent acquisition was defensive end Dwan Edwards, a part-time starter in Baltimore who had two sacks in his first five seasons. Punter Brian Moorman has been their most effective player for the past 10 years, for heaven's sake. Maybe second-year safety Jairius Byrd can unseat him.

     And so we trudge forward with unproven General Manager Buddy Nix, unheralded coach Chan Gailey, unpopular running back Marshawn Lynch, untested and unsigned first-round pick C.J. Spiller and an unsolved quarterback situation. At least the Bills have veteran receiver Lee Evans back for another season.

     Evans last year had 44 catches for 612 yards, career lows in both categories. He's guaranteed to pocket $18.25 million on his current contract. Take away $18 million, and Evans is still left with $250,000, or $15,000 more than Thomas was guaranteed in 1989 after he had 1,913 yards rushing and receiving and 12 touchdowns.

     Thomas was a reason fans were expecting big things going into 1990. The Bills were division winners marching toward the best days in franchise history. Twenty years later, you get the sense that they're headed for some of the worst.

bgleason@buffnews.comnull