Buftex

Yeah, as grateful as I am to Ralph Wilson in some ways, he really ruined a good thing with those Knox era teams.

Yeah, too many stupid releases, too many scammers. They kind of ruined a good thing, it has become a huge hassle. It started out as a really cool thing. Though, in fairness, I do appreciate the business it drums up, especially this year.

As one who works at one of the indie stores involved with this, I have to say, each year it gets a little less exciting. Really nothing on the slate for this weekend that excites me too much...there are a handful in July I am interested in.

Same! My brother was a field stormer. I stayed in the seats to observe.

It's funny, growing up, I loved Ferguson. Some of my older relatives hated him...the usual complaints: hangs his head, always looks miserable... for some reason, their criticism only made me like him more. But, sometimes, going back and looking at some of these old games, I do see notice it a bit more. The biggest thing coming out of this game, for me, beside ending the streak, was the revelation of Joe Cribbs. There just weren't too many running backs catching passes out of the backfield at that time. Of course, Roger Craig is always known for this, but Cribbs was every bit his equal in that regards. I swear, if Cribbs career in Buffalo hadn't been so acrimonious (Ralph was cheap!), he would be a more revered figure in Bills history, if not NFL history. He was a hell of a threat in his first stint with the Bills. Barely used in his second stint...

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood the point you were making! But, yes, the pro game, and the college game were a lot different then.

I have it on DVD. I am too tech challenged to download it...pm me if you want a copy

No, this is the season opener of the 1980 season, where the Bills brokie their 20 game losing streak to the Dolphins. Jim Kelly had nothing to do with this game...it was 6 years before Jim ever played a game for the Bills. This was Joe Ferguson, Joe Cribbs (his first game) Jerry Butler, the "Bermuda Tirangle" (Smerlas, Haslett and Nelson)...Chuck Knox was the Bills head coach. The begining of the great (though too brief) "Talking Proud" era of Buffalo Bills football.

Lori was my favorite!

BTW- noticed on the Youtube page, former Buffalo Bill, Jeff Nixon (Bills DB 1979-1984) comments a bit! He too seems pretty excited about seeing this game, finally! I was there...he played in it! Probably the best game of Nixon's career!

Holy! Seriously, I have been collecting games for about 30 years. This is the one game I have always wanted, and been looking for forever. I have been trading games with Dolphins fans in Miami and surrounding areas, and nobody has ever been able to come up with a copy! From what I understand, with the way things were back then, the game did not sell out in time to be broadcast locally in Buffalo (though it did sell out by game time), and it really only aired primarily in Dolphins territory. I have amassed quite a collection of games, but had given up hope of ever seeing this one again! This is awesome! Not only was it a landmark game for the Bills, for me, it was the first game I ever attended as a season ticket holder! This was the game that started the whole "Talkin' Proud" phenomenon. I know what I am doing this weekend! Thanks so much for posting this! EDIT: Ha..ha! Was just forwarding through it a little, to see if there was any tv station identifiers...Bob Costas looks like he is about 20 years old!

200% much rather be a joe supporter, than a diaper wearing, fat, whining lout, Mango Messiah supporter.

I am not sure I will necessarily blame the fans, I think it is just modern sports. It's never just about the game, unless you have the best team. Though losing, to get a higher draft pick is, on paper, smart...it is just a terrible stand for a franchise to take, in any sport. People talk about "culture" in sports being so important...what does it do to that culture when a franchise doesn't go all out to win? It is just a toxic attitude. Half the guys (maybe even more) that were part of that tank team, made up the core of teams roster for a number of seasons after that...you create an atmosphere where losing is acceptable, under any circumstance, and most likely you will only get more losing. Sabres are a perfect illustration. The NBA suffers from this en masse...

I was pretty optimistic about EJ after his rookie season. Up til that injury in the Cleveland game, he was kind of showing something, as much polish as he still needed. I know Whaley has (kind of) said that he wasn't really sold on EJ, for a guy they spent a high draft pick on, I never felt like he got a real fair chance...

Check out the Sabres "Happy Birthday Kim Pegula" message on Facebook. People are really rude.

Umm... granted, we got a good player in Tre'Davious White, but we actually traded away the chance to pick Mahomes. I don't feel bad for Bears fans on this one.

There is so much valuable information to be gleaned from interviews with athletes!

Josh Allen=The Process!

Very true...but at that point, I was just looking for a wild-card spot!

Of course that is all true...but at the time, I really didn't think some of them were necessary...I didn't really understand the "process", all I saw was some of our best talent getting shipped out, and being replaced by second-tier, journeymen types. I was of the belief that were closer to being a playoff team than we were to the bottom. I was convinced that Ryan was the biggest obstacle to breaking the drought, followed by a better QB. I thought Taylor was good and steady enough to be QB for a playoff team built around the run game, and a stout defense. Turns out he was. Of course it all worked out much better, and faster, than I believed it could. Glad I was wrong...glad it worked out the way it did...but just giving my thoughts on why it took me a little longer to come around to Beane, than it did McDermott.

I remember how much grief he took for that move. I wasn't a Tyrod-hater, but it was abundantly clear by that time, they weren't really going anywhere with him at QB. The Peterman gambit, as disastrous as it turned out that week, showed that McDermott was willing to think outside the box. Up to that point, I couldn't really read him. It was obvious from that move, as bad as it turned out, he wasn't somebody who was going to stand pat and settle for mediocre, and he wasn't afraid to take a chance. We had been so conditioned, to that point, to that sort of "old school" approach by our head-coaches...you know, the guys who say "they have to earn their time in the lineup" when you knew damn well, they were just going to stick with the vets... I pretty much liked McDermott from the outset. It took me a little longer to warm up to Beane. Early on, I wasn't really sure who was responsible for what, even though McDermott, for all intents and purposes hired Beane. At the time, I didn't feel like the roster that they inherited from Rex/Whaley needed a major overhaul...they just needed a QB, and to add some better talent at some positions. I thought Ryan's teams were just massive underachievers, more than untalented.

I think it could be Ertz...it is one named (by Beane) position of some need, that they haven't really addressed in a big way. Hollister could turn out to be decent (and so too could Knox), but neither has the track record of Ertz. I feel like they are freeing up the money for something specific.

Agreed. If they traded for Julio Jones, they would have to give him a new (big) contract... Diggs is going to need to get paid too... I just don't see Beane committing that much money to two receivers, especially, when one of them will be on the "wrong side" of 30 by the end of the contract. Plus, the QB is going to be due for a pretty big contract....

Somebody posted a video last week about he most powerful arms in NFL history, or something like that. Josh was on the list... it was pretty remarkable what tight windows Allen was throwing into for some of his biggest completions. All of the other "power arms" were throwing to receivers who had badly burned the coverage. I almost posted something, quetioning if Allen owes a lot to Diggs and Beasley, or vice versa.

They actually had held them on the goal line later, as well. They were going to go for it, again, on 4th & 2, but a penalty knocked them back 5 yards, so they had to settle for a field goal.