RJ (not THAT RJ)

Actually, franchise means he is guaranteed the money for the season, does it not? Unless he does not make the team, and that is not going to happen.

This is a very interesting thread, and I would like to introduce an element in the Willis saga that was not present for either Jimbo or OJ, and that is free agency/the salary cap. Jimbo is an interesting case, since he used the USFL to stay away for three years, but once that league folded and Ralph opened up the checkbook he came and played hard. Neither free agency nor the salary cap were an issue with OJ, who had signed a huge contract upon being drafted and had only the option of holding out (which he would do in 1976 when his original deal ran out) or playing. Thus the Bills did have a problem with figuring out how to motivate him (and did indeed have a controversy when OJ went home to Cali in 1970 when he hurt his knee midseason), but could do so from the perspective that he was more or less their property unless or until they decided to trade him. Lou Saban's return proved to be the element to flip the switch for OJ, and that was possible because of the security provided by the old system of signing and retaining players. That is a crucial difference from McGahee, who was entering a contract year and would be able to sign with someone else in 2008 no matter what the Bills did. Thus there was not the same incentive in the Willis case to keep trying to make it work, combined with the added pressure to try to get something for him. I mean, no one on this board would have thought it a good idea for the Bills to offer Willis the kind of contract Baltimore just gave him, and that is the only way the Bills could have kept him, which would have been doubling down on their original risk. If they had not signed him to an extension, they faced the choice of either having him hold out (possible though unlikely), or malinger (unlikely because of the contract incentive, but there is always the possibility that he is already as good as he is ever going to be) or have him play well and then hit the jackpot with someone else. Those considerations, more than baby mommas or Penthouse interviews, pushed the Bills to make a decision. All distaste with the U and with Willis' other issues aside, I am not convinced that Willis is the elite back we all hoped he would be. The Ravens have decided to take a risk and pay him as though he already is. I am not unhappy that the Bills chose to spend their money elsewhere.

Your memory does not serve, alas. Todd collins was knocked out of the Pats game by the Holy Bruschi (though back then I believe He was only Blessed Bruschi); BJH came in and looked lost, and admitted afterwards that he had not studied his playbook. Bye bye Billy Joe....

Joe, are you saying this is a good thing? I think it is a sign of the breakdown of the generational compact that made broad-based postwar prosperity possible.

Of course, no one here apparently remembers that Charlie C's first action as GM was to throw a huge salary at LT Tony Boselli, which naturally made all of the O-Line Fundamentalists nod in solemn agreement and call Casserly a genius. Boselli though was washed up--bad shoulder--and so much for that first big move.

Actually, Dan Pastorini. Plunkett went from NE to SF for a few years, then onto the apparent scrap heap in Oakland. Pastorini got hurt in 1980 (Pastorini started the game against the Bills that year, the first home game in years not to be blacked out), Plunkett took over and led the Raiders to Super Bowl XV. It's a great story.

I am delighted to see that the first response in this thread was exactly what I was thinking! Man, what kind of sadistic parents out there would name a son "Terdell" anyway?

Yes, Rhoden works for the NYTimes, and is generally a good writer. Frankly, I think this "oral history" is a putrescent concession to the TV culture, trying to make a book look and sound like a TV interview. I hate it, and think it breaks up what could have been a much better narrative.

A bit of both, but I think that being black made it that much easier for the team to give up on him.

Thanks for the post. It is a fascinating story, and James Harris did get a raw deal, but I think William Rhoden is playing a bit fast and loose by not mentioning that Dennis Shaw became Rookie of the Year in 1970, which did after all give him a leg up in the QB competition in 1971.... Whether the Bills should have drafted Shaw at all after drafting Harris is of course another story.

No, he threw an early pick, while being whacked in the head by a Patriot blitzer. All season that would have been a personal foul, but that afternoon it was a Ty Law interception and the first TD for the Patriots, on their way to tucking that Super Bowl away... Of course, the officials provided a late make-up call with a phantom holding on willie mcGinest that nullified a fumble recovery and helped the Rams tie the game....

Thank You! I wanted to read through most of the thread to see if anyone mentioned this. An even better example is the Raiders in SB XV in Nawlins. Everyone talks about how Tooz and Co. closed down Bourbon street, and how much more relaxed they were than the uptight Eagles with Vermeil. Was partying the night away a good idea? Probably not, but to blame the Bills' defeats on that and assume that all SB winners were in bed by nine is silly.

I know this is the consensus, and I share in the wishing that TT would have gotten the ball more, but he did get ca. 20 touches in a game where his team had the ball for only 19 minutes, so the proportion is not so out of whack. Some other factors limited the Bills running game: 1. TOP of course—they only had the ball for 19 minutes. Granted, had they run more, they may have had the ball longer, but remember, the G-men ran off 9 minutes of the third quarter after receiving the kickoff, and also had a 5-minute drive before the half, as well as a relatively time-consuming 4th quarter drive to the winning FG. That did not leave a lot of time to develop the run. 2. How many drives did the Bills actually have in this game? This is related to the above point. Three drives ended in scores--the first FG, which was a 69 yard drive keyed by a 61-yard pass, did not offer many chances to give TT the ball. The first TD drive was a solid 80-yard effort with mixed pass and run, and the second TD drive capped by Thurman's TD was a classic hurry-up drive. In both of those TT got several touches. So, three scoring drives and one missed FG. How many other times did they have the ball--four, maybe? 3. Third down drops are a big deal here too, related to those first two points. Convert a couple of third downs and there are more chances to run. 4. Overall, the Bills pass/run ratio in this game was ca. 30/20. Not exactly pass-wacky; in fact, very much in line with what they did all year. Not defending Jimbo--even he would agree they should have run more--but if you ask me, consdiering these circumstances, the failure of the defense to tackle properly was at least as significant. Ultimately, though, it is impossible to isolate one factor to explain the loss, beyond the "obvious" missed FG, which is actually not so obvious at all.... P.S. I also think Reed, as great as he was, is a marginal HOFer, not because of the SB, but because of the general inflation of WR stats since 1978.

Follow it up with "Taxi" and "Cat's Cradle," and you would create the same atmosphere as Bills fans "enjoyed" after Super Bowl XXVIII....

Exactly. Chuck Noll won 4 SB championships, as did Bill Walsh. Joe Gibbs has 3. Vince Lombardi won 4 NFL championships overall, I believe, including the 2 SBs. Don Shula had a 2-3 record in Super Bowls, and he was someone who actually succeeded with a variety of personnel and styles, which to my mind is the true measure of great coaching.

That sounds like the wishful thinking of the NFL medical staff to me.... Seriously, it is possible that one could have some weaknesses, but to think that being pounded constantly on your head, helmet or no, for years would not have any long-term ill effects is absurd. I know it makes us all uncomfortable, but this sport we love to watch leaves most of the people who played it crippled and permanently damaged. Rah rah rah.....

That may indeed be true, Bill, and I would not presume to challenge your football knowledge. I imagined that there were some personal reasons for him taking what was really a no-win job, since I doubted even at his best that he would win a SB in Dallas in the time he had before he lost interest.... In general, though, I think Parcells, for all of his talent, is a good example of how dangerous it can be to assume that a "genius" coach will be able to repeat earlier success at will. Sure, he was able to rebuild bad teams, which is no small feat, but that is not what he was hired for in those last places, where people expected a return to SB glory.So many things go into winning championships, including dumb luck and the arrangement of the stars (would Bill Belichick have become a genius without Tom Brady, for example? he was not much of a genius in Cleveland... Jimmy Satan was much less of a genius with Damon Huard than he was with Troy Aikman... Steve Spurrier found that without a recruiting edge it was hard to Fun or Gun...). I am thus not as confident that Bill could wave his wand to put the Bills in the playoffs. With a couple of good decisions, Jauron will have the Bills in the playoffs in a season or 2 anyway. Or not. A bad coach can screw up a good team, but even a mediocre coach can win with a good team. Furthermore, even a great coach can still fail to win championships if the Football Gods don't play fair. Unless your only definition of a great coach is one who has won championships, which would render all other discussion about what it takes to be a great coach moot and tautological. I think this is also a lesson for any team that decides they want to throw big zeroes at Bill Cowher, but that is another story.

Of course, anyone who looks at his record should be able to smell the smoke of burning credibility. I have posted this before, but behold the Parcells Law of Diminishing Returns: Giants: 2 SB Championships Pats: 1 SB appearance, no wins Jets: 1 conference championship appearance 'Girls: 0 playoff wins If he was a stock, he would be marked a "sell."

I heard from ObsessiveMockDraftLosers.com that this guy is the biggest sleeper: Roderick (Rip) Van Winkle, OT, Tarrytown Strenghts: Well-liked by all teammates, strong ability to hunt down people to block. Weaknesses: Sometimes wanders off play; hangs around with short guys; mediocre bowler Git 'er dun, Marv!

Geez Louise.... how many mock draft sites ARE there? I had no idea there were that many guys still living in their Mom's basements....

Thanks... it is nice to be able to share all this stuff jangling around in my head.... How about this: who is the only Bills QB to be NFL Rookie of the Year?

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1. Heidi game TD for OAK 2. HB option pass TD for Bills

Why stay in college? Perhaps to get his degree? Sorry, I had to say it, even if I know it is ridiculous. "If I laugh at any mortal thing/It is that I may not weep…" John Keats

Touché. Though the masochism charge stands.