nucci Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Thanks for posting this. I didn't know about Hull's reaction and it makes me respect him even more than before. Norwood won a decent number of games for the Bills before that kick and a few after that kick. Was he the best kicker ever? Absolutely not, but he was a good player. There were a lot of reasons the Bills didn't win Super Bowl XXV. Norwood gets dumped on because his miss was the most dramatic and most memorable play. There were mistakes made by the coaches, by players on offense and defense. None of the Bills hold Norwood responsible for the loss, why should any fan (or someone who claims to be a fan)? He's just one of many. He is not soley responsible for the loss but he did contribute. He makes the kick we are SuperBowl Champs!!
jimmy10 Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Think about your audience. Those of us 40 years old and beyond laugh at anyone who would think of booing the guy. WRONG. I'm 33 and wouldn't boo him either.
eball Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 By the way, Norwood being honored during a game against the Jets is appropriate. It was Norwood's leg that lifted the Bills to their 1988 AFC East championship in OT vs. the Jets. Three short FGs (his specialty) and a 9-6 win in the rain, and the goalposts came down at Rich.
Dorkington Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Wow, I can't believe some of you guys are going to boo him.
gomper Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Give Scott a nice ovation....remember, we have class in Buffalo. The fans in Chicago (Bartman), Boston (Buckner) and Philly (McNabb, etc) are animals. We are not like them...it's what makes us special.
jabtot Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Cripes.....go get a cold beer when they bring him out. It's time to get over it.
K-9 Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Give Scott a nice ovation....remember, we have class in Buffalo. The fans in Chicago (Bartman), Boston (Buckner) and Philly (McNabb, etc) are animals. We are not like them...it's what makes us special. To be fair to the folks in BeanTown, they had Buckner throw out the first pitch at a game a few seasons ago and he was given a long standing ovation by the crowd. If Boston fans can do that for Buckner, Bills fans certainly can for Norwood. GO BILLS!!!
BuffaloWest Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 If you're a total dick, you boo him. He missed a 47 yard field goal on grass in a kicking era where a 50 yarder was very long. He was 2 for 10 from 50 plus in his career so 47 was a damn long kick for him. It was not a choke. It was an important miss. Bill Buckner choked. Buckner didnt really choke away the championship...No one ever remembers that was game 6 , not 7...Boston hadnt another chance to win the WS that year and didnt. It wasnt all on Buckner. The kick was all on Norwood. Norwood Choked. The Bills scored almost every time they had the ball that day. The misseed tackle on Bavaro on third and long was the turning point where NY went up... but that was a make-able kick...the distance was there, he just shanked it.
BillsBiker Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 Where is he sitting? on the right side? Dont tell me.. far right? couldn't resist
ReturnoftheBuffaloBeast23 Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) +1. I like taking the immortal Kent Hull's view of the matter: "In the locker room in Tampa Stadium after losing to the Giants in Super Bowl 25, Hull watched as Scott Norwood, still in his uniform, patiently answered every question and blamed no one but himself. As he was about to leave, Hull went over to Norwood and told him that if everyone, including himself, had done their jobs just a little better, that field-goal attempt would’ve been from a lot closer than 47 yards. Hull then waited for Norwood to shower and dress and, finally, the two teammates walked out together, into the night." http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/remembering-kent-hull-a-bills-mainstay/ That damn near brought a tear to my eye if that really happened I can see that happing tho because Kent Hull didn't seem like the liar type. Plus as a team member it was the right thing to do. With that said i'd still boo the guy until we won a Super Bowl then all would be forgiven because you get paid to kick, not block, not run, not pass, not tackle hell you don't have any set plays JUST KICK. I see you guys trying to be political about it but f-k that. Kickers kick the ball thats it plain and simple period. That pain still lingers in my stomach I still can't watch a reply of that kick with out getting pis*ed. Edited November 3, 2011 by ReturnoftheBuffaloBeast23
K-9 Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 That damn near brought a tear to my eye if that really happened I can see that happing tho because Kent Hull didn't seem like the liar type. Plus as a team member it was the right thing to do. With that said i'd still boo the guy until we won a Super Bowl then all would be forgiven because you get paid to kick, not block, not run, not pass, not tackle hell you don't have any set plays JUST KICK. I see you guys trying to be political about it but f-k that. Kickers kick the ball thats it plain and simple period. That pain still lingers in my stomach I still can't watch a reply of that kick with out getting pis*ed. I'm sure you had no problem booing Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley when they returned for their Wall of Fame ceremonies, then. They really sucked at their jobs in SB XV. GO BILLS!!!
mac4095 Posted November 3, 2011 Posted November 3, 2011 In my book you're an a**hole for even thinking about booing him. The thread should be locked!
truth on hold Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 <----- look at the avatar, I'm totally over it
Beerball Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 With that said i'd still boo the guy until we won a Super Bowl then all would be forgiven because you get paid to kick, not block, not run, not pass, not tackle hell you don't have any set plays JUST KICK. I see you guys trying to be political about it but f-k that. Kickers kick the ball thats it plain and simple period. That pain still lingers in my stomach I still can't watch a reply of that kick with out getting pis*ed. Sad
gravytrain Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) he wasn't a 'great' kicker, but inside of 45 the guy was terrific. however, once he went beyond 45 the percentage dropped significantly. something psychologically happened to the guy between the 38 and 39 yard line. i don't think you can really blame him for it. levy and everyone else knew this. if they got three more yards the game was ours'. show some love for the poor guy. as painful as it's been for us to carry this with us all these years, imagine what it's like for him. go bills Edited November 4, 2011 by gravytrain
truth on hold Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) he wasn't a 'great' kicker, but inside of 45 the guy was terrific. however, once he went beyond 45 the percentage dropped significantly. something psychologically happened to the guy between the 38 and 39 yard line. i don't think you can really blame him for it. levy and everyone else knew this. if they got three more yards the game was ours'. show some love for the poor guy. as painful as it's been for us to carry this with us all these years, imagine what it's like for him. go bills Spot on. Because the 47 was about 5 yards beyond his comfort zone, he felt he had to give it some extra "oomph." Even though he had the wind behind him which effectively made it shorter, the # "47" got into his head. Ended up pushing it which wouldn't let it "turn over" at all downwind and come back left ... just like a pushed tee shot in golf. I swear I was thinking this was going to happen before the kick. Edited November 4, 2011 by Joe_the_6_pack
gravytrain Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Spot on. Because the 47 was about 5 yards beyond his comfort zone, he felt he had to give it some extra "oomph." Even though he had the wind behind him which effectively made it shorter, the # "47" got into his head. Ended up pushing it which wouldn't let it "turn over" at all downward and come back left ... just like a pushed tee shot in golf. I swear I was thinking this was going to happen before the kick. ditto. i knew it. i was saying the exact thing to everyone i was in the room with. perfect analogy with the golf reference. you over try too hard and turn it over, you either get a pull or hook draw. and if you ease up you get a soft push or sloppy fade.
truth on hold Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) yeap, the announcers were saying it would have been good from 57. thats how much leg he put into it. Is this creepy or what? An ambient piece to the kick, with narration at 2:45 .... Edited November 4, 2011 by Joe_the_6_pack
San Jose Bills Fan Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Booing Scott Norwood would speak more to the person booing than it would Scott. What an incredibly classless act it would be. Other points: As others have touched on, there were no less than a dozen factors in that Super Bowl which could have swung victory to the Bills (safety instead of TD, missed tackles, clock mismanagement, faked injuries, etc). The hold was not good. Reich had the laces facing the sideline (3 o'clock if looking down on the ball from above). This would make the kick fade right. You can't compare his career percentage from that distance with Adam Vinatieri or any later kicker. Field goal percentages from distances beyond 40 yards have increased substantially in the 20+ years since that kick.
Recommended Posts