San Jose Bills Fan Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 If you think of "sports curses" and their history (Bambino, Goat, Flutie, etc) there are usually attempts to "exorcise" that curse. The exorcism in this case would be for the Bills fans to forgive Norwood. We have a great opportunity here to "make everything right" in the Bills universe through the simple act of forgiveness. And another thing, this Bills team is all about "winning and losing as a team." If you believe that to be the Bills credo, then you accept the fact that we lost that Super Bowl as a team and you forgive Scott Norwood. This is an opportunity and a test. I hope as a fan base, that we pass the test.
truth on hold Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) 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. So i guess we really should be booing Reich! @%#$ you francis! j/k 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. "When Buffalo’s Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal in Super Bowl XXV, letting the Giants escape with a 20-19 victory, he was ostracized despite the fact that a 47-yarder was roughly a 50-50 proposition. The pressure is even higher now; in 2006, kickers made 73.5 percent of their field-goal attempts from 40 to 49 yards, a new high." In 2011, NFL kickers are making kicks from 40-49 yards at a rate of 77.9%.
truth on hold Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Like to see stats how often holders get the laces right. Bet its much greater than 50-50 and it's not distance depandant.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Like to see stats how often holders get the laces right. Bet its much greater than 50-50 and it's not distance depandant. Interesting that you bring this up. You don't often see completely mishandled holds… sometimes partially mishandled. Holding and snapping must be fairly pressure-packed jobs too. In 1999 the NFL went to special "K-balls" for kickoffs and field goal attempts. These balls are straight from the box and not doctored and are said to be much slicker as a result. In spite of this, field goal percentages continue to rise and as of right now, field goal accuracy is on yet another record breaking pace this year.
BadDad Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 From the buffalobills.com article discussing white jerseys on Sunday... Good for him. I second that motion, good for him. His teemmates, the city of Buffalo, and the fans all rallied around Scott after that game. He was, and is a standup guy. He took every question after the game and he shouldered the responsibilty for: Jim Kelly Thurman Thomas Bruce Smith Andre Reed Daryle Talley Biscuit Marv Hull, (RIP) etc., etc., etc. ,etc. The game never should have have come down to that field goal, but it did, because of the failures of the above (many of whom are in the HOF and the rest probably should be). My oldest son became a Bills a Bills fan as a result of "the greatest comeback in NFL history", but he became lifelong after that Superbowl. He felt that this was only the beginning, and he was right, we would be back. The only thing he didn't realize was that the subsequent SB's wouldn't clearly come down to a missed field goal being the difference. The same cast of HOF characters who blew that game, blew three more and none were the fault of Scott Norwood. So if you young wippersnappers want to boo Scott, just be fair and the boo Jim, Thurman, Bruce, Darylle, Biscuit, Marv, Andre, Metzallar, etc. the next time you have the chance, because they all had a part in that loss, and they all, (unlike Scott), had a big part in the sbsequent three losses that were all blow outs.
Peter Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 I agree. I would hope that he is warmly received. It was a tough kick. Frank's hold was not the way it should have been (laces were out). The team did not lose because of Scott Norwood. We should have kicked their asses, but we did not. We could have run it down their throats all day long. If only we could have stopped one or more of those third and longs . . . . The reality is that Scott Norwood has become the unfortunate scapegoat for a team that collectively choked a winnable game away. He missed a 47 yarder...hardly an automatic field goal for any kicker. Levy was badly outcoached, and the rest of the team spent too much time partying and getting drunk beforehand. The outcome of a game is determined by the sum total of plays and not by any one particular play. If you plan on booing Norwood on Sunday, then you should quit calling yourself a Bills fan because you are a !@#$ing disgrace to the rest of us who call ourselves Bills fans.
Rico Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Agree with many here who feel Norwood doesn't deserve to be booed, he won a lot of games for this team.
Billsfreak17 Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 Agree with many here who feel Norwood doesn't deserve to be booed, he won a lot of games for this team. Norwood did win many games for us. He wasn't a great kicker, but wasn't bad either. We had several players of his caliber on our team that season. If any of them had stood up and made a big play during that game, that too would have changed the outcome. Part of what makes that team so legendary is their desire to overcome criticism, bad weather, bickering, etc. Their resilience is what makes their legacy so profound. Scott Norwood symbolized that as much as nearly any other player on that team. It must have taken a lot of guts to carry on (on and off the field) the way he did.
RyanC882 Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 You, sir, are a lunatic. I'd wager 3/4 or more of the coaches you think could/would do as well as Levy did with this group would fail and fail miserably. There's more to coaching than gathering a bunch of superstar talents and pointing them where to go. Getting a group of massive egos and larger-than-life personalities to mesh as a cohesive whole for sixty minutes on Sunday and produce winning football year after year might sound easy to you, but the rest of the rational, upright-and-breathing world understands how hard a task that is. Wow, name calling. Very impressive. My point here is that Levy was terrible at what you give him credit for being good at. Were you stoned or something during the era of the "Bickering Bills," are you unaware that the Bills went out partying before their Superbowl losses. Those are the FACTS. You, however, have only provided conclusory allegations with no factual basis with which to back them up. Nice try though. Good back to defending Levy if you want, then look at the talent he had compared to the rest of the AFC. Wasn't even close. He looses to a team with less talent in the first SB, then can't beat teams with equal or slightly better talent in the remaining SB's. Thomas who? If you mean Thurman, then you have to be kidding me. 15 carries for 135. 190 total yards from scrimmage. Anyone who knows anything about football knows Thurman would have been the MVP of that game if Scott's kick had gone through the uprights. Ottis Anderson as MVP was a joke, but someone from the winning team always gets it. As for the original topic, cheers to Scott for coming back to accept the well deserved award. Anyone who boos him is an a**hole. Stats are nice, but Thomas failed at the end of the game when it mattered most.
Just Jack Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 Vic Carricu comments on the Niagara Square rally.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Nb78ipgbYmk#t=148s
mrags Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 Well said. The performance of the rest of the team that day was an absolute discrace. Thomas SUCKED. Norwood missed a difficult field goal that only has a 50% chance of being made. Add in the fact and stress of the Super Bowl and it's even more difficult. If Thurman wasn't partying so much, and Kelly could beat a backup QB on the other side, perhaps we wouldn't have needed a last second kick. We got beat by a bunch of no-names. Meggett, Hostletler, etc. Total epic fail on the Bills part. Levy was a terrible HC. Stick him on a team not loaded with Bill Polian talent and he's Dick Jauron. Yeah, I said it. Levy=Jauron. Levy=Jauron is what I've been saying for a long time. He was a babysitter for a bunch of superstars and a bad one too. Who can't get thier guys to realize it's the superbowl. Regardless of how big of cokeheads and drunks they were. They needed to get up for these games and never did. Levy got outcoached so bad that the talent wasn't good enough or too hungover to male up the difference.
BarkLessWagMore Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 Stats are nice, but Thomas failed at the end of the game when it mattered most. How did Thurman fail? Was it the snap, the hold, or the kick? Really, you're wrong.
K-9 Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 How did Thurman fail? Was it the snap, the hold, or the kick? Really, you're wrong. Careful. Before you know it, our friend, if I may quote him, "will be forced to provide conclusory allegations with no factual basis with which to back them up." I get the impression Ryan either didn't see SB XXV or is just too young to remember the game clearly. He is the ONLY one of the BILLIONS in the viewing audience, either those who saw it in person or on TV, that I have seen make the claim that Thurman Thomas "choked." Some in the media thought TT should have been named the MVP in that game. Very rare for players from the losing team (Chuck Howley of the Cowboys is the only player from the losing team that I remember being named the SB MVP}. It's just an unbelievable position to hold on TT's performance. GO BILLS!!!
#34fan Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Probably not the LUCKIEST guy to have at a game this big. That said, Norwood is one of us for LIFE. I'll cheer for the guy as loud as I can.
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