My 5 All Time Favorite Bills

[bbb]

Smerlas and Haslett, best buddys, were pretty legendary a-holes during their days in Buffalo...and Smerlas has pretty much bad-mouthed the city and the organization, consistently, over the years...he took a breather from it, when he was lobbying for Haslett as Bills head coach, and for himself as a Bills color guy on the radio broadcasts...but then, Marv was hired, and hired Jauron....honestly, in retrospect, would rather have had Haslett than DJ, but I get the feeling that Smerlas and Haslett were not like Ralph's long lost sons.

 

I lived in Buffalo back in the Haslett/Smerlas days, had season tickets. Make no mistake, I thought they were both terrific football players (Has when he was healthy) but don't have a lot of use for either of them, beyond that. Have heard some pretty nasty stuff about Haslett during his time as HC in New Orleans as well...

 

I was talking to somebody about his store about a decade ago. I used to go to it all the time 20-30 years ago. He said Do you know who owned the building? Fred Smerlas. He said he has never met a dumber guy in his life. LOL!

 

But, I did love that Bermuda Triangle, and Freddy was a huge part of the 1980 turnaround and then the 1988 one, too. The only one to span those two great eras.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Favorites not mentioned:

Lucious Sanford

Carlton Bailey

Joe Cribbs

James Lofton

Clay Matthews (if we picked him)

Leonard Smith

Kurt Schultz

 

Least Favorite

Jeff Wright

Marshawn

McGahee

Vince Ferragamo

BTW, I met Vince Ferragamo and he seemed like a really great guy but he threw a soft ball and that just didn't fly in Rich Stadium.

 

This topic is very generational. Clearly there's a lot of posters here who have a great appreciation for those Chuck Knox teams. Knox was an excellent Head Coach and de facto GM because in those days the Head Coach typically made all the personnel decisions including the draft and free agency and on some teams even negotiated contracts up until around that time.

 

I started following the Bills in 1969 after their AFL glory days. There's a bit of nostalgia involved in my picks too because players are more special when you're a boy than when you're a man. The 1980 team was a star-studded team and except for a few of the Saban/OJ years, was the first winning Bills team that I could really appreciate.

 

I chose players who hadn't been mentioned too much and I pretty much eliminated the Super Bowl teams because a) it's too easy b) in spite of their excellence, those guys were not really a likable group and c) I was grown up by then. I also tried to pick players who spent appreciable time in Buffalo so that eliminates two of my faves, Doug Flutie and Chris Spielman.

 

So my picks are (already breaking one of my rules because he's been mentioned several times) CB/Safety Tony Greene, and two underrated DEs who played most of their careers pre-1982 (significant because sacks were not a statistic), Big Ben Williams and Sherman White. White was ironically the 2nd pick overall by Cinci after the Bills drafted Walt Patulski. White was an exceptional player and played more years in Buffalo than did Patulski. Williams and White manned the defensive end spots for the Bills for 8 consecutive seasons. They were good players who played on some good teams and some bad teams. By playing in Buffalo during a mediocre era, their careers have gone largely unappreciated.

 

Of course I loved Fergy and Chandler and Jerry Butler but they're getting lots of play already so I'll go with two wideouts from the OJ era who were awesome players but played on bad, run-oriented teams. You knew they were great players and they both proved that after they left Buffalo. Marlin Briscoe (who along with former Bills QB James Harris is one of the NFL's more historically significant players) and Haven Moses. Both players ended up going to Pro Bowls and appearing in Super Bowls after they left the Bills. Luckily they were succeeded by the likes of JD Hill, Bobby Chandler, and Ahmad Rashad and later on Frank Lewis and Jerry Butler.

 

The Bills have typically had excellent receiving groups, except for a few eras including the present.

Edited May 7, 2012 by San Jose Bills Fan

[bbb]

BTW, I met Vince Ferragamo and he seemed like a really great guy but he threw a soft ball and that just didn't fly in Rich Stadium.

 

This topic is very generational. Clearly there's a lot of posters here who have a great appreciation for those Chuck Knox teams. He was an excellent Head Coach and de facto GM because in those days, the Head Coach typically made all the personnel decisions including the draft and free agency and head coaches even used to negotiate contracts up until around that time.

 

The 1980 team was a star studded team and except for a few of the Saban/OJ years, was the first winning Bills team that I could really appreciate. I started following the team in 1969 after their AFL glory days. There's a bit of nostalgia involved in my picks too because players are more special when you're young than when you're grown-up.

 

I chose players who hadn't been mentioned too much and I pretty much eliminated the Super Bowl teams because a) it's too easy b) in spite of their excellence, those guys were not really a likable group and c) I was grown up. I also tried to pick players who spent appreciable time in Buffalo so that eliminates two of my faves, Doug Flutie and Chris Spielman.

 

So my picks are (already breaking one of my rules because he's been mentioned several times) Tony Greene, and two underrated DEs who played most of their careers pre-1982 (significant because sacks were not a statistic), Big Ben Williams and Sherman White who ironically was the 2nd pick overall by Cinci after the Bills drafted Walt Patulski. White was an exceptional player and played more years in Buffalo than did Patulski. Williams and White manned the defensive end spots for the Bills for 8 consecutive seasons. They were good players who played on some good teams and some bad teams.

 

Of course I loved Fergy and Chandler and Jerry Butler but they're getting lots of play already so I'll go with two wideouts from the OJ era who were awesome players but played on bad, run-oriented teams. You knew they were great players and they both proved that after they left Buffalo. Marlin Briscoe (who along with former Bills QB James Harris is one of the NFL's more historically significant players) and Haven Moses.

 

Oddly enough, probably because I can appreciate how tough they are as I'm an old fart, compared to when I was a young kid and thought I'd grow up to be them...........Plus the fact that they excelled during bad times. But, my favorites seem to be the ones from the last 15 years:

Ted, Pat and Sam

Travis Henry

Antoine Winfield

Eric Moulds (most talented receiver in Bills history, I think)

1998 Doug Flutie

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Oddly enough, probably because I can appreciate how tough they are as I'm an old fart, compared to when I was a young kid and thought I'd grow up to be them...........Plus the fact that they excelled during bad times. But, my favorites seem to be the ones from the last 15 years:

Ted, Pat and Sam

Travis Henry

Antoine Winfield

Eric Moulds (most talented receiver in Bills history, I think)

1998 Doug Flutie

Winfield is a guy a really liked too.

 

Pound for pound one of the best football players to ever don the blue, white, and red.

 

 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

There's a bit of nostalgia involved in my picks because players are more special when you're a boy than when you're a man.

This very true and I picked some because of the positions I played in school so you liked those guys on the Bills. However if will get a superbowl team around here I'll have some new favorites.

[bbb]

Winfield is a guy a really liked too.

 

Pound for pound one of the best football players to ever don the blue, white, and red.

 

You always knew who made the hit without seeing the number when it was Antoine making it. The guy with the ball usually went down very hard........I think he's still playing which is amazing, with his style and lack of size.

 

BTW, speaking of hard hitters, I thought Antoine was the hardest hitter ever in our secondary, Shane Conlon as a linebacker, and surprisingly (I'm talking about hitting running backs) was Bruce in his later years. He turned into such a dominating and punishing run stopper as the years went on. What made him the greatest is his work ethic.

[VirginiaMike]

I'm late to the show, but here's mine:

1. Mike Stratton

2. Cookie Gilcrist

3. Jim Kelly

4. Steve Tasker

5. Thurman Thomas

[dogman]

Favorites...

 

1. O.J. best I ever saw.

2. Reggie Mckenzie: no one was ever prouder to be a Bill.

3. Earl Edwards: Still remember him chasing Joe Namath all the way to the wall.

4. Jim Kelly: so many thrills.

5. Cornelius Bennett: Never understood what happened to his career.

6. Conrad Dobler: kicked people in the nuts.

7. Kent Hull: Warrior and underrated.

 

 

Least... FYI not big on legends.

 

1. Fred Smerlas: third and short-a guaranteed off-side penalty. Admitted to laying down in games to get Hank Bullough fired.

2. Doug Flutie: Overrated and never won a playoff game with a very good team.

3. Joe Ferguson: watched him walk around with his head down for ten years.

4. Tom Dempsey: Sat in a torential downfall to watch him miss a 33 yard field goal to extend Miami's mastery.

5. Ralph Wilson: Has held this town up for ransom countless times.

[Haven Moses]

Dennis Shaw

Mini Max Anderson

Marlin Briscoe

James Harris

Dan Darraugh

[Chandler#81]

A Dan Darragh mention. Woo Hoo! What?!? No Kay Stephenson??

Chandler#81Billy ShawTom SestakKent HullBiscuit

[Buftex]

Young fellow, you're too young to recall a time before the radicals, in fact the very mentors to our current "commander in chief" infiltrated our government, society and our very culture. This was before the so called "war on poverty" and the conversion of our culture from one in which there was a right and wrong to one in which society or some ambiguous disease was blamed for people's ill's, perversions and criminality. The great majority of people had a sense of personal responsibility for their actions. Of course, there weren't the creature comforts and the luxury's we now enjoy and people did suffer as they always have and always will. However, there was a clear distinction between right and wrong. Prison was a punishment and not a place for "rehabilitation" and, definitely, not a right of passage for an entire sub-culture created from the aforementioned "war on poverty." Things weren't perfect as some may say. However, one could enjoy the trust of his fellow Americans to do the right thing. Amen!!!

 

Anyhow, my favorite pre-Super Bowl Bill was Joe Ferguson. He had a great arm and great anticipation of his receivers breaks. Although his stats didn't indicate it, I believe that with the NFL today, he would be a top five QB in the NFL.

Yes, things were much better when nobody talked about things, or knew what was really going on!

 

But I do agree...Fergy was great!

 

A Dan Darragh mention. Woo Hoo! What?!? No Kay Stephenson??

Chandler#81Billy ShawTom SestakKent HullBiscuit

 

 

Acutally, was going to mention Dennis Shaw...I was 6 when he QB'd the Bills, and as we shared the same first name, he was likely the guy most responsible for me attachment to the Bills. Dennis was not a very common name, back then, it seemed. Remember having a pair of Buffal Bills pj's, and one of my sisters, in sharpie, drew a "16" on the back, and Dennis across the top, for the name...but he was gone the next year...to play for the Cardinals. Though I was born in 1965, I consider my Bills years to have started in 1972.

 

For some you old-timers, why exactly did the Bills dump Shaw after one, rookie of the year, season? I have never known. I realize, Fergy ended up having a much more productive career, in retrospect, but what was it with Shaw that made him so expendable?

Edited May 7, 2012 by Buftex

[Matt in KC]

Sam Cowart

Andre Reed

Fred Jackson

Antoine Winfield

Terrence McGee

Kent Hull

Steve Tasker

 

Honorable mention:

Travis Henry for his untacklable attitude at the end of each run

Frank Reich - what a great guy!

 

Least Favorite:

Matt Stevens - I know it's not right to dislike a backup for not being very good, but he used to drive me crazy and the Bills kept going back to him.

 

Wow. I had no idea he was in a motorcyle accident and is paralyzed for life

Edited May 7, 2012 by Matt in KC

[tennesseeboy]

1. Jack Kemp...took us to the AFL championship.

2. Jim Kelly...Bad choice because Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed should also be here...leaving not much room for anyone else.

3. Robert James...Great D-back

4. Billy Shaw

5. Kent Hull

 

 

This is interesting as it is very subjective. I suspect I couldn't "win" an argument if anyone put any of thirty or forty bills in this category.

 

 

Least favorite Bill....Probably Billy Joe Hobert or whatever his name was who hadn't looked at the playbook before getting his head handed to him....and then ADMITTING it.

[DDD]

My Favorites:

 

1.Bruce Smith

2.Shane Conlan

3.Thurman Thomas

4.Steve Freeman

5.Charles Romes

 

Very honorable mentions:

 

1.Frank Lewis

2.Jim Ritcher

3.Nate Odomes

4.Fred Smerlas

5.Kent Hull

[Haven Moses]

No Mini Max love???

[DD4Bills]

A little different take...not measured so much on skill/impact, but on how proud I am that they wore (or wear) a Bills jersey.

 

Favorites

1. Don Beebe (for way more than just that never-quit Super Bowl play vs. Dallas)

2. Andre Reed

3. Joe Ferguson (a warrior on some tough teams)

4. Kent Hull

5. James Lofton (we got him late in his career, but loved every minute of it)

 

Least

1. Leonard Smith (spent more time posing and preening and taking stupid penalties)

2. Travis Henry (a good player...but dang.)

3. Vince Ferragamo

4. Billy Joe Hobert (Studying the playbook is NOT optional)

[tennesseeboy]

A lot of great names mentioned and I don't want to repeat them just to say they're my favorites. However, my 5 favorites are those who changed the course of Bills history in a positive way. They are, in no particular order,

 

1. Cookie Gilchrist - didn't see him play as a Bill, but was the Bills first legitimate star, and one opponents had to account for on every play. He took on anything or anyone in his way at full power, be it a tackler or the City of New Orleans (when they wrongly tried to impose segregation on AFL all-stars)

 

2. Jack Kemp - first leader of the offense. Like Cookie, advanced the Bills to the top echelon of the young AFL

 

3. Jim Kelly - leader who brought the Bills to the post season map and arguably our greatest teams (can't forget the 64-65 teams, could they have won a Super Bowl? Some of the players think so).

 

4. OJ Simpson - put the Bills on the NFL map. First RB that I knew of to publicly praise his O-line. It was OJ who insisted that the O-line be part of post game interviews after the 2000 yard game.

 

5. Lou Saban - coach who put the Bills on the AFL and NFL map. This franchise may have fizzled out of existence if it weren't for him. I've forgiven his quick exits. It was his nature and given that he stayed at the Bills longer than any other employer, it's time to honor his contributions on the stadium Wall.

 

Honorable mention to many others like Billy Shaw, Elbert Dubenion, Bruce Smith, Tom Sestak, Steve Tasker, Andre Reed, Darryl Talley and others.

I saw Cookie play and he was the greatest running back I've ever seen. Few remember that he was perhaps the best pass blocking back in the game in addition to being one magnificent runner. I didn't put him on my list because of attitude and his being traded before the second championship (for Billy Joe?).

 

Others from that team are the defensive line (Day, Sestak, Dunaway and McDole) the linebackers (Jacobs, Tracey and Stratton) and Butch Byrd and George Saimes on Defense, and Warlick, Dubenion, Bass, and Gilchrist and Wray Carlton...Not to mention the greatest field goal kicker we ever had---Pete Gogolak. Actually the punter, Paul McGuire, wsn't bad at all and he always insisted he could actually be used as a linebacker as well. Credit to Saban for never actually trying that out.

[VirginiaMike]

I saw Cookie play and he was the greatest running back I've ever seen. Few remember that he was perhaps the best pass blocking back in the game in addition to being one magnificent runner. I didn't put him on my list because of attitude and his being traded before the second championship (for Billy Joe?).

 

Others from that team are the defensive line (Day, Sestak, Dunaway and McDole) the linebackers (Jacobs, Tracey and Stratton) and Butch Byrd and George Saimes on Defense, and Warlick, Dubenion, Bass, and Gilchrist and Wray Carlton...Not to mention the greatest field goal kicker we ever had---Pete Gogolak. Actually the punter, Paul McGuire, wsn't bad at all and he always insisted he could actually be used as a linebacker as well. Credit to Saban for never actually trying that out.

Cookie was a beast! You had to see him to appreciate the raw power he generated from the RB position. The o9ldtimers will tell you of his exploits - was not the best of attitudes, but just magnificent with a ball in his hands.

[Yoho]

Mack Yoho

Gene Sykes

Monte Ledbetter

Preston Ridlehuber

Billy Atkins

[BUFFALOKIE]

My five Favorite bills in no particular order.

$100

$50

$20

$10

Jim Kelly

 

Least favorite bills:

Capital one

Scott Norwood

OJ

Trent Edwards