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Scott Norwood, XXV years later


YoloinOhio

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The average fan doesn’t recall the time on Sept. 25, 1988, when he made all five of his field goal attempts and scored 18 points in a win over the Steelers, one of only 45 kickers in NFL history to account for that many, on his wife’s birthday. They don’t remember his All-Pro season.

 

Yes, we do.

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48 yards on natural grass is not a gimmie. Couple it with the fact that Scott was not known to have the best range outside of 45 yds, the Bills needed to do a much better job with the clock on that last drive.

At the end of the day trying to find fault or blame is useless. It is what it is.

Scott is a great guy . The way Buffalo treated him was first class and it has to of helped him get through it.

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I feel really bad for Scott Norwood. No one should have to shoulder the entire burden for that loss by himself and certainly not Scott.

 

A few thoughts in this regard:

 

Frank Reich (whom I like) really needs to stand up and just say to the world that his hold was not good. Indeed, the ball (not surprisingly) drifted in the direction of where the laces were pointed. I did not watch the whole thing, but the recent 30 for 30 would have been a perfect time for Frank to have done that for Scott Norwood's sake. No one would have thought any less of Frank for doing so. Maybe Frank did this in the 30 for 30 or has done this somewhere and I have missed it. If so, I apologize.

 

To his absolute credit, I have never once heard Scott Norwood blame the kick on Frank or anyone else. Nevertheless, Scott should not have had to carry this burden for so long.

 

Jim Kelly was far too stubborn in that game. I hate to say it but Bill Belichick completely outsmarted Jim. We could have run the ball all day long given the defense that they were playing.

 

Third down tackling - horrendous and painful.

 

In the end, Scott Norwood is a classy guy and that loss was a team loss through and through. It is a shame that we did not win for so many reasons.

 

I just saw this from 2001. Classy:

 

The question was put to Norwood: Were the laces right?

"That's not something I even delve into," he said, his posture suggesting otherwise. "The ball, wherever it's sitting down, that's what I take. In this instance, however, the laces were. I didn't feel it was a contributing factor. It's all a part of it. It's definitely a team situation."

In other words, Reich didn't get the laces front and center.

Watching Norwood answer questions from Charlie Steiner and Will McDonough it is difficult not to respect Norwood's stiff upper lip.

 

 

http://assets.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs00/010127garber/norwood.html

Edited by Peter
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Yes, we do.

Exactly. No Bills fan I've ever known has had anything but love for Norwood. Contrasted with those knuckle-dragging, bridge-and-tunnel Gints fans who think a Norwood jersey with the name offset to the right is the highest of high comedy.

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The honesty in that story is dramatic, courageous, and heartbreaking. I feel so bad for the guy, and I wish like many of us that he could move past it. But I can also understand how difficult it is. Especially when it could take just one thoughtless jackass to bring it all back in an instant.

 

I hope he finds the strength and peace to live a less burdened life.

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it was at the outside of his range. The fact Reich had the laces to the right, on a long kick could not have helped at all.

Norwood could have used this as a partial excuse for missing. But, no he is a stand up player. i don't think i have ever seen a long FG attempt before or since with the laces to the right. of course no one gets a kick of that magnitude ever put under a microscope like Norwoods. Nor the chance typically too see which direction the laces are pointed. it is assumed though never to the right or left.

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I liked how Dehaven? Reich? Explained it in Four Falls. Scott put so much behind the kick, it didn't fade left like they were in practice. Like a putt with too much mustard on it, it didn't break, but had more than enough distance.

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