Bruce Smith a Football Life.

[newcam2012]

Watching it on the NFL network. It is so good to watch. Great insight from the other Bills players like Kelly, Bennett, Talley, Reed, etc... It's getting me pumped for this season. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

3 minutes ago, newcam2012 said:

Watching it on the NFL network. It is so good to watch. Great insight from the other Bills players like Kelly, Bennett, Talley, Reed, etc... It's getting me pumped for this season. 

I am sure it is all positive. But it is interesting to hear some of his detractors. I remember talking to one of the starters on those defenses back then and he said nobody liked Bruce (due to being a prima Donna and poor worker in practice, mostly). 

[Momma Pecoraro]

Best Bill ever. 

[nedboy7]

Thurman seems very quiet in those restaurant scenes. 

[billybrew1]

25 minutes ago, Momma Pecoraro said:

Best Bill ever. 

Only JA himself has a shot of being a better football player.  He has a real good shot, imho…Just has to keep playing…
Bruce shouldn’t have played in preseason at all…just risking an injury for no reason. Bruce was always ready to play….

PS - Ted Washington is the best run defender of all-time and a damn good pocket crusher…

If OJ didn’t totally f***-up, Bills fans would have had a pretty good list of NFL best of all-time players…

 

 

 

[Nextmanup]

57 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I am sure it is all positive. But it is interesting to hear some of his detractors. I remember talking to one of the starters on those defenses back then and he said nobody liked Bruce (due to being a prima Donna and poor worker in practice, mostly). 

I think Bills fans these days forget that Bruce was a jerk and PITA very early in his career.

 

A very good friend of mine once literally bounced him out of the then well known "Mickey Rats" bar, as he was a drunken ass making a fool of himself.  That was very early in his career.

 

In Bruce's defense, he really matured at a certain point in time and that stuff went away forever, as far as I know.

 

I can't recall an interview in more recent times where he was not calm, in control, and seemingly totally at peace with himself.  He's also kept himself in absolutely GREAT shape.

 

 

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, billybrew1 said:

Only JA himself has a shot of being a better football player.  He has a real good shot, imho…Just has to keep playing…
Bruce shouldn’t have played in preseason at all…just risking an injury for no reason. Bruce was always ready to play….

PS - Ted Washington is the best run defender of all-time and a damn good pocket crusher…

If OJ didn’t totally f***-up, Bills fans would have had a pretty good list of NFL best of all-time players…

 

 

 

OJ's penchant for killing his ex-wives and their boyfriends has absolutely nothing to do with his NFL playing career.

He is absolutely the best Bill of all time.  I would put Bruce at No. 2.

 

 

[MJS]

8 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

I think Bills fans these days forget that Bruce was a jerk and PITA very early in his career.

 

A very good friend of mine once literally bounced him out of the then well known "Mickey Rats" bar, as he was a drunken ass making a fool of himself.  That was very early in his career.

 

In Bruce's defense, he really matured at a certain point in time and that stuff went away forever, as far as I know.

I feel like this was true of a lot of the Bills players from that era. They were cocky and full of themselves in those earlier years, but as time went on they matured and became better people. Took longer for some of them, shorter for others.

[Dr. Who]

7 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

He is absolutely the best Bill of all time.  I would put Bruce at No. 2.

 

 

Josh Allen has a chance to end up No. 1, but right now, this is correct, even though some folks will be squeamish about it.

[msw2112]

17 minutes ago, MJS said:

I feel like this was true of a lot of the Bills players from that era. They were cocky and full of themselves in those earlier years, but as time went on they matured and became better people. Took longer for some of them, shorter for others.

 

It's possible that this cockiness cost them the SB against the Giants.  Rumor has it that the Bills were out every night enjoying the nightlife in Tampa, including the night before the game.  After the 51-3 trashing of the Raiders and being installed as a fairly heavy favorite, they felt the game was theirs.  The Giants were more disciplined and more ready to play.  Despite this, the Bills talent came through and they were inches from pulling it out.  I always wonder if the Bills had buckled down a bit and saved the partying for AFTER the game, the result might have been different.  The counter argument is that the cockiness and looseness was what gave the Bills their edge and was part of their success.  We'll never know.

Edited April 11, 2022 by msw2112

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I am sure it is all positive. But it is interesting to hear some of his detractors. I remember talking to one of the starters on those defenses back then and he said nobody liked Bruce (due to being a prima Donna and poor worker in practice, mostly). 

IIRC, Tasker says some stuff about that and so does someone who played D - that basically he and Kelly weren’t well-liked early on because they weren’t likeable people in their first years here

[Utah John]

11 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

 

It's possible that this cockiness cost them the SB against the Giants.  Rumor has it that the Bills were out every night enjoying the nightlife in Tampa, including the night before the game.  After the 51-3 trashing of the Raiders and being installed as a fairly heavy favorite, they felt the game was theirs.  The Giants were more disciplined and more ready to play.  Despite this, the Bills talent came through and they were inches from pulling it out.  I always wonder if the Bills had buckled down a bit and saved the partying for AFTER the game, the result might have been different.  The counter argument is that the cockiness and looseness was what gave the Bills their edge and was part of their success.  We'll never know.

There were at least two long runs where several Bill defenders had a chance to prevent conversion of a 3rd down, and where they just fell off.  The Bills have no one besides themselves to blame.  msw's post is exactly right up to the point where it says we'll never know.  Anyone who watched that game knows what happened.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

Best Bill ever.   My favorite Bill ever.

 

One thing that gets glossed over though was Bruce complaining to the national media during SB XXVI week in Minneapolis about hate mail he had received that season.

 

He basically painted the entire Bills fanbase as racist.    

 

Probably the worst shade ever thrown on the Bills fanbase.........and in such a big moment...........it was extremely divisive and controversial and cast a pall over most of the week.

 

By the time the game arrived there was a ton of negative energy around that team and I blame Bruce for a good part of that...........it was the low moment of his career in Buffalo, IMO and it's been intentionally dodged in retrospectives.

 

The Chuck Dickerson comments about the Hogs thing wasn't nearly as controversial in the moment but it has served as a convenient excuse and a cover for the bigger story at the time.

[SoCal Deek]

Bruce Smith was a beast. Unbelievable athlete, and maybe the best defensive player all time. Sure he was young once, but if you watch that show you’ll see the inspirational man he’s grown into. I think people forget how young these players really are. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

3 hours ago, msw2112 said:

 

It's possible that this cockiness cost them the SB against the Giants.  Rumor has it that the Bills were out every night enjoying the nightlife in Tampa, including the night before the game.  After the 51-3 trashing of the Raiders and being installed as a fairly heavy favorite, they felt the game was theirs.  The Giants were more disciplined and more ready to play.  Despite this, the Bills talent came through and they were inches from pulling it out.  I always wonder if the Bills had buckled down a bit and saved the partying for AFTER the game, the result might have been different.  The counter argument is that the cockiness and looseness was what gave the Bills their edge and was part of their success.  We'll never know.

 

I've always felt no other coach but Marv Levy could get the Bills back to the SB 4 times in a row.  If you switched coaches with the other teams they played, Parcells, Gibbs, Johnson, never would have made it back.  But also think any of those other coaches would have won one of the games for the Bills too.

[newcam2012]

4 hours ago, MJS said:

I feel like this was true of a lot of the Bills players from that era. They were cocky and full of themselves in those earlier years, but as time went on they matured and became better people. Took longer for some of them, shorter for others.

It shows this in the documentary. Clearly states Kelly and Bruce were jerks early in their career. Later, they matured and earned much respect from the players. Quite a sight to see.

[Mr. Wonderful]

It was a joy to watch that man play.  What a generational talent.

[njbuff]

Top 5 Bills of all time:

 

5. Reed

4. Kelly

3. Thurman 

2. Bruce

1. OJ

[BillsShredder83]

No NFL Network. I cancel cable during off season... anybody know where I can find it without. I was born in 88, so I remember the hype around him, and have seen the highlights, but wish I was old enough to remember him better than I do.

 

Side note- Awesome to have a stud DE finally, because the most dominant DE I've seen here is Mario.  He really crushed for a few years, then Rex pissed him off the last year. As good as he was here, I don't feel like he belongs in the same category of dominant as Von.... let's hope!

[T master]

17 hours ago, billybrew1 said:

Only JA himself has a shot of being a better football player.  He has a real good shot, imho…Just has to keep playing…
Bruce shouldn’t have played in preseason at all…just risking an injury for no reason. Bruce was always ready to play….

PS - Ted Washington is the best run defender of all-time and a damn good pocket crusher…

If OJ didn’t totally f***-up, Bills fans would have had a pretty good list of NFL best of all-time players…

 

 

 

 

Ted Washington should be in the HOF every where the guy played the D was really good i wish he could have stayed with the Bills but Ralph didn't like to pay to keep those kind of players around .

 

There were a bunch of players that left for that reason that would have made the Bills much better for a long time if they could have figured out the money .

[newcam2012]

16 hours ago, Utah John said:

There were at least two long runs where several Bill defenders had a chance to prevent conversion of a 3rd down, and where they just fell off.  The Bills have no one besides themselves to blame.  msw's post is exactly right up to the point where it says we'll never know.  Anyone who watched that game knows what happened.

If I recall correctly the Bills tackling was very very poor throughout most of the game. Also, the Giants played ball control effectively.