NoHuddleKelly12 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 We have plumbed the depths many a day of who deserves to be on the list of all-time/best ever Bills, who of course would almost always have been starters after at least their rookie years, but how about showing some of our more memorable backups some love? Choose from any era since our beloved team was founded in 1960. Any position, career journeymen or one-hit wonders—the criteria would be a memorable contribution towards a win, playoff run, etc., while they were NOT penciled in as #1 at their respective position groups. I realize it may get a bit muddled when considering individual cases where someone may have been a starter, was demoted, then had a resurgence, or that person who parlayed a starring backup turn into a starting gig—we’ll just have to debate your picks as they’re posted. But I think making the test simply be a player who was not a starter when they impacted a game or team fortunes in a memorable way, will get us to a good group for discussion. Make it serious or tongue in cheek, funny or analytical, the floor is yours. Feel free to compile a complete roster’s worth of backups for your post, or just reference a few. Either way, am looking forward to who ya got TBD! My deep in the JV bench weeds nomination is season 1992’s Gale Gilbert, an unsung hero who never even saw the field in the greatest comeback game of all time (imho)…yet per Frank Reich (himself a backup deserving of QB 1 for this thread), it was none other than our normally 3rd string QB who energized Frank at halftime with just the right Oscar-worthy words, sparking our most improbable playoff win of all time! https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2005/01/news-bills-greatest-comeback/ [Side Note Edit] Here is the recap of Letterman’s Top 10 List after that game: “January 5, 1993 Top 10 Houston Oiler Excuses 10. Shouldn't have skipped breakfast - it's the most important meal of the day! 9. Started giving 109% instead of 110%. 8. Even though fans loved it, shouldn't have replaced Warren Moon with folk singer Suzanne Vega. 7. Busy making mental tally of football players with girls names: Fran Tarkenton... Rosey Grier.... 6. YOU try tackling those guys - some of them are huge! 5. Bills quarterback kept looking one way, then throwing the other. 4. Wanted to honor another Houstonian who let a big lead in the polls slip away. 3. "I'm telling you - maybe YOU didn't see Dobermans on the field, but there WERE Dobermans on the field!" 2. Preoccupied about getting home in time to see all the Amy Fisher movies. 1. Didn't want to go to Disney World.” http://www.mudslide.net/TopTen/lnwd1993.html#January 5, 1993 2 Quote
Billy Claude Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) 4 hours ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said: My deep in the JV bench weeds nomination is season 1992’s Gale Gilbert, an unsung hero who never even saw the field in the greatest comeback game of all time (imho)…yet per Frank Reich (himself a backup deserving of QB 1 for this thread), it was none other than our normally 3rd string QB who energized Frank at halftime with just the right Oscar-worthy words, sparking our most improbable playoff win of all time! https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2005/01/news-bills-greatest-comeback/ [Side Note Edit] Here is the recap of Letterman’s Top 10 List after that game: “January 5, 1993 Top 10 Houston Oiler Excuses 10. Shouldn't have skipped breakfast - it's the most important meal of the day! 9. Started giving 109% instead of 110%. 8. Even though fans loved it, shouldn't have replaced Warren Moon with folk singer Suzanne Vega. 7. Busy making mental tally of football players with girls names: Fran Tarkenton... Rosey Grier.... 6. YOU try tackling those guys - some of them are huge! 5. Bills quarterback kept looking one way, then throwing the other. 4. Wanted to honor another Houstonian who let a big lead in the polls slip away. 3. "I'm telling you - maybe YOU didn't see Dobermans on the field, but there WERE Dobermans on the field!" 2. Preoccupied about getting home in time to see all the Amy Fisher movies. 1. Didn't want to go to Disney World.” http://www.mudslide.net/TopTen/lnwd1993.html#January 5, 1993 The Letterman Top 10 List was great. I never saw this one. Loved the replacing Warren Moon by Suzanne Vega line. Surprised no one has ever tried to revise the Top 10 List. Edited June 6 by Billy Claude 1 Quote
Billy Claude Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) Returning to the original question: Karlos Williams -- looked like a beast the whole 2015 season behind Shady McCoy but especially in two wins against the Dolphins, 21 carries for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns total in the two games. Edited June 6 by Billy Claude 2 2 1 Quote
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 45 minutes ago, Billy Claude said: Returning to the original question: Karlos Williams -- looked like a beast the whole 2015 season behind Shady McCoy but especially in two wins against the Dolphins, 21 carries for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns total in the two games. I remember there being a real offseason buzz around him building on that year, then he showed up very out of shape and never lived up to the hype again—but yes, for some time in ‘15 it looked very promising! Especially glad to see such good performance against the Fins. Quote
BarleyNY Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) Gabe Davis - was great for a backup, but not so great as a starter (overall). Edited June 6 by BarleyNY 1 Quote
Alphadawg7 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Ryan Fitzpatrick - What a great backup QB he was... ...oh wait...Bills over paid him and made him a starter. Nevermind 1 2 Quote
The Frankish Reich Posted June 6 Posted June 6 9 minutes ago, dhg said: Daryle Lamonica. My dad's favorite, also my namesake. Spelled the same way? If so, that's some devotion. Quote
dhg Posted June 6 Posted June 6 8 minutes ago, The Frankish Reich said: Spelled the same way? If so, that's some devotion. No. They took the e off the end to make it easier to spell, but everyone still spells it wrong anyway! 2 Quote
The Jokeman Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) Eric Moulds was a backup his first two seasons, he wasn't a great backup but was a great starter. Fred Jackson was a good backup to Lynch. Edited June 6 by The Jokeman 1 Quote
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 One of my favs—Tim Tindale, the Canadian Mustang I’ll never forget watching his long TD against the Dolphins in the 95 playoffs—a big guy with some speed to go with his mainly blocking assignments and special teams role… 4 1 Quote
Buffalo Boy Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Frank Reich 1 Kenneth Davis 2 Butch Rolle 3 Rookie James Cook 4 1 1 Quote
The Frankish Reich Posted June 6 Posted June 6 4 hours ago, Billy Claude said: Returning to the original question: Karlos Williams -- looked like a beast the whole 2015 season behind Shady McCoy but especially in two wins against the Dolphins, 21 carries for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns total in the two games. I agree. I thought we had a real find there. In retrospect, Karlos shows how difficult it is to be an NFL success. He had all the physical abilities and toughness. But you need to work, work, work. And he had a running style that made him susceptible to concussions. And apparently a life outside football that wasn't conducive to success on the field. Kind of a sad story. 2 Quote
Mark Vader Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Frank Reich Kenneth Davis Don Beebe Monty Brown John Hagy Butch Rolle Tony Cline Al Edwards Scott Radecic Chris Poole Mark Pike Sammy Morris 3 1 1 Quote
Ray Stonada Posted June 6 Posted June 6 For some reason some of my favorite Bills are backup running backs. Kenny Davis of course. Larry Kinnebrew. Darick Holmes. 2 Quote
Mark Vader Posted June 6 Posted June 6 6 minutes ago, Ray Stonada said: For some reason some of my favorite Bills are backup running backs. Kenny Davis of course. Larry Kinnebrew. Darick Holmes. How could I forget Darick Holmes?! 2 Quote
Ray Stonada Posted June 6 Posted June 6 1 minute ago, Mark Vader said: How could I forget Darick Holmes?! He had swag! Quote
Ned Flanders Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) Robb Riddick Reuben Gant Halvor Hagan James Harris Rod Kush Kenneth Davis Frank Reich Edited June 6 by Ned Flanders 2 Quote
RocCityRoller Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Ryan Bates OG/C He filled in as a starter but don't recall him being the #1 guy at any position. He started at the end of 2021, helped stabilize the OL and was the starting LG for the perfect offensive game vs the Pats and the 30 seconds nail biter vs KC. He also was a solid C when asked to fill in for Morse on other occasions. He always seemed to be the forgotten man in the current regime. Quote
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