Alphadawg7 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Fred Jackson. Bills never made him the feature or starter. They kept drafting RBs like Lynch and Spiller. Fred was treated like a meh secondary player during the prime of his career instead of the very good RB he was who should have been featured more. 1 1 Quote
RocCityRoller Posted June 6 Posted June 6 S/DB Don Wilson Started 16 of 32 games on the dreadful 1984/ 1985 Bills teams. Was also a good PR/KR and had a knack for making plays at DB. Went to the CFL in 1986 and had a stellar 12 year career. Inducted into the CFL HOF in 2021. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WilsDo20.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Wilson_(gridiron_football) 1 1 Quote
RocCityRoller Posted June 6 Posted June 6 1 hour ago, Mark Vader said: Frank Reich Kenneth Davis Don Beebe Monty Brown John Hagy Butch Rolle Tony Cline Al Edwards Scott Radecic Chris Poole Mark Pike Sammy Morris Davis could have started for about a dozen teams in that era. A real luxury backup to Thurman Thomas. Hagy was a nasty (in a good way) S. Laid lumber when given the chance. IIRC Bills had Leonard Smith who was slightly better in that role at that time, and Kelso who was a very good FS. Butch Rolle was a mystery to me! Always the TE2 in goal line situations. From 1987-1990 he had 8 catches for 16 yards and all 8 catches were TDs! Mark Pike/ Mike Lodish - backups and ST. I wonder still what would have happened if the Bills would have played 4-3 more often against smash mouth teams. Both would have probably had a lot more play time under the current regime. Scott Radecic - great pull and one I was going to name. The Bills had an embarrassment of riches at LB in that era. Bentley/ Bailey and Radecic were all backups to some degree. Radecic was always making plays, but hard to bench Conlan/ Bently etc. Was a starter for KC for a few years before joining the Bills. 1 1 Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Lonnie "Keep Your Head Up!" Johnson. * Maybe not, but deserves mention for getting his bell rung in a prodigious manner. 1 1 Quote
RocCityRoller Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Two receivers and I'll move on: Steve Tasker at WR? Reed/ Thomas and Metzelaars were the 3 continuous receiving threats during that era. WR2 and WR3 were a rolling door. T Johnson/ Chris Burkett/ Lofton/ Beebe/ Brooks/ Early. All along Tasker was on the roster and almost never asked to play WR. Late in his career he was asked to play more WR and did pretty well. What would a young Tasker in the slot have looked like? Trumaine Johnson: 1st team All American at Grambling. Was a beast in the USFL for 2 seasons. 1983 - 81 REC/ 1327 yards (led USFL)/ 10 TD 1984 - 90 REC/ 1258 yards 13 TD USFL All Star both seasons '85-'86 Got a chance with the Chargers as a backup, didn't do much '87-'88 Signed on with Bills. Started 10 of 28 games. Was coming on nicely in 1988 with 37 REC/ 514 yards/ 13.9 AVG after taking Chris Burkett's starting role. Then he abruptly retired. 1 1 Quote
The Jokeman Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ray Stonada said: For some reason some of my favorite Bills are backup running backs. Kenny Davis of course. Larry Kinnebrew. Darick Holmes. I loved Holmes, I thought for sure he was going to succeed Thurman but before I knew it he got traded to Green Bay. Edited June 6 by The Jokeman 2 Quote
skibum Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Reich and Kenneth Davis are the top two for sure. A lot of guys were backups for several years, but then became starters for several more. Not a lot of guys have long careers as a backup - they either start some day or get replaced by someone management thinks is better. Not sure all are eligible: Pete Metzelaars was maybe 50/50 backup/starter. AVP is your backup backup QB. Don Beebe, legend. Marcellus Wiley was a backup during most of his time as a Bill, no? Josh Reed Roscoe Parrish Mario Haggan 1 Quote
mushypeaches Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Nick O'Leary Did you know that he's Jack Nicklaus' grandson??? For the old timers like me, that was like hearing about Darby the Dinosaur every freaking week.. 3 Quote
Sestak4ever Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Robert James. Made his mark on special teams before becoming probably the best cornerback in the game at the time. 2 Quote
Mark Vader Posted June 6 Posted June 6 4 hours ago, RocCityRoller said: Davis could have started for about a dozen teams in that era. A real luxury backup to Thurman Thomas. Hagy was a nasty (in a good way) S. Laid lumber when given the chance. IIRC Bills had Leonard Smith who was slightly better in that role at that time, and Kelso who was a very good FS. Butch Rolle was a mystery to me! Always the TE2 in goal line situations. From 1987-1990 he had 8 catches for 16 yards and all 8 catches were TDs! Mark Pike/ Mike Lodish - backups and ST. I wonder still what would have happened if the Bills would have played 4-3 more often against smash mouth teams. Both would have probably had a lot more play time under the current regime. Scott Radecic - great pull and one I was going to name. The Bills had an embarrassment of riches at LB in that era. Bentley/ Bailey and Radecic were all backups to some degree. Radecic was always making plays, but hard to bench Conlan/ Bently etc. Was a starter for KC for a few years before joining the Bills. Thanks for the reminder on Mike Lodish. Does Steve Tasker qualify? 2 Quote
Ethan in Cleveland Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Hard to really define a back-up any more with all the multiple sets Robb Riddick Kenneth Davis Don Beebe Jerry Butler after the knee injury Wyatt Teller (too soon?) Ryan Bates/Mongo - both were versatile C/G backups Ed Jones/Art Still played opposite Bruce - not sure how often they started vs came in as backups 1 Quote
slipkid Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) In terms of a backup winning a game, Roland Hooks’ last two plays against New England come to mind. Edited June 6 by slipkid 2 2 1 Quote
FireChans Posted June 6 Posted June 6 LorAx for sure gets an honorable mention as a "football player" rotational guy that somehow put up insane pass rushing stats for a bit. Lee Smith had a couple hilarious catches where he leaked out and was uncovered, most notably I think in 2020 in his second stint here. Pat DiMarco for being the most ridiculous overpaid FB. Frank Summers and Corey McIntyre (I think in today's game, all full backs are backups.) Marquies Gray aka Big Sammy who had an elite 41 yard catch and run and then was basically never heard from again. And Chris Hogan for making this catch 1 Quote
Fr. Jerk Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) Remember when Thad Lewis was our QB? That was one Hell of a TD run. He really played like he wanted it, ya dig? https://youtu.be/kkRr26OGE2E?si=0W9kd8T_BlIa6ZmF How bout that? Edited June 6 by Fr. Jerk 1 Quote
Buffalo716 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) 6 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said: Fred Jackson. Bills never made him the feature or starter. They kept drafting RBs like Lynch and Spiller. Fred was treated like a meh secondary player during the prime of his career instead of the very good RB he was who should have been featured more. He def was the feature back that year he snapped his leg week 9 He was top 2 NFL in rushing and having an all pro year He also has 10,000 career all purpose yards He outlasted two first round picks that they tried to replace him with but couldn't succeed He definitely was the best player here for a stretch Edited June 6 by Buffalo716 1 Quote
Alphadawg7 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 But most of his career he was a backup when he showed he should be the feature RB. We shoudln't have drafted Lynch and we definitely shouldn't have drafted Spiller. He was splitting carries his entire time here, most the time as the 2nd RB. The fact he "outlasted 2 first round picks" is a testament to how foolish it was to not make him the lead back and not waste 2 first round picks on a RB. 1 Quote
BuffaloBillyG Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Steve Tasker was a plus backup WR. He could have started for a few teams back then but was too valuable on ST. Dude could play. I'd throw Don Beebe in there as a good backup player as well. 1 Quote
freddyjj Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Loved me some back up safeties for Bills over the years Jeff Nixon 1979 Rod Kush early 80s Dwight Drane late 80s early 90s Kurt Schultz Matt Stevens 1 Quote
Buffalo716 Posted June 7 Posted June 7 1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said: But most of his career he was a backup when he showed he should be the feature RB. We shoudln't have drafted Lynch and we definitely shouldn't have drafted Spiller. He was splitting carries his entire time here, most the time as the 2nd RB. The fact he "outlasted 2 first round picks" is a testament to how foolish it was to not make him the lead back and not waste 2 first round picks on a RB. That's why the bills were not a good franchise in that point lol 1 1 Quote
Simon Posted June 7 Posted June 7 I'm going with Jabari Greer. I spent 3-4 years bitching while he languished on the Bills bench despite clearly being the team's second most capable and instinctive corner, only to see the Bills let him walk when he became a FA. He's currently ensconced in the Saints Hall of Fame. 1 1 Quote
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