Buftex Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Chomping at the bit, waiting for football season to start...and wondering why we hate so many more of the old Bills, in the off-seasons, than we appreciate them. Who would you say is the most underrated Buffalo Bill of the last 25 years or so? One guy who I always got a raw deal from the Bills coaching staff, and my most candidate: #1- Antwain Smith! My case: I know, I know, everyone will crack on his weight issues, and his 1.5 yard runs, but I think a lot of that was the result of him being woefully misused by Wade Phillips coaching staff. He was a big kid when he got drafted, and had a really good rookie season. I know there were always stories about Smiths' work ethic in practice, but given a chance, he normally played very well on game day. The key words being, "given a chance" It seemed that Pendry didn't like him, for whatever reason, and was determined that mediocre talents like Jonathan Linton and Shawn Bryson (who flashed potential before all the injuries) were on par with Antowain Smith. In my opinion, it wasn't even close. Neither Bryson or Linton had the big play capability that Smith had. I remember numerous games during his final season, where Smith would carry the ball 3 or 4 times at the begining of the game, for 10 yards, only to be benched the rest of the game. Anotwain Smith serves very much, the perfect example of the running back who got better as the game went on. He needed more carries to get into rhythm. Remember how he would destroy defenses, late in his rookie season, just pounding the ball? That monster second half he had against the Colts, in 97, to carry the Bills back from a 26-0 deficit? Remember that amazing run, on the opening play of the second half of the Titans playoff game? That, to me, is an all-time Bills playoff highlight. Linton and Bryson just could not do that. Smith, it seems to me, was worked out of the line-up for personal reasons, rather than professional reasons. Even 5 years into his career, as a journeymen, Smith was very capable of breaking a game or two open, in New England... My other cadidate: #2- Billy Brooks... I am not sure the Bills would have made it to the playoffs in 1995 without him. The He wasn't fast, but was, essentially, the only the legit wide receiver for the last 10 games of the season. I just watched a few games from that season, and Brooks got absolutely drilled by defenses, whose only other worries were Lonnie Johnson Russell Copeland (600 yrds) and Justin Armour. By that time, Thurman wasn't a factor in the passing game at all, for whatever reason. And Tasker was rarely, if ever, used on offense at that point..... Most under-rated Bill on TSW: Andre Reed....I am always amazed at how often posters here, slag off Reed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 London Fletcher. Mostly from a leaguewide perspective. Why has'nt this guy been to a Pro Bowl yet? Jay Riemersma. Granted his blocking skills were underwhelming. Still, he was a very good receiving threat and caught quite a few TD's. John Holocek. He was always there to make the tackle, but never seemed to get that much praise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 London Fletcher.Mostly from a leaguewide perspective. Why has'nt this guy been to a Pro Bowl yet? 727753[/snapback] I could be wrong, but wasn't Fletcher an alternate this past Pro-Bowl...I think he played too! I agree with you about him and Holicek...not so much on Jay Riemersma...he had some nice grabs, but I seem to remember him dropping a lot too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generaLee83 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 London Fletcher without any doubt in my mind. Arguably the most productive LB in the NFL the last 5 years. I think he is just unknown by the Pro Bowl voting fans because he's been part of a team that never makes the playoffs. I hope Buffalo inks him for 3 more years and then encourages him into coaching, if there is any 30+ player on this young Bills team that is worth keeping, it is him. Maybe he won't have 130 tackles in 2009 but he is worth keeping for his example setting-never quit approach. This alone has probably made all of the Bills younger LB's better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bflojohn Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 My candidate is non other than Travis Henry! Say what you want about his fumbling, but I think that he really gave it his all as a Buffalo Bill. I do wish that he would have handled the McGahee situation better (in regard to accepting a back-up role) but he is not unlike other athletes who bristle at being pushed back on the "back burner" after starting, and producing!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Pete Metzelaars. To this day, he is not mentioned as one of the stars of the superbowl era Bills. Metz was as strong as an ox, and served as an extra lineman for Kelly, Thurman, etc. While he didn't have a ton of receptions, many of them were clutch, and he was tough to cover in the endzone because he was so wide. We haven't had a TE who compared to him since he left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Underrated back-in-the-day, and forgotten now: Frank Lewis. I'll never forget the game he had in the 1981 play-offs against the Jets... most dominant player on the field that day by far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoser12 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Kent Hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I think that in a way, Shane Conlan was overshadowed by Bennet, Talley, and Bruce Smith. Therefore I say he was one of the most underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDG Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Darrick Holmes Seeing him drag half the Redskins defense down the field is one of my all-time favorite Bills moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I think that in a way, Shane Conlan was overshadowed by Bennet, Talley, and Bruce Smith. Therefore I say he was one of the most underrated. 727788[/snapback] I believe Shane Conlan was injured in our first SuperBowl. His strength was a run stopper and I am sure he would have stopped those god-awful time killing drives of the Giants and if he had played we would have had our offense on the field for more than 19 minutes, the Giants would have been forced to change their game plan and we would have won. That being said... I like Frank Lewis, Travis Henry and pretty much all of the players mentioned. I probably would also mention a few linebacker/linemen who were special teams studs over the years as well, such as Mark Pike. This is too interesting a topic as the Bills success over the years was as much the contributions of the under-rated players as it was the efforts of the obvious hall of fame candidates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2004 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 London Fletcher.Mostly from a leaguewide perspective. Why has'nt this guy been to a Pro Bowl yet? Jay Riemersma. Granted his blocking skills were underwhelming. Still, he was a very good receiving threat and caught quite a few TD's. John Holocek. He was always there to make the tackle, but never seemed to get that much praise. 727753[/snapback] I like this list, I think that's right on. Maybe Kurt Schultz? He had a couple of good seasons with the Bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 1. Frank Lewis. 2. Roland Hooks. 3. Eugene Marve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I'm going with Billy Brooks. He basically won a '93 playoff game vs. the Raiders with two late TD catches, and he stepped up huge in 95 en route to our last division title after Reed got hurt early. And yet nobody remembers the guy. edit: Good call buftex, I didn't read your whole post when I wrote this. Antowain - his best year was 1998 with 1100 yards and it wasn't great. Still bitter about a fumble vs. the Jets in their territory when we were moving the ball, although he played well that day. Also he was a complete no-show for the playoff game in Miami. Had that one nice run in the Tennessee game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 John Holocek.He was always there to make the tackle, but never seemed to get that much praise. 727753[/snapback] Good choice. Those Wade Phillips / Ted Cotrell Defenses had abunch of nonamers like Holocek who just knew how to perform Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Pete Metzelaars. To this day, he is not mentioned as one of the stars of the superbowl era Bills. Metz was as strong as an ox, and served as an extra lineman for Kelly, Thurman, etc. While he didn't have a ton of receptions, many of them were clutch, and he was tough to cover in the endzone because he was so wide. We haven't had a TE who compared to him since he left. 727764[/snapback] I second that nomination. I was going to go with John Fina but I didn't have enough concrete on hand to build a flame proof bunker first to protect me from the likely reaction. Big Pete was awesome on third and 5 and could block. He rarely dropped a pass and could go weeks without a holding penalty. He was no Kellen Winslow but he was a throw back to the old school TE's, a big target with soft hands making tough grabs in traffic and absorbing nasty hits while still hanging on to the ball. These days, everyone is obsessed with TE's who can "stretch the field". If that is what you want, ditch the TE and start a third WR. A real TE in my opinion is one who can block like a tackle and who can outmuscle the defense to make those drive saving short catches. Pete Metzelaars definitely gets my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinandjokin Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Kent Hull. 727779[/snapback] I don't think there is one person around who feels Kent Hull is underrated. He signed in 1986, the same day as Kelly. The two of them played together for the Bills for 10 years and both retired after the '96 season. He played in 170 games, missing only 2, and along with Thurman and Kelly, Hull was considered a key reason why the Bills no-huddle offense was able to succeed. He was a three-time Pro Bowler, was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, received the Ralph C. Wilson Distinguished Service Award in 2001, selected to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, and has his name (and legacy) on the Wall of Fame at the Ralph. He is certainly a top-3 all-time Bills lineman, and it would be tough to argue that he's not the best they've ever had. Underrated???? What are the standards here? Shane Conlan? Come on people. He won two NCAA championships, was a two-time All American, the #1 pick of the Bills, was the 1987 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, and played in three Pro Bowls and two Super Bowls in six seasons in Buffalo. I don't think he was underrated. My choice? Pat Williams. He brought it every game. I'm not sure the Bills could've afforded to pay him what Minnesota did, but I think they underestimated how much he'd be missed. They always assumed they could throw any fat-body in the mix to do Pat's job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheRocks Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Last 5 Years: Brian Moorman Last 10 Years: Doug Flutie (personally I couldn't stand the midget, but he did single handedly save the franchise) Last 15 Years: Frank Reich Last 20 Years: Jim Ritcher Last 25 Years: Bill Simpson (although there are a lot more to choose from) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Pete Metzelaars. To this day, he is not mentioned as one of the stars of the superbowl era Bills. Metz was as strong as an ox, and served as an extra lineman for Kelly, Thurman, etc. While he didn't have a ton of receptions, many of them were clutch, and he was tough to cover in the endzone because he was so wide. We haven't had a TE who compared to him since he left. 727764[/snapback] My pick as well with Talley not far behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKO Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I believe Shane Conlan was injured in our first SuperBowl. His strength was a run stopper and I am sure he would have stopped those god-awful time killing drives of the Giants and if he had played we would have had our offense on the field for more than 19 minutes, the Giants would have been forced to change their game plan and we would have won. 727796[/snapback] I'm pretty sure Shane Conlan played in the first Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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