If Fergy doesn't break his ankle in 1980

[bdelma]

Number #84, who does he beat on the play? Bill simpson

[McD]

Sometimes I get this game and the Cinci one I believe the next year mixed up. Little help here folks. If it is indeed the Cinci game you are referring to, what happened was we had a 4th and 4 lets call it. Fergy calls time out, they come bck to the huddle and fergy hits little Loui Piccone for 7 yds over the middle, the Bills are still alive. Oh wait, whats that, a little yellow flag on the field????

 

delay of game, the play did not get off in time( way before the play clock was shown on the screen my younger posters) and all of WNY was ready t0o collectively shoot ourselves. HTF can you take too much time coming out of a TIME OUT!!!!

 

Yeah this sounds very familiar...prob the game I was thinking about.

[KD in CA]

Yes. Thanks for reminding me.

[bowery4]

Sometimes I get this game and the Cinci one I believe the next year mixed up. Little help here folks. If it is indeed the Cinci game you are referring to, what happened was we had a 4th and 4 lets call it. Fergy calls time out, they come bck to the huddle and fergy hits little Loui Piccone for 7 yds over the middle, the Bills are still alive. Oh wait, whats that, a little yellow flag on the field????

 

delay of game, the play did not get off in time( way before the play clock was shown on the screen my younger posters) and all of WNY was ready t0o collectively shoot ourselves. HTF can you take too much time coming out of a TIME OUT!!!!

 

 

Arrgh I was pulling my hair out!!!!

Thanks for reminding me, good times.

[Colorado Mike]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I just haven't seen this discussed before at the odd times I come into TSW.

 

Additionally, sorry if this is too far back for some of you, but for the elderly of this Board, it seems like yesterday.

 

For those who don't know let me give you a little history lesson:

 

1980 - Week 15, Bills lose to the Patriots and Fergy hurts his ankle early in the game. The next week, hobbled by a sprain that years later we would find out is actually a broken ankle, Joe leads us to a victory over the upstart 49ers with a rookie Joe Montana, an 11-5 record and a division title.

 

We go out West and lose to the Chargers (whom we defeated earlier in the year out there, 26-24) in the divisional round, due to a 50 yard TD pass by Fouts with about 2:14 to play. SD holds and wins 20-14.

 

As some (maybe many of you know), Oakland beats Cleveland and goes to SD to beat the Chargers and eventually the Super Bowl 15 over Jaws and the Eagles.

 

 

The obvious question: would a healthy Joe Ferguson have made the difference? Could we have beat the Chargers in SD, as we did earlier in the year, if Joe had two good legs?

 

 

Secondly, could we have beaten the Raiders? Yes, the Raiders were a different team with Plunkett at the helm than we had beat up on them in Buffalo earlier in the year.

 

However, as the Wild Card, they would have had to come to Buffalo to beat us, instead of going out to sunny SD. BTW, yes, I know that they had to go to frozen Cleveland and win 14-12, so weather may not have mattered, but in all honestly, I don't like comparing some of the lucky things the Cardiac Kids of Cleveland did with what the Bills did with a top flight defense and Fergy, Cribbs, Butler and Lewis did on Offense.

 

 

Of all the teams in the Bills history and all the turmoil we have put ourselves through as fans, this is the one that I really thought could have been something more than what they were.

 

 

If we make it to the Super Bowl how long does Knox stay around, even given his problems with Wilson?

 

Do we still let Fergy go in '84 even though he is the "savior" that took us to our first SB?

 

Do we let Cribbs go?

 

 

Again, sorry if this is old territory for most of you, but seeing our success lately makes me think back to our other good teams and other potentially great seasons and finishes that just drifted away through time.

 

 

Peace and go Bills!

[Colorado Mike]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I just haven't seen this discussed before at the odd times I come into TSW.

 

Additionally, sorry if this is too far back for some of you, but for the elderly of this Board, it seems like yesterday.

 

For those who don't know let me give you a little history lesson:

 

1980 - Week 15, Bills lose to the Patriots and Fergy hurts his ankle early in the game. The next week, hobbled by a sprain that years later we would find out is actually a broken ankle, Joe leads us to a victory over the upstart 49ers with a rookie Joe Montana, an 11-5 record and a division title.

 

We go out West and lose to the Chargers (whom we defeated earlier in the year out there, 26-24) in the divisional round, due to a 50 yard TD pass by Fouts with about 2:14 to play. SD holds and wins 20-14.

 

As some (maybe many of you know), Oakland beats Cleveland and goes to SD to beat the Chargers and eventually the Super Bowl 15 over Jaws and the Eagles.

 

 

The obvious question: would a healthy Joe Ferguson have made the difference? Could we have beat the Chargers in SD, as we did earlier in the year, if Joe had two good legs?

 

 

Secondly, could we have beaten the Raiders? Yes, the Raiders were a different team with Plunkett at the helm than we had beat up on them in Buffalo earlier in the year.

 

However, as the Wild Card, they would have had to come to Buffalo to beat us, instead of going out to sunny SD. BTW, yes, I know that they had to go to frozen Cleveland and win 14-12, so weather may not have mattered, but in all honestly, I don't like comparing some of the lucky things the Cardiac Kids of Cleveland did with what the Bills did with a top flight defense and Fergy, Cribbs, Butler and Lewis did on Offense.

 

 

Of all the teams in the Bills history and all the turmoil we have put ourselves through as fans, this is the one that I really thought could have been something more than what they were.

 

 

If we make it to the Super Bowl how long does Knox stay around, even given his problems with Wilson?

 

Do we still let Fergy go in '84 even though he is the "savior" that took us to our first SB?

 

Do we let Cribbs go?

 

 

Again, sorry if this is old territory for most of you, but seeing our success lately makes me think back to our other good teams and other potentially great seasons and finishes that just drifted away through time.

 

 

Peace and go Bills!

Oops - sorry for the blank reply above. Haven't even started drinking yet.

 

I remember watching that game. Going strictly from memory, the two things that stand out were a) the touchdown where Bill Simpson was beat, where if I recall correctly, he gambled and went for the pick and it cost him/us. b) Fergie's injury. Maybe it was my bias, but I thought it was a cheap play by I believe Louis Kelcher, who was on the ground and seemed to intentionally fall/roll into Fergie after the ball was already out of his hand.

[ChasBB]

Of all the heart-breaking losses the Bills have suffered through the years, this one ranks right up there for me at the top with the Super Bowl loss to the Giants. I remember hating the tie-breaker system. We beat them head-to-head and finished with identical records, yet WE had to go THERE for the playoff game because other tie-breakers took precedence. The other loss that still stings is the loss to Cleveland in the playoffs. There are many others, but I always remember these 3 as games we SHOULD HAVE won.

[dollars 2 donuts]

Of all the heart-breaking losses the Bills have suffered through the years, this one ranks right up there for me at the top with the Super Bowl loss to the Giants. I remember hating the tie-breaker system. We beat them head-to-head and finished with identical records, yet WE had to go THERE for the playoff game because other tie-breakers took precedence. The other loss that still stings is the loss to Cleveland in the playoffs. There are many others, but I always remember these 3 as games we SHOULD HAVE won.

 

 

 

I'm with ya and I hear ya, chazz.

 

 

BTW, I remember that being the "Year of 11-5" San Diego 11-5, Buffalo 11-5, Cleveland 11-5, Oakland 11-5 and I think even Houston...you guessed it, was 11-5.

[Chandler#81]

1.)The obvious question: would a healthy Joe Ferguson have made the difference? Could we have beat the Chargers in SD, as we did earlier in the year, if Joe had two good legs?

 

2.) Secondly, could we have beaten the Raiders? Yes, the Raiders were a different team with Plunkett at the helm than we had beat up on them in Buffalo earlier in the year.

 

3.) Of all the teams in the Bills history and all the turmoil we have put ourselves through as fans, this is the one that I really thought could have been something more than what they were.

 

1.) They were two evenly matched teams in that Buffalo's defense had the playmakers to hold down Air Coryell. I'd say yes, a more healthy Fergy would have produced more points, given that our offense had some great playmakers and their defense could be scored on.

 

2.) Indeed, it was a very different Raider team than we faced in week 5 (to go 5-0). It was the first year after the QB trade of Stabler for Pastorini, and we broke Dante's leg, opening the door for one of the leagues' best ever comeback stories. Also, Belitnikoff was lost for the year and some guy named Chandler stepped in and stepped up for the Raiders, big time.

At Rich in the playoffs, I'd like our chances though I'm not sure we'd as fare well vs. Philly in the SB.

 

3.) For a one season only perspective, my vote goes to the latest Bills playoff team -'99. If the Music City Debacle didn't happen, I'm confident no other team would have beaten us, including the Rams. (Even during a QB controversy!)

 

Great topic!

[dollars 2 donuts]

Good topic and an outstanding performance by Fergy. But the real killer is that we win that game if Charley Romes doesn't drop a sure interception that Fouts put right in his gut on the play before the winning TD pass. That was my first real taste of of feeling our Buffalo teams being snakebit. The play I am speaking of is at 7:30 of the video here.

 

 

 

 

 

Why, cpa, why?

 

 

I had forgotten all about that and it really could have just stayed in the haze of my memory. Why did you bring it up?

 

 

[PTS]

1980 must have been a heart-wrenching year for Buffalo sports fans. Both the Sabres and Bills were huge contenders to win their respective championships and both teams fell apart in the playoffs. Figures that I was born in 1980 and have suffered through 28 years of sports misery.

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

1980 must have been a heart-wrenching year for Buffalo sports fans. Both the Sabres and Bills were huge contenders to win their respective championships and both teams fell apart in the playoffs. Figures that I was born in 1980 and have suffered through 28 years of sports misery.

 

 

The 1980-82 Bills under Knox could look absolutely incredible one week, then come up inexplicably flat the next... it was quite a ride after 14 years of craptacularity (with just 3 OJ years in between), but that roller coaster was exhausting!

 

Some highlights:

 

1980... beat the Fins at last!.... but lost two horrible games to the Colts, and collapsed at home against Atlanta, blowing a 14-0 lead

 

1981.. won the first two games against the Jets and Colts by a combined score of 66-3.... but later in that season lost 24-0 at St. Louis, then won 4 in a row (including the Roland Hooks Hail Mary against NE), only to fall flat in the Orange Bowl on the last weekend, 16-6, and miss out on the division crown... then beat the Jets in Shea 31-27 (after nearly blowing a 24-0 lead!), only to lose the "delay of game" heartbreaker to Cincy

 

1982.. start out 2-0, including an amazing comeback on Thursday Night Football against Minny... then comes the strike... team pitches two amazing home shutouts against Baltimore and Pitt, but look horrible in multiple games (including the Rosy Leaks fumble against TB when they were already in FG range...).. miss the playoffs, Knox quits....

 

Ah, memories!!!

[cgang]

Of all the heart-breaking losses the Bills have suffered through the years, this one ranks right up there for me at the top with the Super Bowl loss to the Giants.

 

I agree. I was 10 years old at the time and crying like a little b@!ch when we lost. From the fog of my childhood, I remember being more pissed at the defense in that game. And I remember the feeling of dread when Fergy's injury got worse- it seemed like the game was really tight as it went on and could go either way. Ironically, the Chargers game was really the start of me being hooked as a Bills fan. When we missed the FG to the Giants, I immediately started thinking of the Chargers game.

 

God I hope we win the SB soon. We've had a lot of things to cheer about since 1980 but so many big letdowns too.

[KnightRider]

Good topic and an outstanding performance by Fergy. But the real killer is that we win that game if Charley Romes doesn't drop a sure interception that Fouts put right in his gut on the play before the winning TD pass. That was my first real taste of of feeling our Buffalo teams being snakebit. The play I am speaking of is at 7:30 of the video here.

 

Wow, I haven't seen that since it was live, and I was ten at the time. I even remember my parents turning down the TV and putting WBEN on.

 

To answer the question, if Fergy wasn't hurt, yeah, I think we would have won that game. He threw 3 ints, and we still had trouble running the ball.

[Fan in San Diego]

I was at that Chargers - Bills game in San Diego. Fergy was a sitting duck, basically stood in one spot in the Shotgun formation and would sling the ball. Hell yes we would have won that game if Fergy was healthy. Who was the backup QB at that time? We should have started him.

[Mickey]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I just haven't seen this discussed before at the odd times I come into TSW.

 

Additionally, sorry if this is too far back for some of you, but for the elderly of this Board, it seems like yesterday.

 

For those who don't know let me give you a little history lesson:

 

1980 - Week 15, Bills lose to the Patriots and Fergy hurts his ankle early in the game. The next week, hobbled by a sprain that years later we would find out is actually a broken ankle, Joe leads us to a victory over the upstart 49ers with a rookie Joe Montana, an 11-5 record and a division title.

 

We go out West and lose to the Chargers (whom we defeated earlier in the year out there, 26-24) in the divisional round, due to a 50 yard TD pass by Fouts with about 2:14 to play. SD holds and wins 20-14.

 

As some (maybe many of you know), Oakland beats Cleveland and goes to SD to beat the Chargers and eventually the Super Bowl 15 over Jaws and the Eagles.

 

 

The obvious question: would a healthy Joe Ferguson have made the difference? Could we have beat the Chargers in SD, as we did earlier in the year, if Joe had two good legs?

 

 

Secondly, could we have beaten the Raiders? Yes, the Raiders were a different team with Plunkett at the helm than we had beat up on them in Buffalo earlier in the year.

 

However, as the Wild Card, they would have had to come to Buffalo to beat us, instead of going out to sunny SD. BTW, yes, I know that they had to go to frozen Cleveland and win 14-12, so weather may not have mattered, but in all honestly, I don't like comparing some of the lucky things the Cardiac Kids of Cleveland did with what the Bills did with a top flight defense and Fergy, Cribbs, Butler and Lewis did on Offense.

 

 

Of all the teams in the Bills history and all the turmoil we have put ourselves through as fans, this is the one that I really thought could have been something more than what they were.

 

 

If we make it to the Super Bowl how long does Knox stay around, even given his problems with Wilson?

 

Do we still let Fergy go in '84 even though he is the "savior" that took us to our first SB?

 

Do we let Cribbs go?

 

 

Again, sorry if this is old territory for most of you, but seeing our success lately makes me think back to our other good teams and other potentially great seasons and finishes that just drifted away through time.

 

 

Peace and go Bills!

One important fact to include is that the Chargers exploited that injury. One of their d-lineman, early in the game, took a cheap shot at Fergy's ankle, reinjuring it. It was very similar to what Wilfork did to JP last year, a dive at the legs when the ball was gone. It was clearly part of a premeditated strategy by the Chargers.

 

As I recall, we were driving at the end of the game and had completed a 4th down pass for a first down to Lou Piccone who had gone out of bounds but we were flagged for delay of game I think it was and replays showed we got the play off in time and clearly, the refs didn't stop the play either which is a dead ball foul so if they really thought the play clock ran out, why didn't they stop the play.

 

I don't see that one mentioned in the discussion you so often hear about how the Bills get so reliably screwed in big games.

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

One important fact to include is that the Chargers exploited that injury. One of their d-lineman, early in the game, took a cheap shot at Fergy's ankle, reinjuring it. It was very similar to what Wilfork did to JP last year, a dive at the legs when the ball was gone. It was clearly part of a premeditated strategy by the Chargers.

 

As I recall, we were driving at the end of the game and had completed a 4th down pass for a first down to Lou Piccone who had gone out of bounds but we were flagged for delay of game I think it was and replays showed we got the play off in time and clearly, the refs didn't stop the play either which is a dead ball foul so if they really thought the play clock ran out, why didn't they stop the play.

 

I don't see that one mentioned in the discussion you so often hear about how the Bills get so reliably screwed in big games.

 

 

True, though the Piccone play was at Cincinnati in Jan 1982 after the 1981 season. Bills were driving for the tying score. Sigh.

 

In the SD game, what hurts from watching it on YouTube is how with ca. 4 minutes left the Chargers muffed a punt; Bills recover inside the 40, Fergy hits Cribbs for almost a first down, then they are stopped on 3rd and inches, and Mike-Mayer, who never was reliable past 40 yards, missed a figgie (his second miss of the day). Chargers get the ball, and go on the winning TD drive. If they had gotten that first down, they probably win that game 14-13 even with an injured Fergy.

[McD]

1980 must have been a heart-wrenching year for Buffalo sports fans. Both the Sabres and Bills were huge contenders to win their respective championships and both teams fell apart in the playoffs. Figures that I was born in 1980 and have suffered through 28 years of sports misery.

 

That a kid! Hang in there it gets worse, but eventually....someday, you'll get to celebrate a championship and have a feeling that no other fan in any sport could ever imagine. I'm sure the city of Buffalo would cease to exist as it would implode if the Bills ever win a Super Bowl.

[Ned Flanders]

In 1980, the Bills were 5-1 and went down to Miami...and laid an egg.

 

In 2008, the Bills are 5-1 and heading down to Miami...let's hope history doesn't repeat itself.

[Chandler#81]

In 1980, the Bills were 5-1 and went down to Miami...and laid an egg.

 

In 2008, the Bills are 5-1 and heading down to Miami...let's hope history doesn't repeat itself.

 

Killjoy.. (JK)

 

Yeah, but then we got back on track beating the Pats* the following week. ('80)