Tough Choice

[Buftex]

To say Saban never had the talent that Levy had on his rosters, is absurd. Saban won two championships, in an alternative pro football leauge, with some of the best players to have ever played in that league. Numerous Bills, from Saban's championship teams were named to the all time ALL-AFL Team.

 

I think the "deconstruction" of the Super Bowl era Bills teams that goes on around here is pretty insane. As I heard Joe Gibbs once say, he thought what Levy did with the Bills, taking them to 4 consecutive Super Bowls, without a win, was in many ways, more impressive a caoching feat than winning one. It is funny that a lot of the same people here who are criticizing Levy for not wining a championship "with all that talent", are the same ones who are calling Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Jim Kelly and Thurman "overrated". Maybe they were. But you can't have it both ways.

 

To anyone who says that Saban would have won a championship, in the 1990's NFL, with the roster Levy had, is bull sh--. Nobody knows that.

 

Saban's 1964 and 1965 AFL champ Bills, with all due respect, played in an eight team league, not even necessarily against the best pro football players in the country. Sorry, I have all the respect you can have for older things, but I gotta call bullocks on this argument.

 

What did Saban do in the NFL? As much as I think Ralph is being a jackass for not putting Saban on the Wall of Fame, the fact is, Saban quit on two Bills teams (once mid-season), and the Broncos in the middle of their 1971 season. Sorry, I'll take Marv in this bar fight.

 

Now, if we were arguing about who was the best GM in Bills history, Marv isn't getting my vote...

[The Dean]

As I heard Joe Gibbs once say, he thought what Levy did with the Bills, taking them to 4 consecutive Super Bowls, without a win, was in many ways, more impressive a caoching feat than winning one. It is funny that a lot of the same people here who are criticizing Levy for not wining a championship "with all that talent", are the same ones who are calling Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Jim Kelly and Thurman "overrated". Maybe they were. But you can't have it both ways.

 

 

Gibbs was right, and you shouldn't be surprised by the obvious hypocrisy of those who simultaneously bash Levy, and his players, despite their accomplishment. Some of the same people think the current Bills have no talent, and Jauron is the worst coach in the league, yet still complain about going 7-9. Both of those things can't be true, and still have the team win 7 games. But, the idea of objective criticism escapes many here.

 

Levy got his team to four straight SBs. Despite having the opportunity, Saban never coached a team to even one. That's not really a knock on Saban, he may not have had a SB-caliber team, in his later NFL years, but it is the truth. There are very few totally autocratic coaches who are successful in the modern NFL, it's just too complicated and demands a certain amount of managerial/delegation skills that Saban may, or many not, have had. Levy obviously had them in spades.