Stormin Norman

You are comparing offenses to defenses and it presents a compelling picture, indeed. Perhaps your question should be asked this way: Which Super Bowl winning team had the better defense, period? I ask this question based on the experience of our Buffalo teams in the big game. Against the New York Giants, New York had the better defense (and another no-name Super Bowl winning quarterback in Jeff Hostettler, I might add). Remember, they went up against the 49ers in the NFC Championship game the week before and shut them down, too. The first Super Bowl featured Buffalo's best defense of the four appearances, and OJ Anderson ran over them at will. Too bad we couldn't get off the field because Thurman would have had a game for the ages. Against the Redskins, clearly Washington had the better defense. Again, their offensive line chewed us up and spit us out from about the middle of the second quarter to the end of the game. And then twice against the Cowboys, I would argue the Cowboys had the better defense than Buffalo. We just never had the defensive fortitude to stay with the other teams for sixty minutes, it seemed to me. It would be interesting to see how the defenses for the winning teams rank vs. the defenses for the losing teams. I am certainly not arguing that it doesn't help to have a great quarterback. Wish we had one!

Joe Ferguson: "The Arkansas Rifle."

Lots of focus on the style in which she sang the song. And there is no doubt i agree with those who are frustrated by the unnecessary, self-loving riffs she felt compelled to do after nearly every word. But what surprised me was the pure lack of vocal talent. i have seen her sing other times and she seemed to have decent chops. Maybe they weren't live performances? I really don't know. But her performance at the Super Bowl was simply brutal, so much so that I didn't realize she flubbed the words on top of it. Whitney Houston's performance was incredible, and if it was a lip-sync job, I'm okay with it. The entire rendition, including the orchestration, was spine chilling.

I was browsing through NFL.com and they have a short video on the top ten Super Bowls of all time. Naturally, I cringed when Super Bowl 25 was revealed as number one. And yes, the words, "W___ R___" were spoken. I cringed, twitched, and then drool oozed from the corner of my mouth. We couldn't simply suffer a brutally crushing loss in the Super Bowl. That's not punishment enough. It has to be in the "number one Super Bowl of all time." That's par for the course for Buffalo fans, isn't it? It's like Ryan Miller winning the MVP in the Olympics but giving up the gold-winning goal to Crosby. Or the "Home Run Throw-Up" in Tennessee right after the game-winning field goal by Steve Christie. Or "No Goal." I could go on and on, but I won't. Instead, I choose to see a new day dawning. The Sabres are under new ownership. The Bills appear to be under more competent leadership with better talent evaluators (except for Modrak). I refuse to let others rain on my optimistic parade. When Buffalo teams sell HOPE, I am their number one customer!

I work with a few die hard Jest and Pats fans, and we were analyzing the dismantling of New England by the Jest. Tom Brady looked like Todd Collins under center (to my utter joy) and Manning was held in check the week before. I recounted to these division rival fans how the glory Bills had a prolific offense for several years, but typically a mid-range to lower-third ranked defense (remember Walt Corey?). In each of the four Super Bowls, a stronger opponent defense shackled our offense, but our defense struggled to do the same. (By the way, I will not argue this way regarding our first loss to the Cowboys --- no team would overcome nine turnovers in a championship game). Against the Giants, OJ Anderson pounded us unmercifully just before and just after halftime. We had something like a 39 to 21 minute deficit in time of possession. Against the 'Skins, Washington's offensive line took over from the middle of the second quarter to the end of the game. The last Super Bowl against Dallas was closer than people remember, but our defense began to wilt in the fourth quarter. Time and again, the teams playing the best defense get to the championship game, and they usually win it. The offense needs big plays (about 3-5 per game), but it's the defense that determines who takes home the Lombardi trophy. The Jest are proving this. The Giants beat the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl after New England turned the NFL record book upside down during the season. During the playoffs, high-scoring, high-yardage offenses get humbled by great defenses. Then the defense from the high scoring team doesn't perform well enough because they're accustomed to playing with a 14 to 17 point lead. My point: we need to draft DEFENSE. Yes, you need a very good quarterback to make a run in the playoffs. But it comes down to the better defense almost ALWAYS in the playoffs.

It was probably the best I have ever felt during a Bills game. Many Bills games over the years took years off my life. I am still suffering tremors from the Bill Simpson interception of Richard Todd against the Jets when I was a kid. But during the Kelly years, there were several contests that were over at halftime. You just can't beat the feeling of relaxation and contentment that comes with the Bills being up by 21 or 24 at half. And Marv Levy ALWAYS knew how to execute a methodical, boring second half where the clock kept ticking and the point spread was never in doubt. HEAVEN!! Of course, what made this even better was the prolonged feeling of jubilation at knowing we were going to the Show! It was surreal that long suffering Bills fans could revel for over a full half of football when it meant going to the Super Bowl. The football gods were on our side that day. Then, the very next week, I became an old man.