DFITZ1

I only concluded it is preseason - never said we will make the playoffs.

Well said, and backed up by Gailey's comments in Mark Gaughan's blog in the Buffalo Snooze. Gailey purposely played a base defense (no blitz's_ for the purpose of assessing strengths and weaknesses. Also, the o-line was not to chip or slide (prevents o-line injury, but I'm sure Fitz doesn't feel great about this). Once reading Gailey's comments, you know this was more a scrimmage than a game (like the OP mentioned) and it's not the right time to condemn the team.

I only read the play by play. TG I didn't see it. It sounds like a colossal lack of effort. No long passes, non-aggressive. My only comment is fans should not react like Wall St and sell off this team based on one pre-season game. Heck, last year we thought Edwards was good in pre-season and look what happened. Give these guys a chance to digest the film from this debacle and get back on course.

Has anyone realized that having a robust WNY economy is the only viable means of keeping the Bills in Buffalo long term? Regionalization towards Syracuse and Toronto are vital until then. Demanding that some billionaire white-knight come along, spend his hard earned fortune to buy and operate the team in an econimically shrinking region is a pipe dream. Until that is reversed, having the Toronto games is smart business (just have them in December when a dome is a good idea, giving up games at RWS thru the 2nd week of November is bad business). The way to keep the Bills in WNY is the same as necessary to keep the population from shrinking, demand your local and state polticians lower taxes and regulations to rebuild the economic base. The state passing a responsible budget (i.e income equals expenses) is a start but not an end.

Well said. I could add that Leon Lett got branded after Don Beebe chased him down and spoiled his hotdogging moment. For anyone criticizing refs, it's easier to ref from the stands or he TV chair, than when the whistle is in your hand. After being forced to fill-in for absent refs in youth and adult rec sports, I got a new appreciation for what they do. It's not as easy as it looks.

I never knew the Bills had a QB named Fitzgibbons? Did he come out of Belfast?

The Bills have "over-drafted" at secondary and RB through the naughts. Unless we effectively draft a OT, DL or LB in the first round, we will be drafting #3 next year. Remember 1st round guys like Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett (drafted in rd1 and traded to us)? That's how the 90's defense got solidified, among others. Imagine the Bills if the "lack-of-brains trust" had drafted Clay Matthews instead of Aaron Maybin, or imagine the Packers if they had not taken Matthews. Since the Bills either drafted the wrong position, or drafted the right position with the wrong person, it confounds the mind predicting an outcome.

I'm afraid not. I was way too young then. My fate was I didn't start following the Bills until '66, so I just missed the championship years, though I have vague memories of warching the '65 Championship. However, I do remember Johnny Bench vriefly playing for the baseball Bisons.

I remember seeing him twirling on TV but I don't remember if it was at a football game or not (probably was). That brings up another great Buffalo sports moment. Calvin Murphy, Bob Lanier, and Randy Smith all played college hoops at the same time in WNY. 3 NBA stars all at once! (Would've been nice if the Braves drafted Lanier!).

One more thing about the 49er's game. John Brodie was either taken out or injured late in that game and his back up - none other than Steve Spurrier! Glad you like the pics, and glad you could share some great memories. It may not have been a "state-of-the-art" venue, but thank God it was there when needed to get the franchise started. We wouldn't have the 90's AFC Championship stories at the Ralph today, if not for the AFL championship days at the Rockpile.

Great U-tube link! Thank you.

My first game at WMS was in '68 where Darryl Lamonica and the Raiders flattened the Bills 48-6 and Joel Collier was fired as HC the next day (though he was a tremondous DC, including years afterward for Denver and the Pats). However, I was jealous of my brother who went to WMS a week or 2 later and watched Joe Namath and teh Jets get embarrassed by teh Bills who had about 5 int's. That's teh year the Jets won SBIII and lost only 2 games, and it was to the 2 worst in the AFL. I was at the last game at WMS against Detroit (17-17) and saw OJ make his longest run of his career against the Steelers. 94 yards into the tunnel (Pit won anyway). Speaking of the tunnel, you could get up pretty close to the players coming out onto the field.

I had an inkling feeling I had the wrong year. I was going to check the date out but never got around to it. Thanks for doing so, I'll change the title. At least I got the right era! And also Jim Peters. I know a guy at work who worked with at the Courier for a short time in the 60's and he went with Jim Peters to training camp when it was held in Blasdell. With the writers mentioned, as well as Jim Kelley and Larry Felser, Buffalo was blessed with first class sportswriters. Selling out Rich Stadium on a regular basis was a surprise to RWS. His idea was to build with all the seats you can, since at the time, all home games were blacked out. When the Bills started selling out even with blackouts lifted, the Bills checked where all the fans were coming from, and found out that they had a sizable contingent from Rochester; hence, regionalization of the Bills dates back to those early Rich Stadium days.

I remember watching the Bills beat the 49er's thru those beams in '72 (I think). While they were a slight pain, there were days when that roof at WMS was so welcome when teh rain (or snow) came down in sheets.

I sat in that end zone for a Bills-Broncos game in '69. The Bills won big and that end zone was active for ball hogs. I do recall security sometimes coming by to take the ball back (to much displeasure). I went left to get ready for a kick, but stayed too far back. But like you said, better I didn't. If I came home all bloodied my parents wouldn't let me there again (oh, yes, my brother and I went with another family).

It's neat seeing the scoreboard advertisements when M&T boasted itself as Manufacturer's and Traders Trust Co and the Buffalo News was the Buffalo Evening News (it was the BEN in WBEN before it became WIVB). Though, I preferred the Courier-Express because my father worked there.

Glad you like them. I was like a kid in a candy store when we found them. Getting a good slide scanner was key, too. This is from an Epson V500. It has a really good digital "cleaner" on it that removes dust and particle spots, except, it blurred out the player numbers so I scanned without that filter. It works great on virtually all others.

My first Bills game was in the Rockpile about 5 years after this picture was taken. Darryl Lamonica was on the field but as an Oakland Raider and they ran over the Bills in brutal fashion. It wasn't unexpected, but seeing a game there on a warm, sunny September day with 45000 fans filling the seats was still a big thrill. It all began somewhere.

Here's a couple pictures from the Rockpile during warm ups before the Bills-Oilers jousted on what I believe was openning day. This is from a slide my late father-in-law took from the west end zone seats. Actually, they are both teh same slide. The full picture, then a close up of teh field. If you show actual size, you can see Kemp, Lamonica and Gogolak just to teh left of the right-hand upright, Elbert Dubenion is to the right of the upright, and possibly Cookie Gilchrist (running towards the camera) to the right of him. My father-in-law, who passed last year at 89, was an original Rockpile season ticket holder, who in his lifetime got to see what many still dream of, the Bills carried off the field as champions. Second pic. Higher resolution pic of the players.

How much is scouting and how nuch is (lack of) front office strategy. The Bills have been notoriously lean when it comes to stocking the OL, DL and LB corp, despite past history supporting their value (Billy Shaw, Joe D, and Bruce Smith in the HOF). The quality of play in the trenches, will improve the quality of play behind them. The non-trench players can't make the linemen look better (cover up their faults, at best). Unfortunately, the Bills have wasted picks on RB when the trenches needed immediate help. Also, we whiffed twice in lineman with Mike Williams and Maybin (to name 2). There draft day strategy seems more impulse than a development plan. I would love to see how Modrak and all assessed Maybin and his contemporaries. How could Maybin be considered the best available pass rusher boggles even the amateur mind.

Extra trivia. Two UB alimni played in the latter years of the AFL. Gerry Philben - NY Jets ; John Stofa (QB) - Miami Dolphins

Well said! It should be incredibly obvious to Bills fans (especially older ones) who saw OJ languish in mediocrity until a great OL and a decent QB in Fergy propel him to greatness (I won't bring up what brought him down). The RB does need to know how to find and hit the hole, plus have the moves and power for extra yards. However, if the OL is bad, everyone behind them looks that much worse as well. My theory - the team that controls the trenches, controls the game.

Dr. E - best to quit right now. I posted the idea of trading CJ for a critical need position and I got flamed so much the air conditioner in my house kicked on just reading the responses. What most posters don't infer is that any trade offer would have to be a good one (a #2 seems like a loss) and if the offer isn't good, you don't trade. What others also forget is sometimes you have to give up someone very good to get someone great. The trade that landed Cornelius Bennett in '87 is a great example. Bill Polian was questioned internally about that move and it was masterful. Also, many forget that OJ wanted to be traded in '76. Lou Saban wanted the trade to keep team unity and had a deal in mind with the Rams (for Lawrence McCutcheon plus draft choices, I think). Instead, RW made OJ a sweet deal to stay, but gave nothing to the rest of the team. The players became disgruntled and the coach quit. By 1977, we had reached a 2009 type low. Whether picking and/or keeping CJ is the right move won't be known for another two years.

Agreed! The guy would never shut up! There was no point to having another analyst or play-by-play announcer because Jow wanted teh spotlight himself.

I remember being at Rich for the last game of '75 where OJ broke teh TD record at the time. A meaningless game unfortunately. It was played during a lake effect storm and in addition to watching the game, you had to watch for snowballs. Chuck Foremen of the Vikes got hit in the eye with one and it shortened his career. I agree about OJ and pass receiving. Between he and Thermal, I've felt that OJ was the better pure runner, while Thermal was the better all-around back. TT made many spectacular catches downfield and could run pass routes as good many WR's.