seq004 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 NFL network just ran a show listing the best NFL rookie seasons of all time. Moss #1, Dickerson #2. What is the greatest rookie season by a Bill. I'm going with the Biscuit. Joe Cribbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 While I am too young to remember (I was 2) Burnett's rookies season, I have to go with Joe Cribbs as well...Jerry Butler and Cornelius Bennett are right up there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreReed83 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 CJ Spiller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixxxer Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 if we're just looking at defensive stats, then you have to look at Byrd, who led the league in picks as a rookie No doubt, I agree with you. I was looking for some data from rookies and I remembered that Spoon had a good year as a rookie, he was not the greatest athlete but I always thought he could have had a good career if not for the injuries (biceps IIRC) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsPhan Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Dennis Shaw. GO BILLS!!! Very nice memory, but you are dating yourself! Joe Cribbs was great his rookie year, but Dennis Shaw was voted Rookie of The Year way back in....1970 I think? Man, I've been watching the Bills way too long to remember #16 throwing those bombs to Marlin Briscoe and Haven Moses! Too bad the Bills defense was hardly a shell of those great mid 60's teams and Shaw lost way too many games from '70 to '72, and then rookie Joe Ferguson replaced him in 1973. Talk about 1 year wonders, Dennis Shaw never had another season close to his rookie one with the Bills as he made his way to St. Louis for a few more years on the bench behind Jim Hart. How about Jim Kelly's rookie year of 1986? He only led the Bills to 4 wins that first season, but no rookie ever made an impact like he did when he came riding in from Houston of the old USFL in that limo from the airport to Orchard Park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Very nice memory, but you are dating yourself! Joe Cribbs was great his rookie year, but Dennis Shaw was voted Rookie of The Year way back in....1970 I think? Man, I've been watching the Bills way too long to remember #16 throwing those bombs to Marlin Briscoe and Haven Moses! Too bad the Bills defense was hardly a shell of those great mid 60's teams and Shaw lost way too many games from '70 to '72, and then rookie Joe Ferguson replaced him in 1973. Talk about 1 year wonders, Dennis Shaw never had another season close to his rookie one with the Bills as he made his way to St. Louis for a few more years on the bench behind Jim Hart. How about Jim Kelly's rookie year of 1986? He only led the Bills to 4 wins that first season, but no rookie ever made an impact like he did when he came riding in from Houston of the old USFL in that limo from the airport to Orchard Park! Wasn't Haven Moses traded for Marlin Briscoe? Although maybe you mean one in one year and one in another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Wasn't Haven Moses traded for Marlin Briscoe? Although maybe you mean one in one year and one in another. Briscoe and Moses were teammates with the Bills in 1969, 1970, and 1971. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 While I am too young to remember (I was 2) Burnett's rookies season, I have to go with Joe Cribbs as well...Jerry Butler and Cornelius Bennett are right up there too. Rookie of year in the AFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I have a Thurman Thomas Topps "Super Rookie" card. He had 207 attempts, for 881 yards and a 4.3 yard avg. Pretty good but not great. And I think Antowain Smith had similar numbers in his rookie season working in tandem with Thomas. Jarius Byrd makes it even better because he moved from playing CB in college to FS in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Briscoe and Moses were teammates with the Bills in 1969, 1970, and 1971. You're right. I would have bet anything that was how we got Briscoe. Who did we get for Moses then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 You're right. I would have bet anything that was how we got Briscoe. Who did we get for Moses then? I know he was in Denver for awhile after leaving Buffalo. Not sure what we got for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Very nice memory, but you are dating yourself! Joe Cribbs was great his rookie year, but Dennis Shaw was voted Rookie of The Year way back in....1970 I think? Man, I've been watching the Bills way too long to remember #16 throwing those bombs to Marlin Briscoe and Haven Moses! Too bad the Bills defense was hardly a shell of those great mid 60's teams and Shaw lost way too many games from '70 to '72, and then rookie Joe Ferguson replaced him in 1973. Talk about 1 year wonders, Dennis Shaw never had another season close to his rookie one with the Bills as he made his way to St. Louis for a few more years on the bench behind Jim Hart. How about Jim Kelly's rookie year of 1986? He only led the Bills to 4 wins that first season, but no rookie ever made an impact like he did when he came riding in from Houston of the old USFL in that limo from the airport to Orchard Park! My post was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Shaw may have won ROY honors but he had a pretty poor season all around. He just won because he was the least of all rookie evils that year. Bradshaw was even worse. Like you point out, Cribbs and Kelly had truly good rookie years even though they weren't rewarded for it. On defense, I can't think of anyone who had more of an impact than Bennett. He changed the entire balance of the AFCE at the time. Ah, the memories. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I know he was in Denver for awhile after leaving Buffalo. Not sure what we got for him. Knowing Ralph, Haven was probably close to a new contract, so we traded him for a bunch of used jock straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDD Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Here's a great one I don't think was mentioned. Greg Bell. He ran for over 1000 yards and I believe made the probowl too. He was also part of the trade that landed us Cornelius Bennett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) You guys! The best Bills rookie performance ever is obvious, but the player hasn't even been mentioned yet in this thread. Joe DeLamielleure's started all 14 games as a rookie in 1973 and dominated. Not only did OJ rush for 2003 yards that season, but the Bills as a team rushed for 3,088 yards (5.1 ypc overall!). The Bills' rushing yard-per-game figure from that season (220.6 a game) remains the best ever in the history of the NFL. Also, with the addition of Joe D to the line, the Bills increased their rushing yardage by about 1000 yards from the year before (1972). Edited February 28, 2011 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Actually, somebody did mention him earlier. It's a good choice, but I think it's hard to measure how much of an impact an o-lineman makes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpmenow Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I know he was in Denver for awhile after leaving Buffalo. Not sure what we got for him. I think it was for Dwight Harrison former CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Blizzard Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 NFL network just ran a show listing the best NFL rookie seasons of all time. Moss #1, Dickerson #2. What is the greatest rookie season by a Bill. I'm going with the Biscuit. Even before I read your post, Cornelius Bennett was the first guy who came to my mind. That guy could change the outcome of a game by himself. It's still amazing to me that we had Bruce Smith, Bennett, Conlan (pre-injury), and Leonard Smith all on the same defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 You guys! The best Bills rookie performance ever is obvious, but the player hasn't even been mentioned yet in this thread. Joe DeLamielleure's started all 14 games as a rookie in 1973 and dominated. Not only did OJ rush for 2003 yards that season, but the Bills as a team rushed for 3,088 yards (5.1 ypc overall!). The Bills' rushing yard-per-game figure from that season (220.6 a game) remains the best ever in the history of the NFL. Also, with the addition of Joe D to the line, the Bills increased their rushing yardage by about 1000 yards from the year before (1972). +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHorseAteTheKid Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Briscoe and Moses were teammates with the Bills in 1969, 1970, and 1971. Moses was traded to Denver for Dwight Harrison... Lou Saben for some reason thought Moses was a problem child because he refused to wear heavier pads and a 2 bar face mask... I was reminded of that situation a number of years later when Chuck Knox got rid of Bobby Chandler for showing up to a team meal a few minutes late, he compounded the problem by Entering the Out Door.. Pissed Chuck off.. You guys! The best Bills rookie performance ever is obvious, but the player hasn't even been mentioned yet in this thread. Joe DeLamielleure's started all 14 games as a rookie in 1973 and dominated. Not only did OJ rush for 2003 yards that season, but the Bills as a team rushed for 3,088 yards (5.1 ypc overall!). The Bills' rushing yard-per-game figure from that season (220.6 a game) remains the best ever in the history of the NFL. Also, with the addition of Joe D to the line, the Bills increased their rushing yardage by about 1000 yards from the year before (1972). [/quote If you're going with Joe D, you also have to add Paul Seymore to that list. All American tackle and number #1 pick, turned into a tight end.. He was a devastating blocker and every bit responsible as any member of the Electric Company for turning loose The Juice.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I think it was for Dwight Harrison former CB Thanks. I remember Dwight…his nickname was "Ike" because of Eisenhower. He wore…number 28 and I think he was an offensive player earlier in his career before being switched to DB. Very good athlete…quite fast. But Haven Moses went on to an excellent career in Denver. Moses was traded to Denver for Dwight Harrison... Lou Saben for some reason thought Moses was a problem child because he refused to wear heavier pads and a 2 bar face mask... I was reminded of that situation a number of years later when Chuck Knox got rid of Bobby Chandler for showing up to a team meal a few minutes late, he compounded the problem by Entering the Out Door.. Pissed Chuck off.. You guys! The best Bills rookie performance ever is obvious, but the player hasn't even been mentioned yet in this thread. Joe DeLamielleure's started all 14 games as a rookie in 1973 and dominated. Not only did OJ rush for 2003 yards that season, but the Bills as a team rushed for 3,088 yards (5.1 ypc overall!). The Bills' rushing yard-per-game figure from that season (220.6 a game) remains the best ever in the history of the NFL. Also, with the addition of Joe D to the line, the Bills increased their rushing yardage by about 1000 yards from the year before (1972). If you're going with Joe D, you also have to add Paul Seymore to that list. All American tackle and number #1 pick, turned into a tight end.. He was a devastating blocker and every bit responsible as any member of the Electric Company for turning loose The Juice.. Thanks also for the Dwight Harrison info. Yes, Joe D was mentioned I think and I thought of him too…along with co-first round pick Paul Seymour. They were both instrumental in turning around the fortunes of that team in one year. But as was pointed out, it's hard to put a value on an O-lineman in terms of impactfulness. We remember O.J.'s runs but very few of the blocks which sprung him. That said, both Joe D and Seymour have a place among the Bills best rookies ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Yeah, plus, Dennis Shaw <ROY 3 years earlier> had quickly wore out his welcome. Fergy was a Lou draftee so the transition began in earnest. Pretty sure Fergy's rookie year was Joe D's as well -'73. Ceartainly Honorable Mention for best Rookie Season. <LAMP> Dave Mac & Horse Eater: Um.. what am I?, Chopped liver? As for Juice blocking, yes, Seymour, Chandler & JD Hill were lesser known but equally important. Now this aspect, I'm a tad foggy on: Pretty sure we also acquired Donnie Greene off waivers from the Jets that year as well as added Bruce Jarvis in the draft -who started half the year before injury and was replaced by Patriot cast-off Mike Montler the rest of the way. The year before, Wolverine guard Reggie McKenzie was a 2nd Rounder, started every game and led OJ to the rushing crown. All this BEFORE Joe D. Another fabulous rookie season was turned in by a monster of a college linebacker @ BU, with exceptional speed, great hands and loved to 'BRING IT' on impact. Without him the year before, we got shellacked in an Eastern Division Playoff to the Patriots at home. With the rookie, whom we repositioned as CB, we went to 3 straight championship games- winning 2! George 'Butch' Byrd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 You guys! The best Bills rookie performance ever is obvious, but the player hasn't even been mentioned yet in this thread. Joe DeLamielleure's started all 14 games as a rookie in 1973 and dominated. Not only did OJ rush for 2003 yards that season, but the Bills as a team rushed for 3,088 yards (5.1 ypc overall!). The Bills' rushing yard-per-game figure from that season (220.6 a game) remains the best ever in the history of the NFL. Also, with the addition of Joe D to the line, the Bills increased their rushing yardage by about 1000 yards from the year before (1972). 1973 was not all because of Joe D but you have a great point. How did I forget him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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