PromoTheRobot Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/Smerlas-Would-Have-Been-A-Bill-Forever/8690a2fb-7b28-42ad-b69a-66ce0a28fa85?campaign=BillsBuzz I loved Fred Smerlas as a Bill. I know he was heartbroken when Marv Levy replaced him with Jeff Wright right before the Bills Super Bowl run. But living in NH I hear Fred on Boston sports talker WEEI, and he regularly put down the Bills, Ralph Wilson, and the city of Buffalo when he is on the air. He can be pretty harsh. But then Fred is more than happy to to put on a smile and come back to Buffalo to sign autographs and such. He just strikes me as a two-face. When I saw this article, I thought back to what he would say on Boston radio and think "yeah, right." PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Fred is bitter that the Bills organization has never put forth a campaign for his HOF bid. He loves the time he spent in Buffalo, but feels he was abandoned by the organization, and he holds a grudge. Can't say I blame him, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLEN1QB Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 What did he say thats so bad? What did i miss. I hear he had a relative that was 7'4" and 600lbs. The whole family must be huge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 http://www.buffalobi...paign=BillsBuzz I loved Fred Smerlas as a Bill. I know he was heartbroken when Marv Levy replaced him with Jeff Wright right before the Bills Super Bowl run. But living in NH I hear Fred on Boston sports talker WEEI, and he regularly put down the Bills, Ralph Wilson, and the city of Buffalo when he is on the air. He can be pretty harsh. But then Fred is more than happy to to put on a smile and come back to Buffalo to sign autographs and such. He just strikes me as a two-face. When I saw this article, I thought back to what he would say on Boston radio and think "yeah, right." PTR You can say that was the biggest mistake of 1990, cutting Smerlas and not getting a clog the middle NT. Had Bills kept Smerlas or signed free agent Jim Burt, it would have been a different outcome in the Superbowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Its a business.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Wheels Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Fred's been like this for years. He's loyal to who ever is signing a paycheck for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 You can say that was the biggest mistake of 1990, cutting Smerlas and not getting a clog the middle NT. He wasn't cut, he was a free agent, and opted to go to San Fran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Caveman Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Fred's been like this for years. He's loyal to who ever is signing a paycheck for him. Yup. He's still my favorite player (my first game was when he blocked the kick against the Jets in 1988 and we clinched the division), but he's definitely a prick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhg Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 http://www.buffalobi...paign=BillsBuzz I loved Fred Smerlas as a Bill. I know he was heartbroken when Marv Levy replaced him with Jeff Wright right before the Bills Super Bowl run. But living in NH I hear Fred on Boston sports talker WEEI, and he regularly put down the Bills, Ralph Wilson, and the city of Buffalo when he is on the air. He can be pretty harsh. But then Fred is more than happy to to put on a smile and come back to Buffalo to sign autographs and such. He just strikes me as a two-face. When I saw this article, I thought back to what he would say on Boston radio and think "yeah, right." PTR All part of his tired act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJasper Probincrux III Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 You can say that was the biggest mistake of 1990, cutting Smerlas and not getting a clog the middle NT. Had Bills kept Smerlas or signed free agent Jim Burt, it would have been a different outcome in the Superbowl. I'm not sure it was a coincidence that they put him on Plan B after the '89 season. That season was full of locker room turmoil and Fred doesn't strike me as the sort of guy who'd keep his mouth shut or try to make peace in a situation. IIRC he was very outpoken during the 1987 strike and his record after his career speaks to his outspokenness as well. Speaking up is fine so long as it's productive, Fred didn't always strike me as productively speaking out, he seemed more like an opinionated loudmouth. We can wax poetic about how we would have been better in 1990 with him but what did he actually do after he was claimed by San Francisco on Plan B? He played in 6 games, didn't really do anything, and got hurt. He hung on 2 more years with some frankly awful Patriots teams and didn't really do much there either. What's more likely is that after 10 years of playing every snap at a high impact position he was just done and the Bills knew it, only Fred didn't. After looking, what's unreal is that Steve Tasker was exposed on Plan B after the '88 AND '89 seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsox Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 What did he say thats so bad? What did i miss. I hear he had a relative that was 7'4" and 600lbs. The whole family must be huge By a Nose!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maybe Someday Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 He wasn't cut, he was a free agent, and opted to go to San Fran. Technically we designated him for Plan B (which to TSW youngsters was an early form of free agency that was only around a few years in the early 80s, late 90s before being deemed to violate antitrust laws and abolished). It’s not too much different than him being cut. The Bills basically told him his services were no longer needed and he was free to sign with any other team. That was when teams basically owned the players rights regardless of contract status. The Bills could have kept him if they wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I'm not sure it was a coincidence that they put him on Plan B after the '89 season. That season was full of locker room turmoil and Fred doesn't strike me as the sort of guy who'd keep his mouth shut or try to make peace in a situation. IIRC he was very outpoken during the 1987 strike and his record after his career speaks to his outspokenness as well. Speaking up is fine so long as it's productive, Fred didn't always strike me as productively speaking out, he seemed more like an opinionated loudmouth. We can wax poetic about how we would have been better in 1990 with him but what did he actually do after he was claimed by San Francisco on Plan B? He played in 6 games, didn't really do anything, and got hurt. He hung on 2 more years with some frankly awful Patriots teams and didn't really do much there either. What's more likely is that after 10 years of playing every snap at a high impact position he was just done and the Bills knew it, only Fred didn't. After looking, what's unreal is that Steve Tasker was exposed on Plan B after the '88 AND '89 seasons. As much as I loved Smerlas, this is the most well balanced and probably correct reflection on his theoretical impact on the 1990 Bills. As for the bolded, didn't we actually acquire Tasker of Plan B from Houston? Pretty incredible that we trusted him after he had previously reneged on just such a "gentlemen's agreement" that he wouldn't sign elsewhere. I don't doubt PTR's assessment about Smerlas' radio persona in NE, but it is disheartening. He was a favorite of mine as a kid in the 80s--- I had always heard he wore a Buffalo Bills t-shirt underneath his 49ers and Patriots gear after he left because he was so devoted to the Bills. Perhaps nothing more than mythologizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Fred is bitter that the Bills organization has never put forth a campaign for his HOF bid. He loves the time he spent in Buffalo, but feels he was abandoned by the organization, and he holds a grudge. Can't say I blame him, either. Smerlas was not a HOF player. If he is holding a grudge on the bills against that he is dumber then he looks which is really saying something. This was a few years back when Smerlas used to come on the Howard Simon show on Fridays in the morning & the week of the Patriots game he was acting really arrogant & putting the Bills organization down saying they are going to get killed & they don't have a chance against Brady/Bellicheck & Simon blew a gasket. He went off on Smerlas. It was hilarious. I mean Freddy was right but it was still funny hearing Simon getting all worked up over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananathumb Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Smerlas is a typical ex-jock who has a chance either to go on tv or make money with his mouth or both. No, not typical actually...much worse. Ignore the bully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blzrul Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I have a friend whose family has been lifetime friends with Freddy. Although my friend's from New England, he grew up a Bills fan. He still is. He says Freddy is constantly trying to convert him to a Pats fan.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 (edited) Fred would also shovel crap on the Bills on his WHAM radio show with Bob Matthews. Anyone ever listen to that. I can't quote what Fred said specifically on WEEI but the gist was 1) The Bills are a mickey mouse operation, 2) Ralph is a terrible owner 3) the city of Buffalo is a hellhole. (Frankly the first two are common themes here on TBD.) Actually I can recall one thing: When Buddy Nix was hired Fred said it was a typical cheap Bills move. Nix was too old to have a clue and Ralph was too cheap to hire anybody good (read: famous) and the Bills will continue to suck. Now Fred says the Bills are a good team? I guess he's changed his tune on Nix, or he can't remember the crap he spewed 3 years ago. PTR Edited September 27, 2012 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Smerlas was not a HOF player. If he is holding a grudge on the bills against that he is dumber then he looks which is really saying something. This was a few years back when Smerlas used to come on the Howard Simon show on Fridays in the morning & the week of the Patriots game he was acting really arrogant & putting the Bills organization down saying they are going to get killed & they don't have a chance against Brady/Bellicheck & Simon blew a gasket. He went off on Smerlas. It was hilarious. I mean Freddy was right but it was still funny hearing Simon getting all worked up over it. He absolutely was a HOF caliber NT. He was one of the best of his generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Same dribble new year. What's new here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Fred would also shovel crap on the Bills on his WHAM radio show with Bob Matthews. Anyone ever listen to that. I can't quote what Fred said specifically on WEEI but the gist was 1) The Bills are a mickey mouse operation, 2) Ralph is a terrible owner 3) the city of Buffalo is a hellhole. (Frankly the first two are common themes here on TBD.) Actually I can recall one thing: When Buddy Nix was hired Fred said it was a typical cheap Bills move. Nix was too old to have a clue and Ralph was too cheap to hire anybody good (read: famous) and the Bills will continue to suck. Now Fred says the Bills are a good team? I guess he's changed his tune on Nix, or he can't remember the crap he spewed 3 years ago. PTR Why is everyone always putting Mickey Mouse down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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