KRC Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 For those interested, here is my "Where Are They Now" piece on Marlin Briscoe for National Football Post. Where Are They Now: Marlin Briscoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Good article! He mesmerized me as a Bill! The freakish, leaping catches he could make, game after game were what earned Dennis Shaw ROY. I'm amazed he didn't know what he was doing as a receiver then, just going on athletic ability. Those of us who were alive back then knew it was Saban's return that forced him out of Buffalo. I recall being sick about that, but J.D. Hill, Ahmad Rashad (B. Moore) and Chandler#81 took a lot of the sting out of his departure. Then again, it hurt watching him perform so well for the Dolphins.. Thanks Ken! Keep 'em coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 Good article! He mesmerized me as a Bill! The freakish, leaping catches he could make, game after game were what earned Dennis Shaw ROY. I'm amazed he didn't know what he was doing as a receiver then, just going on athletic ability. Those of us who were alive back then knew it was Saban's return that forced him out of Buffalo. I recall being sick about that, but J.D. Hill, Ahmad Rashad (B. Moore) and Chandler#81 took a lot of the sting out of his departure. Then again, it hurt watching him perform so well for the Dolphins.. Thanks Ken! Keep 'em coming! If you are interested in more, just go to my website: www.kencrippen.com I am just posting the Bills-related ones here. Thank you for the compliments!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Good article! He mesmerized me as a Bill! The freakish, leaping catches he could make, game after game were what earned Dennis Shaw ROY. I'm amazed he didn't know what he was doing as a receiver then, just going on athletic ability. Those of us who were alive back then knew it was Saban's return that forced him out of Buffalo. I recall being sick about that, but J.D. Hill, Ahmad Rashad (B. Moore) and Chandler#81 took a lot of the sting out of his departure. Then again, it hurt watching him perform so well for the Dolphins.. Thanks Ken! Keep 'em coming! What I found most interesting about the article is the contrast between between the Dolphins, a Shula run team, and the Bills under Saban and the rest of the league. The Dolphins had such a higher level of organization, discipline and professional environment compared to the Bills under Saban, who was such a volatile and quixotic person. From an organizational standpoint Don Shula was ahead of his time in running a football operation. Lou Saban had a degree of success in Buffalo. But he had such a volcanic temperment and zaniness to his operation that made it difficult to have sustained success. I'm not uusally very sympathetic towards Ralph Wilson and the manner in which he ran the franchise . But I do understand why he would hold a grudge against Saban who for whatever reason walked away from the team. After witnessing all the different jobs and locations Saban worked during his career I have come to the conclusion that Lou Saban was simply an eccentric and unstable character who was incapable of staying anchored in anyplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotAGuy Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 (edited) It's amazing that seemingly not too long ago (yes, it was 40+ years - but, but.....I'm old), black QBs were an anomaly and the attitudes captured in this article were real. I was 10 years old when trhe Bills dratfed James Harris and I remember what a big deal it was and the attention they got over it. OJ wrote a book about his rookie year (Education of a Rich Rookie) and he captured quite well the tension in the team over Harris starting the 1969 season. It was also disturbing to read how behind the times the Bills wer ein the late 60s and early 70s compared to true "professional" teams - no wonder we sucked - but I loved them and still do! It's also a little sad to see Lou Saban portrayed in a bad light - but apparently he had his weaknesses. Edited December 14, 2013 by WotAGuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 If you are interested in more, just go to my website: www.kencrippen.com I am just posting the Bills-related ones here. Thank you for the compliments!! This was a terrific piece. It brought back a lot of memories of that era. The racial enviroment of division in the country was reflected in the pro ranks. Jack Kemp was an important figure in advancing racial justice in professional football. It has come a long way. Thank you for your work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Great job, Ken. I enjoyed reading that, but yeah, there's a lot of tough realizations in there. My parents knew a number of the Bills players from back then, but I don't know how much they knew about the hardships that so many of them went though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepthefaith Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Great article. Somewhere I have an autographed picture of Marlin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Ken, great stuff as usual. But where is he now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Great article, thanks Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 Ken, great stuff as usual. But where is he now? In California working on his movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackInDaDay Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 (edited) The freakish, leaping catches he could make, game after game were what earned Dennis Shaw ROY. nice tandem, him and Moses ps - thanks for posting, KRC Edited December 14, 2013 by BackInDaDay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vorpma Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Think about this; in 1971 the Bills had Heaven Moses, Marlin Briscoe, Bobby Chandler, and JD Hill as wide receivers. All four were serious threats, then we had OJ with a great blocking FB - Jimmy Braxton yet still went 1 and 13. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Whatever happened to the movie they were making about his life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotAGuy Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Think about this; in 1971 the Bills had Heaven Moses, Marlin Briscoe, Bobby Chandler, and JD Hill as wide receivers. All four were serious threats, then we had OJ with a great blocking FB - Jimmy Braxton yet still went 1 and 13. Shows you what happens when you have no QB - Dennis Shaw wasn't anywhere near as good as he was as a rookie, and I don't think he had the players' confidence either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Very good read Ken. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the lone win in 71 was the Dolphins....pretty sure we were 0 for the 70s no? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Absolutely great stuff Ken!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vorpma Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Very good read Ken. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the lone win in 71 was the Dolphins....pretty sure we were 0 for the 70s no? . You are correct, we beat the Patriots led by rookie Jim Plunket in a mud bowl at the Rockpile for the only win. Talk about a painful season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted December 15, 2013 Author Share Posted December 15, 2013 Whatever happened to the movie they were making about his life? They are waiting on the NFL to approve the script. They expect that to happen soon. At that point, they will proceed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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