kroupapga Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Sam Cowart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt in KC Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 McGee, in his prime, was the best pure kick returner I have ever seen. The guy was fast, smooth, great moves, and read his blocks beautifully. Such a shame he got pulled off kick returns when he started being a stud corner. I agree with this, though you have to add his ability to run through arm tackles and maintain control. Others like Antonio Brown came along with better pure speed, but would wipe out if they were touched. I also think McGee was underrated as a CB. He was great in man coverage, and was a real play-making ballhawk. Unfortunately, he landed in Jauron's persistent Tampa 2 that didn't give him nearly as many chances to shine. He would have been outstanding in a Pettine defense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHorseAteTheKid Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Ron McDole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bufcomments Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Bobby Chandler comes to my mind first. Outside O.J. he was my fav Bill back in the day. More modern have to say Terrance McGee. He was an excellent CB and Returner stuck on some bad clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Roland Hooks. Coming after OJ and before Cribbs (and, at times, playing behind each of them) he tends to get forgotten. Hooks scored 4 TDs on his first four carries against the Bengals in 1979 including this amazing beauty: Then there was the 1980 game against the Pats with the Bills fighting for a playoff berth but losing to the Pats with 35 seconds left and no timeouts on their own 27. Hooks makes a phenomenal catch while getting nailed to gain 37 yards. The Bills run up to the line of scrimmage. Fergy snaps the ball before time expires and heaves the Hail Mary to the endzone. Hooks grabs the deflection to win the game. The Bills went on to make the playoffs with Cribbs injured and Hooks starting most of the rest of the season. http://www.nfl.com/videos/buffalo-bills/09000d5d8208e9c1/Hooks-Hail-Mary-catch He could have been a starter on some teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasjuggler Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Jim Braxton or Bob Chandler Chandler could catch anything and was a decathlete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Mark Pike, 7th round pick who was a special teams ace for a dozen years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 OJ Simpson Yup. I don't how much of it is just time and how much is people ignoring him because of his legal issues, but it seems to escape a large portion of Bills fans that OJ was one of the greatest to ever play in the NFL. In terms of talent on the field, no one else in Bills history is even close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Not to pee on your Bobby Chandler Cheerios but he was a notorious coke head. There was a house in North Buffalo that was owned by the largest drug dealer in WNY during the 70's & 80's. Chandler along with a European guy that played for the Sabres in the mid 70's used to be the most frequent guests (Danny Gare & Reggie McKenzie as well). Chandler & Jacques Richard actually used to pass out there and just stay (Josh Hamilton style). The drug dealer's son was my uncle's best friend when they were kids. Chandler apparently used to go right from the house to the games and play all messed up. I know that it's off topic but an interesting story nonetheless. Well, since you don't mean to pee on the Cheerios, I guess spewing highly negative and unsubstantiated rumor from a friend of a friends' uncle about former players living and dead, it keeps you classy. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Well, since you don't mean to pee on the Cheerios, I guess spewing highly negative and unsubstantiated rumor from a friend of a friends' uncle about former players living and dead, it keeps you classy. Right? Just pulling back the curtain, as I have done from time to time here. You can choose to believe it or not. Most people that know me on here know that I won't post on speculative rumors. I do not put something out there unless I know it to be fact. Again, I didn't mean to ruin your childhood but sometimes the truth hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Security Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Brad Butler. Wished he stayed and played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Just pulling back the curtain, as I have done from time to time here. You can choose to believe it or not. Most people that know me on here know that I won't post on speculative rumors. I do not put something out there unless I know it to be fact. Again, I didn't mean to ruin your childhood but sometimes the truth hurts. My childhood was just fine, thank you, and none of your unsubstantiated claims diminish what a fantastic player Chandler was. Many fans also revere Lawerence Taylor's noteworthy career which, unlike your allegations, was public knowledge. Personally, I and millions of sports fans everywhere, couldn't care less what a pro player may partake in, as long as it doesn't affect their performance -including legality. KJ, I think you're a fine poster and a credit to our Board. Making reference to other posters perceived opinions of you to embolden your 'LAMP' is small -and perhaps speaks to your childhood.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 My childhood was just fine, thank you, and none of your unsubstantiated claims diminish what a fantastic player Chandler was. Many fans also revere Lawerence Taylor's noteworthy career which, unlike your allegations, was public knowledge. Personally, I and millions of sports fans everywhere, couldn't care less what a pro player may partake in, as long as it doesn't affect their performance -including legality. KJ, I think you're a fine poster and a credit to our Board. Making reference to other posters perceived opinions of you to embolden your 'LAMP' is small -and perhaps speaks to your childhood.. I wasn't judging anyone's opinions or taking any personal attacks. I am sorry of you took it that way. It was a figure of speech. Personally, someone's personal life makes little to no difference to me (as long as they aren't suspended). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I wasn't judging anyone's opinions or taking any personal attacks. I am sorry of you took it that way. It was a figure of speech. Personally, someone's personal life makes little to no difference to me (as long as they aren't suspended). Ditto. Which brings us to Dareus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 (edited) Ditto. Which brings us to Dareus... Ha ha, I had him in my previous post but deleted it. He's a talented player that needs to get his head on straight. I hope that he doesn't miss any time this year. He is probably safe at this point but 1 more slip up and we are probably looking at 4 weeks. Edited June 30, 2014 by Kirby Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 No mention of Frank Lewis yet that I see. STUD receiver that made the mediocre Fergy look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 (edited) Anyone who knows me, and my love of the Bills, knows how much I love the Chuck Knox era Bills. Joe Cribbs has already been mentioned a few times, so I won't mention him again (while mentioning him). As Chandler#81 points out, he was a multiple time pro-bowler, and offensive rookie of the year, so it is hard to call him overrated..but normally when I bring him up on TSW, somebody says that they hated him, for exercising his freedom, and signing to play in the USFL, when the owner of the Bills didn't want to pay him what he was worth. He was a fantastic player. Had his career not been derailed by the USFL thing, I think we might be arguing more often about who was better, Joe Cribbs or Thurman Thomas. Now, he is just viewed, mainly as a malconent... his game was great though. Also, from the same era, I would throw out Jerry Butler (maybe my all-time favorite Buffalo Bill), and Steve Freeman. Freeman gets overlooked a bit, because he played, maybe, a little too long, and was on some horriffic Bills defenses....but he was a smart player, who got the most out of his limited speed and size. In the 90's, two guys I think are often forgotten about, and were underrated, by fans and the Bills alike, were Bill Brooks and Antowain Smith. The Bills didn't really seem to place a lot of value on either of them... but if it weren't fof Bill Brooks, there is a very good chance the Bills wouldn't have made the playoffs in 1995...you recall, the and he he was quietly solid in 1993, filling James Loftons' role. As for Antowain Smith, as I heard, he wasn't a great "practice" player...and got in Joe Pendry's dog-house. But if you go back and watch any of those games from 1996-1999 or so, Antowain was the only Bills running back who had any sort of big play ability...the only guy who was posed any sort of threat to break a big run. Instead, we were treated to a heavy dosage of Jonathan Linton and Shawn Bryson...one yard at a time. Pendry was so down on Smith, that he insisted on giving him a limited number of carries...can't tell you how many times I would scratch my head, wondering why the hell Linton and Bryson were getting carries, averaging 1-2 yards a carry, when Smith would get 3 carries for 12-16 yards, and then be back on the bench again... I can't remember all the specifics now, but for some reason, I remember getting very excited in the playoff game against the TItans, when Antowain got more carries, because he was the healthiest RB that game... I knew he would break a huge one, and sure enough, opening drive of the second half, he breaks off a beutiful 44 yard run that nobody on in the Bills backfield could have done at that time. Linton was too slow, Bryson no feel for the game, and Thurman was shell of his great self. Edited June 30, 2014 by Buftex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'll add Bob James to my list. Shutdown corner by every definition of the term. The knee injury that ended his career in the 70s is one that is now routinely recovered from. 5 years as a starter. 3 Pro Bowls, 2 1st team all-pros. On the WOF. But nobody knows who he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Vader Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 As time has gone on its gotta be Cornelius Bennett. He may not have had the longevity here in Buffalo that the Big 4 did but he played a huge role in all the success we had during the late 80s and early 90s I'm not seeing how Bennett is underrated, he got a lot of respect from a nationwide perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I'll add Bob James to my list. Shutdown corner by every definition of the term. The knee injury that ended his career in the 70s is one that is now routinely recovered from. 5 years as a starter. 3 Pro Bowls, 2 1st team all-pros. On the WOF. But nobody knows who he is. ^This. Huge James fan. He'd be in the HOF if not for the knee injury that ended his career. He routinely shut out all the greats of that time. From HOFes like Warfield to Maynard to Biletnikoff, you just lined him up and forgot about them. I remember his first training camp and pre-season. Of course OJ was all the news, but James made himself the most noticeable player on the team. We all wondered "who's that wrecking ball on special teams?" He was ALWAYS around the ball. Just a great player. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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