Bermuda Triangle Reunites

[hondo in seattle]

For the old timers out there...

 

"Former Bills defensive playmakers Fred Smerlas, Jim Haslett and Shane Nelson, otherwise known as the "Bermuda Triangle" are reuniting for the first time in over 30 years this weekend at the Buffalo Auto Show. The trio is coming back to Western New York to spread awareness for the Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation's "Cure the Blue" initiative."

 

For the youngsters...

 

"During their time with the Bills, the “Bermuda Triangle” wreaked havoc on Buffalo's competition. Smerlas, Haslett and Nelson earned their lasting nickname due to their physical style of play, which quickly gobbled up running backs—diminishing the most capable rushing attacks. The group is recognized for helping propel Buffalo to the top of the defensive rankings in 1980, after finishing 14th just one season before."

 

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Bills-trio-the-Bermuda-Triangle-reunites-for-the-first-time-in-30-years/80fe23b9-96da-4810-b33a-34b06e321dd0

Edited February 12, 2016 by hondo in seattle

[PromoTheRobot]

Fred is a Bills and Buffalo hater. He's dead to me.

[hondo in seattle]

Fred is a Bills and Buffalo hater. He's dead to me.

 

Not so sure about him hating the Bills, PTR.

 

This is what Fred once said to Tim Graham on the phone...

 

"I am a Buffalo Bill. I love the Buffalo Bills. People say, 'You're a Patriot.' I'm good friends with the Krafts, good friends with Tom Brady, good friends with Bill Belichick. But I bleed Buffalo Bills."

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/03/14/fred-smerlas-gives-fair-warning-brandon-spikes-questions-character-commitment/

Edited February 12, 2016 by hondo in seattle

[Chandler#81]

Fred is a Bills and Buffalo hater. He's dead to me.

Jeez, PTR. That's a little over the top, eh? He's definitely a Boston homer -which is typically Satanic to WNYers, but he was a great player for us! His locker room antics are legendary and he was a sought-after pitch man. I know he's on the radio in Bhastin -so he's very pro-Pats, but he was among the very best Bills. Loved that '80-81 team

[KollegeStudnet]

He digs his Bills, but is a Boston native and his job comments on the Pats.

He still a Bill.

[TakeYouToTasker]

Fred is a Bills and Buffalo hater. He's dead to me.

I know Fred, and you're dead wrong.

Jeez, PTR. That's a little over the top, eh? He's definitely a Boston homer -which is typically Satanic to WNYers, but he was a great player for us! His locker room antics are legendary and he was a sought-after pitch man. I know he's on the radio in Bhastin -so he's very pro-Pats, but he was among the very best Bills. Loved that '80-81 team

He's paid to be a Boston homer. He is very much a Buffalo fan.

[I'm Spartacus]

Fat Freddy - nose encroachment again!

[26CornerBlitz]

Smerlas was on the JMS with Sal Capaccio the other day: http://media.wgr550.com/a/113120253/2-10-former-bills-nt-fred-smerlas-with-sal-capaccio-on-the-john-murphy-show.htm

[8-8 Forever?]

um, he's a native new englander, a BC grad, etc etc.. blood is way thicker than water.

 

if you had his background and dropped into WNY in the late 70's , early 80's you would said "people actually live here?" as well... those were the darkest of dark times/end of an era ; when my entire generation largely bagged out and did not return.. leave him go.. he's doesn't seem a bad guy.. the Buffalo of those Jimmy Griffin days is completely indefensible by anyone...

Edited February 12, 2016 by 8and8-->NoMore

[I'm Spartacus]

_{I do recall Smerlas absolutely HATED Hank Bullough!}

[hondo in seattle]

_{I do recall Smerlas absolutely HATED Hank Bullough!}

 

 

Yep. Fred once said:

"Bud Carpenter helped a guy with one brain cell walk around for three years. Hank should be a protected species. How many people can talk, breathe and eat with one brain cell? He was a subhuman, but Bud kept him functional."

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/03/14/fred-smerlas-calls-defend-bills-trainer-bud-carpenter-guy-helps/

Edited February 12, 2016 by hondo in seattle

[machine gun kelly]

Hondo, the thing is who didn't hate Hank Bullough?

 

PTR - C.mon bud, you know i enjoy your posts, but disagree with you here. I loved Fred back in the day. Remember his book, By a Nose. He was hilarious and was a run stuffer for those years. I hate moving on from him for Jeff Wright. He sucked and was pushed around for those years.

 

Fred is from NE, and analyzes on the Patriots. I've never heard of him bashing the Bills.

 

And for the guy who was eluding to Jimmy Griffin, I hope you were just referencing the years with the economy. His family and ours are close friends, my dad and Jim were alter boys, went to the military together, and were life long friends for almost 70 years. He was the mayor during some of the toughest times in Buffalo history, for 17 years.

[John from Riverside]

 

Not so sure about him hating the Bills, PTR.

 

This is what Fred once said to Tim Graham on the phone...

 

"I am a Buffalo Bill. I love the Buffalo Bills. People say, 'You're a Patriot.' I'm good friends with the Krafts, good friends with Tom Brady, good friends with Bill Belichick. But I bleed Buffalo Bills."

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/03/14/fred-smerlas-gives-fair-warning-brandon-spikes-questions-character-commitment/

He sounds very conflicted

[Best Player Available]

Smerla's when he played for the Bills at times was a beast. We were at Rich Stadium lucky enough to see him block the FG for the win, clock running out. The goal posts came down. And a big piece marched up to Ralph's box. What a game Smerlas won that one. When the good times rolled back then it was awesome.

 

I would never say he hates the bills/Buffalo now. But he certainly over the years has made it very clear where his loyalty lies.

The $$$$ must be fairly good for hime to do this. i wouldn't wish to shake his hand for anything. But. As a player did do some damage to opponents. And is part of Bill's good time lore.

[machine gun kelly]

Why is a guy from NE who played for the Bills, post career goes back to NE, now has an opportunity to have a lifelong career as a sports analyst in NE betraying Buffalo. If Bruce Smith who grew up in Virginia, wanted hypothetically to go to work post career as a sport analyst for the Redskins, who beat us in SB 26 be a problem?

 

I don't get it. Maybe I don't know something about this story. He wrote a book so positively about his time as a Bill, and so many funny stories, played his heart out for us.

[hondo in seattle]

Why is a guy from NE who played for the Bills, post career goes back to NE, now has an opportunity to have a lifelong career as a sports analyst in NE betraying Buffalo. If Bruce Smith who grew up in Virginia, wanted hypothetically to go to work post career as a sport analyst for the Redskins, who beat us in SB 26 be a problem?

 

I don't get it. Maybe I don't know something about this story. He wrote a book so positively about his time as a Bill, and so many funny stories, played his heart out for us.

 

The guy was raised in Boston, went to college in Boston, makes his living in Boston, and has many friends & family in Boston. I agree with MGK, you can't blame the guy for having some love for Boston.

 

But he was good (i.e. Pro Bowl) Bill and still loves the team. That makes him a good guy in my book.

Edited February 13, 2016 by hondo in seattle

[atlbillsfan1975]

Smerlas is a great guy. I got to know him growing up. He was always like a big kid! Having fun and joking around. He loved the Bills and embraced Buffalo.

[stinky finger]

Why is a guy from NE who played for the Bills, post career goes back to NE, now has an opportunity to have a lifelong career as a sports analyst in NE betraying Buffalo. If Bruce Smith who grew up in Virginia, wanted hypothetically to go to work post career as a sport analyst for the Redskins, who beat us in SB 26 be a problem?

 

I don't get it. Maybe I don't know something about this story. He wrote a book so positively about his time as a Bill, and so many funny stories, played his heart out for us.

Have you heard him on the radio in Boston?

 

I have.

 

I can't stomach him. Not to mention he offers nothing and his Boston accent just grates me.

 

Once a great Bill......now a NE loser as I see it.

[BigdaddyinOrlando]

I remember those days and how much the "Triangle" stood out. It was fun to watch and see it happen and always loved being there w my dad! Good times and memories indeed!!

[Jim Gehman]

Here’s a little more about Smerlas, Haslett and Nelson which was not included in the press release. These first-person excerpts are from my book about the Bills – “Then Levy Said to Kelly…”.

 

 

Tag Team

 

Barnum and Bailey. Martin and Lewis. A picnic lunch and ants. Some combinations were just destined to be together. The Bills’ contribution to that theory was born during the 1979 NFL draft when Fred Smerlas, a nose tackle from Boston College, and Jim Haslett, a linebacker from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, were both selected in the second round.

 

The two rookies initially became familiar when they each ventured into a hotel game room while in Buffalo for the team’s mini-camp.

 

"I brought my girlfriend, five-foot, 90 pounds, a real hot looking girl," says Smerlas. "The busses were coming to take us over to the facility and so I go down to the pinball room and there’s this guy sitting between the two pinball machines like a kid in high school sitting between the sinks having a cigarette. It was Haz! He looked like a bird! A little tiny head, big wide shoulders, and that nose! He was looking at my girlfriend and said, ‘You’re girlfriend’s pretty well built!’ Not quite those terms. I said, ‘What? Who are you?’ We almost ended up fighting the first day I met him. Then we started goofing around and became better and better acquainted and we got to like each other."

 

They may have liked each other, but they were not the most popular players at the team’s training camp. Especially among the veterans after Smerlas and Haslett shelved any thoughts of hazing rookies, turned the tables and began harassing them.

 

"We did whatever we wanted. We tortured the veterans," Smerlas said. "They were on the downside so Chuck (Knox) was giving a lot more credit to the rookies. We instantly got all the pub up there and no one liked pub better than Haz. I saw him tackle a reporter once just to try to get his face on camera."

 

Once camp ended and the regular season got underway, Smerlas saw Haslett tackling running backs, receivers and anyone else who may have gotten in the way.

 

"One thing I did when I was a player, I enjoyed myself off the field, but I worked hard on the field," said Haslett. "I don’t know if I would have even started (had Buffalo signed its top draft choice, linebacker Tom Cousineau.) I don’t know if I would have been (playing) inside. I probably would have played outside, so I’m sure it would have been a lot different."

 

Different? Maybe. Less vocal? Doubtful.

 

"We’re lining up on the field and Haz is talking trash to everybody," Smerlas says. "He’s talking trash, grabbing people’s facemasks, punching people in the stomachs. Just getting everybody all riled up. Of course, I’m the nose tackle, so the first guy they’ve got to go through is me. So I have to start talking trash. So here are two loud rookies that are talking trash and backing it up! That makes people pissed off.

 

"And he called his own crap. We had a few fisticuffs on the field because he’d have us move over or run slants (with line calls.) He’d yell, ‘Move over!’ And I’d yell, ‘Shut up!’ We just kept yelling back and forth at each other. But in the locker room, as much trash as he talked and as many fights as he got in, Haz was always a student of the game. He’d be in there after everybody went out for a few beers and watch film. He’d watch until two in the morning, breaking it down by plays. He was fanatical. That’s what impressed me about Jimmy."

 

Heading Back to Honolulu

 

For four consecutive years, Fred Smerlas’s seasons did not conclude in the cold winter air of Rich Stadium but in the tropical breezes of Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium. From 1980 to 1983, the nose tackle was recognized as one of the NFL’s best by being selected to play in the Pro Bowl. And following a four-year span, including two seasons when no players from Buffalo were selected (1985 and 1986), in 1988, Smerlas’ 10th season, he was named to the AFC’s Pro Bowl team for a fifth time.

 

"When you keep going all the time, you kind of take it for granted. It was kind of like an annual trip," said Smerlas. "You’re going to Pro Bowls, and all of a sudden, you’re not going! There are several reasons. One is that the coach is not going to push you because he hates you. Things changed. It was so perfect when you get there, and then Chuck [Knox] becomes Kay [stephenson]. It was very, very difficult. I played poorly. When you rely so much on emotion to play, to just drain yourself, I didn’t play well for a couple of years.

 

"In ‘84 I didn’t play well. In ‘85 I played Okay. And then Braincell [then-head coach Hank Bullough] came in. He kind of rekindled my career because I hated him so much. There was a giant lottery, the state lottery, and I went to the store. Everyone on the team was in line playing the lottery, hoping to win it so they could spit in Hank Bullough’s face. Can you imagine that? That’s how much we hated him."

 

Buffalo’s second-round draft choice in 1979 continued. "Marv [Levy] came in the second half of ‘86 and really helped. My hatred toward Hank was so high that when Marv came in, he was anybody but Hank. I was pissed off that I didn’t go [to the Pro Bowls], and you start saying to yourself, ‘Did I lose it?’ So you rekindle yourself. I got fired up and played extremely well. Marv allowed us to have our legs back in games, too, so that helped. We weren’t exhausted like we were with Braincell.

 

"So ‘88 came, and I made the Pro Bowl, which was just so gratifying. The press said, ‘Well, how do you feel? You’ve been playing great again.’ I said, ‘No. Not being conceited, but this goes for a lot of the players on the team. Jim Ritcher, Joe Devlin, Darryl Talley, a lot of guys. I’ve been playing well for a couple years, it’s just the [national] press hasn’t been here to see it. When you’re 2-14, no one sees you. If I’m a New York Giant, I’m in the Pro Bowl 10 times. Because I’m in Buffalo where the media coverage is limited and you’re losing, forget about it!

 

"It was rewarding to go back after the four years because it legitimized the other years, too. Obviously, you must have been playing Okay. You don’t just resurge after 10 years. You must have been playing at a pretty good level. I started 156 games in a row. So that was really gratifying. It was nice to go back."

 

Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain

 

It did not matter that Shane Nelson was not one of the 335 players chosen during the 1977 NFL draft. The Baylor linebacker would arrive at Buffalo’s training camp with the same attitude, whether he was a free agent, which he was, or a first-round selection. "My mind-set pretty much was all or nothing. There wasn’t no tomorrow," said Nelson. "As a rookie free agent, you’ve got to be able to strike quickly as far as getting the coaches to be aware of your talent. You don’t come in with any kind of guarantee. Maybe a first- or second-round draft pick has time to develop because they’ve invested in them. As a rookie free agent, boy, you’d better make things happen quickly to allow coaches to really recognize you. I had nothing to lose, everything to gain."

 

It is not often that a rookie free agent is acknowledged right away by veterans. The newcomer is trying to take a job from them or their teammates. But Nelson’s “nothing to lose, everything to gain” mentality caught the attention of two veterans in the defensive huddle: linebacker John Skorupan and safety Tony Greene. "John really talked to me a lot about the game and helped me become even a better student of the game. He taught me a lot about preparation for a game. In college, you prepared yourself. But it’s a whole ‘nother level when you really start breaking down game films, understanding tendencies, down, and distance. All that means so much more in the NFL!

 

"And Tony just was there, just constantly supportive and always encouraging me. He really was instrumental in helping me from the standpoint that it gave me somebody to go to. He constantly encouraged me and gave me little tidbits on the field."

 

While Skorupan and Greene saw something in the young linebacker, after making the Bills’ roster, opposing running backs did as well – a No. 59 jersey in their faces! Nelson started every game and totaled 168 tackles, earning a place on the NFL’s All-Rookie team.

 

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

 

There was at least one thing for certain from September 18, 1977, through November 1, 1981. When the Bills took the field, Shane Nelson would be a starting linebacker. A span of 72 consecutive games!

 

Leading the team in 1979 with an incredible 192 tackles, Nelson continued to make stops the following season with 126 tackles, 74 solo. And he would remain in the center of the action until the ninth game of the 1981 season against Cleveland.

 

"I was doing an inside blitz on [guard] Joe DeLamielleure, who used to be with the Bills, and as I faked him outside and started to come underneath, I had it [my leg] planted. What they did was an illegal chop block. Of course, they wouldn’t call it," Nelson laughed. "They set Freddy [smerlas] up and they really chopped him over, and all three of them came down on my right knee. I just ended up caught in a pile."

 

In the wrong place at the wrong time, Nelson, a rookie free agent in 1977, missed the next five games before trying a comeback against New England on December 13. That came to a halt when he reinjured the knee and was sidelined for the season finale at Miami.

 

After an exhaustive rehabilitation that lasted through the following year’s training camp, Nelson removed himself from the 1982 season opener against Kansas City when his knee failed him and required surgery. Not one to give less than 100 percent, Nelson was forced to hang up his helmet and shoulder pads.

 

"That was real difficult because I’d always been a leader on every team I played on," said Nelson. "It’s a tough row when you’re not able to be out on the field. I think one of the great fundamentals of leadership is leading by example. Which is how you play the game, how you approach the game, how you studied the game. So it [being unable to play] was kind of a comfort-zone issue for me because it was a place I’d never been in.

 

"As far as being on the sideline and still assume some leadership of the team, when my knee wasn’t ready, I retired rather than just hang[ing] around. I always approached the game with everything that I had, trying to be the best I could, trying to be a team leader. So trying to become a leader from the sideline was not something that I was comfortable with. It was difficult."

 

[PromoTheRobot]

Have you heard him on the radio in Boston?

 

I have.

 

I can't stomach him. Not to mention he offers nothing and his Boston accent just grates me.

 

Once a great Bill......now a NE loser as I see it.

At least one person has heard Fred on WEEI.

 

I appreciate everyone's comments but I wish I could play you some Fred clips from his WEEI radio show. The guy really drops some turds on the franchise, Ralph and the Buffalo fans. Mean, nasty stuff. Maybe he was just swept up in the usual Bills bashing on Boston radio, but I was surprised by the things he said, a guy who is a revered player in WNY.

Edited February 13, 2016 by PromoTheRobot

[dayman]

High time this city cease worshiping the players/teams/memories of years past.

[stinky finger]

At least one person has heard Fred on WEEI.

 

I appreciate everyone's comments but I wish I could play you some Fred clips from his WEEI radio show. The guy really drops some turds on the franchise, Ralph and the Buffalo fans. Mean, nasty stuff. Maybe he was just swept up in the usual Bills bashing on Boston radio, but I was surprised by the things he said, a guy who is a revered player in WNY.

All true, PTR...all true.

 

Doesn't diminish his past.

 

Just the here and now.