Kwai San Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 RIP Z.....man Peter King just lost his best friend. Back when Simmons was in his prime and he cared about the NFL he could crank out some good stuff...not Z stuff but good stuff.....like another has already said - before the internet he was the man. RIP.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Really great article from Benoit Dr. Z’s Ultimate Legacy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) He was maybe my favorite football writer. A very sad day. "Super Bowl XXVIII will go down in history as a blowout, because that's what a 30–13 score looks like when you read it in the record book five or 10 years later. But the score won't come close to telling the story. The Buffalo Bills, short-enders for the fourth straight year, had the Dallas Cowboys on the ropes on Sunday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and they let them escape. "The Bills have now lost two Super Bowls that they should have won, the first and fourth in this series of consecutive defeats, and have lost the other two most convincingly. Sunday's defeat was the most disheartening because the Cowboys were a struggling team in the first half; Dallas was ready to be put away. The Cowboys' quarterback, Troy Aikman, seven days removed from a severe concussion, was having difficulties. Emmitt Smith's favorite running play, the lead draw, was getting stuffed. Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly was picking Dallas apart with his short, meticulous passes, and the Cowboy defense was on the field far too long—41 snaps in the first half—against the Bills' no-huddle offense, which literally takes your breath away." https://www.si.com/vault/1994/02/07/130416/the-fumble-dallas-bashed-buffalo-in-their-super-bowl-rematch-as-miscues-made-the-bills-four-time-losers Edited November 2, 2018 by Thurman#1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanfan Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Sad day. For the younger folks here who never had a chance to read his stuff, go to si.com today and read some of his articles. Z was the best. Such a unique writing style and his analysis was based on exhaustive work watching film. Regards and sympathies to The Flaming Redhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Brown Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 One of the first mock drafts before the number format we're used to seeing. https://www.si.com/vault/1980/04/28/824610/man-here-feeling-the-draft-sifting-stats--and-tea-leaves--intrepid-dr-z-predicts-where-the-blue-chips-will-fall-in-the-nfls-name-game-next-week 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 5 hours ago, Thurman#1 said: He was maybe my favorite football writer. A very sad day. "Super Bowl XXVIII will go down in history as a blowout, because that's what a 30–13 score looks like when you read it in the record book five or 10 years later. But the score won't come close to telling the story. The Buffalo Bills, short-enders for the fourth straight year, had the Dallas Cowboys on the ropes on Sunday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and they let them escape. "The Bills have now lost two Super Bowls that they should have won, the first and fourth in this series of consecutive defeats, and have lost the other two most convincingly. Sunday's defeat was the most disheartening because the Cowboys were a struggling team in the first half; Dallas was ready to be put away. The Cowboys' quarterback, Troy Aikman, seven days removed from a severe concussion, was having difficulties. Emmitt Smith's favorite running play, the lead draw, was getting stuffed. Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly was picking Dallas apart with his short, meticulous passes, and the Cowboy defense was on the field far too long—41 snaps in the first half—against the Bills' no-huddle offense, which literally takes your breath away." https://www.si.com/vault/1994/02/07/130416/the-fumble-dallas-bashed-buffalo-in-their-super-bowl-rematch-as-miscues-made-the-bills-four-time-losers Yup, the Bills Super Bowl era can pretty much be summed up in those two paragraphs...sadly... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Ever the mercurial wordsmith, Z had an unmatched talent for getting the reaction that he wanted from his readers while teaching them something that they didn't know I consider it one of the great crimes of irony that he spent his last decade on this earth unable to read or write the stories that made him one of the all-time greats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Dr. Z and Joel Buchsbaum were the best. What separates them from the good ones today is that it wasn't easy at all to get all of that film, and it required a ton of VHS taping (once VCRs came on the scene) and cajoling friends in other regions of the country to tape and send them games. They didn't have instant info via the internet at their hands. They did it the hard way. 5 hours ago, Doc Brown said: One of the first mock drafts before the number format we're used to seeing. https://www.si.com/vault/1980/04/28/824610/man-here-feeling-the-draft-sifting-stats--and-tea-leaves--intrepid-dr-z-predicts-where-the-blue-chips-will-fall-in-the-nfls-name-game-next-week He called Jim Ritcher! Edited November 2, 2018 by dave mcbride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) I believe he also predicted the Giants over the Pats in 2007. When I saw that, it gave me hope. Turns out he was spot-on. Wondered where he went. Figured he retired. Unfortunately he was forced into retirement by a very difficult situation that he battled for 10 years. RIP Dr. Z. Edited November 2, 2018 by RyanC883 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 32 minutes ago, dave mcbride said: They did it the hard way. Another common element--both guys put a lot of thought into their analyses. No hot takes. No telling us what we already know. No "look at me!" They would have been failures today, but were giants back when those qualities were genuinely valued (and valuable)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubs Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Very sad. Loved Dr Z. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Prayers to his family. I always looked forward to his SI articles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Around 1986 or 1987 or so, he made his preseason predictions for who would make the playoffs. And, nailed every one of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabel Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 9 hours ago, Thurman#1 said: He was maybe my favorite football writer. A very sad day. "Super Bowl XXVIII will go down in history as a blowout, because that's what a 30–13 score looks like when you read it in the record book five or 10 years later. But the score won't come close to telling the story. The Buffalo Bills, short-enders for the fourth straight year, had the Dallas Cowboys on the ropes on Sunday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and they let them escape. "The Bills have now lost two Super Bowls that they should have won, the first and fourth in this series of consecutive defeats, and have lost the other two most convincingly. Sunday's defeat was the most disheartening because the Cowboys were a struggling team in the first half; Dallas was ready to be put away. The Cowboys' quarterback, Troy Aikman, seven days removed from a severe concussion, was having difficulties. Emmitt Smith's favorite running play, the lead draw, was getting stuffed. Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly was picking Dallas apart with his short, meticulous passes, and the Cowboy defense was on the field far too long—41 snaps in the first half—against the Bills' no-huddle offense, which literally takes your breath away." https://www.si.com/vault/1994/02/07/130416/the-fumble-dallas-bashed-buffalo-in-their-super-bowl-rematch-as-miscues-made-the-bills-four-time-losers Man, that is painful to read. I was just a kid but I remember that game very clearly. Bills played great football in the first half. They come out in the second half, Thurm drops the rock and I think that one mistake just demoralized the entire team. They got in their own heads with the "here we go again" and just couldn't finish. And RIP to Dr. Z, definitely one of the best of all-time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Just now, blacklabel said: Man, that is painful to read. I was just a kid but I remember that game very clearly. Bills played great football in the first half. They come out in the second half, Thurm drops the rock and I think that one mistake just demoralized the entire team. They got in their own heads with the "here we go again" and just couldn't finish. And, I kept thinking about it as everybody was talking about Thurman's competitive spirit this whole weekend, etc. I've never seen a player and then a team quit like that. The game was friggin tied! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBrownBear Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Great writer. RIP Z. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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