Who were the most UNDERUTILIZED Bills in history

[hondo in seattle]

6 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

He was one of my favorite old-time stat lines ever - in the 1968 AFL championship game against the Jets, which the Raiders lost 27-23 after the Jets came from behind late with a Namath TD pass to Maynard, he was 20-47 --- but still threw for 401 yards! That's 20 yards per completion!

 

Great stat line indeed.

 

That was back in the good old days when QBs liked to sling the ball down the field.  

 

And, after all, they didn't call Daryle, "The Mad Bomber" for nothing!

Edited January 18, 2019 by hondo in seattle

[NoHuddleKelly12]

14 hours ago, Another Fan said:

Frank Reich.  I'll admit if message boards were around in the early 90's I'd be posting saying he should be the starter. 

That's if per the coach he wasn't winded 

I love Frank, always have. Awesome off the bench, and an even better person off the field. One of the greatest backups of all time, imho. However (you knew there would be one), he did get his crack at starting elsewhere beginning with Carolina, and Kerry Collins took it away from him after 3 games. Other stops along the way as well, ended similarly. 

 

"After giving the Bills one more comeback victory late in the 1993 NFL season, Reich signed with the expansion Carolina Panthers in March 1995 to start off their first year. He threw the first touchdown pass in franchise history to former Bills player Pete Metzelaars in Memorial Stadium in Clemson, as Bank of America Stadium was still under construction. The Panthers had drafted Kerry Collins as their intended franchise quarterback, but Reich was the starter for the first three games until Collins was deemed ready to take the starting job. He was sacked 9 times on Sep 3 at Atlanta, a franchise record he shares with Cam Newton. Coincidentally, Reich and Collins hail from rival high schools in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with Collins having started his high school career at Cedar Crest's crosstown rival, Lebanon High School (although due to age differences, Reich did not play against Collins in high school).

Reich was then signed by the New York Jets where he started for seven games in 1996.

In 1997, Reich signed with the Detroit Lions, reuniting him with his coach at Maryland, Bobby Ross. Reich appeared in 6 games in 1997, all in relief, and 6 games in 1998, including 2 starts. Reich retired following the 1998 NFL season.

In 2014, NFL Hall of Fame Executive Bill Polian, who was general manager of the Bills when they drafted Reich, called him "the greatest backup quarterback in NFL history."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Reich#National_Football_League

Edited January 18, 2019 by NoHuddleKelly12

[transient]

14 hours ago, Logic said:

Underused? I'm not sure.

OVERused? It's gotta be Shaud Williams.

Every time the Bills were in 3rd and a mile, Mularkey would call a draw play to Shaud Williams. Every time.

I still have nightmares about it.

 

I'll see your Shaud Williams and raise you Mike Tolbert.  

[NoHuddleKelly12]

2 hours ago, row_33 said:

WHEN IS THE THIRD NEEDLESS THREAD rehashing Tasker's accomplishments set to run?

 

 

Just trying to help a brother out for a "Hall" bump . Hello Peter King, are you reading TBD?

[Formerly Allan in MD]

13 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

Tasker wasn't a good receiver lol. How can someone say Tasker was a good receiver then in the next sentence act like Spiller was completely awful. 

 

I get the time period was great, but put Tasker on any drought team and no one is clamoring for him to get more run at receiver. He's a healthy Marcus Easley, if that.

Tasker was a good receiver.  You obviously are enthralled with stats.  Tasker didn't have a lot of receptions and yardage because he wasn't utilized much as a receiver.  That doesn't mean he wasn't a good receiver.  Watch the tapes.

 

Spiller had one good season.  The rest of the time he did little more than not find the hole or continually attempt to get outside and rarely succeed.

[Rico]

Nate Clements as a 2-way player. He probably would’ve been a better WR than some of the stiffs like Josh Reed and Bobby Shaw.

Edited January 18, 2019 by Rico

[Royale with Cheese]

I would put Lee Evans up there just because in all his years in Buffalo, he literally had trash throwing to him.  Would that qualify as underutilized?

 

[Another Fan]

19 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

I love Frank, always have. Awesome off the bench, and an even better person off the field. One of the greatest backups of all time, imho. However (you knew there would be one), he did get his crack at starting elsewhere beginning with Carolina, and Kerry Collins took it away from him after 3 games. Other stops along the way as well, ended similarly. 

 

"After giving the Bills one more comeback victory late in the 1993 NFL season, Reich signed with the expansion Carolina Panthers in March 1995 to start off their first year. He threw the first touchdown pass in franchise history to former Bills player Pete Metzelaars in Memorial Stadium in Clemson, as Bank of America Stadium was still under construction. The Panthers had drafted Kerry Collins as their intended franchise quarterback, but Reich was the starter for the first three games until Collins was deemed ready to take the starting job. He was sacked 9 times on Sep 3 at Atlanta, a franchise record he shares with Cam Newton. Coincidentally, Reich and Collins hail from rival high schools in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with Collins having started his high school career at Cedar Crest's crosstown rival, Lebanon High School (although due to age differences, Reich did not play against Collins in high school).

Reich was then signed by the New York Jets where he started for seven games in 1996.

In 1997, Reich signed with the Detroit Lions, reuniting him with his coach at Maryland, Bobby Ross. Reich appeared in 6 games in 1997, all in relief, and 6 games in 1998, including 2 starts. Reich retired following the 1998 NFL season.

In 2014, NFL Hall of Fame Executive Bill Polian, who was general manager of the Bills when they drafted Reich, called him "the greatest backup quarterback in NFL history."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Reich#National_Football_League

Fair enough.  The only team I remember him being on post Buffalo was the 96 Jets.  In Franks defense that team only won 1 game.  So I don’t think he had the same kind of weapons around him post Buffalo 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

13 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

Tasker wasn't a good receiver lol. How can someone say Tasker was a good receiver then in the next sentence act like Spiller was completely awful. 

 

I get the time period was great, but put Tasker on any drought team and no one is clamoring for him to get more run at receiver. He's a healthy Marcus Easley, if that.

The HOF QB throwing his way (who had plenty of weapons to throw to) went out of his way to request Tasker be converted to the WR unit. That tells me pretty much everything I need to know.

 

As for the stats, Tasker didn't get to play WR until late in the run, so his window to rack up was also necessarily narrowed. But watch him play as was also suggested above, and you'll see the natural talent/good hands that he had.   

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

3 hours ago, Real McCoy said:

Tyrod Taylors arm was pretty underutilized no?

‘Failure to Launch’?

[NoHuddleKelly12]

7 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

Fair enough.  The only team I remember him being on post Buffalo was the 96 Jets.  In Franks defense that team only won 1 game.  So I don’t think he had the same kind of weapons around him post Buffalo 

Agreed--and also in Carolina, that was their first expansion year. To say nothing of the Lions, a perennial non-contender, so no question he was hamstrung by a lack of talent around him everywhere after post early 90's Buffalo. 

[Nextmanup]

15 hours ago, Augie said:

If we go strictly by position, I’d say it’s NOT the punter!     ?

That's an astute observation!

 

Our Punters have earned their paychecks, historically speaking.

 

 

[Jamie Nails]

Patrick DiMarco

[Seasons1992]

Butch Rolle? 

[Golden*Wheels]

Man we used Larry Centers fairly often and I still felt we should use him more. Dammit Drew...why are all your short passes 100mph???

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

15 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Our Punters have earned their pay checks, historically speaking.

As of late: quantity = yes, quality = no.

3 hours ago, row_33 said:

WHEN IS THE THIRD NEEDLESS THREAD rehashing Tasker's accomplishments set to run?

 

 

They keep posting new ones so they’re easier for Tasker to find...?

[blacklabel]

15 hours ago, Ol Dirty B said:

It's probably recency bias... but Robert Woods? 

 

Dont agree with Tasker at all. He maxed out his abilities, he wasn't a good WR in my opinion. 

 

CJ Spiller to an extent could be one. He had a confusing career in terms of trying to explain why it was what it was.

 

I miss Woods. He's shown for the last two seasons what he's really capable of, caught 86 passes for 1200+ yards and 6 TDs this season. He did have some injury issues during his time in Buffalo, in fact, this season is the first season in which he hasn't missed any games. In Buffalo, he ended up on teams that were run first. He was a good team guy though, he's a solid blocker in the run game. One of my favorite plays of his was when he threw a block on a DB who crashed into another DB behind him, knocking both out of the play as Tyrod ran in the game winning TD against the Titans in... 2015, I think? Yeah, good stuff, good player.

 

And I agree on CJ. I don't think they were as creative as they needed to be with him. He had that breakout season in 2012 but that was it. Never was really able to keep it up, bounced around the league and last played with KC in 2017. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by blacklabel

[I'm Spartacus]

Matt Cassel

[Reader]

I only really started paying attention to football and lurking this board in 2004, the good old days of Ieatcrayonz trolling people, so my knowledge is limited.

 

I would say Anthony Hargrove, he had suspension issues but aside from that he seemed better as a DE than Kelsay or Denney both of whom played a lot more than him.

 

Certain players who were undrafted or seen as ore developmental would often need opportunities to showcase their abilities instead of the coaching staff initially recognizing their talent (although perhaps they needed time to develop) perhaps Jabari Greer is another possibility.

Edited January 18, 2019 by Reader

[dollars 2 donuts]

On 1/17/2019 at 8:14 PM, Green Lightning said:

For the first few years of his career, OJ was totally underused.

 

 

 

 

If they were serious about him in the first 3 years, even on bad buffalo teams, he would have finished his career at the same time, even with his devastating knee injury in 77(?), but likely would have been in a position to challenge Jim Brown as the all-time leading rusher.

 

Yep, just checked.  360 more yards in each of his 3 first three seasons would have had him walking off the field in December of '79 in San Francisco, as the NFL's all time leading rusher.

 

Please excuse the exclusive focus just on football with respect to OJ here.  I am just stating numbers.

 

1969   1,057 instead of 697

1970      848 instead of 488

1971   1,102 instead of 742

Edited January 20, 2019 by dollars 2 donuts