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Would The Bills Have Won Super Bowl 27 w/ Frank Reich as Starter?


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This is something my good friend and I talked about this. Do you think the Bills would have won Super Bowl 27 if Frank Reich started the game?

 

After the big comeback game, the Bills were on a roll.  They scored a huge victory on the road against a Pittsburgh team who was favored to win.  The Bills ended up winning handedly 24-3 and were hot!  They seemed to be rolling with Reich as QB.

 

Also the Bills teams seemed to rally around Reich whenever he started. Reich never was the most physically gifted QB, but he was smart and it just seemed like the team played harder when he was in the lineup.  The offense seemed to be much more focused and determined.

 

As for Kelly, he wasn’t the same when he returned against Miami in the AFC Championship game.  The Bills got the victory, but that was largely due to a good rushing day and a strong defensive performance.   Most of Kelly’s yards came off screen passes, and he struggled in the redzone.

 

Then came Super Bowl 27....arguably one of Kelly’s worst performances as starter.  He ended up getting knocked out of the game and turned the ball several times.  Yes, Reich did come in the game when Kelly was hurt but by then it was too late.  

 

I’m not saying that starting Reich guarantees a win by any means.  But if he starts and put more points on the board early (which Kelly failed to do), we could see a different Super Bowl.

 

What does everyone think?

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8 minutes ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

This is something my good friend and I talked about this. Do you think the Bills would have won Super Bowl 27 if Frank Reich started the game?

 

After the big comeback game, the Bills were on a roll.  They scored a huge victory on the road against a Pittsburgh team who was favored to win.  The Bills ended up winning handedly 24-3 and were hot!  They seemed to be rolling with Reich as QB.

 

Also the Bills teams seemed to rally around Reich whenever he started. Reich never was the most physically gifted QB, but he was smart and it just seemed like the team played harder when he was in the lineup.  The offense seemed to be much more focused and determined.

 

As for Kelly, he wasn’t the same when he returned against Miami in the AFC Championship game.  The Bills got the victory, but that was largely due to a good rushing day and a strong defensive performance.   Most of Kelly’s yards came off screen passes, and he struggled in the redzone.

 

Then came Super Bowl 27....arguably one of Kelly’s worst performances as starter.  He ended up getting knocked out of the game and turned the ball several times.  Yes, Reich did come in the game when Kelly was hurt but by then it was too late.  

 

I’m not saying that starting Reich guarantees a win by any means.  But if he starts and put more points on the board early (which Kelly failed to do), we could see a different Super Bowl.

 

What does everyone think?

I think yikes. He wasn't the best qb on the team. Jimbo was. Maybe he was rusty, but it was the right choice

Edited by BuffAlone
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Unfortunately no, we still would have lost.  Our Defense couldn't stop them!  May have been a closer game with less turnovers but we still would have lost.  Dallas had just beaten one of the best Niners teams on the road and we were overmatched once the game settled down in the 2nd qtr.  

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People fondly remember Frank Reich but he wasn't anywhere near the talent that Jim Kelly was.......and as is often the case with limited backups........more exposure was not good.

 

Nobody remembers Reich having to take over for an injured Kelly late in 1994 and just playing AWFUL down the stretch and costing the Bills a return to the playoffs.    

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Zero chance. The Bills were a big fish in a small pond (AFC). Dallas was a shark in a pond with other sharks (NFC). Look at the recent SB winners (NE, Denver, & Philly). Dallas would anihalate all of them. I mean dismember them. They were an unstoppable juggernaut.

 

Joe Montana could've been the starter that day for the Bills. It wouldn't of mattered. The Super Bowl was decided in the NFCCG.

Edited by Billsfanatic8989
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14 minutes ago, Billsfanatic8989 said:

Zero chance. The Bills were a big fish in a small pond (AFC). Dallas was a shark in a pond with other sharks (NFC). Look at the recent SB winners (NE, Denver, & Philly). Dallas would anihalate all of them. I mean dismember them. They were an unstoppable juggernaut.

 

Joe Montana could've been the starter that day for the Bills. It wouldn't of mattered. The Super Bowl was decided in the NFCCG.

 

Jimmy Johnson did put together an awesome roster.  I do agree it’s a different game if Reich is starter but that it would be an uphill battle to win.  Then again, who knows.

29 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

That game was over when the refs let Ken Norton give Kenny Davis a full facial on 4th and goal from the 1.  Went straight downhill after that.

 

Perhaps, if Reich is QB in that game he gets the Bills in the endzone before 4th-and-1

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7 minutes ago, Wacka said:

Kelly played the entire second half with a concussion He couldn't remember he was supposed to meet his family after the game..

What are you thinking?  Kelly went out with around 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter & never played again in the game.

 

As far as the OP's question.  Reich entered the game with the score 15-7 & the drive concluded with A FG to make it 15-10.  With the score ending up 52-17, that means the Cowboys outscored the Bills 35-10 AFTER Reich came in, so the answer is to his ? is NO (or more emphatic if there were no censors)

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1 minute ago, Albany,n.y. said:

What are you thinking?  Kelly went out with around 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter & never played again in the game.

 

As far as the OP's question.  Reich entered the game with the score 15-7 & the drive concluded with A FG to make it 15-10.  With the score ending up 52-17, that means the Cowboys outscored the Bills 35-10 AFTER Reich came in, so the answer is to his ? is NO (or more emphatic if there were no censors)

Sorry, wrong Super Bowl. That was SB 26 in Minneapolis where he had the concussion vs Washington. My bad.

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51 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

People fondly remember Frank Reich but he wasn't anywhere near the talent that Jim Kelly was.......and as is often the case with limited backups........more exposure was not good.

 

Nobody remembers Reich having to take over for an injured Kelly late in 1994 and just playing AWFUL down the stretch and costing the Bills a return to the playoffs.    

Sad but true. 1994 is right up there with 2003 with me for most annoying season. :thumbdown:

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1 hour ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

 

It begs the question though - is Reich at 100% better than Kelly at 70%?  I would have to say yes.

Hell no. Jimbo had an attitude, drank too much, womanizer, but was by far the superior QB. This is not even a question is it??

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2 hours ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

This is something my good friend and I talked about this. Do you think the Bills would have won Super Bowl 27 if Frank Reich started the game?

 

After the big comeback game, the Bills were on a roll.  They scored a huge victory on the road against a Pittsburgh team who was favored to win.  The Bills ended up winning handedly 24-3 and were hot!  They seemed to be rolling with Reich as QB.

 

Also the Bills teams seemed to rally around Reich whenever he started. Reich never was the most physically gifted QB, but he was smart and it just seemed like the team played harder when he was in the lineup.  The offense seemed to be much more focused and determined.

 

As for Kelly, he wasn’t the same when he returned against Miami in the AFC Championship game.  The Bills got the victory, but that was largely due to a good rushing day and a strong defensive performance.   Most of Kelly’s yards came off screen passes, and he struggled in the redzone.

 

Then came Super Bowl 27....arguably one of Kelly’s worst performances as starter.  He ended up getting knocked out of the game and turned the ball several times.  Yes, Reich did come in the game when Kelly was hurt but by then it was too late.  

 

I’m not saying that starting Reich guarantees a win by any means.  But if he starts and put more points on the board early (which Kelly failed to do), we could see a different Super Bowl.

 

What does everyone think?

I remember wanting reich to start against Miami in that years afc championship game and in the super bowl against Dallas. I love Kelly, but we were on a roll with reich and I felt we should have stuck with the hot hand. Thanks for this thread

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I'm gonna be optimistic about this and say that we may have had a better chance.  I think those days when Reich had to come in are almost similar to Nick Foles.  Watching Philly this season, they were garbage all around when Wentz was in, but when Foles was in, they were a different team, offensively and defensively.  The energy of one side of the ball usually energizes the other side, therefore, I think we could've had a better shot at winning that game.

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2 hours ago, formerlyofCtown said:

No.  As much as I love Marv, he didnt have those teams ready for any of those games.

 

27 minutes ago, OJ Tom said:

Better question....

 

"Is Frank Reich the most overrated Bill's player of all-time?"

 

I don't know about player, but I'd vote Marv for one of the most overrated Bills personnel of all time.  He managed the egos of his team well and was a master motivator, but Polian gave him HOF talent on both sides of the ball and you can make an argument he underachieved with it because he was not a big game coach.  He was either too oblivious, too stubborn, or too arrogant to realize he had to change up the game plan against an equally talented opponent; instead 4 years in a row he assumed his team could just "out-execute" the NFC champs like they could the rest of a soft AFC.  He also squandered the defensive talent on that team for far too long by retaining Walt Corey and his  infamous "read and react " passive defensive style when they should have been dictating to the opponent on both sides of the ball.

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Nah... As much as I hate to say it, the Bills were outclassed in every Super Bowl after losing to the Giants.

Kelly & Co. never looked like the offense they were in the regular season in any of those next 3 Super Bowls, and we coughed up the ball so many times it would've been damn near impossible for ANY team to lose with that kind of turnover advantage.

Thurman would get his 1 short yardage TD a game and do nothing else. Kelly would look like a deer in the headlights, then get laid out like said deer would standing in the road.

And our key defensive players got run all over and couldn't make plays. Washington & Dallas's O-lines totally destroyed our pass rush. Still the best years this team has ever had in the NFL.

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10 minutes ago, The Senator said:

 

Why is it that the most popular guy on most losing football teams is the backup QB?

.

Because the quarterback is the most important position and they feel the backup may do better.

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