Chandler#81 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 ‘80-‘81 were Back to Back playoff seasons. These 2 great videos feature the best football voices ever in John Facenda & Van Miller! *Note: Tap Part 2 link near the end for a smooth transition. link to part 2 added below, just in case. Enjoy! 3 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I remember that Last second hail Mary against the Pats for the simple reason I gave up on the game, wen for a walk and saw all these cars driving home from the stadium and people going nuts. In short, I missed a great moment because I lost faith.....silly me! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBills1998 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Should’ve went all the way that year especially 1980. We had the talent, too bad Ralph was too cheap to give Knox an extension. Loved coach Knox 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paup 1995MVP Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I was at the Bills Pats game in 1981-was a Junior in HS. Tremendous ending. Crowd was going nuts as were me and my brother. Oh the memories. That is what its all about when all is said and done. Go Bills!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Weird how they start the first one with the loss to the Bengals in the playoffs..and yet do not mention the 4th down conversion that was not! For those that dont remember or are too young, Bills were driving for the tying touchdown and faced a 4th and 3 from say the Bengals 35. Bills call timeout, come out of timeout and Fergy hits Lou Piccone with a 8 yard pass for the first. We were going bonkers in my house with joy..Fergy gunna do it!Announcer comes on end of play, holdon, we have a flag. Delay of game, Bills took to much time...after a freaking timeout! Back in those days no play clock on screen, no flag graphic...man that was crushing. Pass incomplete in the endzone next play, game over! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Maybe we go all the way in '80 if Fergy stays healthy. He played that Chargers' playoff game on a bad ankle. We needed home field to do it in '81 but we had some bad losses during the season. The Monday night game against Dallas was brutal. we had control of it until halftime and then the wheels came off. That loss spilled over the following week to the Cardinals' game. Those two losses were the difference between 10-6 and 12-4. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royale with Cheese Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 3 hours ago, Chandler#81 said: ‘80-‘81 were Back to Back playoff seasons. These 2 great videos feature the best football voices ever in John Facenda & Van Miller! *Note: Tap Part 2 link near the end for a smooth transition. link to part 2 added below, just in case. Enjoy! I wasn’t even born yet. Was this at the same time as your retirement party? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills fan since 87 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Love it! A little before my time but I just love watching old Bills stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Boy Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 2 hours ago, GRHater69 said: I remember that Last second hail Mary against the Pats for the simple reason I gave up on the game, wen for a walk and saw all these cars driving home from the stadium and people going nuts. In short, I missed a great moment because I lost faith.....silly me! That was on my Dad’s birthday and we did the same. We heard the roar of the crowd from outside and the game was won by the time we got to the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple haze Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 2 hours ago, Bills fan since 87 said: Love it! A little before my time but I just love watching old Bills stuff Several full games from that era are on youtube or at least they used to be. Look them up. Those teams were very good. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stranded in Boston Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Ah, thanks for that, Chandler! As a young Bills fan who suffered through the grim 1970s, those two seasons were electrifying! That team was set up by Stew Barber & Chuck Knox's spectacular 1979 draft, maybe the team's best ever. #1 pick Tom (%$#@) Cousineau jumped ship (although ultimately yielded the draft pick that netted Jim Kelly) -- but the next THREE guys chosen -- Jerry Butler, Fred Smerlas and Jim Haslett -- were pro bowlers. The Bills also nabbed free safety Jeff Nixon in the 4th round, who was an interception machine until he blew out his knee. The next year they picked up two more pro-bowlers, Jim Ritcher and Joe Cribbs. Ritcher was a stud for years, and Cribbs was the arguably the league's best offensive dual-threat for a few years. Good times, man! ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njbuff Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 The WCG against the Jets is how I became a Bills fan. And the way they got screwed against Cincinnati the next week was pure garbage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 6 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said: I wasn’t even born yet. Was this at the same time as your retirement party? You ‘n me, Whippersnapper! 4 hours ago, purple haze said: Several full games from that era are on youtube or at least they used to be. Look them up. Those teams were very good. The last second Hail Mary to Hooks vs Pats* is an all time Classic! -not to mention the Playoff chances. They were struggling at this late point. I thought it was over. But I never stopped listening to Van on the radio. What a thrill! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I was at the 1981 Pats game, stayed till the glorious end. We were in the upper deck, Pats side and when Hooks scored, I looked down the tunnel and guys came flying out of the bathroom, many with their pants still down around their ankles, to see what the roar was all about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I will admit, I don’t know much about the Bills before JIm Kelly joined the team. I could never figure out Chuck Knox, he had 2 bad seasons, 2 good ones, and then a disappointing year. Didn’t get along with Ralph and walked away. What a shocker. Many older fans lamented that the Bills let him go, probably because Knox had a few good years with Seattle and the Bills were saddled with Kay Stephenson who appears to be the “hot” coordinator turned crappy head coach. How big was Ralph’s decision not to retain Chuck? And was it all over money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 3 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: I will admit, I don’t know much about the Bills before JIm Kelly joined the team. I could never figure out Chuck Knox, he had 2 bad seasons, 2 good ones, and then a disappointing year. Didn’t get along with Ralph and walked away. What a shocker. Many older fans lamented that the Bills let him go, probably because Knox had a few good years with Seattle and the Bills were saddled with Kay Stephenson who appears to be the “hot” coordinator turned crappy head coach. How big was Ralph’s decision not to retain Chuck? And was it all over money? go back to sleep..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 2 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: go back to sleep..? what? I’m asking about Chuck Knox. Hopefully someone can give me the 411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 2 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: what? I’m asking about Chuck Knox. Hopefully someone can give me the 411 Yes, of course you are. I will say, this is a far more appropriate place to share your feelings for Ralph rather than the thread commemorating is passing. Having said that, why does every thread have to turn into this? Geez, get over it already! No need to reach.... just because something is Bills related, Ralph is fair game? Show some variety! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 2 minutes ago, Augie said: Yes, of course you are. I will say, this is a far more appropriate place to share your feelings for Ralph rather than the thread commemorating is passing. Having said that, why does every thread have to turn into this? Geez, get over it already! No need to reach.... just because something is Bills related, Ralph is fair game? Show some variety! Im asking because Chuck Knox was coach of this 1981 football team. I’m wondering why he left Buffalo and how much of an impact his departure had on the team. It seemed that Kay the Head Coach was a colossal clusterfreak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 4 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: Im asking because Chuck Knox was coach of this 1981 football team. I’m wondering why he left Buffalo and how much of an impact his departure had on the team. It seemed that Kay the Head Coach was a colossal clusterfreak Then WhyTF are you asking? ? Google it. Please stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said: Im asking because Chuck Knox was coach of this 1981 football team. I’m wondering why he left Buffalo and how much of an impact his departure had on the team. It seemed that Kay the Head Coach was a colossal clusterfreak It was one of many mistakes Ralph made, IMO. Kay was a huge disaster. I just enjoyed watching the video of the old days. It was kind of a dark period (as in “going dark” not sad) in Bills history for me. I was in college out of state, there was no DTV or Sunday Ticket. You had to watch the highlights at halftime on Monday Night Football to see a little snippet of my beloved Bills. Years later, I would go to Chili’s for lunch on the day the USA Today sports section had a couple sentences about each team. I’m old, but I’m not ancient. It wasn’t that long ago that getting Bills info was very difficult. Plenty of other threads about that. @Chandler#81, thanks for the links to a bunch of good stuff I largely missed after leaving WNY. . Edited March 28, 2020 by Augie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njbuff Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Joe Cribbs was a beast. Such an underrated receiving threat out of the backfield. I always thought Ferguson was an ok QB. And I always thought the Bills would never reach any heights with him as the QB. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 18 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: Then WhyTF are you asking? ? Google it. Please stop. Because I want opinions of Bills fans...not the facts. I know the facts - just want some context and analysis. Not many people are talking about Chuck Know or the 1981 Bills these days 16 minutes ago, Augie said: It was one of many mistakes Ralph made, IMO. Kay was a huge disaster. I just enjoyed watching the video of the old days. It was kind of a dark period (as in “going dark” not sad) in Bills history for me. I was in college out of state, there was no DTV or Sunday Ticket. You had to watch the highlights at halftime on Monday Night Football to see a little snippet of my beloved Bills. Years later, I would go to Chili’s for lunch on the day the USA Today sports section had a couple sentences about each team. I’m old, but I’m not ancient. It wasn’t that long ago that getting Bills info was very difficult. Plenty of other threads about that. @Chandler#81, thanks for the links to a bunch of good stuff I largely missed after leaving WNY. . Thanks - did Kay have a good reputation as an up-and-coming offensive mind or was he just a cheap hire to replace Knox? Kind of like the hires of Craig Williams and Mike Mularkey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Kay at the time was a surprise choice, even among the players. It was rumored that Ralph thought Knox was too conservative on offense and wanted to open things up. It was also rumored that Knox went into the '82 season upset with Ralph for trading away Cousineau. Then the strike happened and the team fell apart. I was dealing with some life issues a lot around that time, so my memories are foggy at best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Knox was a great coach but his teams (in LA and BUF especially) also had a bad habit of coming up flat at random times, and of having no luck in the playoffs. The 1980 team was great, but twice collapsed against the Colts and also against the Falcons at home--a win in any of those games, and they would have been hosting a playoff game. The 1981 team had horrific collapses in New York, Dallas, and St. Louis and blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead in Cincinnati, as well as a dismal performance in the season finale in Miami. It was as if something was missing in the team's character that kept them from getting higher when they had a chance to take that next step. The total fold after the 1982 strike was a back-breaker all around. (Many other franchises struggled to get it back together that year.) Knox lost the team in that last month, and whatever disagreements he had with Ralph on an extension were a convenient reason to go somewhere else and start over. Stevenson was young and inexperienced. He inherited an aging team that nonetheless started well only to collapse in the second half of 1983 under the weight of age and injuries and contract drama around Joe Cribbs. And that was it until the Arrival of Jim Kelly 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotAGuy Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 “Hard Knox” by Chuck Knox is a good read, but he doesn’t get into the juicy backstories too much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
From Roc to Ky bills fan Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 On 3/28/2020 at 10:54 AM, Royale with Cheese said: I wasn’t even born yet. Was this at the same time as your retirement party? wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil The Thrill Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 3 hours ago, RJ (not THAT RJ) said: Knox was a great coach but his teams (in LA and BUF especially) also had a bad habit of coming up flat at random times, and of having no luck in the playoffs. The 1980 team was great, but twice collapsed against the Colts and also against the Falcons at home--a win in any of those games, and they would have been hosting a playoff game. The 1981 team had horrific collapses in New York, Dallas, and St. Louis and blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead in Cincinnati, as well as a dismal performance in the season finale in Miami. It was as if something was missing in the team's character that kept them from getting higher when they had a chance to take that next step. The total fold after the 1982 strike was a back-breaker all around. (Many other franchises struggled to get it back together that year.) Knox lost the team in that last month, and whatever disagreements he had with Ralph on an extension were a convenient reason to go somewhere else and start over. Stevenson was young and inexperienced. He inherited an aging team that nonetheless started well only to collapse in the second half of 1983 under the weight of age and injuries and contract drama around Joe Cribbs. And that was it until the Arrival of Jim Kelly So cool - thank you for the informative and respectful response. I’ve often wondered about Chuck Knox and the circumstances to his leaving Buffalo. This helps...much appreciation ?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Can we please stop inappropriately using the word quarantine? Last time I checked there were no armed guards stationed outside anyone's house to ensure there was nobody entering or exiting the premises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 No, we can’t. Lighten up, Francis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Deek Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Have you watched the Embedded video narrated by Kyle Williams? I watched it yesterday on YouTube and was fascinated at the inside look at the Bills and all of the personalities. It was interesting to see some of the players who we now know are no longer with the team, less than a year later. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a great way to pass some quality ‘quarantine’ time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg S Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Yesterday I watched the 1981 WC game vs the Jets at Shea. That was one of the most exciting Bills games ever played. Bill Simpson saves the day with an INT at the goal line with just seconds left stopping a furious Jets rally. I was at this game and I remember leaving Shea with a giant smile on my face looking at all of those disappointed Jets fans. This was also my first "heart attack" game that the Bills gave me. Up 24-0 in the 2nd Q and 31-13 in the 4th it never should have come down to a last second play. Thankfully they held on to win as that would have been a very painful loss if they didn't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 It should also be noted that as good as the team drafted in '79 and '80, the other drafts under Knox fell short. 3 of his number 1s in 5 years busted, Terry Miller '78, Booker Moore '81, Perry Tuttle '82. Booker Moore I'll give a pass to since developed an illness and missed his rookie year, but he never fully recovered to play worthy of his draft status. Plus some of the needed offensive line help never developed. You could argue that regime change and bad coaching probably hurt some the draftees as well. Bad drafting, too many contract disputes and the USFL really drove that team down. In '83 Fergy had Joe Cribbs, Jerry Butler and Frank Lewis. In '84 those players were either injured, gone to the USFL, or retired. It's no wonder they went 2-14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 2 minutes ago, GRHater69 said: It should also be noted that as good as the team drafted in '79 and '80, the other drafts under Knox fell short. 3 of his number 1s in 5 years busted, Terry Miller '78, Booker Moore '81, Perry Tuttle '82. Booker Moore I'll give a pass to since developed an illness and missed his rookie year, but he never fully recovered to play worthy of his draft status. Plus some of the needed offensive line help never developed. You could argue that regime change and bad coaching probably hurt some the draftees as well. Bad drafting, too many contract disputes and the USFL really drove that team down. In '83 Fergy had Joe Cribbs, Jerry Butler and Frank Lewis. In '84 those players were either injured, gone to the USFL, or retired. It's no wonder they went 2-14. Miller has a great rookie season. 1000 yrd rusher. He, imo, was less a bust and more victim of Joe Cribbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRHater69 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Miller had a bad sophomore season and ended up splitting time with Roland Hooks. If he was really that good, they wouldn't have needed to draft Cribbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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