The Top Five Reasons You Can't Blame

[Ned Flanders]

On ESPN Classic, debuting February 2nd, Super Bowl week. This is actually a pretty good series on Classic, one of the last reasons to watch ESPN.

 

ESPN Classic link

 

Anyways, FWIW, here's my top five reasons you can't blame Scott Norwood for losing Super Bowl XXV:

 

5. The Bills abandoned the running game. Thurman was running wild, should have been the MVP, and should have been featured earlier in the game.

 

4. Lost chances. Due to Giant hits, Andre Reed suddenly afraid of going over the middle. Bruce does not swat the ball out of Hostetler’s paw in the end zone, resulting in a safety not a TD.

 

3. Mark Ingram’s (sp?) catch on third and forever. Kept a Giant TD drive alive as Ingram broke several tackles (most notably Shane Conlon).

 

2. Marv Levy. Marv never had control of his troops when they invaded a Super Bowl city. Bills players have recently boasted of the partying in Tampa during the short Super Bowl week.

 

1. It was a loooooong FG attempt. On grass. 47 yards. Never known for a strong leg, the chances of Norwood making the kick were no more than 30 percent before the ball was even snapped.

[Buckeye Eric]

I recall vividly that with time running down in the game during the final drive the ball was placed on the line by a ref.

 

One of the Giants kicked it. Some would say accidently, but I would say purposefully.

 

Not only did 10 seconds run off the clock while the ball was recovered and replaced, but a delay of game penalty should have been called.

 

The Bills should have had more time to run another play and had a shorter FG attempt.

[Beerstm]

wow, that seems so long ago... I was actually excited to be a Bills fan... good ol' days..

 

 

Man, I wish Scotty had made that kick!

[plenzmd1]

I recall vividly that with time running down in the game during the final drive the ball was placed on the line by a ref.

 

One of the Giants kicked it. Some would say accidently, but I would say purposefully. 

 

Not only did 10 seconds run off the clock while the ball was recovered and replaced, but a delay of game penalty should have been called. 

 

The Bills should have had more time to run another play and had a shorter FG attempt.

539360[/snapback]

I do not recall that at all

[JDG]

I recall vividly that with time running down in the game during the final drive the ball was placed on the line by a ref.

 

One of the Giants kicked it. Some would say accidently, but I would say purposefully. 

 

Not only did 10 seconds run off the clock while the ball was recovered and replaced, but a delay of game penalty should have been called. 

 

The Bills should have had more time to run another play and had a shorter FG attempt.

539360[/snapback]

 

Bill Parcells refused to deny publicly that he had Giants players fake injuries in order to slow down the no-huddle.

 

JDG

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I recall vividly that with time running down in the game during the final drive the ball was placed on the line by a ref.

 

One of the Giants kicked it. Some would say accidently, but I would say purposefully. 

 

Not only did 10 seconds run off the clock while the ball was recovered and replaced, but a delay of game penalty should have been called. 

 

The Bills should have had more time to run another play and had a shorter FG attempt.

539360[/snapback]

 

Bellichick admits in the recent book "Education of a Coach" that he instructed his players to kick the ball to slow down the no-huddle. So I'm not surprised that it was done on that drive.

[GG]

I recall vividly that with time running down in the game during the final drive the ball was placed on the line by a ref.

 

One of the Giants kicked it. Some would say accidently, but I would say purposefully. 

 

Not only did 10 seconds run off the clock while the ball was recovered and replaced, but a delay of game penalty should have been called. 

 

The Bills should have had more time to run another play and had a shorter FG attempt.

539360[/snapback]

 

No such thing happened. But Kelly hit McKeller with a pass that the refs had to review on replay. If they didn't review, Bills would have gotten up to the line an ran a play or spiked, with 30 secs to go. Instead following the review and restarting of the clock, while Bills were still in the huddle, they lost 10 seconds.

 

I vote for the above, but also if Al Edwards gets a better block on Mark Collins, Thurman walks in for a winning TD.

[34-78-83]

To me, it was all about #5...

[Beerball]

The torture will never end, will it? Every time I see the kick I lean left, sadly the ball always slides right. Last two cities I've lived in have had Norwood Blvd. Driving down the freeway you see a huge sign: Norwood Next Right. I am mocked at every turn.

[Beerstm]

The torture will never end, will it?  Every time I see the kick I lean left, sadly the ball always slides right.  Last two cities I've lived in have had Norwood Blvd.  Driving down the freeway you see a huge sign: Norwood Next Right.  I am mocked at every turn.

539400[/snapback]

 

LOL.. great post.. I'm so sorry!

[SDS]

To me, it was all about #5...

539398[/snapback]

 

Who was responsible for that?

[2003Contenders]

It really was a classic game -- in my opinion STILL the best Super Bowl ever -- despite our coming out on the losing end. Think back to how well both teams played that day. No turnovers. Few penalties... and a great cat and mouse game by both coaching staffs.

 

I have always said also that it was unfair to blame Norwood for missing that kick and resting the win or loss on his shoulders. I would say that the biggest reason for losing the game was #3 -- but magnify to say that we lost because our defense could not get off the field. That coupled with the lack of success that the offense had early on, didn't allow the defenders to catch their breath in the humidity of Florida. I also think that if the defense had done a better job on that final drive before the end of the half, we may have taken the G-Men out of playing their brand of football in the second half.

 

One question -- as time has dimmed my memory... That final drive I believe started out on the 10-yard line. Was there a penalty -- or just a horrible run back? I'd have to say that starting out on the 25 -- or even the 20 may have meant a difference in the outcome of that drive.

[Fla Bills Fan]

Norwood makes the kick the Bills win Period.

[ofiba]

One question -- as time has dimmed my memory... That final drive I believe started out on the 10-yard line. Was there a penalty -- or just a horrible run back? I'd have to say that starting out on the 25 -- or even the 20 may have meant a difference in the outcome of that drive.

539502[/snapback]

 

I've always wondered that myself.

[plenzmd1]

I've always wondered that myself.

539539[/snapback]

 

I think, and I repeat i think, it was a punt that was fair caught at the ten, just like they always say your spoda do

[PromoTheRobot]

Kelly deserves more blame than Norwood. He partied too much...He was arrogant when the Giants challenged him...He wanted to be MVP so he didn't give the ball to Thurman enough. He may be Mr. Bill, but that loss was 90% on him.

 

PTR

[Astrobot]

It was my fault. I recorded the game over a tape containing a Bills' loss.

I've used the same tape the last several weeks.

Should I buy a new tape, or tape over the Heisman show?

[Lori]

Norwood makes the kick the Bills win Period.

539535[/snapback]

FYI: when he lined up for that kick, Norwood had never made a FG that long on a grass field in his entire NFL career. I repeat: NEVER.

 

As to the drive-start question: Al Edwards fair-caught a Landeta punt at the 10.

[TC in St. Louis]

The kick was missed because Frank Reich failed to turn the laces forward. Any right footed kicker's ball will hook left several feet during the flight toward the posts, but since the laces were sideways, they affected the trajectory and it did not hook left at all.

 

When the ball left his foot, I was sure it was going dead center. I had wondered why the ball didn't hook, and read an article quoting Morton Andersen saying it was Reich's fault. Next time I saw the replay, I thought, Damn! He's right. Andersen praised Norwood for not pointing the finger at his holder.

[SDS]

Kelly deserves more blame than Norwood.  ... He wanted to be MVP so he didn't give the ball to Thurman enough.

 

PTR

539573[/snapback]

 

So, you think the buck stopped at Jim Kelly?

 

Were there any spectators on the sidelines that could have possibly had a say in this?

[TheMadCap]

So, you think the buck stopped at Jim Kelly?

 

Were there any spectators on the sidelines that could have possibly had a say in this?

539627[/snapback]

 

 

Yup, the one I believe most responsible...

[Orton's Arm]

The kick was missed because Frank Reich failed to turn the laces forward.  Any right footed kicker's ball will hook left several feet during the flight toward the posts, but since the laces were sideways, they affected the trajectory and it did not hook left at all.

 

When the ball left his foot, I was sure it was going dead center.  I had wondered why the ball didn't hook, and read an article quoting Morton Andersen saying it was Reich's fault.  Next time I saw the replay, I thought, Damn!  He's right.  Andersen praised Norwood for not pointing the finger at his holder.

539624[/snapback]

This sounds like something from Ace Ventura.

[bluv]

Kelly deserves more blame than Norwood.  He partied too much...He was arrogant when the Giants challenged him...He wanted to be MVP so he didn't give the ball to Thurman enough.  He may be Mr. Bill, but that loss was 90% on him.

 

PTR

539573[/snapback]

Gotta agree; don't know about the partying or desire to be MVP but the reason that game was lost was because of the lack of runs called, especially when the Giants used a lot of 2 man lines and Thurman was running wild when he touched it and since Kelly called the plays at the line of scrimmage he deserved most of the blame. A lot of people would say the Bills were outcoached but they weren't the one's calling the plays it was Jim Kelly. It was kind of like when the Pats won their first ring against the Rams and everyone blamed Martz for not running Faulk enough when he was running all up in the Pats.

[buckeyemike]

On ESPN Classic, debuting February 2nd, Super Bowl week.  This is actually a pretty good series on Classic, one of the last reasons to watch ESPN.

 

ESPN Classic link

 

Anyways, FWIW, here's my top five reasons you can't blame Scott Norwood for losing Super Bowl XXV:

 

5. The Bills abandoned the running game.  Thurman was running wild, should have been the MVP, and should have been featured earlier in the game.

 

4. Lost chances.  Due to Giant hits, Andre Reed suddenly afraid of going over the middle.  Bruce does not swat the ball out of Hostetler’s paw in the end zone, resulting in a safety not a TD.

 

3. Mark Ingram’s (sp?) catch on third and forever.  Kept a Giant TD drive alive as Ingram broke several tackles (most notably Shane Conlon).

 

2. Marv Levy.  Marv never had control of his troops when they invaded a Super Bowl city.  Bills players have recently boasted of the partying in Tampa during the short Super Bowl week.

 

1. It was a loooooong FG attempt.  On grass. 47 yards.  Never known for a strong leg, the chances of Norwood making the kick were no more than 30 percent before the ball was even snapped.

539331[/snapback]

 

Basically, right on 1 and 2. Someone mentioned a while back that it's likely Jim Kelly was hung over that day. No idea about that, but I remember what a wild guy he was 15 years ago.

 

The FG was Norwood's longest attempt that year on grass. If the game's played in New Orleans, or even a turf field, I say he makes it.

 

Mike

[BuffOrange]

Kelly deserves more blame than Norwood.  He partied too much...He was arrogant when the Giants challenged him...He wanted to be MVP so he didn't give the ball to Thurman enough.  He may be Mr. Bill, but that loss was 90% on him.

539573[/snapback]

 

Bellicheck told his players this before the game: Basically, Kelly wants to be the MVP so we're going with a 2 man front.

[GG]

So, you think the buck stopped at Jim Kelly?

 

Were there any spectators on the sidelines that could have possibly had a say in this?

539627[/snapback]

 

I don't buy this logic, because Kelly called a decent game and kept the Giants D off balance. Bills had the ball for 19 minutes & scored 19 points. The key to the game is right there, Bills O was on the field for only 19 minutes, and it's tough to blame Levy for having Kelly call plays in that game.

 

If we are going to blame Levy, is for the belief that Jeff Wright was a good run game substitute for Smerlas, and not signing Jim Burt in the offseason to aid the run D.

 

Having said that, if either Talley or Kelso makes a routine tackle on Ingram's 3rd & 13, game is history. If Andre Reed catches a routine 1 yard crossing pattern for 1st down in 2nd Q, game is history.

[TC in St. Louis]

This sounds like something from Ace Ventura.

539792[/snapback]

 

It is from Ace Ventura, which was based upon Norwood's kick. You think I'm making this up, take a look at the hold next time you get a chance.

 

That's why the kick missed. It never hooked, like every other kick Scott had in his life. It went straight.

[Pete]

My #1 reason- JIM KELLY

 

Worst clock management ever! Watch that last two minute drive again and see how much time we wasted. Thurman got 10 yards everytime he touched the ball. We lost over a minute in wasted time management- it should of been a chipshot for Norwood

[Lori]

If we are going to blame Levy, is for the belief that Jeff Wright was a good run game substitute for Smerlas, and not signing Jim Burt in the offseason to aid the run D.

539900[/snapback]

Wouldn't that be on Polian, not Levy?

 

Agree with pretty much everything else. Could Kelly have called a better game than he did? Yeah, I suppose so... but looking at the play-by-play to refresh my memory, I don't see as many obvious "should've run instead" playcalls as I thought I would. Couple of bad penalties didn't help the down-and-distance, either; that offensive PI on Dre really fouled up the first drive of the second half...

[34-78-83]

Who was responsible for that?

539499[/snapback]

 

Marv. With an assist from Marchibroda.

 

 

 

Kelly was NOT calling all the plays in the offense yet at this time. This seems to be a common assumption incorrectly made by Bills fans. It was '91 when he took the reigns completely.

[GG]

My #1 reason- JIM KELLY

 

Worst clock management ever!  Watch that last two minute drive again and see how much time we wasted.  Thurman got 10 yards everytime he touched the ball.  We lost over a minute in wasted time management- it should of been a chipshot for Norwood

539921[/snapback]

 

Care to expand on this myth? Starting at the 10, one TO left, and Giants playing prevent and taking outside pass away, Kelly still manages to drive 60 yds, and loses at least 10 secs thanks to stupid officiating.

[JDG]

I have to say that I find that ancient debate of assigning blame for Super Bowl XXV is even more distasteful than the Flutie vs. Johnson debates.

 

I'm going to remember Super Bowl XXV by the rally downtown after the game, not in searching for blame.

 

JDG - Who really regrets losing Super Bowl XXVIII much more than XXV anyways.....

[Catholic Guilt]

The kick was missed because Frank Reich failed to turn the laces forward.  Any right footed kicker's ball will hook left several feet during the flight toward the posts, but since the laces were sideways, they affected the trajectory and it did not hook left at all.

 

When the ball left his foot, I was sure it was going dead center.  I had wondered why the ball didn't hook, and read an article quoting Morton Andersen saying it was Reich's fault.  Next time I saw the replay, I thought, Damn!  He's right.  Andersen praised Norwood for not pointing the finger at his holder.

539624[/snapback]

I'll make sure to ask Frank when we have lunch again about this. Laces in or out, you should kick the ball straight IMHO.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Damn them. DAMN THEM.

 

Yeah, that's what I said. The more time that passes, the more I am sickened by that team. What a waste of talent. All those big-name players and no rings. So many teams since have won it all with so much less....It leads me to believe that it will never be our time to crow.

[2003Contenders]

I could have sworn that the Giants kicked off (after kicking the go-ahead field goal) rather than punting to us for that final drive. Again, maybe I am having selective memory loss.

 

As far as blame goes, I really have never been one to blame anyone in particular for that loss. It really was a great game: probably the most evenly matched game in Super Bowl history. Everyone wants to discount the Giants, but they were 13-3 just like we were with a GREAT defense that had held the mighty 49ers to just 12 points (I believe) the week before.

 

Personally, I thought Kelly called a pretty good game. He completed 60% of his passes against a defense that dropped 8 and 9 guys into coverage much of the day. Based on the way the Giants were defending us, he also deserves credit for not throwing any INTs. And he made pretty sound adjustments by getting Thurman involved -- to the point where Thurman would have been the MVP if Norwood's kick had been good.

[StuckinRedskinland]

No such thing happened.  But Kelly hit McKeller with a pass that the refs had to review on replay.  If they didn't review, Bills would have gotten up to the line an ran a play or spiked, with 30 secs to go.  Instead following the review and restarting of the clock, while Bills were still in the huddle, they lost 10 seconds.

 

I vote for the above, but also if Al Edwards gets a better block on Mark Collins, Thurman walks in for a winning TD.

539395[/snapback]

 

Actually it did happen, in fact I have made a ton of money especially from Giants fan who deny that it ever happened. If you have a tape of the game go to I believe it is 1:50 left in the game. Giants backed the huddle right up to the line, one of the linemen looked and kicked the ball. The ref first looks puzzled then he walks upto the ball and replaces it. I believe 8 secs are lost.

[34-78-83]

 

Personally, I thought Kelly called a pretty good game.

539995[/snapback]

 

He didn't call the game. You might say that he played a good game though.

[tennesseeboy]

I never thought it was Norwood's fault. I really think Shane Conlan's injury is what killed us as he was a very effective run-stopper, and we would have had that offense on the field more than 19 minutes. Of course the injury isn't anyone's fault. Norwood's field goal was no gimme, and Norwood played a huge role in getting us INTO the superbowl to start with.

[2003Contenders]

The truth of the matter is that our team was never well equiped to handle those strong NFC East teams that were so tough at the line of scrimmage. We played our best ball in that Giants game -- and darn near won, but the problems that would eventually plague us in the other 3 games began to come into focus in that Giants game.

 

Remember that Polian originally built that team to thwart Miami, who had primarily owned the division for decades. As such we could score quickly and almost at will to keep up with Marino -- and our pass defense was strong. However, we were not built to handle a consistently strong rushing attack.

 

Yes, I know that we managed to beat those NFC East teams during the regular season -- but in a winner take all tournament the stakes are very different. We simply did not match up well against those power running teams.

 

I really think the treat that would have provided the better match-up would have been if the Bills could have faced the 49ers during one of those years. Of course, the 49ers had their own problems getting past those teams as well.

[34-78-83]

The truth of the matter is that our team was never well equiped to handle those strong NFC East teams that were so tough at the line of scrimmage. We played our best ball in that Giants game -- and darn near won, but the problems that would eventually plague us in the other 3 games began to come into focus in that Giants game.

 

Remember that Polian originally built that team to thwart Miami, who had primarily owned the division for decades. As such we could score quickly and almost at will to keep up with Marino -- and our pass defense was strong. However, we were not built to handle a consistently strong rushing attack.

 

Yes, I know that we managed to beat those NFC East teams during the regular season -- but in a winner take all tournament the stakes are very different. We simply did not match up well against those power running teams.

 

I really think the treat that would have provided the better match-up would have been if the Bills could have faced the 49ers during one of those years. Of course, the 49ers had their own problems getting past those teams as well.

540090[/snapback]

 

Very good points...