Who do think is the best player to have ever

[Greybeard]

OJ was great. Thurman, everyone I believe know my opinion, as I get very protective when idiots compare Willis or Travis to him (not even close guys).  bruce, Jimbo, etc.. are great. 

But James flat out went 3 years (I believe) without ever giving up a TD to his receiver that he covered.  He was the ultimate shutdown corner and team player.  Not flashy like Sanders but a better pure cover.  If it wasn;t for injuries that shortened his career, people would be saying Sanders was the second best corner ever.

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James was worth the price of admission. You could say there was only one knock on James. That is he never played on a great team and because of that he got very little recognition. If James played on the Bills of the early 90's, they'd have at least two rings and he would be known as the best all time corner. Remember, he covered with bump and run and shutdown his guy.

 

What a bummer of a year that was James and Tony Green out in the same season.

[Adam]

Dwight Drane

[Thurmal34]

Thurman Thomas

[georg793]

JIMBO

[cooldudeav]

Thuman Thomas #34

[dave mcbride]

dog, i'd say bruce smith and it isn't even close. oj had 3 great and a couple of really good seasons for the bills; smith had about 10 (1987, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 96, 97, and arguably 86 and 92). his performance in 1996 stands as the most dominating performance ever by a defensive end in my book. he had a good but not great number of sacks (13.5), but i'm fairly certain he absolutely smashed the record for pressures (a stat that hadn't been around for long, i know) with something like 40.  he was also absolutely sensational against the run. he was defensive player of the year both in 96 and 90. to be the league defensive mvp twice is pretty damn sensational.

 

and, like oj, he was a dominating player in college who went #1 overall.

 

i also thought that from 93 onward, smith was a significantly better player than white.  all told, i'd take white over smith.

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doh! i meant to say i'd take smith over white ...

[Bill from NYC]

Bruce!

[Bob in STL]

What about Cookie Gilchrist.  He is kind of a forgotten player in Bills history because he's burned so many bridges with the organization and football in general.

 

However, from what I have heard he should atleast be mentioned in this thread.

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Cookie was great? How great? Well he was signed out of high school by Paul Brown but argued about money and his contract. He always wanted more money, no matter what. The NFL then made a rule about recruiting high school players so he went to the CFL instead of college. Cookie was a great all around player. He was a 240 lb running back, bigger than many guards, tackles, and LB's in his time. He was fast and strong and mean. He loved to block and blow people up. He love to hurt people and he did it often. Sometimes on purpose. He could catch and run. He was the first ever 1000 yard running back in th AFL and he did it in 12 games. He was a huge character and a major loud mouth in an era when that was frowned upon. Cookie claimd he could throw better than Kemp, and maybe he could have. He played LB and FB in the CFL and was a great tackler. On top of all of that, he could and did place kick. He has not the pure runner that OJ and Thurman were. He was simply a great football player who could, and would, kick the crap out of just about anyone on the field.

 

By many measues of a "football player" he was the best and if you asked him he would tell you so.

[Dibs]

TASKER!!!

 

Now that I've read everyones thoughts/views, it is obvious to me that Tasker was the best Bill ever.

[tennesseeboy]

Cookie was great?  How great?  Well he was signed out of high school by Paul Brown but argued about money and his contract.  He always wanted more money, no matter what.  The NFL then made a rule about recruiting high school players so he went to the CFL instead of college. Cookie was a great all around player.  He was a 240 lb running back, bigger than many guards, tackles, and LB's in his time.  He was fast and strong and mean.  He loved to block and blow people up.  He love to hurt people and he did it often.  Sometimes on purpose.  He could catch and run.  He was the first ever 1000 yard running back in th AFL and he did it in 12 games.  He was a huge character and a major loud mouth in an era when that was frowned upon.  Cookie claimd he could throw better than Kemp, and maybe he could have.  He played LB and FB in the CFL and was a great tackler.  On top of all of that, he could and did place kick.  He has not the pure runner that OJ and Thurman were.  He was simply a great football player who could, and would, kick the crap out of just about anyone on the field. 

 

By many measues of a "football player" he was the best and if you asked him he would tell you so.

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[tennesseeboy]

Cookie was a great football player, but he was not with the bills long enough to qualify as the best Buffalo Bill. He only played one position with us, Fullback, and that was with one of the best offensive lines we have ever had, Kemp, Bass, Dubenion and Warlick providing a really fine passing game (Kemp had one of the strongest arms in the game.) and LaMonica on the bench coming in for a spark. He was a great athelete in Canada and was the final cut for the Browns (Jim Brown beat him out.) Cookie was a character and a huge part of the early Bills history. He had a car with "Lookie, lookie, here comes Cookie" painted on it. He has a big place in my memory, but not in the top bunch for best player.

[mary owen]

Cookie was great?  How great?  Well he was signed out of high school by Paul Brown but argued about money and his contract.  He always wanted more money, no matter what.  The NFL then made a rule about recruiting high school players so he went to the CFL instead of college. Cookie was a great all around player.  He was a 240 lb running back, bigger than many guards, tackles, and LB's in his time.  He was fast and strong and mean.  He loved to block and blow people up.  He love to hurt people and he did it often.  Sometimes on purpose.  He could catch and run.  He was the first ever 1000 yard running back in th AFL and he did it in 12 games.  He was a huge character and a major loud mouth in an era when that was frowned upon.  Cookie claimd he could throw better than Kemp, and maybe he could have.  He played LB and FB in the CFL and was a great tackler.  On top of all of that, he could and did place kick.  He has not the pure runner that OJ and Thurman were.  He was simply a great football player who could, and would, kick the crap out of just about anyone on the field. 

 

By many measues of a "football player" he was the best and if you asked him he would tell you so.

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"....argued about money and his contract. He always wanted more money, no matter what."

 

 

not sure why this is listed as a reason for greatness...just seems not to support your argument

[Bob in STL]

Cookie was a great football player, but he was not with the bills long enough to qualify as the best Buffalo Bill.  He only played one position with us, Fullback, and that was with one of the best offensive lines we have ever had, Kemp, Bass, Dubenion and Warlick providing a really fine passing game (Kemp had one of the strongest arms in the game.) and LaMonica on the bench coming in for a spark.  He was a great athelete in Canada and was the final cut for the Browns (Jim Brown beat him out.) Cookie was a character and a huge part of the early Bills history. He had a car with "Lookie, lookie, here comes Cookie" painted on it. He has a big place in my memory, but not in the top bunch for best player.

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I don't think that he had the best career as a Bill either, not by a long shot. But, if your looking for the "best player" I would put him up against anybody when it comes to evualuating his ability to run, block, catch, tackle, hit, and kick. I think his impact on our offense was a major one and he helped to make it go. He was a great athelete to any standard, not just Canadian Football. He had the natural gift of size and speed in combination that would enable him to play in todays NFL standards.

 

Interesting ... I never heard anything about him being the last cut from Cleveland. There are conflicting stories, his is that he quit because he wanted more money, theirs is that he was too young being straight out of high school. Paul Brown may have been trying to sneak him in before the high school rule was in effect.

[Bob in STL]

"....argued about money and his contract. He always wanted more money, no matter what."

not sure why this is listed as a reason for greatness...just seems not to support your argument

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It doesn't support greatness. It's just part of the story.

[mary owen]

It doesn't support greatness.  It's just part of the story.

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ok, I gotcha.

[afrodziak]

OJ without a doubt. Kelly, B. Smith, T. Thomas follow him with Reed and a few others bringing it in after them.

[afrodziak]

So this largely comes down to OJ, Kelly or Smith it seems....here's what the so-called 'experts' think about the Juice:

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/s/2002/1021/1448989.html

 

Does anyone seriously think Kelly would rank in the top 5 NFL quarterbacks of all time? I mean i loved the guy as much as the next man but i can name Elway, Montana, Young, Marino, Unitas, Bradshaw, Favre, Manning, etc off the top of my head without even thinking too hard.

 

I think Smith is much closer to the tops at his position all-time than Kelly, so i think he and OJ are more reasonable on this best Bills to ever do it list. I just cant come up with that many defensive ends or running backs that are clearly better than our guys.

[BillBuff]

What about Cookie Gilchrist.  He is kind of a forgotten player in Bills history because he's burned so many bridges with the organization and football in general.

 

However, from what I have heard he should atleast be mentioned in this thread.

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Those with long memories have many players to consider. When you realize that Cookie Gilchrist was at least a 10 year veteran when he arrived in Buffalo and may have passed his peak he seems to me to have been the best all-round player I have ever seen. Fully capable of playing defense as he did in Canada, a superb pass receiver, a kicker who could kick-off and make the tackle inside the 15 yard line and, although a step slower than Jimmy Brown he, at 260 pounds laid some bone jarring hits on defenders. His three years in Buffalo saw him lead the league in scoring twice. He ran with grace, power and coordination and allowed the passing game to work since he had to be defensed.

[Chef Jim]

OJ, but because of what that **** did we will never, ever get to see highlights of his abilities. You younger fans have no idea what you missed, and you'll never know.

[mary owen]

OJ, but because of what that **** did we will never, ever get to see highlights of his abilities.  You younger fans have no idea what you missed, and you'll never know.

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Chef Jim is right. OJ was a slashing runner who's cutting ability left many victims laying in his tracks......