kota Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Reggie played LDE and Bruce played RDE. Bruce had to play against the best lineman in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I don't care what the other guys in this video say - we all know the answer is... Bruuuuuuuuuce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 As a Bills fan and as much as I love Bruce Smith, he needed FOUR extra years to beat Whites sack total. Two completely different styles, Bruce Smith 19 years in the NFL 6'4" 262lb Bruce was a pure speed rusher who was often off sides and drew penalties for it. He was yelled at by his first coach for his lack of run stopping ability early in his career. Make no mistake as he gained experience be became one of the most feared DE's in the league and was constantly double and triple teamed, yet managed to still get to the QB. 1224 tackles 200 sacks 2 INTs 11 pro bowl selections Reggie White 15 years in the NFL, 2 years in the USFL.White also became the only player to ever accumulate twenty or more sacks in just twelve games. The guy was a monster, 6'5" 300 lbs and a power rusher. like a grizzly bear he could swipe a 300lb tackle aside and bull rush to the QB 1,112 tackles 198 sacks and 3 INT's- 13 straight pro bowls. Two of the greatest ever, Buffalo was lucky to have Bruce Smith. Just goes to show what that first round pick can be worth, is it better to go 7-9 or 0-16? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 whos better.. debate why bother...do something productive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Attitude, team player, all that crap. And Bruce wasn't as good against the run as you say. He could chase a play down from behind, but couldn't hold at the point of attack. That's why teams just ran right at him. Are you high? His first year or two, yeah, he was lazy at the POA but after that, to say he couldn't hold his own is just, well, total crap. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I work in a sports dept. in Pennsylania. This debate doesn't come up very often or at all... I simply stated Bruce was better, and there was no debate. I didn't even have to say much else... what would Reggie White do lined up next to Mullet Wright? I didn't see Jerome Brown or Clyde Simmons on the Bills' line, not taking anything away from Phil Hansen. On 3rd and 13, who would you rather have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I work in a sports dept. in Pennsylania. This debate doesn't come up very often or at all... I simply stated Bruce was better, and there was no debate. I didn't even have to say much else... what would Reggie White do lined up next to Mullet Wright? I didn't see Jerome Brown or Clyde Simmons on the Bills' line, not taking anything away from Phil Hansen. On 3rd and 13, who would you rather have? Exactly. How about Reggie White going against Richmond Webb or Bruce Armstrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Exactly. How about Reggie White going against Richmond Webb or Bruce Armstrong? I was going to mention that. Perhaps we need a list of RT from the NFC East in that era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Bruce. More sacks, and in a 3-4 defense at DE. Case closed. Case closed. Is that an official debating technique? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 whos better.. debate I think anyone who thinks its not extremely close are delusional. Reggie could do things Bruce couldn't and vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philly McButterpants Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Attitude, team player, all that crap. And Bruce wasn't as good against the run as you say. He could chase a play down from behind, but couldn't hold at the point of attack. That's why teams just ran right at him. Uh no, teams ran right at Phil Hansen . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Can't we just call them both great and leave it at that? Why debate that two great DE's played the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 And Bruce wasn't as good against the run as you say. He could chase a play down from behind, but couldn't hold at the point of attack. That's why teams just ran right at him. I disagree with this point very strongly. When Bruce was playing the run he was an excellent run defender. It's when he was in pass rush mode that teams occasionally would be able to run inside his initial wide split. I will take this guyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gte5RPziaIU Thanks for posting this DIE HARD. It never gets old. It's really not a Bruce Smith highlight video without the sack where Jeff George drops back, looks to his left, sees Bruce in his face, and clearly mouths "Oh, sh--!" just before he's nailed. My personal favorite is the one where Bruce's mere presence causes that blowhard idiot, Sean Salisbury to fumble out of the end zone for a safety. There is no comparison between Bruce playing RDE (going against a team's best O-lineman in the LT) in a 3-4, with only 2 other guys on the line to occupy the opposing OL (not to mention playing next to the woefully undersized Jeff Wright), versus Reggie White playing LDE (going against the RT) in a 4-3, with 3 other guys occupying the opponents' O-line, and some great players on those DL's no less. Imagine Bruce with Ted Washington at NT all those years, or Washington/Adams and Williams at the DT spots. Couldn't agree more. I work in a sports dept. in Pennsylania. This debate doesn't come up very often or at all... I simply stated Bruce was better, and there was no debate. I didn't even have to say much else... what would Reggie White do lined up next to Mullet Wright? I didn't see Jerome Brown or Clyde Simmons on the Bills' line, not taking anything away from Phil Hansen. On 3rd and 13, who would you rather have? Agreed. Jerome Brown and Clyde Simmons were outstanding players, better linemen than Bruce ever had to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpcolosi Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 whos better.. debate on a bills board you ask for a debate? c'mon you know it will all be biased... that said - it has to be bruce. He played in a 3-4 for all those years and dominated, as opposed to a 4-3. That said, we did often shift a LB to the line, but he still had to beat a ton of double teams. AS for as DE go, hes probably better than Reggie, those Deacon Jones is surely up there. As for as sacks, though, I am pretty sure that will always go to LT. No offense to bruce, but the entire game changed because of LT. Just read the Blind Side if you want an explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Can't we just call them both great and leave it at that? Why debate that two great DE's played the game? Best idea in the entire thread. Who's better, Hendrix or Segovia? There's enough greatness to go around. Let's celebrate it all. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 whos better.. debate Neither. Deacon Jones. Unfortunately for him, sacks weren't included in official NFL statistics in his day. Of course, they were all great. It's like saying who's the better RB - Brown, OJ, Sweetness, Sanders, Emmitt...? Different eras, different schemes, different levels of conditioning, speed, size, etc. Hard to make a fair comparison. It's always interesting to debate how 60's-era Bills like Sestak and Gilchrist would have fared in today's NFL. And yes, teams did run right at Bruce, especially in later years when he was lighter and didn't have run support from Conlan, Smerlas, et al. Not saying he couldn't ever stop the run, but when he was playing at 265 lbs., it wasn't that difficult for a RB to get behind tackles like Webb or Armstrong and plow forward on Bruce's side for first downs. Since Smith and White both played in approximately the same period in NFL history, it would be interesting to see which player did what against common opponents over, say, a 7 or 8 year period during their respective primes. Who excelled in matchups against the same left tackle, for instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 My personal favorite is the one where Bruce's mere presence causes that blowhard idiot, Sean Salisbury to fumble out of the end zone for a safety. If you're talling about the reg. season ender in Indy, Bruce caught the flub for an Int. TD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smuvtalker Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 My biased opinion is Bruce Smith. I will say this though, Reggie White's club move was perhaps one of the sickest, most dominating moves in the game. He used to send 330 pound linemen FLYING with that move. It was a thing of beauty. But biased or no biased, Bruce still gets the nod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Nationally, it's nearly unanymously Reggie White, after conducting a little google survey. I'd have to say I agree. I always thought Reggie was a much more dominant player while Bruce played on the fringes. Meh, my opinion should be discounted as I loathe almost all the Bills from that era sans Tasker and Kelso. I guess familiarity breeds contempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollars 2 donuts Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Bruce. More sacks, and in a 3-4 defense at DE. Case closed. That's the thing that does it for me which a lot of times the "Nationals" leave out of the debate. However, to play the diplomat in this argument I'll just say Bruce is the best 3-4 DE of all time and Reggie is the best 4-3 DE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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