Maddog69 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Using that guideline, you have 3 Hall of Famers that didn't cement their greatness. Bruce failed to strip Hoss of the ball - 5 point difference Jimbo underthrew a wide open Lofton - 4 point difference Thurman - unable to break Everson Walls' tackle - 7 point difference That's 16 total points that were left on the field by HoF'ers, compared to 3 points by the bum kicker. Keep blaming the wrong guy if it makes you feel better. Again, I realize there are a ton of plays that could have been made and/or a bunch of mistakes to be avoided, but my point is that not one of them individually could have GUARANTEED A VICTORY. Norwood had a guaranteed victory on his toe and he booted it wide. Was it a long kick, yes. Was it impossible, No. Bottom line for me is that he had a chance to make history with one single play and he, himself blew it. I still have no ill will toward him. I wish him a long and happy life and would shake his hand if I met him. But I will always have some anger toward him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Again, I realize there are a ton of plays that could have been made and/or a bunch of mistakes to be avoided, but my point is that not one of them individually could have GUARANTEED A VICTORY. Norwood had a guaranteed victory on his toe and he booted it wide. Was it a long kick, yes. Was it impossible, No. Bottom line for me is that he had a chance to make history with one single play and he, himself blew it. I still have no ill will toward him. I wish him a long and happy life and would shake his hand if I met him. But I will always have some anger toward him. If Thurman breaks Walls' tackle it's also a guaranteed win. Thomas had a better track record of avoiding CB tacklers than Norwood had kicking 47 yd FGs on grass. Norwood's play was the most visible, but he was also asked to do something that was extraordinary for his ability at the time. It's nonsensical to blame him for the game, when players messed up on routine plays that would have caused a victory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Philster Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Shame on anyone who still "blames" Scott Norwood for missing a 47-yard FG with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Pro kickers make what, 50% of those? It was a coin toss at best. No doubt Thankfully, the Bills fans who showed up at Niagara Square when greeting the team after their return from Tampa had more class and intelligence than any loser who has a grudge against Scott for something that wasn't his fault. 47 yards is no gimme, especially on grass and for a kicker not known for a strong leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace Frog Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Again, I realize there are a ton of plays that could have been made and/or a bunch of mistakes to be avoided, but my point is that not one of them individually could have GUARANTEED A VICTORY. Norwood had a guaranteed victory on his toe and he booted it wide. Was it a long kick, yes. Was it impossible, No. Bottom line for me is that he had a chance to make history with one single play and he, himself blew it. I still have no ill will toward him. I wish him a long and happy life and would shake his hand if I met him. But I will always have some anger toward him. The problem with your logic is that when a RB or QB or WR mess up a play, they have plenty of opportunities to make it up. A kicker does not. Norwood made a FG and two PATs before the 47 yd miss. And besides, it wasn't his fault anyways. I recorded the game and rewatched it. Frank Reich spotted the ball with the laces at about 2:00 instead of straight ahead (12:00). Norwood's kick didn't slice, it faded to the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I disagree completely. I totally understand all of the different woulda-coulda-shoulda's with clock management and missed tackles and everything else. But the bottom line is that with a Superbowl Championship on the line, Scott Norwood choked. He was put into a position to make a historic kick for this franchise. Many players have been put into similar situations and have come through. They are sports legends or heroes (viniateri comes to mind), while many others have flubbed away a golden chance at greatness. Norwood is the poster child for failure in my mind. Nothing else in his career matters, he had 1 chance to make history and he blew it. I will never forget the pain of watching that kick and I will always hold him responsible for it. Call me whatever names you want, but this is my honest opinion. I do not hate him. I would not do harm to him and I respect him for his career but I will alway blame him for blowing the Bills best chance at being Superbowl Champions. That's because you're an idiot. The fact of the matter is if the rest of the team had played to their potential that day that game would have been an absolute blowout. You switch coaches on the sidelines and that game makes the AFC Championship game look like a closely contested contest. Scott Norwood missed a kick 18 years ago. Apparently your douchebagness lasts forever. Get over yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike In Illinois Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Again, I realize there are a ton of plays that could have been made and/or a bunch of mistakes to be avoided, but my point is that not one of them individually could have GUARANTEED A VICTORY. Norwood had a guaranteed victory on his toe and he booted it wide. Was it a long kick, yes. Was it impossible, No. Bottom line for me is that he had a chance to make history with one single play and he, himself blew it. I still have no ill will toward him. I wish him a long and happy life and would shake his hand if I met him. But I will always have some anger toward him. Who's to say that the game is over if he made the kick? There were still four seconds on the clock after the kick- New York had to kneel down to end the game (Joe Pisarchik, anyone?). I know the odds are slim to none, but there's always a chance the Giants could have ran the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Stranger things have happened (Wycheck to Dyson).... I accept Norwood as a man who gave that field goal his best shot and hold no ill will to him- then or now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 If anyone deserves blame for SB XXV it's Jim Kelly. He wanted to be MVP so bad he refused to hand the ball off to Thurman Thomas even though Bellicheat was dropping 8-9 people into pass coverage. Then blame Marv Levy for lacking the gonads to get in Kelly's face and tell him to think of the team first. I'm sure most of you have forgotten that Thurman was one shoestring tackle away from the winning TD the play before the 47-yard attempt by Norwood. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 He was put into a position to make a historic kick for this franchise. Actually, he wasn't, which is kind of the point. Given the kind of kicker Norwood was (short range, high accuracy), he shouldn't have been asked to kick a 47-yarder. He missed because he was not put in a position to make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog69 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 That's because you're an idiot. The fact of the matter is if the rest of the team had played to their potential that day that game would have been an absolute blowout. You switch coaches on the sidelines and that game makes the AFC Championship game look like a closely contested contest. Scott Norwood missed a kick 18 years ago. Apparently your douchebagness lasts forever. Get over yourself. Wow. I wonder if your other 28000 posts are more insightful or if you just enjoy acting like a tough guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Actually, he wasn't, which is kind of the point. Given the kind of kicker Norwood was (short range, high accuracy), he shouldn't have been asked to kick a 47-yarder. He missed because he was not put in a position to make it. We also forget that he missed a 47-yarder wide right -- on turf -- the game prior to that, in the AFC Championship blowout. It was almost a mirror image of the SB kick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 How many people missed the tackle on Stephen Baker? Talley, Leonard Smith, couple of others if I'm not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 How many people missed the tackle on Stephen Baker? Talley, Leonard Smith, couple of others if I'm not mistaken. Mark Ingram. And missed tackles were by Talley & Kelso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Mark Ingram. And missed tackles were by Talley & Kelso. Ingram!! That is him. Talley, Kelso, I am almost positive Leonard Smith missed as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullpen Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Ingram!! That is him. Talley, Kelso, I am almost positive Leonard Smith missed as well. RAY!!! You take that back! Leonard Smith NEVER missed a tackle!!! EVER!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmacie Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I dunno. My dad has a section of the goal post when the bills clinched the afc east against the jets in 88. Would be cool to have him sign it since he kicked the winning field goal in ot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Drane Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 The players wouldn't have all been holding hands on the sidelines if it was a 34 yarder. The entire team knew that the kick was like putting your life savings down on the roulette wheel and watching it spin. Bills bet Black......came up Red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Call me a freak, but the thing I liked the most about Norwood is that he didn't do the now commonplace pansy thing that kickers do when they line up a kick, take two or three steps back, and then two carefully measured steps to the side. He just lined up the kick and backed up on the diagonal. Classy. Then again, maybe if he had done the pansy thing he would've made that kick. Crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haven Moses Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 A lot of people combined to lose that game. But Norwood could have won it and didn't. I still want to punch him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Philster Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Actually, he wasn't, which is kind of the point. Given the kind of kicker Norwood was (short range, high accuracy), he shouldn't have been asked to kick a 47-yarder. He missed because he was not put in a position to make it. don't confuse the classless haters with facts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leh-nerd skin-erd Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 That's because you're an idiot. The fact of the matter is if the rest of the team had played to their potential that day that game would have been an absolute blowout. You switch coaches on the sidelines and that game makes the AFC Championship game look like a closely contested contest. Scott Norwood missed a kick 18 years ago. Apparently your douchebagness lasts forever. Get over yourself. not to be a grammar nanny, but i think it should be "douchebagEDness". it's first person possessive. this thread has made me nauseous, because it brings back all the cazy things that happened all those years ago when one of greatest offensive teams in the history of the game showed up a bit flat. my own unbelievedness also lasts a lifetime, it would seem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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