Classic Bills, 1980

[Rubes]

I know this and other related YouTube vids have been posted before, but I hadn't caught this one yet. It's the game when the Bills beat the world champ Steelers 28-13 in convincing fashion, establishing them as a legit contender.

 

Fun to watch, of course, but you really notice a couple of things about the Bills offense in that game.

 

- Fergy was, by no means, a powerful QB, but he had very good accuracy. He was also pretty darn good at play actions and other misdirection plays, which I think really helped against the aggressive Pittsburgh defense.

 

- Notice how much the Bills used play-action and misdirection plays. The TD to Reuben Gant was a thing of beauty.

 

- I was surprised just how much the Bills used screens and sweeps. They had an incredibly mobile offensive line and used that to their great advantage. Those were some of the best screens and sweeps I've seen in a while.

 

- Quick, who were the Bills tight ends that year? Gant? Mark Bramer? These guys were run-of-the-mill tight ends, but watch and see just how much the Bills got them involved in the offense. Bramer made a bucketful of catches in that game, and Gant couldn't have been more wide open for his TD.

 

The Bills had a good offense that year, but what impressed me most about that game was how well the offense appeared to be designed to take advantage of their strengths, and how prepared they seemed to be.

 

It also made it painfully clear how important a mobile offensive line can be, and how important sweeps, draws, and screens can be to an offense (when executed well). We've heard about the notable lack of screens and draws the past couple of years because of our big, immobile offensive line, so I'm happy to see that we've become much more mobile this year and are starting to re-incorporate those plays into our offense. That alone should be cause for some optimism.

 

It also shows you don't need an all-star TE to get them involved enough to have a big impact. When you demonstrate that you can get the TE involved in the passing game consistently, that creates a number of problems for the defense. I'm still waiting to see if this group can figure that out.

[GOBILLS78]

I know those are only selected plays, but the Bills completely owned the line of scrimmage. What a refreshing sight!

[plenzmd1]

That TE screen to Brammer worked in several games that year if I remember correctly. I could not tell if Haslett was in there...is this the game he kicked Bradshaw in the head??

[Dante]

How long has it been since we could run sweeps like that? I used to love the TE screens we ran from time to time. Went to a game back around then where Gant scored from way out. Can't remember who it was against though.

 

Now sucked into watching these old games. Check this one out. At about the 7.10 mark the Bills run a sweep. I think it's Reggie Mckenzie that destroys a cb on the play. Man I wish we could run plays like that again. Then again it was McKenzie. At least I think it was

['64 Bills]

that was a magical year - -back to the play-offs after 5 years - - just 5 years? Doesn't that sound wonderful now? Knox and Cribbs would be gone in 2 years and the tumble started again with the usual cheap, poor coaching that you can only buy at the dollar store!

[Geno Smith's Arm]

Thoase are my favorite uniforms. Love that shade of blue. The best thing visually though was NO PERMANENT GRAPHICS on the screen. It looks so much better.

[MiddleOfPatriots*Nation]

Thoase are my favorite uniforms. Love that shade of blue. The best thing visually though was NO PERMANENT GRAPHICS on the screen. It looks so much better.

 

Ditto on the uniforms. And the play-calling. And...well, you know, maybe I'll just watch this video tomorrow night over and over again. Better for the blood pressure. Can't wait to hear all the Pats* fans agonizing about Brady's shoulder.

 

Random question: the other day, I was in Sam's Club in Concord, NH; found two huge tables of Patriots* t-shirts and misc. garb for sale. Do the Sam's Clubs back home in Buffalo do that with Bills gear? Haven't been back there for a while...just curious.

 

GO BILLS!

[ConradDobler]

Please watch RG #69, my namesake. He takes his opponents OUT. Godspeed, EW.

 

 

Thanks for the vid, Rubes.

[Buftex]

I know this and other related YouTube vids have been posted before, but I hadn't caught this one yet. It's the game when the Bills beat the world champ Steelers 28-13 in convincing fashion, establishing them as a legit contender.

 

Fun to watch, of course, but you really notice a couple of things about the Bills offense in that game.

 

- Fergy was, by no means, a powerful QB, but he had very good accuracy. He was also pretty darn good at play actions and other misdirection plays, which I think really helped against the aggressive Pittsburgh defense.

 

The 1980-1981 Bills teams are still my favorite of all time. Best uniforms, best coach, and to top it off, those teams marked the first Bills teams in my life that were legit contenders...Jerry Butler, Joe Ferguson, Joe Cribbs and Steve Freeman would make any "all-time Bills" team for me...

 

One thing though, where do you get the notion that Ferguson wasn't "powerful"? Are you referring to his arm strength? I think he had a pretty strong arm...am I mis-remembering?

[Rubes]

One thing though, where do you get the notion that Ferguson wasn't "powerful"? Are you referring to his arm strength? I think he had a pretty strong arm...am I mis-remembering?

 

Fergy was a good quarterback, but I don't recall that he had a particularly powerful arm. I could be wrong, though, it has been a few years now.

[Bleed Bills Blue]

Ha, loved the guy passed out in his seat at 1:45!! Snow on the sidelines, a raucous crowd, Van Miller and winning, hard-nosed football. What's not to like? God, I long for those days again. Thanks for the link.

[KD in CA]

The Bills had a good offense that year, but what impressed me most about that game was how well the offense appeared to be designed to take advantage of their strengths, and how prepared they seemed to be.

 

Where's the guy who was insisting that coaching didn't matter last week?

 

Very good points Rubes. In a lot of ways that was my favorite Bills team ever. A team that was more than the sum of its parts. Imagine that.

[Just Jack]

Random question: the other day, I was in Sam's Club in Concord, NH; found two huge tables of Patriots* t-shirts and misc. garb for sale. Do the Sam's Clubs back home in Buffalo do that with Bills gear? Haven't been back there for a while...just curious.

I can check the Sam's near me (Syracuse). I do know, I was in the grocery store the other and noticed a big potato chip display, can't remember the brand, that had a large banner over it showing people watching a game. All wearing Pats* sh--.

[Ned Flanders]

The Bills went 11-5 and I believe fell into a three (or was it five?) team tie for home-field and lost out on tiebreakers and had to go to San Diego.

 

I firmly believe if they had home field, that team would have went to the Super Bowl. There were two losses to lowly Baltimore that came back to haunt them for home-field in 1980. I was at the one in OP, a game where Bert Jones sliced them up all day. It was a raw, overcast October day if I recall correctly.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

One thing though, where do you get the notion that Ferguson wasn't "powerful"? Are you referring to his arm strength? I think he had a pretty strong arm...am I mis-remembering?

As far as the Bills success in those years, two words: Chuck Knox.

 

One of the most underrated coaches of all time. Took Seattle to the playoffs a few times after he got sick of Ralph's act.

 

As far as Fergy/powerful issue, Fergy did indeed have a very strong arm...particularly for a smaller quarterback.

 

He was about 6'1" and 190 at best and could be easily dragged down for a sack with one arm. I loved Fergy, still a big fan of his, but he would get tossed around like a small sack of potatoes by D-linemen.