Logo of a small college football team that plays at the Division II level in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, the Missouri Southern State University Lions. Located in Joplin, Missouri the program came into existence in 1968 and they’ve won 2 conference titles and a small college national championship in 1972. Former Lions who have gone on to play pro football include Rod Smith, James Thrash, Richard Jordan, Allen Barbre, Brandon Williams and Terry Joyce.
1971 Topps football card of former pro offensive lineman Joe O’Donnell, who enjoyed an eight year career in the AFL and NFL with the Buffalo Bills, and also played a couple of seasons in the old WFL with Birmingham. He was named an AFL All Star in 1965 and was a key member of the Bills’ offensive line on their 1964 and 1965 championship teams. After retiring O’Donnell was involved in various business projects, coached for high school teams for many years and did radio commentary for University of Michigan games in the 1980s. He died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease in 2019.
The offense is the focus of part 2 of our annual Bills’ season review. The change of coordinators from Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady produced positive results for the most part, the biggest being an improvement in the run game. If Brady is retained as OC, it’ll be interesting to see what ideas he adds to the attack as he takes full control, rather than just tweaking the team’s existing playbook . Here’s a position-by-position look at the offense:
Josh Allen is the unquestioned leader of this team. His teammates all claim they would do anything for him and support him 100% even when he comes up short occasionally. He should spend the offseason continuing to find ways to cut down on costly turnovers, while still maintaining his swashbuckling style of play. Kyle Allen’s role as backup QB mainly consisted of taking kneel downs at the end of games and being Josh Allen’s buddy. Will practice squad quarterback Shane Buechele get a fair shot at taking that spot in 2024?
After Brady assumed the OC duties, it became apparent that James Cook is now the Bills’ bell cow running back. He is an elusive runner who also seems to have an even bigger upside if he can add some longer chunk plays to his arsenal and improve his pass catching ability. Damien Harris was signed to a one year deal but injuries derailed him and his contributions were minimal. Latavious Murray added some leadership to the squad, but I don’t see him back next year. The best of the backup backs was easily Ty Johnson, a waiver wire pickup who should figure in their plans for 2024, should he be re-signed. This is a spot where a young, hard running short yardage back, preferably found in the late rounds of the draft, would be a good addition. 2022 trade acquisition Nyheim Hines, who excelled as a kick returner, should be back in 2024 also. Fullback Reggie Gilliam is a solid special teams guy and blocker, so he is almost sure to be back.
This is an area of glaring need going into the offseason for the Bills. Their top receiver, Stefon Diggs, saw his production drop off dramatically the second half of the season. “Big Play” Gabe Davis was very inconsistent, wavering from 100 yard games to no catch games. He is also a pending free agent, and it seems unlikely the Bills will re-sign him. One positive was the emergence of Khalil Shakir, who thrived when Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator. Free agent additions Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty contributed very little outside of the AFC East-clinching win over Miami. Sherfield won’t be back and Harty will surely face stiff competition, most likely from the draft, next year. Out of desperation, Andy Isabella was elevated from the practice squad late in the year, but didn’t provide any help in the passing attack. An unknown is Justin Shorter, like Shakir a fifth round draft pick who spent the entire 2023 season on injured reserve. Wide receiver may be lacking, but the Bills are set at the tight end position. Dawson Knox is a reliable target who always seems to make his biggest plays in the playoffs, while rookie first round pick Dalton Kincaid is a superstar on the rise. Comparisons to the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce have already started for him. An unsung but valuable third tight end is Quinton Morris, a former undrafted player who has battled his way into a contributing role each year he’s been here.
Once a question mark, the offensive line was a stable bright spot for Buffalo in 2023. Anchored by veteran Mitch Morse at center, the group stayed intact as a starting 5 all season. GM Beane added 2 new guards to reinforce the interior line – free agent signee Connor McGovern from Dallas and rookie second round draftee O’Cyrus Torrence, who looks like a second day steal. Left tackle Dion Dawkins had a Pro Bowl level season, and much-maligned right tackle Spencer Brown quietly locked in at his position and played well. Buffalo also has a bevy of capable backups who were hardly used in 2023. They are versatile Ryan Bates, who can play every position on the line, swing tackle Ryan Van Demark, Alec Anderson, another undrafted gem who is being groomed to man all spots like Bates, and David Edwards. Edwards will be a free agent and it’s up in the air whether he’ll return or not. He did play a valuable role this past season as the extra “eligible” lineman on running downs. That role was previously played by Tommy Doyle, who will be back after spending the year on IR.
Logo of a small college football team that plays in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, the Missouri Western State University Griffons. The gridiron program began play in 1970 and they play their home games at Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Missouri, and have won 2 conference titles over the years. Former Griffons who have played pro football include Greg Zuerlein, Jonathan Owens, David Bass and Mike Jordan.
1984 Topps Premier Edition USFL football card of former pro quarterback Dan Manucci, who played 2 seasons in the NFL as a backup with the Buffalo Bills, and also had one year stints in the USFL and Canadian Football League. His playing career didn’t amount to much, but he has been successful in his post-playing days. He currently is co-host of a sports talk show in Phoenix, Arizona and helps run a youth quarterback camp in Arizona.
The Buffalo Bills’ 2023 season once again ended in disappointment, as the team lost in the playoffs to Kansas City for the third time in four years. So it’s time for our annual four-part Bills’ season review, where we dissect what happened and peer into the future with suggestions as to how to improve the product and finally reach the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl title. As always, Part 1 of the review deals with the front office and coaching staff.
General manager Brandon Beane’s draft choices have sometimes been questioned, but he was somewhat vindicated this year. Rookies Dalton Kincaid and O’Cyrus Torrence were immediate starters and huge contributors, and a couple of past picks, Ed Oliver and Terrel Bernard, blossomed into Pro Bowl-caliber players. His annual plan of signing low-cost free agents produced Leonard Floyd, who led the team in sacks. Beane also added veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas at the trade deadline, and he was a major addition to a defense hampered by injuries.
As for the coaching staff, head coach Sean McDermott faced a mid-season controversy when some ill-advised comments he made about 9/11 years ago surfaced. He not only survived but the team rallied around him and fought back to reclaim the AFC East title. He also did an admirable job coordinating the defense, especially when the unit was depleted due to injuries. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was replaced mid-season also, but his replacement, Joe Brady, revived that side of the ball. Special teams coach Matt Smiley’s units were a liability much of the season, and he may be the next assistant shown the door.
I expect the Bills will promote Brady to the OC job permanently, removing his interim tag, and it would be wise to take a burden from McDermott by naming a full time defensive coordinator also.
Not a team logo, but a logo of a defunct college bowl game, the Bluebonnet Bowl. It was played in Houston at Rice Stadium from 1959 until 1967, the moved to the Astrodome where it was renamed the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. The game lasted into the mid-1980s but was discontinued due to poor ticket sales and lack of a corporate sponsor. Most years the game featured a team from the Southwest Conference against an at-large opponent, and 19 of the 29 games played featured a team from Texas.
1973 Topps football card of former pro offensive tackle Donnie Green, who helped anchor the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line for 6 seasons and played a total of 8 years in the NFL. He was a member of the famed “Electric Company” line that opened holes for O.J. Simpson in his career. Green’s life was a struggle after his playing days ended. He battled drug abuse and ended up in a homeless shelter, where he worked as a night monitor. Green passed away in 2019 at the age of 71.
The final week of the 2023 NFL schedule takes place this week, and one marquee matchup features the Miami Dolphins taking on the Buffalo Bills. We’ll look back for this week’s Throwback Thursday post to a game played between these 2 AFC East rivals on September 10,1989 at what was then Joe Robbie Stadium. It was the opening day of the 1989 season and both teams had high expectations. Miami had dominated the Bills in the early part of the decade, winning 11 of 14 contests, but Buffalo rebounded when the Marv Levy/Jim Kelly era began with 4 straight wins.
Buffalo struck first with the only scoring in the opening quarter on a Scott Norwood field goal. Then the Dolphins took over the second quarter, scoring on a Troy Stradford 1 yard run and a Pete Stoyanovich field goal to lead 10-3 at the half. The Bills tied it up when fullback Larry Kinnebrew closed out a drive with a 2 yard TD plunge. Miami’s special teams then got into the fray, blocking a punt that Marc Logan picked up and took the remaining 2 yards into the end zone for a 17-10 advantage. Norwood cut it to 17-13 with another field goal to finish the third quarter scoring.
Dan Marino then made his presence felt, completing an 8 yard touchdown toss to Andre Brown, upping Miami’s lead to 24-13. The remainder of the game was a bit of a coming out party for Kelly as the quarterback and unquestioned leader of the Bills. He led one drive that culminated with him finding Flip Johnson on a 26 yard TD pass, then after the Bills’ defense held, he led another to the Dolphins’ 2 yard line with time running out. There were 2 seconds left on the clock, time for one last play. Kelly took the snap from center, dropped back to pass, then surprised everyone by running into the end zone for the winning touchdown to secure a 27-24 win. It was a great start to the Bills’ season as his teammates mobbed him in the end zone celebrating the daring play. That swashbuckling style would be a trademark of Kelly’s Hall of Fame career.
Jim Kelly, Dan Marino had many epic battles
This a very rare pennant featuring the logo of a football team that played in the Continental League from 1965 through 1969, the Orlando Panthers. They had a history playing in other cities and in various minor leagues before joining the COFL and settling in their home at the Tangerine Bowl. The league was trying to rival the NFL. Their first head coach in ’65 was Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren, and despite financial woes they were one of the league’s more successful teams, winning titles in 1967 and ’68.