It’s week 2 of the NFL season, and for this week’s Throwback Thursday feature we’ll go with a team for the second straight week, as the Los Angeles Rams meet the Arizona Cardinals. Last week we went back to 1963 for a Rams’ contest, and we’ll venture back another decade, to November 15, 1953 this week. The game wasn’t necessarily an important one, and the end result was of the “kissing your sister” variety, a 24-24 tie. There was no overtime in those days, and teams would routinely finish their season with 2 or 3 ties on their record.
This was supposed to be a one-sided affair, as the Rams were a Western Division contender at 5-2 while the Cardinals, based in Chicago back then, were winless in 7 contests. The lowly Cardinals, determined to show some pride in front of their Comiskey Park home crowd, came out firing on all cylinders. Quarterback Jim Root found back Johnny Olszewski, affectionately known as “Johnny O”, for a 62 yard touchdown to open the scoring, and future broadcaster Pat Summerall added a 16 yard field goal. The defense then joined the fray. Ray Ramsey took 1 of his 2 interceptions of Norm Van Brocklin 37 yards to paydirt and suddenly the home club found themselves with a 17-0 first quarter lead.
The Rams found their footing in the second quarter, and got on the scoreboard twice, first on a Ben Agajanian field goal and then on a Skeet Quinlan 2 yard scoring plunge to cut their halftime deficit to 17-10. The Cards began to revert to their bumbling selves again in the second half. They allowed L.A. to tie the game when Dick “Night Train” Lane scooped up a fumble and raced 26 yards for the only third quarter score. When Deacon Dan Towler scored on a 1 yard run to put the Rams in the lead for the first time at 24-17, it appeared that they had finally righted the ship and taken command. That’s when Chicago turned to their quintuple threat future Hall of Famer, back Charley Trippi, to salvage the tie. Back in those days, positions weren’t as specialized as they are today, including even the quarterback spot. Trippi, primarily a halfback, could do it all. He was adept at running, passing, receiving, was the team’s punter and also excelled at safety on defense. Running an offense with a full house backfield (4 backs) he completed 11 of 16 passes for 117 yards, and connected with Don Paul on a 17 yard TD pass to earn the tie. QB Root, by contrast, only threw 7 passes, 3 which were complete, for a paltry 79 yards. Trippi also led the team in rushing with 96 yards on 15 carries, punted, returned punts and played defense.
The Rams would only lose 1 more game the rest of the year, but finished third in a highly competitive Western race, while the Cardinals would manage only a single win the rest of the way that season. Trippi held the distinction of being the oldest living Hall of Famer until he passed away in 2022 at the age of 100.
Rams’ Skeet Quinlan attracts Cardinal defenders as he fights for yardage
Logo of a pro football team that plays in the West Division of the Canadian League, the Edmonton Elks. Known as the Eskimos until 2021 when they changed the name, the team was founded in 1949. They have won 14 Grey Cups (CFL equivalent of the Super Bowl) over the years, the most recent in 2015. Notable Edmonton players from their past include Johnny Bright, Henry “Gizmo” Williams, Dave Cutler, Tommy Joe Coffey and Warren Moon. Their list of past coaches is impressive – Frankie Filchock, Pop Ivy, Darrell Royal, Kay Stephenson and Ron Lancaster.
1952 Bowman football card of former pro back Don Paul, who played 9 years in the NFL for the Chicago Cardinals and Cleveland Browns. A versatile player, he played halfback, cornerback on defense and excelled as a kick return specialist. Paul was a four-time Pro Bowler and played on 2 NFL championship teams, in 1954 and ’55, for the Browns. After his playing days ended, he served as general manager for 4 different professional soccer teams in the North American Soccer League (NASL). Paul passed away in 2001.
The new NFL season is upon us tonight, as the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs take on Baltimore. And that means that it’s also time for the first installment of 2024 of our Throwback Thursday feature, where we pick out a game from the week’s schedule and go back in time to another earlier meeting between the 2 teams. On this first week’s schedule, the Los Angeles Rams take on the Detroit Lions, and we’ll travel back to November 17, 1963, when these Western Division rivals met at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. There hadn’t been much of a rivalry, really, as the Lions, who were a powerhouse in the 1950s and a formidable club in the early ’60s, had beaten the Rams 6 straight times, and 9 of 10 times going back to the late ’50s.
The latest embarrassment had taken place earlier that season, when the Lions trounced L.A. 23-2 on their own home turf at the Coliseum. For this November rematch both clubs sported losing records, but coach Harland Svare’s Tinsel Town team came into the match determined to reverse their fortunes against the Motor City Kitties. They started strong, taking a first quarter lead on a 9 yard touchdown run by halfback Dick Bass. Lions’ quarterback Earl Morrall, who had wrestled the starting job away from Milt Plum, matched the Rams’ score with an 18 yard TD toss to Terry Barr. As a precursor of things to come, the Rams’ young second year QB, Roman Gabriel, connected with his favorite target, Carroll Dale, on a 66 yard bomb to give his club a 14-7 halftime lead.
Roman Gabriel in action, Dick Bass looks to protect him
Morrall and the Lions reasserted their dominance, scoring the only third quarter touchdown on a Morrall to Jim Gibbons 32 yard strike, and then taking the lead for the first time in the final quarter with another touchdown pitch to Barr, this time from 20 yards out. Having earlier found a weakness in the Detroit secondary, Gabriel exploited it with a pair of touchdown throws to Dale, a 42 and a 51 yarder, and when the final gun sounded (they actually signaled the game’s end with a gun back then), Los Angeles ended their misery with a 28-21 victory. Dale enjoyed a career day with 7 receptions for 207 yards and the 3 scores, while Detroit, despite the loss, had 2 receivers, Barr and Gail Cogdill, reach 100+ yards receiving.
Five days later, the unspeakable happened. The President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Former logo of a college football team that plays in the Mid-American Conference, the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Yes, the logo says Hurons, and that was the team name until the school changed it to Eagles in 1991. The name change has stayed controversial to this day, with school alumni refusing to make contributions until it is changed back. The groups wanting the Huron name restored include a few Native American ones. Anyway, the team has won 10 conference titles over the years and boasts an impressive list of players who have gone on to play pro ball, including Charlie Batch, John Banaszak, Kevin Walter, Chuck Shonta, Clarence Chapman, Jason Jones, T.J. Lang, Jim Pietrzak, L.J. Shelton and Dave Pureifory, and also Hall of Fame coach George Allen.
1962 Post Cereal football card of former pro football end Carroll Dale, who enjoyed a long 14 year career in the NFL. He spent his first 5 years with the Los Angeles Rams before being traded to Green Bay in 1965, where he helped the Packers win 3 consecutive championships, including the first 2 Super Bowls. Dale was a 3 time Pro Bowler and is in the College Football Hall of Fame. He was a college athletic director after his playing days ended, and his former high school’s football stadium is named after him.
2023 was a strange season for the Bills in many ways. They struggled to maintain any consistency early in the year, and found themselves foundering at 6-6 when the decision was made to change offensive coordinators. They then rebounded to win out and finish 11-6, stealing the AFC East title from Miami on the last day of the regular season. Still, another divisional round playoff loss, this time at home to Kansas City, left the team short of it’s ultimate goal to reach and win a Super Bowl. Here’s our preview of the 2024 season:
Front Office/Coaching
GM Brandon Beane has had to scramble this offseason, with the main monkey wrench in the works being forced to trade star receiver Stefon Diggs. He also decided to move on from a few other veteran leaders – Mitch Morse and Gabe Davis on offense, Leonard Floyd, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde and Tre White on defense, along with core special teamers like Tyler Matakevich and Siran Neal. The bottom line is coach Sean McDermott and his staff will have to count on newcomers in a lot of positions. It will be a transitional, but not a rebuilding year. There isn’t a lot of experience at the coordinator positions either, with Joe Brady getting a full year and DC Bobby Babich holding that title for the first time.
Quarterbacks
QB Josh Allen, the engine of the Bills’ offense
Josh Allen is the starting quarterback and undisputed leader of the Bills. He is an annual candidate for league MVP, and with his receiving corps diminished, he’ll face his biggest challenge in 2024. The team brought back old friend Mitchell Trubisky to back him up, but with Mike White looming on the practice squad, this spot may not necessarily be etched in stone.
Running Backs
Ty Johnson, valuable backup RB
James Cook is the Bills’ starting running back , and he’s coming off a somewhat quiet 1,600 all purpose yard season. With OC Brady looking to use the running attack more, he could be in for a big season. In the backup roles are veteran Ty Johnson, a reliable runner capable of spelling Cook admirably. Rookie Ray Davis is a wild card. In the preseason he was impressive as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield. How much will Brady utilize his talents in addition to Cook and Johnson? Fullback Reggie Gilliam is back again to reprise his role as a blocking back, sometime receiver and special teams contributor.
Receivers
Khali Shakir, the only returning WR from 2023 season
Khalil Shakir returns as the only known commodity in the wide receiver room. There isn’t any so-called number 1 receiver in the group, but it remains to be seen if that turns out to be a liability or a positive for Allen and the offensive attack. The team will be relying on a promising rookie in Keon Coleman, and a group of veteran free agent signees who have had varying degrees of success in the league in Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The best receivers on the roster may be the tight ends. The duo of Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox rivals the best the NFL has to offer, and Quinton Morris is the ideal backup, not seeing the field that much with the 2 ahead of him, but finding a way to make plays when needed. Brady figures to utilize 12 personnel (2 tight ends) a lot this season.
Offensive Line
O’Cyrus Torrence solidified the right guard spot as a rookie
The Bills’ offensive line was extremely lucky in 2023 as the starting five man unit stayed intact and injury-free for the whole season. There will be a couple of changes on this year’s unit, however, as Connor McGovern slides over from left guard to center to replace the departed Mitch Morse, and David Edwards, the top reserve guard last year, moves into the LG position. Returning at right guard is O’Cyrus Torrence, a revelation as a rookie in 2023. He won the starting job in training camp and never gave it up, putting in a solid season. The starting tackles also return, with Dion Dawkins on the left side and big Spencer Brown on the right. The backups this year will include a pair of veterans, swing tackle Ryan Van Demark and the versatile Alec Anderson, who can fill in at any of the line positions. The other reserves are a pair of rookies – Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, who is a natural center but has been groomed to play guard also, and late round draftee Tylan Grable, who quietly had an impressive preseason playing with second and third stringers. If nothing else, the subtle changes in this group should translate into them being a better run-blocking unit.
Defensive Line
DT Ed Oliver had a breakout season
Buffalo likes to use a heavy dose of rotation along the front line on defense in order to keep the big guys fresh over a long season. For that reason they have 10 players on the roster who play on the D-line. Von Miller, a future Hall of Famer, is listed as a linebacker but really is classified as an edge rusher. His pass rushing skills, missing due to injuries for a lot of his tenure here, hopefully will be back as he is finally completely healthy. Miller leads an impressive group of defensive end/edge rushers that includes 2 emerging impact players in Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, a veteran whose skill level is somewhat unknown in Casey Toohill, and a promising rookie who will need development time in Javon Solomon. The interior line boasts 2 solid starters in DaQuan Jones, an underrated space eater, and Ed Oliver, who broke out with an unrecognized Pro Bowl-caliber year in 2023. Austin Johnson, a free agent pickup, is a veteran backup who will be able to rotate in with little drop in production. Last but not least is Dawuane Smoot, another vet free agent signee who can play inside or on the edge and has the type of versatility the coaches love.
Linebackers
LB Dorian Williams, starter by default
The loss of All Pro Matt Milano due to injury again from this unit really stings. Hopefully he is able to return late in the season to help down the stretch run. In the meantime second year player Dorian Williams will have to man that spot. He is a hard hitting tackling machine, but needs a lot of work on his coverage skills if he is to hold down the starting position. The other backer is reliable Terrel Bernard. He emerged as the leader of the defense last season and is on the road, if he continues to develop, to All Pro status himself. As for backups, Baylon Spector is back but due to recurring injuries has never been able to garner much playing time on defense, but is a special teams contributor. The same goes for newcomer Nick Morrow, signed as a free agent with a reputation for top special teams play. Rookie Edefuan Ulofoshio lacks experience but has the skill to overtake Williams over time if he can develop properly. The last reserve LB is the hometown storybook hero, Joe Andreessen. He came out of nowhere (Lancaster, NY and the University of Buffalo actually) to win a job on the 53 man roster. Expect him to be used mainly on special teams as he learns.
Defensive Backs
Solid veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas
Most of the veteran departures on defense this year happened in the secondary. Coach McDermott and DC Babich will have to figure out which players will be the best fits to get the unit to improve as the year goes on. The starting cornerback jobs should be in decent shape. Taron Johnson, a Pro Bowl slot corner, leads the way as he allows the team to play a nickel defense as their regular unit with both stellar coverage skills and solid tackling ability. Christian Benford is slowly growing into a young dependable outside corner, while veteran ballhawk Rasul Douglas mans the other side. Douglas was a big play machine after being acquired in-season in 2023. The opening day starting safeties are unknown at this point. Just like they did with Bernard last season, one of the players who missed all of the preseason with injury could suddenly wind up in the starting lineup. It appears that Taylor Rapp, an important backup last year, will be promoted to one starting spot but the other is wide open. Veteran Mike Edwards was signed for that role but nagging injuries have kept him on the sideline. Damar Hamlin manned that spot in the preseason and might start also. The plan is likely to have rookie draft pick Cole Bishop eventually grow into the job, but he also has been hit by the injury bug. Versatility and the ability to play basically every position in the secondary has kept Cam Lewis on the squad, and he is now a valuable member of the defense, along with being a contributor to special teams. Another UB product who fought his way from last year’s practice squad to the regular roster is Ja’Marcus Ingram. He and Kaiir Elam are the other CB reserves. Elam has not been able to overtake Benford despite being a higher draft pick in the same year, but he is a solid backup. One other player listed on the roster as a cornerback is Brandon Codrington, but he is solely going to be used to return kicks.
Special Teams
PK Tyler Bass will be under the microscope
Special teams was somewhat of a disaster in 2023 for the Bills. They allowed a punt return for a touchdown in overtime to lose the opening game, had 12 men on the field on a missed field goal attempt that led to a home loss to Denver, and blew a chance to tie the divisional playoff game when Tyler Bass missed a makeable field goal. Long snapper Reid Ferguson is the only member of the specialty teams that has been consistent. Tyler Bass is no longer “Bass-o-matic” and if he doesn’t recover his previous skill level he may not survive the season. Punter Sam Martin has also been wildly inconsistent. The club is still looking for answers for a reliable and somewhat dynamic presence in the return game. Codrington, grabbed in a late trade with the Jets, is the latest to audition for the job. Holding auditions for any job with the regular season already beginning isn’t exactly the best way to go, but give the Bills credit for constantly trying to improve no matter when it is.
Here’s your annual song to get psyched up for the upcoming season, the Bills’ Shout song:
Logo of a Division II college football team that plays in the Mountain East Conference, the West Liberty Hilltoppers. Based in West Virginia, the school joined the conference in 2012 after playing in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as a founding member since 1924. Despite their small college stature, the school has sent a couple of players on to the NFL – Mark Murphy and Lou Piccone.
1978 Topps football card of former pro football receiver Lou Piccone, who played 9 seasons in the NFL for the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. He was mostly a kick returner and special teams player, and earned his way to the league the hard way, making the jump from semi-pro ball. He did manage exactly 100 receptions and 6 receiving touchdowns in his career. Piccone has a street named after him in his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey.
Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane did some maneuvering during the 2024 NFL draft, trading down twice, to improve the team’s positioning in later rounds. He eventually traded completely out of the first round, but was able to add some intriguing players at needed positions. Here’s the list of players chosen:
Round 2A – Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State – a pair of trades took the Bills out of the first round, but with the first pick of round 2 they landed a 6’4 athletic freak to their receiver room. Reportedly a favorite of QB Josh Allen, he has a basketball background and the potential to grow into the # 1 receiver role previously manned by Stefon Diggs.
Round 2B – Cole Bishop, Safety, Utah – with both 2023 starting safeties gone, Beane picks a physical player who is versatile and plays with an edge. Although some analysts pigeon-holed him as strictly a “box safety”, Bishop has shown coverage ability also. He should be given every chance to crack the starting lineup this season.
Round 3 – DeWayne Carter, DT, Duke – Beane’s maneuvers got Buffalo back into the third round after they had previously traded away their pick, and they added to their defensive line rotation depth with Carter, who figures to be Ed Oliver’s backup on the interior line.
Round 4 – Ray Davis, RB, Kentucky – Buffalo’s running back room being a little thin, adding one in the draft was a necessity, but most figured it would be a big, physical, short yardage power back. Davis isn’t big, but at 5’8 and 211 pounds he is plenty physical enough, and also versatile. He’s a terrific receiver, and even led the Wildcats in receiving touchdowns. He might be a perfect complement to James Cook.
Round 5A – Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, C, Georgia – previous starting center Mitch Morse was released as a salary cap casualty, and although there is a plan in place to shift guard Connor McGovern over to center, this was a wise pick as a young replacement will be needed eventually. He was a three year starter for a national championship college program from the SEC, and even has experience blocking for current Bills’ RB James Cook.
Round 5B – Edefuan Ulofoshio, LB, Washington – linebacker depth is another need for the team, and this prospect has plenty of experience as a 6 year player at a program that reached the national title game last season. He should also help add to the special teams, where some key past contributors have departed.
Round 5C – Javon Solomon, Edge, Troy – an undersized raw prospect, but his production, 16 sacks last season, can’t be denied. He’ll be able to learn under the mentorship of veteran Von Miller as his career winds down, and hopefully develop into a future major pass rush contributor.
Round 6A – Tylan Grable, OT, Central Florida – he started at left tackle for UCF, so he has experience, but this may be a development project for the future, as he faces stiff competition from veterans in the O line group. Grable looks like he might be destined for the practice squad to begin his career.
Round 6B – Daequan Hardy, CB, Penn State – he’s undersized and his future is probably as a slot corner, where the Bills currently have one of the NFL’s best in Taron Johnson, but even as a late round pick he has the ability to stick around the league, similar to previous Bill’s late round draftee Dane Jackson. His punt return ability is why he stands a good chance of making the 53 man roster in 2024.
Round 7 – Travis Clayton, OG, International Pathway Program – much like their previous signing of RB Christian Wade a few years back, the Bills take a flyer on a rugby player from England who is extremely athletic for a man his size. He ran a 4.8 40 yard dash at the combine, the fastest time in a decade for a line prospect. The pathway program allows the Bills an extra (17th) player on their practice squad, and that has to be the eventual landing spot for this guy, who has never played a down of American football.
GM Beane wasted no time in lining up undrafted free agents after the three day extravaganza in Detroit ended. Some interesting players added are RB Frank Gore Jr. , whose father had a short stint with the Bills, a couple receivers in Xavier Johnson of Ohio State and Lawrence Keys of Tulane, and an offensive lineman with an appropriate name, Keaton Bills of Utah. They also signed punter Jack Browning of San Diego State, the same school that former draftee Matt Araiza attended.
