The Buffalo Bills, although they are on their way to another losing season, have been competitive in almost every game so far. That wasn’t the case on Sunday against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. After being humiliated by New England 55-31 last week, the Steelers, one of the NFL’s proudest franchises, were sure to come out with extra motivation against the Bills, and they did. They completely shut down rookie QB EJ Manuel and the Buffalo offense and coasted to a 23-10 win. There really was nothing whatsoever positive about the offense’s performance, except maybe for rookie tight end Chris Gragg scoring his first NFL touchdown to finish up a garbage time TD drive at the end of the game. Then again, Gragg had at least a couple of drops during the game. Manuel played like he wasn’t ready to return after missing games with a knee injury, as he consistently missed open receivers and looked antsy in the pocket. It didn’t help him that the running game did little to help. The Bills’ defense played a decent game again, getting a turnover on Jairus Byrd’s interception, registering four sacks on Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger (2 from Jerry Hughes) and holding Pittsburgh to field goals on all but two drives. Actually, it should have been all but one drive, but Marcell Dareus jumped offsides on a field goal attempt to hand the Steelers a first down and a second chance to score a touchdown, which they naturally capitalized on. That penalty was a continuation of the totally inexcusable mistakes the team has been making all season. With the season now 10 weeks old, the coaching staff deserves a lot of blame for not having this team playing disciplined football. The “young” team excuse doesn’t wash at this point. One negative in the Bills’ defensive performance was the play of cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Once again, he had a target on his back all day, and Roethlisberger burned him on third down consistently. Although he’s a high first round draft pick who came into the league with the reputation of being a “lockdown” corner, Gilmore is playing with no confidence at this point, and is the weak link in the secondary. The Bills, for the most part, fought hard all day on defense, only to have Gilmore burned for easy first downs on third down. The punt coverage team gave up 74 yards on 2 returns, setting up the Steelers with great field position with those two long returns. This game was one of those ugly contests that are discouraging to the coaches, players and fans, and showed that Buffalo is just not a team that’s ready for prime time.
Archive for the ‘Football’ Category
NFL – Throwback Thursday: From Undefeated To Oblivion
On this week’s NFL schedule of games, the Indianapolis Colts play St. Louis, and a game played in 1967 between these two franchises is the Thursday Throwback feature for this week. Of course, in 1967, Indianapolis had no NFL team, and the professional team in St. Louis was the Cardinals. The Colts were located in Baltimore back then, and the current St. Louis team, the Rams, were based across the country in Los Angeles. Even though the two teams were on opposite coasts, a quirky temporary re-alignment by the NFL that year placed them in the same division, and led to an odd season-ending game between the teams, an ending not seen before then and not possible today under the current league system. The NFL and rival AFL had agreed to a merger in 1966, establishing a common draft of players among both leagues starting right away, and a formation of one league, the NFL, with all the teams from both leagues playing under one commissioner, Pete Rozelle, beginning with the 1970 season. The two leagues, beginning in that 1970 season, would be split into the National and American Conferences.
The old, established NFL decided to freshen up their look for the three remaining “waiting period” seasons by re-aligning into four divisions that weren’t necessarily geographically friendly – the Century, Capitol, Central and Coastal divisions. The Colts and Rams were placed in the Coastal division, and each team played its’ division rivals twice per year. In 1967, with the league still playing a 14 game schedule, the Colts and Rams were both powerful franchises. They played to a 24-24 tie in Baltimore in their first meeting (there was no regular season overtime in those days), and were slated to play again on the season’s final Sunday. Amazingly, both clubs entered that final showdown undefeated, with matching 11-0-2 records. Because there was no “wild card” playoff format at the time, it meant that the winner of that regular season finale showdown would win the Coastal crown, and the loser was out in the cold, even though the other three division champs had all won only 9 games apiece. So the ultimate showdown “winner-take-all” battle took place on December 17, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The hometown Rams defended their turf in style, routing Don Shula’s Colts 34-10 to win the division. Ram quarterback Roman Gabriel threw three touchdown passes and clearly outplayed his more heralded opponent, John Unitas, who was harassed by the Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line, led by Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, all day long. Unitas was intercepted twice and sacked four times (unofficially since sacks were not an official statistic then). The celebration in Los Angeles was short-lived. The Rams lost to Green Bay in the playoffs the next week, with the Packers advancing to the NFL championship against Dallas in what would become the “Ice Bowl”.
Ram DE Deacon Jones harasses Baltimore’s John Unitas
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
The Buffalo Bills started the second half of the 2013 season at home against unbeaten Kansas City on Sunday the same way they’ve played for most of the first half. They played a competitive game, yet made enough mistakes to basically hand the Chiefs their ninth win, 23-13. Buffalo’s offense was handcuffed by having to use undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel at quarterback due to a rib injury suffered by Thad Lewis, who held the job the past few weeks because the regular starter, EJ Manuel, is also hurt. Tuel played well enough to give his team a chance to win, but his third quarter interception that Sean Smith returned 100 yards for a KC touchdown turned the game around. It was a 14 point swing that a young, unstable team like Buffalo has shown it is unable to overcome. That pick-six, along with T.J. Graham’s fourth quarter fumble that Tamba Hali scooped up and ran in for another TD, were the only touchdowns the Chiefs were able to score, and they were gifts courtesy of a Bills’ team that is starting to make plays like that a habit. Add in a block in the back penalty that wiped out a punt return touchdown by Leodis McKelvin early in the game, and you have the recipe Buffalo used on Sunday to put their season record at 3-6. The Bills’ defense held KC in check most of the day, with the only negative for that unit being Stephon Gilmore’s inability to cover anybody. Gilmore, since returning to the lineup from a broken wrist, has looked tentative and has actually become a target for opposing passers instead of the “lockdown” cornerback he’s supposed to be.
The Bills lost, and it’s disheartening, but there were a lot of positives in their effort against an unbeaten foe. Tuel, like Lewis, played well enough for his team to win, and his 59 yard TD pass to Marquise Goodwin was a thing of beauty. He kept drives alive all day with key third down conversions, but just couldn’t finish those drives, although some drops by his tight end Scott Chandler didn’t help his cause. The Bills’ running game, as usual, was impressive. Fred Jackson was his usual hard-running self, and the week off to rest his bad ankle did C.J. Spiller a world of good, as he rushed for 116 yards on only 12 carries and ripped off a couple of great long runs. The defense played another impressive game – Kiko Alonso and Jerry Hughes registered sacks, and Aaron Williams was a tackling machine in the secondary. Overall, they held the Chiefs to 210 total yards, while Buffalo’s offense amassed 470. The two six-point turnovers were the difference, and this game slipping away was not unlike the game against the Jets earlier in the year, when Rex Ryan’s team was penalized 20 times and still managed to beat the Bills. The Bills’ coaching staff needs to use the remaining 7 games in this season to reverse the team’s trend of finding ways to give away games, to stop beating themselves. To cut out costly penalties and turnovers. Until they do that, well, eventually the “young” team label will become the “losing” team label, the same one they’ve worn under the past four coaching staffs.
NFL – Buffalo Bills’ Mid-Season Report Card
The Buffalo Bills’ mid-season report card this year should be a mirror image of the grades they got the last two seasons, as they have compiled a 3-5 record so far, putting them on a pace to match the dismal 6-10 finishes of 2011 and 2012 under Chan Gailey. So why does it feel so different in 2013? Mainly because outside of the record, not much about the entire organization is the same. Owner Ralph Wilson has turned the operation of the club over to Russ Brandon, who took the reins and made major changes, promoting Doug Whaley to general manager and hiring Doug Marrone as head coach. The mid-season report card follows:
Front Office / Coaching
It’s unclear who is responsible for the 2013 draft, Whaley or Buddy Nix, who stepped aside shortly afterward. Whoever it was, they appear to have added some terrific building blocks for the future on both sides of the ball. To me, the jury is still out on Marrone, who came here after guiding Syracuse University’s program from the depths to respectability. He’s a young, energetic coach and assembled what looks like the best staff of assistants the Bills have had in years. His coordinators, Nathaniel Hackett on offense and Mike Pettine on defense, are bringing some creativity to their units so far. Pettine, especially, is highly respected around the league, having worked with a couple of the NFL’s top-rated defenses in Baltimore and with the Jets. One place where Marrone hasn’t distanced himself much from Gailey is his failure to correct the team’s penchant for foolish penalties in clutch situations.
Here’s a position-by-position look at the team’s roster at the half-way point:
Quarterback
The Bills wiped the slate completely clean here – unloading all three QBs from 2012 and starting from scratch. The drafting of EJ Manuel as the quarterback of the future looks like a good move so far, although injuries have made it hard to evaluate him completely. Still, he has looked good, and certainly not intimidated at all, when he’s played. He hasn’t been spectacular, which is not uncommon for a rookie forced into a starting role, but also has made very few mistakes, which IS uncommon for a rookie. The backup QB spot is still a work in progress. The signing of veteran Kevin Kolb looks like a wash, with concussion issues probably signaling the end for him. Thad Lewis looks like the best prospect so far to keep the job, with undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel maybe holding the third spot as a developmental project. It’ll be interesting to see if recently signed Matt Flynn gets a look, or if he only stays around until Manuel gets healthy.
Running Back
This is one spot on the roster that’s remained pretty stable the last couple of seasons, with C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and Tashard Choice all making major contributions to what is a top-notch rushing attack. The Bills did make a change at fullback, replacing Corey McIntyre with another undrafted rookie, Frank Summers. He is a competent blocker and receiver, and like McIntyre, contributes on special teams. One note – I’ve suggested at various times that the Bills would be wise to trade Jackson, whose play was declining and who was bothered by nagging injuries. It’s a good thing I’m not the Bills’ GM, because they would be hurting big time this year without Jackson, who has re-emerged as an important veteran leader for the team.
Receivers
The Bills’ receiving corps has undergone a makeover also. Two holdovers from previous seasons, Stevie Johnson and tight end Scott Chandler, continue to be go-to targets for the quarterbacks. Johnson in particular has grown into a major leader on the team. Marquis Goodwin has shown flashes of becoming a top downfield threat, combining his track meet speed with great football skills. He’s battled nagging injuries, however, which has limited his production. Robert Woods and second year man T.J. Graham have both made plays at points this season, but have seemingly developed chemistry with different QBs. Woods has been a top target of EJ Manuel when he’s been the starter, while Graham has been a favorite target of Thad Lewis when he’s played. Marcus Easley struggled to stick on the final roster, and has pretty much only contributed as a gunner on special teams. Veteran Lee Smith has been Chandler’s primary backup at tight end, used mostly as a blocker. Chris Gragg, a seventh round draft pick, is on the roster but has yet to make an impact. The only other receiver on the roster is Chris Hogan, who has made a few appearances but not done much.
Offensive Line
The Bills’ offensive line has been relatively stable the last couple of years. Eric Wood is solid at center, along with guard Kraig Urbik and right tackle Eric Pears. Second year man Cordy Glenn has settled in nicely at left tackle. The other guard spot has been a problem. The Bills definitely miss the departed Andy Levitre there. Colin Brown began the season as the starter, but has since been cut, with Doug Legursky, a former Steeler, taking over. Buffalo finds themselves in the same position they’ve been in for the last couple of years – the line play is good, but the depth is questionable. They’ve been lucky to escape any major injuries to the starters, which would prove to be disastrous. The ever-changing list of backups, at the halfway point, includes Thomas Welch, Antone McLain and Mark Asper, a player they cut last season who was brought back for a second chance. The pickings are pretty slim.
Defensive Line
Even with the season-ending injury early in the year to Alex Carrington, this unit is a strength of the team and one of the top lines in the NFL. Kyle Williams has been his usual consistent self at one tackle spot, while Mario Williams is having a career year at end, leading the team in sacks, with a lot of those sacks coming at crunch time in games when they were really needed. Marcell Dareus, at the other tackle spot, is finally playing to the level expected of him as a high draft pick. Alan Branch, a veteran free agent signee, has stepped into Carrington’s spot and been solid. The Carrington injury did cut into the depth along the D-line, as the only other players listed on the roster behind the starters are Corbin Bryant, who has played regularly and gotten the job done, Stefan Charles, who was just signed this week from Tennessee’s practice squad, and Jerry Hughes, who’s listed as a defensive lineman but is more of a pass rushing “edge” linebacker.
Linebacker
The Bills seriously upgraded their linebacking corps in the off-season, with the additions of free agent signee Manny Lawson, who has done a terrific job starting on the outside, and draftee Kiko Alonso, who is the NFL’s defensive Rookie of The Year so far in 2013. Depending on whether they’re in a three or four man front, Arthur Moats and Nigel Bradham get significant playing time, along with Hughes, who usually plays in passing situations. Hughes was acquired from the Colts in the off-season for Kelvin Sheppard, and appears to be an upgrade from Sheppard. Among the backups, Jamaal Westerman has mostly seen special teams action, while Ty Powell has yet to see the field. He is one of the recent signees, as the team has been continually trying to improve its’ roster.
Defensive Backs
It’s hard to evaluate this part of the team, since two key members, Stephon Gilmore and Jairus Byrd, missed significant time early in the year due to a holdout and a hand injury. They are both just now rounding into shape, and neither has made a great impact so far. The expectation is that the secondary play should improve in the second half of the year as they get comfortable again. The Bills have a stable of what should be pretty good cornerbacks in Leodis McKelvin, Nickell Robey and Justin Rogers, but they have all been toasted by opposing receivers at different times this year. Aaron Williams, who was switched to safety in the off-season, has had to transition back to corner due to injuries, and has been one of the defense’s key players so far. As for the corners, they are usually pretty good in coverage, but could use some work on their ball awareness skills. They always seem to be pretty close in coverage with opposing receivers, but never are aware or able to make plays when the ball arrives. While Byrd was out, Da’Norris Searcy saw a lot of action at safety, and made some key plays also, as has veteran Jim Leonhard. Rookie draft picks Duke Williams and Jonathan Meeks are both works in progress, while Brandon Smith is another in-season signee who is getting a look in the Bills’ effort to get better.
Special Teams
The Bills have a pair of great return men in McKelvin, who returns punts, and the rookie Goodwin, who handles kickoffs. Also. Leonhard filled in admirably on punt returns when McKelvin was hurt early on. Rookie draft pick Dustin Hopkins was supposed to claim the placekicking job, but a groin injury relegated him to the injured reserve list. Dan Carpenter has done a terrific job in his place, and may now have a claim on the position for the future also. The punt coverage team has had a lot of terrible moments in the first half of the year. It could be argued that they cost the team a couple of wins, but now that fan favorite Brian Moorman is back as the punter, that unit should improve in the second half of the year. Shawn Powell, who was cut after a couple of dreadful outings, never seemed to master the art of punting in different situations the way Moorman has.
NFL – Throwback Thursday: The Original “Hail Mary” Pass
Every fan of the game of football today knows what a “Hail Mary” pass is – a desperation heave at the end of a half or a game, with time expiring, in an attempt to steal an out-of-reach game from an opponent. It’s the ultimate “steal victory from the jaws of defeat” play. Perhaps the most famous one took place in a college game, when Doug Flutie hit Gerard Phelan on the final play of the game for Boston College, in 1984, to upset Jimmy Johnson’s University of Miami squad. The Hail Mary pass is now a regular strategy employed by teams when the situation warrants it. With the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings scheduled to play this weekend on the NFL’s week 9 slate, it’s only fitting for this week’s Throwback Thursday post to feature a game played between those two franchises, on December 28, 1975, that marked the unofficial “birth” of the Hail Mary pass, at least as far as the NFL is concerned. In actuality, the term had been used as far back as the 1930s in college football, to describe a deep, low probability pass, mostly by Notre Dame’s famed Four Horsemen, or other Catholic universities.
The term was revived in that December playoff game in Minnesota, when the Cowboys, led by quarterback Roger Staubach, took the field on their own 15 yard line with a little under two minutes left to play, trailing the Vikings 14-10. “Roger the Dodger”, whose trademark throughout his entire career was leading late-game comebacks (earning him the nickname “Captain Comeback”), drove his team to midfield. He completed a pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson for a first down on 4th and 17 to reach that point. With 32 seconds left, Staubach unleashed his desperation heave, again for Pearson, who was covered by All Pro Viking cornerback Nate Wright. Wright slipped and fell, and Pearson pinned the ball against his hip, turned and scampered into the end zone for the winning score as Dallas triumphed 17-14. When asked about the play afterwards, Staubach, who is Catholic, said, ” I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary, it was a very lucky play”. And the Hail Mary in the NFL was officially born. There were some strange circumstances surrounding the game that day, also. Incensed Viking fans pummeled referee Armen Terzian with objects after the play, feeling that Pearson had pushed Wright and that offensive interference should have been called. Terzian was hit by a whiskey bottle, opening a gash that required 11 stitches. Also, Viking QB Fran Tarkenton, shortly after the game concluded, was informed that his father had passed away of a heart attack while watching the game at his home in Georgia.
Drew Pearson celebrates his winning “Hail Mary” touchdown against the Vikings.
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
The Buffalo Bills’ matchup with New Orleans down in the Superdome on Sunday went about as expected. The Saints were 11 point favorites at home against an obviously overmatched Bills’ squad, and they won 35-17. Drew Brees threw five touchdown passes, and I usually don’t have much good to say about the coverage in Buffalo’s secondary, so it would be easy to rip the players back there, but for various reasons I came out of the game with a positive attitude about the team, with a lot of hope not only for the long term but even for the short term future of this team. Here are some reasons why:
* Let’s face it, the NFL schedule makers did the Bills no favors this year. The easiest opponent they’ve played so far has been Cleveland (the only team they’ve faced with a losing record) and even then they had to play the Browns on the road in a nationally televised contest. The last 2 weeks they’ve had to go on the road to play Miami and New Orleans with both of those teams coming off bye weeks, with an extra week to prepare. It doesn’t get any easier as the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs visit Ralph Wilson Stadium next week. Honestly, based on the effort they’ve shown so far this year in trying circumstances and the results they’ve gotten, I like their chances against the Chiefs, unbeaten or not.
* Thad Lewis obviously needs to work on his ball security issues and seems to be coming down to earth as far as his abilities as he plays more, and opponents have film to work on to prepare for him, but you have to love the tenacity this kid shows every week. He’s really just holding down the fort until EJ Manuel is healthy, but the team seems to believe in him and he’s got decent leadership ability.
* Even though they allowed Brees to throw for the 5 TDs, the Bills’ defense played a decent game. They had 4 sacks and played the run well, and had Brees looking a little nervous early on in the game with good pressure. The score was only 14-10 at halftime.
* Just like recent seasons, this team doesn’t quit. C.J. Spiller was inactive for the game but wanted to play, and Lewis, Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson are all battling every week even though they’re hurting.
* Their record is 3-5, and they’re playing with a QB who started the season on the practice squad, but the Bills’ offense has one major quality a lot of teams in the NFL don’t have – a quality running game. Even with Spiller out they ran the ball effectively against the Saints, until they got behind and had to throw because they were playing catchup.
NFL – Throwback Thursday: The Immaculate Reception
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders match up on this week’s NFL schedule, and although in 2013 both teams have struggled to start the season, a game played between them that is known as one of the most famous in NFL history was an easy choice as this week’s edition of the Thursday Throwback. It took place on December 23, 1972 at Pittsburgh’s old Three Rivers Stadium, and was that season’s AFC Divisional playoff game. The game itself was a defensive struggle between the Raiders, who had been a league regular season powerhouse going back to their days in the old AFL, and the young Steelers, who were rebuilding under coach Chuck Noll and looking for their first playoff win ever, a fact that’s hard to believe considering the franchise’s success since then. At the time, the Steelers were only a couple of years removed from being one of the worst teams in the NFL over a period of at least two decades. When owner Art Rooney hired Noll, it was the first move in a total transformation of the team, as they brought in future star players like Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Jack Ham and Mel Blount and had become a team clearly on the rise. The Raiders had been one of the AFL’s strongest teams, even making an appearance in the second Super Bowl, and their success continued after the leagues merged and they became part of the American Conference. However, they were in a period when they were starting to gain a reputation for not being able to “win the big one”, as they suffered continual playoff failures. With 5 seconds left in this particular game, it looked like the Raiders were on their way to the AFC Championship game, as they held a razor-thin 7-6 lead with only a last ditch Terry Bradshaw Hail Mary pass left for the young Steelers to attempt. The play didn’t start out particularly well for Pittsburgh, and Bradshaw wound up flinging a wounded duck pass into the middle of the field. The pass headed toward John “Frenchy” Fuqua just as Raider safety Jack “The Assassin” Tatum arrived on the scene and delivered a hard blow to the Steeler running back in an attempt to break up the play. Tatum’s hit succeeded, but the ball popped out and flew directly to Harris, who barely plucked it out of the air before it hit the ground and continued untouched to the end zone to give his team a nearly impossible to believe 13-7 win. At the time, league rules stated that if a pass caromed off an offensive player, only that player was eligible to catch it. The Raiders argued vehemently that the ball had bounced off Fuqua, therefore making Franco an ineligible receiver on the play, but the game officials ruled the ball had hit Tatum. John Madden, Raider head coach at the time, to this day has never accepted the official’s ruling on the play. NFL Films chose the game’s final play as the greatest of all time, and also its’ most controversial.
The win helped catapult the Steelers into their golden age in the decade of the 1970s, when they won four Super Bowls, but in ’72 they weren’t quite ready for prime time, as they went on to lose the following week in the AFC Championship game to the year’s eventual Super Bowl champions, Don Shula’s undefeated Miami Dolphins. The Raiders would hang on to the “can’t win the big one” stigma for a few more years until they finally broke through with a Super Bowl win over the Vikings following the 1976 season.
Franco Harris completes the Immaculate Reception TD to the delight of Pittsburgh fans….
Raider coach John Madden had a different reaction.
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
Buffalo’s matchup with the Miami Dolphins followed the same pattern as every other game they’ve played in 2013. It was a close game that went down to the wire, and the young Bills seemed to be finding another way to lose, which has definitely been their pattern in road contests this year. They started out great, jumping out to a 14-0 lead with a pick-six interception return for a touchdown by rookie Nickell Robey and putting together a nice drive topped off by a short Fred Jackson TD run. Then they reverted to the mistake-prone outfit they’ve been at times this year – the offense sputtered, while the defense allowed Miami QB Ryan Tannehill to recover from 2 early picks to engineer 3 touchdown drives, erasing the Bills’ early lead. Suddenly, the negative patterns for the defense were there again. Exhibit A: Miami, which has struggled to run the ball with any effectiveness all year, started gashing the Bills’ defense on the ground. Exhibit B: Tannehill, on course to set an NFL record for a quarterback being sacked in a season, hadn’t been touched much all day.
Then as the game progressed deeper into the second half, Buffalo seemed collectively determined to rewrite the script. Fill-in quarterback Thad Lewis put together a couple of drives that resulted in field goals, completing some timely third down throws to keep those drives alive. Stevie Johnson, playing at less than 100% with a back injury, got a couple of those first downs with some hard running after the catch. Jackson, playing hurt, gutted out some crucial runs. The defense tightened up and began both stopping the run and pressuring Tannehill. With the game on the line, the unit’s big money player, Mario Williams, made a big-money play when he forced the Dolphin QB to fumble, which was recovered by Kyle Williams. That play set up what proved to be the winning points, as ex-Dolphin Dan Carpenter booted his third field goal of the game to put his team ahead. Still, Miami had a chance to come back, and it came down to a final-play Hail Mary. The play never had a chance, as three Bill defenders were there to make sure there were no home-team heroics. It was encouraging to see Buffalo applying pressure to Tannehill on that final drive, rather than sitting back hoping to keep Miami out of range for the winning field goal. They forced the issue instead, and the result was mostly errant throws by the Dolphin QB.
So the Bills’ first road win of 2013 was certainly a satisfying one, against a division rival on a day when the division leader, New England, lost in overtime to the Jets. The AFC East standings are now a lot tighter, and the win should give Buffalo some confidence going into another grueling road contest next week at New Orleans.
NFL – Throwback Thursday: “Roughing The Official”
The scheduled game from the NFL for week seven that will be the Throwback Thursday feature for this week is between two old AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. There are many games to choose from over the years in this storied rivalry that were unforgettable – the first game ever played between the teams, in Miami’s first year in the AFL in 1966, the Bills’ first win over the Dolphins after going 0-for-the 1970s, in the first year of the Chuck Knox era, Joe Ferguson’s epic game in the Orange Bowl when he outdueled Dan Marino in his rookie year, Jim Kelly’s end zone dive to secure a win in 1989, or any of the many Bills’ wins in the Marv Levy era. Since the 2 teams meet twice a year every season, there will be other opportunities to feature those games.
Instead, I decided to feature a game from 1975 that included one of the most bizarre officiating calls in NFL history. The Bills, with O.J. Simpson leading the way, were a good team in the 1970s, but could never get over the hump when it came to competing with Don Shula’s Dolphin teams. Miami dominated the series, but that domination bordered on the ridiculous as Buffalo was completely swept for the entire decade, losing twice a year to the Fish every year from 1970 through 1979. But on December 8, 1975, the Dolphins got some unexpected help on their way to a 31-21 win over the Bills in the Orange Bowl. That old stadium was a house of horrors for Buffalo, but they left south Florida that day incensed over a call that left them out in the cold as far as having a chance to win the game, and put a major crimp in their playoff hopes. Considering the way they totally dominated the Bills for the whole decade, Miami didn’t need any help, but got some in a major way in this game. The Bills had staged a major comeback, from a 21-0 deficit, led by some stellar play from Simpson and Ferguson, and trailed by a mere field goal, 24-21, when Miami running back Mercury Morris fumbled the ball, and Bills’ lineman Pat Toomay ran over to attempt to recover the ball. He did, which appeared to give the Bills possession and a chance to take the lead. However, head linesman Jerry Bergman ruled that Morris had not fumbled, and Toomay was assessed a personal foul penalty for “roughing the official”, a call not heard of in the league before (or since), giving the ball back to the Dolphins with a first down. They proceeded to drive for a touchdown that sealed the win, a victory that the Bills felt was tainted. Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson may have been the most angry of anyone in the organization, as he called for Bergman to be fired and threatened to not send his team on the field for any future games that Bergman officiated. Wilson’s quote: “Anyone that incompetent should not be allowed to officiate and should be barred from football.”
Bergman became one of Buffalo sports fans’ most hated villains, and he received over 1,500 critical letters from fans. His wife said that one letter, addressed only to “Blind as a Bat Bergman, Allegheny County” managed to find its’ way to their mailbox. It didn’t help the situation that at the time, Dolphin coach Shula was head of the league’s competition committee, and the general assumption around the NFL was that he “owned” the officials.
Don Shula
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
The Buffalo Bills followed the same pattern on Sunday against Cincinnati that they’ve done in every game so far in 2013 – they played a close, exciting game that went down to the wire. This time, they were on the losing end, dropping a 27-24 decision in overtime to the Bengals. Going into the game, conventional wisdom said that the team’s defense needed to carry the day, or basically keep playing the way they have this season, in order to help out new quarterback Thad Lewis, who was promoted from the practice squad to start in place of injured starter EJ Manuel. Lewis did his part, throwing for a pair of highlight reel touchdowns in the second half to lead the Bills from a 24-10 deficit to a 24-24 tie to send the game into OT. The running game wasn’t spectacular but all three backs, C.J. Spiller (gutting it out on a bad ankle), Fred Jackson and Tashard Choice, took turns churning out good yardage to keep drives alive. Lewis wound up throwing for the 2 TDs and running for another – enough to get the win if the defense had been able to turn in even an average performance. Instead, Mike Pettine’s unit got schooled by the Bengals, who used quick passes and bubble screens to gash a poor-tackling Bills’ defense that didn’t look ready to play. Jairus Byrd and Stephon Gilmore returned to the lineup, but in retrospect both seemed like they could have used another week off. Gilmore especially played tentatively in coverage and seemed to want no part of any contact when it came to tackling runners. To their credit, the Bengals took full advantage of it. In the ultimate sign of disrespect for the Bills’ defense, the Bengals eschewed a punt to pin the Bills deep in their own territory, the conventional move, and instead went for it on a 4th and 15. Apparently they knew what they were doing, since they converted for a first down. The other turning point in the game that turned the defense into goats was giving up a 98 yard touchdown drive after coach Doug Marrone decided to go for a fourth and goal from the one yard line. The offense failed, but instead of stepping up and bailing out their coach for the decision by stopping the Bengals and keeping the field position advantage, they gave up the long touchdown drive. Those types of situations are what define whether a team is a winner or a loser, and right now the Bills are still a losing team. The fourth down conversion did seem to be enough of a slap in the defense’s collective faces that they woke up and played well the rest of the game as Lewis and the offense mounted the comeback. Then in overtime, the punt coverage team, for the second straight week, gave up a long return, this time setting up the Bengals for the winning field goal. One positive in the game was the return of punter Brian Moorman, who had a great game. His first punt was a classic coffin corner boot that went out of bounds at the one yard line.
Buffalo, with a banged up roster, now goes on the road to face the daunting task of playing Miami, with the Dolphins coming off a bye and having two weeks to prepare. After that, they go from the frying pan into the fire as they visit New Orleans, who will also be coming off their bye and be rested and prepared. That means the team will most likely be 2-6 at that point and will be hard-pressed to equal the back-to-back 6-10 finishes that Chan Gailey’s teams posted.