Okay I get it...most of you don't like O.J. Simpson.
To many of you, Orenthal James Simpson is a murderer and a thug who breaks the law like the Seahawks drop playoff passes.
Anyone who is under the age of 25 has seen photos of him in handcuffs or a courtroom more than in any other pose.
But for those of us with just a few more years under our belt, we remember when O.J. was magic on Sunday and one of the most prominent faces of the
NFL in the 1970's. The man running through the airport jumping rows of seats in the Hertz commercials. The man every one of us wished we had
on our team. The best Buffalo Bill player to EVER take the field.
Some of you will come at me with Bruce Smith. He IS the career sack leader in the NFL with 200 (two more than the legendary Reggie White, but Reggie did it playing 47 fewer games).
He is an 11-time probowler and 8-time All-Pro; and was also a first pick by the Bills in 1985. But his was more of a career of being consistent for a long time time than being spectacular.
His 19-year career was extremely long for NFL standards (279 games). He amassed the numbers he did because of the sheer
number of games that he played. He never led the league in sacks averaged 10 1/2 sacks per season for his career. He was a great guy off the field too...but not the best to ever don the Bills uniform.
Jim Kelly, some of you will say, is the greatest Bill ever. After all, this H.O.F. QB did lead the Bills to four consecutive (albeit losing) SuperBowls and ranks 14th all-time in passing yards and 18th in TD's thrown.
He went to the Pro Bowl 4 times and was 1st-team All-Pro once. But, he also never led the league for passing yards for any season, led the league only one season for most TD's (31 in 1991) and then followed that year up with a season in which he led the league with 19 interceptions thrown.
Is known as a great guy off the field, role model, father, friend, better than average sportscaster and all around good guy - bust not the best to lace em up for the Bills.
Some will throw Thurman Thomas at me. His career rushing numbers were better than Simpson (12,704) and he ranks 12th all time in career rushing yards and also has 12 more touchdowns than O.J. and only trails Orenthal by one Pro-Bowl appearance. He is also now (2007 class) a Hall of Famer.
But you have to compare him to his contemporaries at the time that he played. He never led the league in rushing yards or TD's in any season during his career and was only 1st-team All-Pro once.
Maybe your favorite is Andre Reed; the 7-time Pro-Bowl wide receiver. He ranks 8th in career receiving yards and 5th in career receptions.
However, he was also never selected to be a 1st-team All-Pro during his career and never led the league in receiving yards or touchdowns in any season.
Great guy with a great career - but not the greatest to play for Bufallo.
Now, let me make my case for the greatest Bufallo Bill of all; one, Orenthal James Simpson:
In only 2 years at USC, he rushed for 3,423 yards, scored 36 TD's andled the Trojans to a 19-2-1 record.
USC won the National Title behind him in 1967 and he won the Heisman Trophy with the highest vote total (2,853)ever after finishing a close 2nd the year before.
He was then drafted as the first pick by the Bills in 1969 and went on to becaome a 6-time Pro Bowler & 5-time 1st-team All-Pro.
He led the league in rushing four times and touchdowns twice in his 9 years with the Bills.
In 1973, he broke Jim Brown's seemingly unbreakable record of 1,853 yards in a season with 2,003 of his own.
When he retired, that ranked as first all time and now still ranks as 5th.
He was selected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1985; his first year of eligibility.
When he left the league, he was the 2nd leading rusher of all time behind only Jim Brown. He now ranks as 14th.
His contemporaries at the time are mostly all hall of famers which makes his records even more improbable and impressive;
Gale Sayers, Earl Campbell, Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett, Franco Harris, John Riggins and Larry Csonka all played during Simpson's NFL tenure.
Each of these are on the short list of the best that have ever played and O.J. bested them all.
The facts in this post don't mean that I like him or would like to play golf with him, but, based on his place in the recordbooks and performance against
his contemporaries, I believe O.J. to be the greatest player ever to put on the Bills uni.
Correct. Best ever Bill....hands down. I was shocked when Jim Kelly was elected to the hall.Only all pro once--the true test of a HOF. Yes, nice guys get in with less talent it seems, and a quest for another white guy. It happens more than it should.
surfrdude-Kelly definitely belongs in the hall. Saying he shouldn't just because he was only all-pro once is like saying Steve Nash was better than Jerry West because Nash won two MVPs and West none. Okay, maybe apples & oranges because they're different sports, but you get my drift.
Dashman-All of OJ's faults aside-and there are so many it's hard to push them aside-he was an electrifying player, no doubt. A small number of backs had the size, speed, and moves that he did.
surfdude5872 - Kelly was a 3 time All-Pro selection (1990, 1991, 1992)
Was also a 4 time Pro Bowl selection (1987, 1990, 1991, 1992)
Both honors say a lot considering it's a popularity contest that usually shies away from such small market teams.
Kelly mastered the no-huddle offense, which was a fast-paced offense that denied opposing defenses the opportunity to make timely substitutions. The NFL later changed the rules in response to this, to allow opposing defenses time to change formations under no-huddle situations.
Kelly was a precision passer and dominating field general, to the extent that NFL rules were changed to give opponents a chance. It's hard to see where your race card fits into the equation...
dashman - Hard to give any love to O.J. But yeah, He's at the top of an impressive list.
Last edited by MidniteCowboy on August 8th at 9:06 AM.
dashman
Strip away all of the negligible that's surrounded Simpson over the last decade and a half. And you're left with an astounding athlete. He was the go to guy when it came to corporate commercial endorsements and salemanship long before MJ came on the scene.
Alas the mysteries surrouding what took place in Brentwood has tainted what the majority may feel and think about him. But in the end one can't take away those on the field accomplishments from him. They'll stand the test of time.
yes i agree, OJ was a great ball player in college and in the pros.. but it all went to his head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and he was a good actor and salesman on TV
Beg to differ with you. Kelly was a one time All Pro, and before I post I check the details, hate to look like a FootballAss.....
James Edward Kelly
Position: QB
Height: 6-3 Weight: 217 lbs.
Born: February 14, 1960 in Pittsburgh, PA
College: Miami (FL)
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 2002
4-time Pro Bowler & 1-time first-team All-Pro
This information comes from ProFootballreference.com The absolute F.B. Bible for stats, look it up yourself.....
Jim was a great player, no doubt, a HOFer, in my opinion no. If so then Ken Anderson of the Bengals should be in the HOF,over 32,000 passing yards.A complete QB... 20 TDS rushing with a 5.6 yd.avg. His problem, played with lousy teams down through the years. Never went to the Super Bowl.
OK MidnightCowboy there ya go....
surfrdude
I can see your point on Kelly. To me, he was definitely a bubble pick. Boomer Esiason and Dave Kreig both had better career passing and touchdown numbers and I don't see them in the hall.
On the flipside, he threw more touchdowns than George Blanda, Steve Young and Terry Bradshaw - all who are in the HOF.
"White" had nothing to do with his selection...I think he simply benefits from having played on the same team his entire career and and made it to four consecutive Super Bowls. Also, the voters are human beings who can be swayed by the fact that he is a nice and likeable guy who, by benefit of being a football comentator after his playing career, stayed in the public eye.
The fact he lost all of those consecutive Super Bowls is what gets in some folk's craw. If he had won even just one of them, I think many would drop their arguement againt him being in the hall.
Last edited by dashman68 on August 9th at 2:55 AM.
Ricko
First, it's GREAT to see ya' back on here commenting again and you are right - few have ever had the full package that "juice" brought to the field.
canyondave
I respect your opinion, however, making statements without a compelling arguement does nothing for you here.
I could say "Richard Nixon was our greatest president, period." Now, why do I think he was the greatest president? Do I know anything about him that may convince you to be open to by viewpoint? Are there things he did or said to make me feel that way? You have no idea do you? That's because my statement needs a foundation.
If you want your statement to have any teeth or meaning, you must support and defend it in this forum...otherwise, it is very weak.
Last edited by dashman68 on August 9th at 10:14 AM.
dashman
You have it turned around, I said he was All Pro once.1991
Cowboy said he was 3 times, could care less about 2nd team all pro. On nfl stats only recognize first team and also the HOF only 1st. team stats.
I'm a white guy and I still say many afro/am players overlooked... not going to name them here would take too long. HOF tried to catch up this year by making up those slighted,some elected by veterans committee,many, many years after the fact. Some times it is politics, believe it or not...
surfrdude
Sorry, I'll fix it...I got it turned around - & I also couldn't care less about 2nd team, which is why I didn't count it in my blog.
I'm not saying any players of color haven't been overlooked, but we have to be fair here: Name one quarterback that isn't white that has better credentials than Jim Kelly for the hall of fame.
C'mon guys - I conceded at the beginning of the post that I knew that folks don't like him and why. That still doesn't take away from what he did on the field.
If Michael Jordan went nuts and opened fire with a machine gun on a mall full of people tomorrow, then next week he would be known as a crazy murderer who lost his mind.
BUT - He would also still be recognized as one of the best (if not the best) basketball players in history.
yea but steve young also has the record for rushing tds for a qb with 43 that has to be mentioned when you talk about young, young also has the best qb rating of all time when he retired 96 rating, highest comp % when he retired , highest td % when he retired, lowest int % when he retired, second most rushing yrds for qb when he retired 4,237, tied for most passing titles for a qb all time with 6, the most consecutive 100+ qb rating seasons all time,most seasons of 100 qb rating 6, 2 mvps , superbowl mvp with a record 6 tds in the superbowl,7 probowls, 232 tds and 43 rushing tds, 33,000+ yrds and 4237 yrds rushing. hes in my top 5 all time and mike shanhan also said he was in his top 5 alltime
