BlogsTop 50 All-Time Bills, No. 36: P Brian Moorman
by Kurupt
on Jul 2, 2009 12:15 PM EDT
in Top 50 All-Time Bills
19 comments
P Brian Moorman (2001-present) | 6'0", 172 lbs
Notable Achievements: 2x Pro Bowl Selection (2005, 2006), 2x First Team All-Pro (2005, 2006), 3x Pro Bowl Alternate (2002, 2004, 2007), Member of Bills 50th Anniversary Team
Brian Donald Moorman was born in Wichita, Kansas on February 5, 1976. He graduated from Sedgwick High School in Sedgwick, Kansas where he lettered in football, track and basketball. Proving himself to be a great athlete, Moorman was a three-time state hurdle champion and an all-state selection in football and basketball. Following his tremendous high school athletic career, Moorman went on to become a Gorilla, playing collegiately at Pittsburg State in Kansas, the same school that crackpot actor Gary Busey played football at. During his four years in college, Moorman earned All-American honors in each season becoming the first player in school history to achieve such a feat. He was named first team All-Conference in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association each season, as well.
Proving his athleticism off the football field, Moorman also put together an incredible track career. He was named to the All-Conference team in each of his four years, for both indoor and outdoor track. He earned first team All-American honors in the 400 meter hurdles from 1997-1999. Most impressively, Moorman was the 400m National Champion from 1997-1999. Off the field/track, he was a six-time Academic All-American, for both sports. He still holds the school record for yards per punt (43.97 yards) and in the 110m hurdles (13.81 seconds), and was named to the football program's 100th Anniversary Team in 2003. Moorman graduated as the most decorated male athlete in school history, and as a result, will be inducted into the Pittsburg State Athletics Hall of Fame on September 4 for his football and track accomplishments. Despite all his athletic achievements, Moorman went undrafted in 1999.
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Drive stats tell no lies: Bills need playmakers
by Brian Galliford
on Jul 2, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
in News
28 comments
Roughly a month ago, we examined the Buffalo Bills' trip through the AFC East during the 2008 season and pinpointed the not-so-difficult-to-surmise reasons that the Bills managed to win zero of their six most important games. The verdict? Besides the obvious - scoring points and controlling the ground game on each side of the ball, to start - a general lack of big plays was the big reason that the team was not only 0-6 in the division, but 2-8 overall in the final ten games of the season.
It's not as if we needed yet another piece of evidence to further hammer home the "Bills need more playmakers" argument, but when Football Outsiders puts forth such excellent summaries as their drive stats analysis... well, let's just say that it re-opens some old wounds.
If you're not familiar with Football Outsiders, take a moment or two to get to know them. Trust us - it's worth it. If you're a novice, just take a quick glance at the explanation of their drive stats and you'll know enough to be getting on with. What follows will likely be the least surprising article you have or ever will read here; it's also further proof that, on some teams as starved for playmakers as the Bills are, signing a player as divisive as WR Terrell Owens is well worth the risk - despite what the Tom Currans of the world would have you believe.
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ESPN Ultimate Team Rankings
We're down from 57 to 91 this year, but Brian is quoted in the article, so it's cool. Plus, they hate on Dick Jauron, too!
1 day ago
nickfeely8
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Ten Bills to Decide 2009, No. 7: LT Langston Walker
by Brian Galliford
on Jul 1, 2009 12:00 PM EDT
in News
40 comments
You probably remember a fateful day in April when the Buffalo Bills traded two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles. Peters, a former undrafted free agent that established himself as one of the game's rising stars at his position, cut his teeth with the Bills. He was a big, freakish athlete coming out of Arkansas, and the Bills turned him into a dominant force. No matter how his career ended - and it wasn't pretty, what with 11.5 sacks surrendered in 2008 and two separate contract squabbles - it's never easy to trade a player that you've crafted from NFL infancy.
Now the Bills are turning to veteran Langston Walker to fill the void. Signed prior to the 2007 season from Oakland, Walker has spent most of his career (including both seasons in Buffalo) as a right tackle. He has roughly two games of experience on the left side.
Walker is everything that Peters isn't. He's a good football player, but clearly doesn't possess anywhere near the athletic prowess that Peters does. He's also a much less dynamic personality than Peters, as he handles the media well (and provides some comic relief in the process) and isn't the type to make waves regarding his contract status. He's a pro's pro - solid, unspectacular, and consistent to the point that he's able to mask his deficiencies, which in his case are his size and how it meshes into the athletic demands of his new position.
Clearly, Walker has big shoes to fill. As he is protecting the blind side of QB Trent Edwards - who has missed all or part of seven games due to various injuries in his first two seasons - Walker's importance is obvious. Without Edwards, the Bills' season is likely over, and without solid play from Walker, the chances of getting a full season out of a healthy Edwards are slim to none.
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Rumblings Book Review: Joe D's Tales From The Buffalo Bills
by sireric
on Jul 1, 2009 8:00 AM EDT
in Opinion
16 comments
"Back when I was playing, we used to take cabs to the game from the hotel when we traveled. One time, while we were playing the Patriots in Foxboro, a cabby almost spoiled our gameplan. The guy who picked up our quarterback, Joe Ferguson, was a huge Pats fan.
He recognized who he had in his cab, so instead of heading for Foxboro Stadium, he hijacked Joe and took him in the other direction. Joe had no reason to know the Boston area that well, and didn't realize that he was going the wrong way.
When he finally did realize what was going on, he jumped out of the cab and managed to get another one. This guy was more cooperative, and Joe got to the stadium in the nick of time. There were only 10 minutes left before kick off when he came running into our locker room screaming that he'd been kidnapped."
Let that be a lesson for you: never trust cabbies, unless it's this guy. Former Bills Pro Bowl guard and Hall of Fame member Joe DeLamielleure provides us with the material for the latest installment of Rumblings Book Review. Co-authored by Micheal Benson, Joe D's Tales From The Buffalo Bills follows Joe D from his early days at Michigan State, through his years with the Bills and finally ending with his trade to the Cleveland Browns. Joe doles out lots of love in this one, starting with some of the fellow rookies he came to the Bills with - guys like Merv Krakau, John Skorupan, and Joe Ferguson. He then talks about the fans of the Buffalo Bills and how great we are (which we of course know), and finally he talks an awful lot about "The Electric Company" and "The Juice" - and why not? That is a major part of Joe D's time with the Bills.
Joe DeLamielleure gives us a unique look into the life of an NFL player in the 1970s, detailing everything from the pitfalls of traveling in other cities (see above quote) to the different ways they would try to make extra spending cash between games and in the off season. He also seems to have a pretty good sense of humor, as there are plenty of comical stories to keep you amused.
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Top 50 All-Time Bills, No. 37: TE Pete Metzelaars
by Kurupt
on Jun 30, 2009 12:15 PM EDT
in Top 50 All-Time Bills
16 comments
TE Pete Metzelaars (1985-1994) | 6'7", 254 lbs.
Notable Achievements: Retired as the all-time leader in games played by a TE (235), Member of Bills' 50th Anniversary Team
Peter Henry Metzelaars was born on May 24, 1960 in Three Rivers, Michigan. After graduating from Portage Central High where he was the starting quarterback on the football team and the starting center on the basketball team, Pete went on to star as a two-sport athlete at Wabash College. He played for former Kansas State and current Ball State head coach Stan Parrish at Wabash. As was the case for much of his career, Metzelaars proved he was a hard-working overachiever that never took anything for granted when he was getting ready to go to college:
"I wasn't a standout, all-star kind of guy. I had some success, but not great success in high school so I wasn't getting recruited by any big-name schools and getting full-ride scholarship offers. It just came down to what I thought was going to be best for me and the best education I was going to get."
He was a standout at Wabash, both on the field and on the court, earning the nickname "The Wabash Cannonball". After being recruited as a 190-pound quarterback, Metzelaars grew into a prototypical tight end. He finished his career with 77 catches for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns, and was named first team All-American in 1981. He was much more prolific on the hardwood where he still holds a number of Wabash records. He is currently second in school history with 1,976 points scored and first with 1,176 rebounds, having finished his career averaging 19.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
Quite the athlete, that Metzelaars.
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Tuesday Morning Bills Trivia
by sireric
on Jun 30, 2009 8:00 AM EDT
in Events
29 comments
I've been reading a lot of Buffalo Bills-related material lately, the results of which can be found here. The increased Bills knowledge has really improved my trivia contest making skills, if I do say so myself. It is becoming harder and harder to make these without making them super tough. I'm not really sure what the point of saying all of that is other than to have something for the intro, which most of you don't even read. Okay, trivia away.
Mystery Player 1
I was a Cyclone.
I was a defensive end in college but moved to linebacker in the pros.
I was in the same draft class as Joe DeLamielleure.
I wore number 52.
Mystery Player 2
I attended Notre Dame.
My likeness is on Ray Abruzzese's 1964 Topps football card.
I was the color commentator for Bills broadcasts for a time.
I signed Eric's copy of Tale of the Tape. (Hope you paid attention!)
Mystery Player 3
I attended East Tennessee State University.
I also attended Alabama at Birmingham University.
I am currently the defensive backs coach at Austin Peay University.
I played for three NFL teams during my career.
Mystery Player 4
I was a teammate of Jim Kelly's in both Buffalo and with the Houston Gamblers.
Other than the Bills, the only other NFL team that I played for was the Kansas City Chiefs.
I am a member of the Arena Football League Hall Of Fame.
I was an All-American in both 1980 and 1981.
***Extra Credit***
Who caught Jim Kelly's first ever touchdown pass as a Bill? (Hope you watched that video!)
Who or what did the Bills trade to the Seattle Seahawks for Pete Metzelaars?
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Ten Bills to Decide 2009, No. 8: DE Aaron Maybin
by Brian Galliford
on Jun 29, 2009 12:15 PM EDT
in News
50 comments
Earlier this month, we took a look back at the woeful sack production that the Buffalo Bills have put forth over the past two seasons. When that piece aired, many of you astutely pointed out that the Bills' defensive issues extend beyond the ability to tackle opposing quarterbacks; the issues, instead, lie in the team's general inability to apply any sort of consistent pressure to make things happen defensively. The best defenses in the NFL make things happen via pressure, and Buffalo's defense has been woefully inadequate in that department for the past 32 games.
Penn State DE Aaron Maybin was drafted by the Bills for a reason. He's here to fix that problem.
For a rookie carrying as much burden as Maybin is (seriously, how many rookie defensive ends are counted on to revive an entire pass rush for a team with playoff aspirations?), he's in as solid a situation as possible given the team he was drafted to. He won't have to start. The Bills have three solid veterans to surround Maybin with. But that's where the comfort level for Maybin ends. Without an above-average rookie contribution from Maybin, not a whole lot will change for the better on the defensive side of the ball in Buffalo, and the team could very well be staring a full decade of playoff-less football in the face.
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