Buffalo Rumblings' Best of the Bills Team: TE
by Brian Galliford on Jun 11, 2008 7:52 AM EDT
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Yesterday, Buffalo Rumblings readers and avid Buffalo Bills fans voted three wide receivers - Andre Reed, Eric Moulds and Elbert Dubenion - as starters on this community's "Best of the Bills Team". The three receivers join QB Jim Kelly as the four starters elected thus far.
A fifth starting player will be elected today, and this time, we'll be discussing a position that hasn't had a ton of success in team annals - tight end. Buffalo hasn't had many viable receiving threats at tight end in the team's history; that doesn't mean, however, that there aren't excellent candidates for our All-Star team. Rumblers, here are your three candidates for starting tight end - please vote for the tight end you'd like to make the team:
Ernie Warlick ('62-'65): His receiving stats weren't gaudy (90 career receptions, 1,551 yards, 4 touchdowns), but in just four professional seasons, Warlick made four Pro Bowl appearances. As is the case with tight ends, receiving isn't everything; Warlick was a key blocker for a highly successful rushing tandem in Wray Carlton and Cookie Gilchrist on Buffalo's two championship teams. Warlick is a Buffalo guy - great player who played the anonymous, no-glory roles of a championship football team. He may not be the best Bills tight end ever, but he deserves his candidacy here.
Pete Metzelaars ('85-'94): Easily the most productive receiving tight end in team history, Metzelaars ranks fourth all-time in Buffalo's receiving stat category. A favorite target of Jim Kelly's for the better part of a decade, Metzelaars caught 302 passes and scored 25 touchdowns. No tight end has ever been a bigger part of Buffalo's passing game than has Metzelaars. He is now an assistant coach with the Indianapolis Colts, and finally got a Super Bowl ring for his stellar NFL work in 2006.
Jay Riemersma ('97-'02): It may have surprised you to read that Metzelaars ranked so highly on Buffalo's all-time leading receivers list; it surprised yours truly even more to see that Riemersma ranked highly as well. Coming in at #12 on the list, Riemersma caught 204 passes and scored 20 touchdowns in six seasons as a Bills tight end. A seventh-round draft pick out of Michigan, Riemersma is the last tight end to have donned a Bills uniform that could make plays in the passing game. He was literally a poor man's Metzelaars; had he played in Buffalo longer, he likely would have put up better statistics.
Ladies and gentlemen, your candidates. Let your voting begin. Primaries for running back and offensive linemen continue in the comments section as well.
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Confused a bit
I really don’t see how you could call Riemersma a poor man’s Metzelaars. Jay was probably the best red zone threat we’ve had in a very very long time. As you wrote in your piece Metzelaars scored 25 times with Kelly throwing to him. Riemersma only played in Buffalo for six seasons, had passes thrown to him by a constant QB carousal that wasn’t very good in Flutie and Johnson and still put up 20 TDs. Jay averages nearly 12 yards a catch while Metzelaars put up around 9.7 yards a catch. Look Metzelaars was great no doubt about it but we can’t just keep voting for guys who were part of the Super Bowl era because we remember the good times. We’re voting for the better player and Riemersma was the best TE we’ve ever had. It’s not even that close of a comparison. Jay played on a much worse squad and still put up those numbers. I don’t know, that’s my two cents.
McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year
by poz on Jun 11, 2008 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good points poz
but, it is the “Herd mentality” to remember the good times. What else do we have? If we wanted stats to be the determining factor, we wouldn’t need to vote, just plug and chug. I suspect our All-Star team will be heavily laden with Kelly era guys, as it should be.
by Joe P. on Jun 11, 2008 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Keep in mind...
Metzelaars was not the #1 tight end from 1989-92; Keith McKeller was. So we’re not just selecting the Super Bowl teams intact…
He also wasn’t the top tight end in ‘85 – that player might be a good trivia question. Anyone?
So really, if you compare Metzelaars’ six years as a #1 tight end: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, and 1994 to Riemersma’s six years: 1997-2003 we have:
Metzelaars: 257 rec; 2548 yds; 19 TDs
Riemersma: 204 rec; 2304 yds; 20 TDs
Those are fairly similar stats – and Kelly had far better options at WR/RB than Flutie/Johnson did.
Here’s another interesting fact: Metzelaars scored 19 of his 26 Bills TDs (25 receiving plus one fumble recovery) in the second half, and 7 of those were scored when the Bills were tied or down and went on to win. I think Metzelaars gets a boost from his clutch performances that I don’t remember as well from Riemersma…
by Krenn on Jun 11, 2008 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
good obersvations
good point about McKeller starting 89-92 Krenn. That second half TD stat is pretty amazing too. Oddly enough, I don’t remember Metzelaars being that clutch in my memory. Good stat. But remember in regards to your point about Kelly having better options to use than Flutie/Johnson, from 86-94 the ball was moving through the air a lot more in Buffalo than it was from 97-03, so Metzelaars still may have gotten more looks.
McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year
by poz on Jun 11, 2008 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Metzelaars
is the guy I voted for, because he had the best all-around game (receiving AND blocking) of all the tight ends you listed, Brian.
I understand he was not a home run threat, stretch-the-field kind of receiver you want in a tight end. Yes, he dropped some catchable balls. But he was a great blocker, great enough to earn standing ovations from the O-line during film reviews. How many tight ends get that kind of recognition from their teammates?
Give Pete his due. He earned it.
Get the Bills back to the big game!
by Blitz on Jun 12, 2008 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What was the fate of Remiersma??
GO BLUE!!!
by Kumario! on Jun 11, 2008 2:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
In his second season with the Steelers, he tore an Achilles tendon, which pretty much forced him to retire. He was coaching his hometown high school football team (the Zeeland Chix) for a while, and is now the Midwest Regional Director of Development for the Family Research Council.
by Krenn on Jun 11, 2008 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I took Pete because of my love of the Bills of the early 90's
This is probably going to be the third most lopsided vote of the whole Best of the Bills thing. The only others are of course Jimbo Kelly’s tush whuppin’ he put on the other QBs and the other will be Stevie Tasker’s wood shed whomping of all other ST guys.
Fear the mighty helmet wearing gopher, he is coming for your soul....
by WABillsfan on Jun 11, 2008 2:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The Bills' best tight end ever is Pete Metzelaars.
Ouch.
No offense, Pete.
by jj24 on Jun 11, 2008 4:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, but that's not surprising.
Can you name the best Dolphins tight end? The Patriots best TE is Ben Coates, and the Jets had Mickey Shuler… the Colts add Pollard and Dilger, but that’s all I can think of, so that would put Metzelaars in the top 5 tight ends in AFC East history.
There just aren’t that many really great tight ends – maybe 20 in NFL history. Just ask Dan Marino…
by Krenn on Jun 11, 2008 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
K-Gun?
Why isn’t the guy the Bills named their offense after on the list? Even better, where’s Tony Hunter ?
by the Skycap on Jun 11, 2008 6:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
What about my 2 Favs
Reuben Gantt
and Seriously, Paul Seymour – the TE from the Electric Co. Our 3rd tackle those years!
by freddyjj on Jun 11, 2008 7:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Agreed....
With McKeller and Seymour left off the list… I ain’t votin’!!!!
by Cinga on Jun 11, 2008 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
All considerations, folks. Seymour was very close to replacing Riemersma on this list – he was an excellent tight end, but he was sort of one-dimensional. I feel like the three guys listed above were all good, well-rounded, multi-dimensional players.
Keith McKeller? The guy is famous because the offense was named after him, but he was a pretty ineffective player. There’s a reason Metzelaars was more productive than him from the same team… seriously? Who would you swap out for McKeller?
by Brian Galliford on Jun 11, 2008 8:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah really
They would have called it the Pistol Pete offense, but that nickname was already taken.
The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.
by sireric on Jun 11, 2008 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was tongue in cheek on Gant....
My father hated him; said he dropped too many balls. I agreed. But I also remember Joe F throwing 90 mph fastballs on ten yard passes. Gant was atheltic from what I remember, and played on some bad teams.
by krytime on Jun 12, 2008 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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