Buffalo Rumblings' Best of the Bills Team: OT
by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:59 AM EDT
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Welcome to another ballot for Buffalo Rumblings' Best of the Bills Team! Over the past couple of weeks, we have started assembling a team of all-time Bills greats, and today that continues as we begin putting together our offensive line.
The Bills have, throughout their history, had some fantastic offensive line units. "The Electric Company" opened up holes for O.J. Simpson, one of the NFL's all-time greatest rushers (and not a member of our illustrious team). The unit that blocked during the heyday of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed wasn't half bad, either.
Today, we start assembling our offensive line by voting in two starting tackles. Here, Rumblers - as nominated by our very own kaisertown - are the four offensive tackle candidates:
Stew Barber ('61-'69): The Bills are lucky to have Barber as part of their history. Barber was drafted twice in 1961 - in the third round of the NFL Draft (by Dallas, no less), and in the fourth round by Buffalo in the AFL Draft. Barber chose the Bills, and in his nine professional seasons, he was a part of two championship teams, was elected to five Pro Bowls and was named first team All Pro twice. The 6'2", 250 pound Barber also left guard and linebacker during his time in Buffalo, displaying a versatility that today's NFL players simply don't have.
Dick Hudson ('63-'67): Hudson spent one season as a San Diego Charger - his rookie year of 1962 - before ending his six-year career with five straight seasons as a Bill. Hudson was Stew Barber's bookend during the team's two championship seasons of 1964 and 1965; in his five seasons in Buffalo, he was the team's starting right tackle for four of them, earning a Pro Bowl bid along with Barber in 1965. Barber was the "road grader" of his era; weighing in at 272 pounds, he was a huge asset blocking for running backs Cookie Gilchrist and Wray Carlton.
Joe Devlin ('76-'89): Quite simply stated, Devlin is one of the most unheralded Bills players of all-time. During his 14-year career (all spent in Buffalo), Devlin started a whopping 179 games, the vast majority of them at right tackle. Devlin played during some of Buffalo's worst seasons record-wise - likely a large factor into why he's so underappreciated in Bills lore - but to perform as a starting offensive lineman anywhere for 14 years is an outstanding feat. A 6'5", 261-pound tackle would not hold up for long in today's NFL, but Devlin and his blue-collar work ethic made it work for a decade and a half. He was never elected to a Pro Bowl.
Will Wolford ('86-'92): Best remembered as the Pro Bowl left tackle for the Bills' early Super Bowl teams of the Marv Levy era, Wolford would go on to play six more seasons in the NFL after leaving Buffalo (three in Indianapolis, three in Pittsburgh). Wolford was replaced by John Fina for the last Super Bowl season, but before he left Buffalo, he was a two-time Pro Bowl left tackle as a former first-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt. His legacy in Buffalo may be a bit overstated because of the performance of the teams he was on, but two Pro Bowls and 102 starts in seven seasons as a Bill is an excellent resume.
Let's hear it, folks. Debate, reminisce, but most importantly, cast your vote!
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How is Devlin beating Barber?
McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year
by poz on Jun 19, 2008 12:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
yeah
I get that Devlin was here a long time and that a bunch of people on this site saw him play, but that pretty much nobody saw Barber play and that those are two big factors, but …...
Stew Barber had the best career of any Bills tackle in the history of the team. Pro Bowls and Championships and he played a little defense too.
by kaisertown on Jun 19, 2008 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jason
Peters should be on that list. Even if he’s only played a couple of seasons for us… he’s still the most dominant tackle we’ve EVER had. I don’t see why you have to have some kind of longevity with the team to make the list. It should be the best player to don a Bills uniform, not the players with most tenure. If tenure is that big of a factor then Frank Reich is one of the all-time great Bills QBs. People may not want to admit it, but Travis Henry was probably the third best RB in Bills history… maybe not statistically, but certainly from a pure RB standpoint.
"I don't agree with a damn thing you say, but I would die for your right to say it."
by ForeignArrow on Jun 19, 2008 1:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
An all time great Bill
should actually play for the team at a high level for a while, don’t you think? Would Thomas be one of the Dolphins all time great RBs? Is Brett Farve the Falcons best QB ever? I know these are not exactly apples to apples comparisons, but you get the point.
by Joe P. on Jun 19, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think you have to find a balance between consistency, tenure and great play, Foreign. Peters may very well one day be mentioned as Buffalo’s best offensive tackle ever. But one Pro Bowl season does not a franchise all-time great make.
As for Henry, you’re right – in his early years, he ran like one of the most talented Bills runners ever not named Orenthal or Thurman. But there were players with similar stats from better teams that deserved the nomination more.
by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
House Ballard Anyone?
Doesn’t 4 Super Bowls and 2 Pro Bowls count for something? Pulled on the counter trey and moved the pile on the right toss play. He was truly the lone beast on what was otherwise a finesse OL. And the player to his left changed often (Devlin, John Davis, Vogler etc.)
Maybe there should be a Left Tackle, Right Tackle breakout – very different positions to play.
by freddyjj on Jun 19, 2008 2:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sure, four Super Bowls and two Pro Bowls counts for something. But this isn’t a “let’s re-name the Bills Super Bowl lineup the Best of the Bills Team”. I’m trying to span generations with this exercise, because there were more great teams Bills teams than the ones we saw in the 1990s, and there were great players that played on some crappy Bills teams.
So, with kaisertown’s help, I chose a couple of tackles who the vast majority of us haven’t seen play. I chose Wolford from the Super Bowl teams because, simply put, he was a better player than Ballard. This isn’t anything against House – he was excellent, especially considering he was a 7th round draft pick – but I don’t think he was better than any of the guys that were nominated above.
by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well then I have a football card of House with some faulty information. :)
Good catch – 11th round, 283rd overall.
by Brian Galliford on Jun 19, 2008 7:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The other Joe D
Devlin belongs on this team as he was a great lineman; however, he was one of the most underrated players in Bills and NFL history. Steady and workmanlike, Devlin went unheralded by the press and fans, by and large because of his low profile and disinterest in becoming a media darling, as several Bills’ players of his era, especially during the late 80s, would make a regular part of their work week. Nothing wrong with that, but Devlin went unnoticed and unappreciated as he silently toiled on several losing teams. Other players, however, on the Bills or their opponents, during this time and afterwards (see Steve Tasker’s book), will tell you what a solid professional athlete this man was and how he neutralized and even dominated some of the best defensive lineman of that period. Joe Devlin belongs on this team—a true professional who gave his all every practice and every game, despite the standings. He was a true Buffalo Bill who epitomized the no frills, hard-work ethic that put Buffalo on the map. Yes, Buffalo had two great “Joe Ds.”
by tsea on Jul 16, 2008 9:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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