Buffalo Bills All-Time Mount Rushmore.
By: Mike Lindsley
One of the most heartbroken sports franchises of all-time is the Buffalo Bills. Their fans cannot stop crying after the 1990’s run that saw four straight AFC titles and four straight Super Bowl losses. The bright side? Amazing Hall of Famers, a run that will never again be duplicated in the NFL, loyalty, being in it every year for a title and unmatched, to this day, interaction with a fan base from many players who still live in the area. Here is the “ML All-Time Mount Rushmore Series” continued with the Buffalo Bills (reminder, this can include owners and coaches because it isn’t a league-wide Mount Rushmore, it is a franchise).
Jim Kelly. Kelly didn’t want to come to Buffalo. Good thing that he eventually did. He became a fan favorite after he got rid of the attitude and became a Hall of Fame QB. Led the “K-Gun” and “Hurry-Up” offense that became famous in Orchard Park. The face of the franchise for his entire career. Kelly finished all of his NFL years as a Bill, which makes his legacy in Buffalo even more special and his #12 jersey continues to sell year after year to all generations. An incredible 35,000-plus yards throwing and 237 touchdowns. He made the entire offense better during the four straight Super Bowl appearances. Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. His recent battle with cancer brought fans closer to him and almost made people appreciate him even more. Kelly is a Buffalo hero, as a person and a player. And through the years, is without question the face of the overall franchise since it became one in 1960 (AFL).
Bruce Smith. The greatest defensive player in franchise history. BRUUUUCE still resonates across Western New York. The anchor of the 1990’s defense. 11-time Pro Bowl player. Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. 1980’s and 1990’s All-Decade Teams. Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame and his #78 retired. Four-time AFC Player of the Year. Nine-time First Team All-Pro. The old saying is that you only need one amazing pass rusher to get to the ultimate position in football, quarterback. Well, Bruce was that. There was one level. And then there was the Bruce Smith level. All-time NFL sacks leader with 200 on the nose, most of those coming in his prime as a Bill. Dominated the NFL across the board from 1985-1999. The thing that always gets overlooked is that Bruce Smith, before the real hype age with social media and the Internet surge, exceeded the hype as a #1 overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech. Not many can say that. Don’t blame Bruce for the Bills not winning a Super Bowl. He faced every double team and every tough running back as an “extra” blocker in the league. Smith is a member of the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame. Finally, the Bills had a lot of other great players in the 1990’s. But Bruce made them all better, on both sides of the ball, a sign of a true champion player.
Jack Kemp. Kemp led the Bills to four playoff appearances and two AFL championships, the only titles in franchise history. Say what you want, but those counted as rings then. Kemp threw an amazing, accurate deep ball that gets overlooked from that era. Kemp was also classy as ever and held Buffalo in high regard until his dying days. He crossed over into politics successfully and carried the Buffalo Bills franchise in the best possible way as a politician. O.J. Simpson doesn’t make this list, not because he wasn’t a good player, but simply because he wasn’t Jack Kemp and we all know why.
Thurman Thomas. The fourth spot on these lists is typically the toughest. In this case, the third and fourth are the toughest after the no-brainers of Kelly and Smith. Ralph Wilson Jr., Marv Levy, Andre Reed and a host of others are left off the list and it isn’t easy. But Thurman Thomas makes it because he was a flat-out game-changer. And one of the Top 5 “all-around” players I’ve seen on either side of the ball. You had to game plan around him. He was the single focus all the time, in every game, including postseason. He is also underrated as an all-purpose historical back in an NFL offense. Call him a pioneer. Teams tried to draft running backs and mold them into Thurman Thomas-types once #34 was dominating NFL defenses. How many guys could really catch it and run it like Thomas in the league’s history? Five? Sayers-Faulk-Dickerson-you get the point. He could run it short if there was no fullback in there or run it long. He could catch it and go. Thomas also caught the deep ball anywhere on the field. Nothing was more pretty during the Super Bowl Bills era than a screen play to Thomas, who ran in and out and around an amazing offensive line for a big gain or even to the end zone. He may have lost his helmet before Super Bowl XXVI against Washington, but he was absolutely a heart and soul guy of the team. Thomas rushed for more than 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons (1989-1996). Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Thomas would gain around 2,200 total yards minimum from scrimmage per season in today’s NFL. He was that good. 1991 NFL MVP. Finally, Thomas is a beloved and active figure in the Buffalo community to this day. O.J. Simpson is not. It’s a hard pick between two all-purpose backs and amazing NFL players, but that should count for something too, considering what O.J. ended-up being. Players are always tied to the franchises they played for later in life no matter what. Simpson hasn’t represented the Bills well while Thomas has, at the stadium and in the Buffalo community. Simpson deserves to die in jail while the “Thurmanator” deserves to be on this list.