Buffalo Bills Annual Information: 1971 Buffalo Bills Outlook

TEAM DIRECTORY

President: Ralph Wilson, Jr.

General Manager: Bob Lustig

Head Coach: John Rauch

Assistant Coaches: Marvin Bass, Chuck Gottfried, Ralph Hawkins, Bobby Hunt

Trainer: Ed Abromoski

Office: 69 West Mohawk St., Buffalo, NY, 14202

Stadium: War Memorial (46, 206)

Colors: Royal Blue, White, Scarlet

Training Camp: Niagara University, Niagara, NY

-The Complete Handbook of Pro Football (1971 Edition)

IN BRIEF

Probable 1971 Finish: 4th (AFC Eastern)

Strengths: a strong air game with Shaw passing, Briscoe and Moses receiving, excellent linebacking and a dependable secondary.

Biggest Needs: complete comebacks by Simpson, Patrick and Stratton, and improved pass protection.

1970 finish: 4th (AFC Eastern, 3-10-1)

-Brenda Zanger, Pro Football 1971

"It looks as if the Bills will be getting a new Stadium in Buffalo and may not have to move to Seattle after all. By the time the new playing field is ready, maybe the Bills' promising youngsters will have jelled into a contending team. As far as the Bills are concerned, there is no place to go but up. They probably would have won more than three games even last year if not for serious injuries which tore the team apart.
Number one on the comeback list is halfback O.J. Simpson, who will be entering his third pro season and still has to live up to expectations. Simpson looked to be on his way last year until he injured his knee on November 8; he avoided surgery but missed the rest of the season. It wasn't only Simpson's loss, however, which destroyed the Bills' ground game. Wayne Patrick, slated to be the starting fullback this year, and substitutes Max Anderson and Greg Jones were also hit by injuries which kept them from playing anywhere from five games to the entire season. Jones and Anderson are the reserves behind Simpson, and Roland Moss, acquired from San Diego last year, should add depth at halfback. Patrick is expected to meet strong competition from third round draft choice Jim Braxton of West Virginia, also a good place kicker.
If the running game hadn't been destroyed then Buffalo's passing game might have been more dangerous in 1970. Rookie of the Year Dennis Shaw emerged as a fine pro quarterback and a team leader. There's depth with Jim Harris and Dan Darragh available. Harris is a strong-armed youngster who filled in for Shaw late in the year. The rookie is Busty Underwood, a 6-3, 216-pounder from Texas Christian.
Complementing Shaw last year, and maybe helping him look extra good in his rookie season, were two exceptional pass catchers- Marlin Briscoe and Haven Moses. They stayed healthy last year and, therefore, rookies Glenn Alexander and Clyde Glosson didn't see much action. Added strength this season should come from Ike Hill, who is moving from cornerback to offense, where he starred in college. But hopefully the big threat will come number one draft choice J.D. Hill of Arizona State, who has frightening speed and excellent reflexes. He could break open some games on punt and kickoff returns, too. As a great a prospect as J.D. is, where is he going to play? Ahead of Moses or Briscoe? Unlikely.
With good speed from the wide receivers, it really doesn't matter much that tight end Austin Denney isn't a deep threat; acquired from Chicago last year, Denney, a second-year pro, is developing into a good blocker and short-yardage receiver. He'll defend his starting job against Willie Grate, who saw limited action last year. The biggest challenge, however, could come from second round draft choice Jan White, a crusher at Ohio State. White has great speed for a big man.
Last year's line was not outstanding on pass protection- the Bills' quarterbacks were sacked 53 times. Going into training camp, only right tackle Paul Costa seems to be a shoo-in for a starting job. Howard Kindig, the starting left tackle last season, will meet competition from Art Laster, who showed potential as a rookie, and 11th round draft choice Andy Browder, a 6-4, 255-pounder from Texas A&I. Offensive captain Joe O'Donnell will be challenged at right guard by Jerome Gantt, a second-year man, and left guards Rich Cheek and Jim Reilly will continue their battle for the starting berth they shared as rookies last year. Center Frank Marchlewski will be challenged by young Wayne Fowler and rookie Bruce Jarvis. Fowler and Jarvis are bigger, but Marchlewski is a veteran pro.
Defensively, linebacking is the Bills' strength. Edgar Chandler moved into the middle linebacking job last year and performed well. Mike Stratton, entering his ninth pro season, missed six games because of an injury but is expected to be fully recovered this year. Paul Guidry, beginning his fourth season as the strong-side linebacker, shows improvement each year. The reserves are Al Andrews, who replaced Stratton last season until he was injured, too, J.C. Collins, who didn't play much in '70, Dick Cunningham, the backup MLB, and Mike McCaffrey, who filled in at right linebacker last year but is more comfortable behind Guidry on the left. The rookies are Bob Strickland and Bill McKinley.
The secondary appears set with cornerbacks Butch Byrd and Robert James and safeties Pete Richardson and John Pitts. Byrd will be backed by Alvin Wyatt at right corner (Wyatt came to Buffalo from Oakland in a trade for Bill Enyart). James, who will face a challenge from rookie Tom Beamer, is a hard hitter with good speed who worked his way up to a starting berth after signing with Buffalo as a free agent. Second-string safety Jackie Allen will be a strong contender for a job; he filled in at both corner and safety last year.
In what is said by the players to be a continuing purge of veterans, left defensive end Ron McDole was traded to the swap-happy Washington Redskins in May. However, in a training camp battle for the job, Al Cowlings probably would have come out on top anyway. Last year Cowlings played on the right side, and the 6-5, 258-pound rookie was the Bills' strongest pass rusher. The right end job will go to either veteran Mike McBath, who held the job in '69, or to Louis Ross or Jim Hoots, both rookies. Ross is said to have unusual speed for a 6-6, 238-pounder. Right tackle Bob Tatarek lost time because of an injury last year. He'll be challenged by Julian Nunamaker, who held the job in his absence. There was talk that left tackle Jim Dunaway, an eight-year veteran, might follow McDole in the trade exodus. But the Bills would be short-handed without him. Backup tackle Waddey Harvey can also fill at either end.
The placekicking chores will be handled by Grant Guthrie, who replaced Bruce Alford last year, unless rookie fullback Braxton beats him out. Guthrie set a Buffalo record with a 52-yard field goal and wound up scoring 54 points on 10 field goals and 24 conversions. If punter Paul Maguire retires this year, as has been suspected, Steve Schroder, Dave Chapple and rookie Jim Sheffield will battle for the job. Maguire had only a 38.9-yard average last year."

-Brenda Zanger, Pro Football 1971

"After compiling a 33-8-1 record in three years as coach of the Raiders, Johnny Rauch took over a Bill team in 1968 that was full of great old names, ballplayers who had been fan favorites since the birth of the club in 1960. But all players, no matter how great, eventually have to go, the victims of time and cumulative injuries. Rauch, an unsentimental man, speeded them on their way, year after year, trying to build a new team with young men.

Last season, after the Bills had won only five games in two years, Rauch just about cleaned out the last of the old-guard Bill players. Cornerback Booker Edgerson was traded to Boston. Middle linebacker Harry Jacobs was put on waivers. Free safety George Saimes, once a perennial All-Pro, was waived. The Bills won three games, tied one and lost 10 in 1970.

'The difference between winning and losing a few more games was in the mental errors as much as in the physical shortcomings,' says Rauch. When you make the mental mistake, you're beating yourself- and that's what we did too frequently.'

This is usually the case with youthful, inexperienced ballclubs. And the Bills are nothing if not young- of the 48 veterans who will go to camp with the Bills this year, 31 joined the team in the past two seasons. However, youth alone didn't cause all of the Bills' problems last season.

Injuries hurt them badly. Linebacker Mike Stratton, defensive tackle Bob Tatarek and defensive end Mike McBath all missed large portions of the season. But the area most seriously affected by injuries was the running attack. Max Anderson, the diminutive but very swift backup man for O.J. Simpson, was lost for the entire season, Simpson himself for six games. The next week starting fullback Wayne Patrick was lost and he was followed by a fourth running back, Greg Jones.

Without question the Bill record would have been even worse had it not been for their first two draft choices, defensive end Al Cowlings, who quickly became the team's best pass rusher, and second choice Dennis Shaw, who reported late after a contract dispute, yet won the starting quarterback job in the second game. In the opinion of many scouts, the 6-2, 209-pounder from San Diego State did not have a strong enough arm to be a pro passer. But when Shaw took over in game number two he went on to complete 55.5 percent of his passes, a Bill record for 2,507 yards and ten touchdowns. Shaw showed a good, if not great, passing arm, amazing poise under pressure and excellent leadership abilities. He was voted AFC Rookie of the Year at season's end.

His big games were the victories over the Jets (one against Joe Namath, 34-31, and one without him, 10-3), a 17-17 tie with the eventual world champion Colts, and a 45-10 romp over Boston.

Shaw's favorite targets were wide receivers Marlin Briscoe, the former Denver quarterback who switched to end in Buffalo the year before last, and Haven Moses. Briscoe stands only 5-10, but he is fast, knows how to get open and has excellent hands. He led the AFC in receptions with 57 and was first in the entire league in yardage gained on pass catches with 1,036. Briscoe also caught eight touchdowns. Moses caught only two, but he did grab 39 passes for 726 yards, his average gain of 18.6 yards per catch being slightly better than Briscoe's. The team's tight end, former Bear Austin Denney, was a much better blocker than he was a receiver. His drawback was lack of speed, which is why Buffalo's second draft choice this year was Jan White, a strong, quick tight end from Ohio State. Look for White to win a starting job as a rookie. The team's top draft choice was the most highly rated wide receiver in college ball last season, J.D. Hill from Arizona State. The Bills obviously didn't take him out of need but, says Rauch, 'as the best player available regardless of position. He has burning speed, is very competitive and is a fine kick-return specialist, too.'

The Bills' Player Personnel Director, Harvey Johnson, says that the team 'had as good a draft as we've had since the Bills started. I think we drafted three or four players who should step right in and play, and another four or five who will give their competition a good battle for their jobs.'

Which is fine with Rauch, who says, 'We went to the draft feeling we needed immediate help in three areas- tight end, offensive line and the special teams. I feel we have filled these needs and have also added to our personnel with good size and speed- essentials in the pro game.'

Other rookies who have an excellent chance of earning starting jobs this season are: Bruce Jarvis, a large and agile center from the University of Washington picked in round three; Jim Braxton, another third-round choice, is a hard-nosed fullback from West Virginia who may be faster than incumbent Wayne Patrick; Don Green, the No. 5 choice, is a 6-7, 270-pound offensive tackle from Purdue and may well unseat veteran Howard Kindig.

If the rookies work out as hoped, the Bills will be a surprisingly solid team this season and could upset some of the powers. The keys to the offense are how well the line blocks for Shaw and how good the running of Simpson and his yet unselected backfield partner turns out to be.

The defense finally put together a decent pass rush last season, led by Al Cowlings and veteran tackle Jim Dunaway. Mike McBath will be back at the other end, backed by Ron McDole, and Tatarek will return to his tackle spot. He may not regain it so easily, though, as Julian Nunamaker showed flashes of real talent in his place and could end up as the starter this year.

The linebacking also finally settled itself with young Edgar Chandler doing a very capable job in the middle, and Mike Stratton and Paul Guidry on the outside. Guidry, in his third year as a regular, developed into one of the team's most consistent performers.

With the exception of cornerback Butch Byrd, - who has started every game since 1964- the secondary is young and seemingly set. Hard-hitting Robert James is the other corner, with John Pitts at strong safety and Pete Richardson on the weak side. We say seemingly set because Byrd will have to turn back a heavy challenge from Alvin Wyatt. A tremendous kick returner, Wyatt was acquired from Oakland for fullback Bill Enyart."

-Berry Stainback, Pro Football Forecast For 1971

STRENGTHS: Overall youth; fine rookie group; second-year quarterback Dennis Shaw; improved O.J. Simpson.

WEAKNESSES: Defensive line; lack of receiving depth; kickoff and punt returns; punting; extremely brutal early-season schedule.