Running Back
No. 32
USC
"Nobody put the squeeze on O.J. in 1972. In game No. 2 of the regular season, he roared past his boyhood heroes, the San Francisco 49ers, for 138 yards on 29 carries.
'It was the best game I've ever played in the pros,' he said later. Simpson went on to gain 1,251 yards rushing. In fact, he passed 1,000 in his 11th game. O.J. had a 94-yard burst against Pittsburgh to set a team record and topped 100 yards six times in 1972.
On everyone's All-NFL teams, Simpson averaged 4.3 yards a carry as he lugged the ball more than anyone in the AFC. Then for a finale, he won the MVP honor in the Pro Bowl game, his first.
'It was a fun game,' he said later. 'I haven't had too many of those in my pro career.' His turnabout in 1972 was attributed to two things: (1) he lost 11 pounds and (2) his new coach, Lou Saban, let him run more often."
-Jim Benagh, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition
No. 32
USC
"Nobody put the squeeze on O.J. in 1972. In game No. 2 of the regular season, he roared past his boyhood heroes, the San Francisco 49ers, for 138 yards on 29 carries.
'It was the best game I've ever played in the pros,' he said later. Simpson went on to gain 1,251 yards rushing. In fact, he passed 1,000 in his 11th game. O.J. had a 94-yard burst against Pittsburgh to set a team record and topped 100 yards six times in 1972.
On everyone's All-NFL teams, Simpson averaged 4.3 yards a carry as he lugged the ball more than anyone in the AFC. Then for a finale, he won the MVP honor in the Pro Bowl game, his first.
'It was a fun game,' he said later. 'I haven't had too many of those in my pro career.' His turnabout in 1972 was attributed to two things: (1) he lost 11 pounds and (2) his new coach, Lou Saban, let him run more often."
-Jim Benagh, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition
CAN O.J. SIMPSON BRING CHAMPAGNE TO THE BUFFALO BILLS
He Claims The Bad Times Are Over, Has Dedicated Himself To The Team, And Coach Lou Saban Is Building An AFC Challenger Around Him
"The audience was usual at a sports banquet- full-blown corporate types, almost exclusively male, easy to please. The gags were authentic antiques, but the laughs rewarded them as they were freely-minted wit.
'I'm happy to be in Phoenix,' announced O.J. Simpson from the podium. 'In fact, after five months in Buffalo, I'm happy to be anywhere.'
The yuks rolled in a tidal wave up to the dias.
It's been like that for five football seasons between O.J. and the old, sometimes dowdy Queen City by the of the Great Lakes.
In 1969 O.J. galloped out of the West as the greatest pro prospect of all time. The Dallas Cowboys' computer certified him as a bona fide NFL superstar before he took his first NFL handoff. BLESTO and CEPO and all those other scouting acronyms competed to bestow superlatives.
But by 1969 the common draft was in operation as a result of the shotgun marriage between the old American Football League and the NFL. In 1968 the Buffalo Bills had finished with the worst record in pro football, thereby winning the privilege of drafting before any other pro club.
Simpson's options were these: 1. sign with Buffalo; 2. play in the Canadian League; 3. accept the tantalizing offer before him from the Orlando Panthers- a pile more money, all the orange drink he could drink and virtual obscurity.
Halfway through the Bills' training camp, he signed with Buffalo.
For three seasons O.J. was a good back with a bad team. Not a great back, a good one. The man who moved mountains at Southern California was listed behind ball carriers like Carl Garrett and Floyd Little and even the aging Leroy Kelly in his own American Conference. When All-Pro and Pro Bowl time came, O.J. was not listed.
The Buffalo clubs he played with were poor ones. But then, he didn't do all that much to make them better. In 1971 the Bills won only one of 14 games. That was worse than the 1-12-1 record they had in 1968 when they qualified to draft him.
But his apologists rallied to his side.
'He should be playing in L.A. ... or San Francisco,' they said. 'He belongs there ... the common draft is unfair ... he should be able to play with a good team in a good town ... O.J. Simpson playing in Buffalo is like casting pearls before swine.'
So one day last summer, in the middle of their training camp, the Bills called a press conference. Its content was stunning. O.J. Simpson had decided to sign a new contract with Buffalo. It would begin after the 1972 season, the last year of his old contract. The new one would bind him to the Bills through 1976, and probably through the balance of his playing career.
Why?
'I just couldn't bear to go through the entire 1972 season with everyone asking me if I was going to play out my option and try to sign with another team every time we visited a new city,' he explained.
'Why do I want to stay with the Bills in Buffalo?
'The answer is pretty elementary. I cried with these guys who are my teammates. Some day I want to drink champagne with them.'
The scene switches to Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, December 17. It's cold enough to frost your eyelashes. The Bills are playing the Washington Redskins, who, a month later, will trot to the Los Angeles Coliseum floor to represent the National Conference in the 1973 Super Bowl. The Redskins ration touchdowns in a miserly way. You just don't run against their defense.
O.J. ran against it.
He ran for his sixth 100-yard-plus day of the season. It gave him the ground-gaining championship of the National Football League, 1,251 yards on 292 carries.
In a year when Larry Csonka, Larry Brown, Ron Johnson, Franco Harris, Marv Hubbard, John Brockington, Calvin Hill, Mike Garrett and Mercury Morris made it the year of the running back, each gaining 1,000 or more yards, O.J. from the lowly Bills was the best of all.
That day against the Redskins he ran so well that the Bills upset the NFC champs, 24-17. Five weeks later in Dallas, when they played the Pro Bowl, he proved he was the best again, blazing to another 100-plus day, keying the AFC's victory, and winning the most valuable player award.
'I think we've arrived. I think I'm a better runner than I've ever been since coming to the pros,' he says. 'The Buffalo Bills are going to be a good team. You watch.'
He may have something there. At least eventually.
The Bills won only four games and tied one last year. But half their schedule was played against playoff teams- Miami twice, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Oakland, San Francisco and Washington.
They beat the Redskins, 49ers, tied Detroit and lost to the Dolphins by one point. It won't get them into the Hall of Fame, but it was the best showing by a Buffalo team in half a dozen seasons.
This year the schedule is a bit more reasonable with Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta, Cincinnati and San Diego replacing some of the heavyweights.
But the biggest difference in the future of O.J. and the Bills is the master plan devised by Lou Saban, who returned to Buffalo as head coach after an absence of six years.
Saban was the first pro coach who O.J. had recognized and attempted to capitalize on it to the fullest.
'You see that man?' Saban asked his wide receivers one day, attempting to teach them the crackback block. 'If you do your job and get O.J. some room to run outside, he's going to put some money in your pocket.
'He's your bread and butter.'
Saban's reasoning worked, even against great odds. The Bills were cursed with a blight of injuries just where it would hurt O.J. the most, in the offensive line. Seven guards missed all or at least 90% of the season due to injury or illness. It ravaged four centers and four tackles.
Still, the Bills ran and O.J. gained big yardage.
Now, Saban has been busy trying to assemble a team O.J. can drink champagne with.
His first two draft choices were offensive linemen- a couple of studs from the Big Ten- tackle Paul Seymour of Michigan and guard Joe DeLamielleure of Michigan State (who may, however, by physically unable to play pro ball).
A trade Saban made last year should pay off in '73. He acquired veteran guard Irv Goode from St. Louis and Goode immediately became Simpson's No. 1 bodyguard. 'He just seems to grow in the hole,' marveled O.J., who appreciates good blocking.
But Goode tore up a knee against the Bears in Chicago in the next-to-last exhibition game. He missed the season.
Center Bruce Jarvis, a 6-7 youngster who could be All-Pro in a couple of years, tore up a knee in the opener and sat down for the season. Starting guard Jim Reilly never got past the first physical. A kidney ailment drydocked him for '72.
Their misfortune may eventually turn into good fortune for the Bills, however, since in their absence rookie guard Reggie McKenzie became a quality player and Dave Foley, the ex-Jet whom Saban picked up on waivers, contributed greatly as a starting tackle even though he was playing on an injured leg.
The Bills now, emphasizing O.J., are a running team but they have other skills. Don Shula calls receiver J.D. Hill 'a potential Paul Warfield.' The other receiver, Bob Chandler, is first-rate. The young defense has big potential with players Walt Patulski, Pro Bowl cornerback Robert James and tackle Don Croft.
O.J.'s pals are still developing, but that champagne may not be so many seasons in the future."
-Larry Felser, Football Digest, August 1973
"O.J. Simpson of Buffalo, No. 1 running back in the NFL last season, sums up the difference between college and pro ball this way: 'In college, I always expected to get through the line and then I would meet the defensive back. The pros are different. I get belted by linebackers head-on. They can really zing you. And as for linemen in the pro league, I think I've met every lineman in the league face-to-face."
-John Kuenster, Football Digest (September 1973)
"The NFL's leading rusher in 1972, O.J. had the longest run from scrimmage in the league with a 94-yard touchdown run against the Steelers on October 29. He rushed for 189 yards in that game."
-1973 Topps No. 500
JIM BRAXTON
Running Back
No. 34
West Virginia
"Jim comes equipped with quickness, blocking and pass-catching ability. He has excellent potential as both as a runner and receiver. He was an All-American at West Virginia."
-1973 Topps No. 154
J.D. HILL
Wide Receiver
No. 40
Arizona State
"Hill came into the NFL as a flashy collegian who caught 115 passes for 1,886 yards and 21 touchdowns. He felt pro ball was going to be a breeze. It wasn't.
'Catching the ball and running with it is no problem,' he says. 'But running a pass pattern is self-discipline.' J.D. didn't get to play until the ninth game of 1971. His first catch wasn't noteworthy but his next two were for touchdowns. He's been a solid star ever since.
In 1972 Hill caught 52 passes, fourth best in the AFC, and scored five touchdowns. His percentage of 14.5 was impressive, too. J.D. made four catches and six crackback blocks as the Bills beat Philadelphia.
'I came to the pros thinking it would be easy,' he says, looking back. 'But the best wide receivers have been playing five, six, seven, eight years.'"
-Jim Benagh, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition
"The Bills' leading receiver in 1972, J.D. finished in a tie with Gary Garrison for fourth place in the AFC rankings. Among his five touchdowns was one for 58 yards."
-1973 Topps No. 69
BOB CHANDLER
Wide Receiver
No. 81
USC
"A sure-handed youngster with the moves of a much more experienced receiver, Bob is a tireless worker. He led USC receivers in each of his varsity seasons."
-1973 Topps No. 336
LINZY COLE
Wide Receiver
No. 26
Texas Christian
"Acquired from the Oilers after the start of the 1972 season, Linzy was the Bills' second leading return artist. He has excellent speed, quickness and good hands."
-1973 Topps No. 449
JAN WHITE
Tight End
No. 80
Ohio State
"Typical of the new breed of tight end- fast. White has done the 40-yard dash in 4.4 or 4.5 seconds every time he's been clocked. He's a former Pennsylvania high school hurdles champion.
'Most clubs are going to the faster tight end,' he says, 'so they can't be covered by a linebacker. If a safety is tied up covering a tight end, it takes away the opponent's ability to double-cover a wide receiver.' He hasn't had the opportunity to be on the receiving end much, though. As a rookie, he caught 13 passes for 130 yards. Last season he grabbed 12 for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
He's added 20 pounds to his college playing weight. White started for three years at Ohio State and the Buckeyes lost only two games."
-Jim Benagh, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition
"The best blocking tight end the Bills have ever had, Jan possesses excellent attitude and football sense. He took over as the starting tight end in his rookie season."
-1973 Topps No. 476
PAUL SEYMOUR
Tight End
1st Round
Michigan
"The seventh man taken in the entire 1973 draft. O.J. should love him. Seymour runs the 40 in 4.8 and was a powerful tight end before moving to tackle as a senior. He upped his weight from 210 to 250 to make the conversion. Paul is the brother of pro receiver Jim Seymour.
'He could handle just about anybody one-on-one,' says his college coach Bo Schembechler.
Seymour makes furniture as a hobby."
-Jim Benagh, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1973 Edition
"Paul started his college career as a tight end. He's known as the brother of Jim Seymour, All-American of Notre Dame. He grew into a tackle prospect after catching six passes for 63 yards as a junior (a lot at run-oriented Michigan) and successfully made the switch to the key spot in the Michigan ground attack. 'I made the switch to tackle for the good of the team and because I could see my future in football was at tackle,' Seymour says of the move.
He was selected by Buffalo as the seventh collegian and is considered by scouts as a hot pro prospect. He should help protect O.J. Simpson."
-Football Digest, August 1973
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