1978 Profile: Mario Clark

Cornerback
No. 29
Oregon
"Potentially an outstanding cornerback. Clark intercepted seven passes in his second year, which is outstanding considering that the Bills have no pass rush. He has started every game since the Bills drafted him in 1976.
Clark could become the Bills' land baron if O.J. leaves any over. He majored in architecture and real estate at Oregon, where he had 13 career interceptions and was the first Pacific 8 freshman ever named National Player of the Week. Clark was born in Pasadena, California, near the Rose Bowl, but never played there for lowly Oregon.
He's a bachelor whose hobbies include music, reupholstering furniture and intimidating quarterbacks."

-Dave Newhouse, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1978 Edition

"A very reliable performer for the Bills, Mario shows improvement in every game. Named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 1976, he was credited with defensing 18 passes.
Mario was an All-Pacific 8 selection of both AP and UPI at Oregon. He was an honorable mention AP All-America with 13 career interceptions.
Mario's hobbies include reupholstering furniture."

-1978 Topps, No. 57

1978 Profile: Sherman White

Defensive End
No. 83
California
"What went wrong? The second player taken in the 1972 draft, he had it all, the scouts said, but where did it go? White shouldn't feel too badly, though. Walt Patulski was drafted ahead of him, by Buffalo, and never did a thing, really. White was drafted by Cincinnati, never was one of Paul Brown's favorites and was traded to Buffalo before the 1976 season.
Born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, White was a basketball player in high school and played only two games of football before attending college. He rapidly developed into an All-American as a University of California senior.
White lives in Oakland and works with disadvantaged youth in the off-season."

-Dave Newhouse, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1978 Edition

1978 Profile: Paul Seymour

Tight End
No. 87
Michigan
"How many starting tight ends do you know that could survive while catching only two passes a season? It's possible. Paul Seymour caught that many a year ago and is in no danger of not starting in Buffalo. The reason? He is a bludgeoning blocker.
Reuben Gant, his 'backup,' caught 41 passes. When the Bills want to throw, they bring in Gant and throw to him. If Chuck Knox decides to play Gant more regularly, Seymour will play tackle. But he WILL play.
Born in Detroit, Seymour is one of the finest linemen in University of Michigan history. He was drafted in the first round in 1973, just ahead of DeLamielleure. His brother Jim was a Notre Dame wide receiver who played in the NFL."

-Dave Newhouse, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1978 Edition

"Although his receiving statistics are impressive, Paul's value to the Bills is more as a strong and devastating blocker. A consistent player week after week, he has started 69 of 70 games at tight end since being converted from tackle.
Paul plays the guitar."

-1978 Topps, No. 424

1978 Profile: Reggie McKenzie

Guard
No. 67
Michigan

REGGIE MCKENZIE RECALLS: THE GAME I'LL NEVER FORGET

"With two weeks remaining in the 1973 season, O.J. Simpson was so close, yet so far from something no other running back had ever accomplished- rushing for over 2,000 yards in a single season. He was, to be exact, 416 yards from the coveted plateau. But the mark certainly was within the Buffalo super back's reach.

It wouldn't be easy; he was averaging 132 yards rushing after 12 games, and he needed to average 208 yards in his last two outings against the New England Patriots and New York Jets. Against the Pats and Jets earlier in the season, he had rushed for 250 and 123 yards, respectively.

Another summit well within O.J.'s stride was the NFL rushing record of 1,863 yards set by Jim Brown in 1963 with the Cleveland Browns.

Not only did O.J. desire these single-season rushing feats, so did his offensive line: guards Reggie McKenzie and Joe DeLamielleure, tackles Donnie Green and Dave Foley, center Mike Montler and tight end Paul Seymour. McKenzie, the Bills' seven-year veteran from Michigan, recalls the final two games in 1973 as his most memorable, especially the finale against the Jets at Shea Stadium. 'The game in New York, you might say,' noted the Bills' veteran guard, 'made the 1973 season the most memorable of my career.' "

"When we went in against New England in the next to last game of the season, we were more than a few yards than 400 away from O.J. reaching 2,000. We figured if we could get over 200, we'd have a shot at it against the Jets.

What O.J. had hoped to do against the Patriots was break Brown's record because that was our final home game. It was snowing that day and there were still more than 70,000 fans at the game, and O.J. wanted to get the record in front of them. He gained 219 yards, which was about 60 yards short of Brown's mark.

So, the stage was set for O.J. to do his thing against the Jets. We were going to the big city, going for Brown's record, which over the years hadn't even been threatened, and we were going for 2,000 yards.

The offensive line's attitude was that we wouldn't be denied. Thursday before the game, the line met and watched an extra can of film on the Jets' defense. O.J. wasn't there- he didn't even know about it. After the film, we vowed we were going to clear away for O.J.'s 2,000. It was an emotional meeting.

There was no doubt in my mind we would do it. With the combination of our blocking and O.J.'s running, we couldn't miss. O.J. was- and still is- an exceptional runner. Sometimes he anticipates a hole long before we even clear it. Once he sees an opening, he has an uncanny way of shifting from first to third gear and suddenly people are chasing him. He's a very knowledgeable runner- he knows how to change strikes and, drawing his past experience in track, he can really stretch out when he gets into the open. Very few track stars have ever made the adjustment to football like O.J. He is one of the few who has been outstanding at both.

It was snowing in New York, just like it had the week before against New England. That didn't make any difference to us. Snow is part of playing for Buffalo.

We received the opening kickoff and O.J. went over the middle for four yards on first down. Then came the play that really got us going. We called a 27, where I would pull out and meet a linebacker and Joe D. (DeLamielleure) would come around, read my block, and take it up into the hole with O.J. trailing. O.J. broke it for 30 yards. The only thing that stopped him from going all the way and breaking Brown's record was he tripped. By the time he regained his balance on that slippery field, one of the Jets came across the field and made the tackle.

The Jets weren't laying down. They were quoted in the papers all week as saying they were determined to stop O.J. They were coming after us. But after the 30-yard run, I was even more confident we were the ones who weren't going to be denied. As the game progressed, I believe the Jets began realizing it, too. They saw it in our eyes.

O.J. carried seven of the first eight times we had the ball and gained 57 yards. We had a first and goal at the three and Jim Braxton gained two yards to the one. Braxton was stopped for no gain on the next two plays, but he scored over my (left) side on fourth down.

On our next possession, we again called 27 on first down and O.J. got six yards to break Brown's record. He still needed 131 to reach 2,000. O.J. fumbled on our next play after a three-yard gain and the Jets recovered.

Juice didn't have many big gains in the second quarter. His longest was 13 yards, and that was a touchdown run over my left side late in the half to give us a 14-7 lead. The Jets had scored earlier on a Joe Namath pass.

O.J. had 108 yards at the half- we were 92 away. That was the figure on our minds as we plotted out our second-half strategy in the locker room.

The Jets were laying for O.J. and they stopped him for no gain on his first carry of the second half. On the second play, the Jets went after him again and Joe Ferguson completed a 36-yard pass to Bob Chandler on the Jets' 26. Joe threw only five passes that day- he would have killed him if he had thrown more because of the way they were stacking for O.J.

Juice carried seven times in the third quarter. The first give got him only nine yards, but he picked nine and 25 yards on the final two plays of the quarter. The 25-yarder, a sweep around the right side, was a big play. It got us going again.

Midway through the fourth quarter, we pretty much had the game put away with a 31-7 lead, but we were still 40 yards short of O.J.'s 2,000.

When we got the ball back, O.J. ripped one for 22 yards on a sweep right. After being stopped for no gain, he ran for nine and five. On second-and -five we called a 27 and O.J. gained seven, giving him 2,003. What a relief- it was over.

When he did it, Earl Edwards, one of our defensive ends, told our players, 'Hey, let's carry that man off the field.' And we did. And we were ecstatic. I felt very proud.

Something else we did that season was rush for 3,088 yards as a team, which still stands as a league record.

O.J. isn't only a fantastic football player, he's a also close friend of mine. I would say (defensive end) Al Cowlings, who was once my roommate in Buffalo and is now with the Rams, and O.J. are two of my best friends. There isn't much I wouldn't do for either one.

Playing with O.J. makes the game enjoyable. Having him in the backfield creates a situation for everyone on the line that at any time, on any given play, he can bust one. You tend to press a little harder in terms of blocking because you are aware he can make the big play.

Losing him this season [O.J. underwent knee surgery after the seventh league game] was a letdown for us. Without him our line kind of lost its personality. When we came into stadiums, people were aware we were going to run the ball with O.J. and we were successful at it. Each of us took a lot of pride in keeping O.J. on top. We helped put him over 10,000 career rushing yards this year and that was a big thrill for us.

He has one more year left here for us on his contract, but I honestly don't know if he's going to return. He was pretty down when he left here at mid-season and he told me at the time he has a lot to think about. I guess he's contemplating whether to return to football or devote his entire attention to making movies.

One big reason in his decision, of course, will be how well his knee rehabilitates. One thing on his mind is that has been proven that once a running back reaches 30 in this league he tends to lose half a step. O.J.  has seen it happen to Leroy Kelly and other great backs, and he says he doesn't want it happening to him.

Whatever decision O.J. makes, I'm with him. If he quits, I wouldn't mind getting out of Buffalo, either. I know that (49er general manager) Joe Thomas is a wheeler-dealer- maybe he could swing some kind of deal for me. The 49ers have a couple of pretty good backs out there to block for- Delvin Williams and Wilbur Jackson.

As for O.J.'s 2,003-yard season, yes, it'll be broken someday. One reason is because we'll be playing 16-game seasons starting next year, and another is because there are some great backs around capable of breaking it, like Walter Payton and Tony Dorsett."

-Reggie McKenzie, as told to Dave Payne, Football Digest (March 1978)

"Buffalo doesn't suffer from a Mac attack. The town has its Big Mac and he's a good friend of the Juice. McKenzie was voted the NFL's best blocking lineman by a Wisconsin group in 1973 when O.J. rushed for 2,003 yards. He was All-Pro in '73 and '74, but recent honors have gone to his running mate Joe DeLamielleure. McKenzie takes great pride in the accomplishments of the Bills' offensive line as a unit. He's a very intense performer.
Reggie has a good eye for beauty; he married Miss Massachusetts of 1974, Gthellean Hicks. Born in Detroit, he was recruited by Michigan after an assistant football coach saw him punch out a kid after losing a high school wrestling match. Really! Reggie doesn't wrestle anymore."

-Dave Newhouse, The Complete Handbook of Pro Football, 1978 Edition

"Reggie has now started 85 consecutive regular-season games for the Bills over the past six campaigns. He continues to refine the skills which earned him All-Pro and All-Conference honors in 1973 and 1974. Winner of the Wisconsin Pro Football Writers' Award as the NFL's top blocking lineman of 1973, Reggie is an intense competitor with pride in the accomplishments of the Bills' offensive line as a unit. He has outstanding speed off the snap.
Reggie's wife was voted as Miss Massachusetts of 1974."

-1978 Topps, No. 323