|
1997 Buffalo Bills
The 1997 Buffalo Bills season was their 38th in the league. The team failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–6, instead falling to 6–10. They missed the playoffs for only the second time in ten seasons. 1997 was Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy's final year as the team's head coach, and the first season since 1985 when Jim Kelly was not on the opening day roster. Todd Collins started at quarterback for the Bills in their first season in the post-Kelly era. The Bills also signed Oakland's Billy Joe Hobert to challenge Collins for the starting job. Third-string quarterback Alex Van Pelt also saw playing time with three starts in Collins' absence. Hobert's contract was terminated after Week Seven, in which Hobert was backing up an injured Collins, and after the game revealed to the media that he had not studied the playbook. Hobert was released the next day. One of the most memorable games in Buffalo Bills history occurred in Week Four against the Indian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AFC East
The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets. All four members of the AFC East were previously members of the Eastern Division of the American Football League (AFL). Both perfect regular seasons in professional football since the adoption of a 14-game schedule 1960 American Football League season, in the inaugural AFL season and 1961 NFL season, by the NFL in 1961 have been achieved by teams in this division – 1972 Miami Dolphins season, the 1972 Dolphins, who completed the only perfect season in professional football at 17–0, and 2007 New England Patriots season, the 2007 Patriots, who finished 18–1 after losing Super Bowl XLII. Since the division's establishment in 1960, with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2022 Minnesota Vikings Season
The 2022 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 62nd in the National Football League (NFL), their seventh playing home games at U.S. Bank Stadium and their first under new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and new head coach Kevin O'Connell, following the firings of Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer at the end of the 2021 season. The Vikings started 8–1 for the first time since 2009. They improved upon their 8–9 record from 2021 and clinched the NFC North for the first time since 2017, finishing with a 13–4 record. Despite the Vikings' strong record, many analysts did not view them as legitimate championship contenders due to most of their wins being within one score (11 of 13 wins) and three of their four losses being blowouts. The Vikings ranked 31st in total yards allowed (6,608) and finished the season with a negative point differential (−3), the first time this had been done by a team with at least 12 wins. Some of those claims subsided after the win over the Colts, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Running Back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense, rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and Blocking (American football), block. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a given play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a Halfback (American football), halfback (in certain contexts also referred to as a "tailback" — see #Halfback/tailback, below), a wingback (American football), wingback, or a Fullback (American football), fullback. A running back will sometimes be called a "feature back" if he is the team's key player/more prominent running back. With the increase in pass-oriented offenses and single set back formations, it is more common to refer to these players as simply running backs. Halfback/tailbac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antowain Smith
Antowain Drurell Smith (born March 14, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL), most notably with the New England Patriots, with whom he won two Super Bowls, and the Buffalo Bills. At 6'2", 232 pounds, Smith's powerful running style made him an effective runner between the tackles. Early life Smith attended Stanhope Elmore High School in Millbrook, Alabama and played football only in his senior year. College career Smith worked in a factory for two years before enrolling at East Mississippi Junior College in 1993. At East Mississippi, Smith was a JUCO All-American running back. In 1995, Smith transferred to the University of Houston and played two seasons on the Houston Cougars football team at running back. In 21 games with Houston, Smith rushed for 1,847 yards and 19 touchdowns. Among records set by Smith include the longest touchdown in school history at 96 yards and six touch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Williams (American Football)
Patrick Williams Sr. (born October 24, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 1997. Williams also played for the Minnesota Vikings, with whom he was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. College career After graduating from Wossman High School in Monroe, Louisiana, Williams attended Navarro College, where he was a two-time junior college All-American in 1992 and 1993. He initially transferred to Texas A&M University in 1994, but failed the math portion of a junior-college exit exam and was ruled ineligible for the 1994 season. He transferred again to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where he graduated in 1995, before returning to Texas A&M. Williams earned 2nd-team All-SWC as a junior in 1995 in only 6 starts. He also started 8 games and appeared in 11 as a senior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defensive Tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridiron football position), tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the largest and strongest of the defensive players. Depending on a team's defensive scheme, a defensive tackle may be called upon to fill several different roles. These may include merely holding the point of attack by refusing to be moved, or penetrating a certain gap between offensive linemen to break up a play in the opponent's backfield. If a defensive tackle reads a pass play, his primary responsibility is to pursue the quarterback, or simply knock the pass down at the line if it is within arm's reach. Other responsibilities of the defensive tackle may be to pursue the screen pass or drop into coverage in a zone blitz scheme. In a traditional 4–3 defense, there is no nos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed throughout the years. Between 1939 National Football League All-Star Game, 1939 and 1942 National Football League All-Star Game (December), 1942, the NFL experimented with all-star games putting the league's champion against a team of all-stars. The first official Pro Bowl was played in 1951 Pro Bowl, January 1951, matching the top players in the Eastern and Western Conferences (NFL) 1933–1969, American/Eastern Conference against those in the Eastern and Western Conferences (NFL) 1933–1969, National/Western Conference. From the AFL–NFL Merger, merger with the rival American Football League (AFL) in 1970 up through 2013 and also in 2017, it was officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1997 New England Patriots Season
The 1997 season was the New England Patriots' 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 38th overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In January, when the Patriots were preparing to face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, it was suspected head coach Bill Parcells was looking to move to another team after the game where he would have more say over personnel matters. In the 1996 NFL draft, Parcells' relationship with owner Robert Kraft soured when Kraft selected wide receiver Terry Glenn. After the Patriots' loss in Super Bowl XXXI, Parcells resigned from the Patriots, using the phrase "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries." Due to an earlier renegotiation that had eliminated the 1997 season from Parcells' contract, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruled Parcells could not be a head coach for another team in 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raiders. Between 1982 and 1994, the team played in Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Raiders. Founded on January 30, 1960, the Oakland Raiders played their first regular season game on September 11, 1960, as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). They moved to the National Football League (NFL) with the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. They played their last game as an Oakland–based team on December 29, 2019. The Raiders played their home games at various stadiums in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving into the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, their home stadium from 1966 to 1981, and later 1995 to 2019. During their tenure in Oakland, the Raiders won 12 Division titles (3 AFL West, 9 AFC W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1985 Buffalo Bills Season
The 1985 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League, and the 26th overall. It was Buffalo's second-consecutive 2–14 season. Head coach Kay Stephenson was fired after an 0–4 start. Defensive coordinator Hank Bullough took over, going 2–10 for the remainder of the season. For the second consecutive season, the Bills went winless on the road. Season summary The Bills' offense was anemic; its 200 points scored is the lowest total in the 1980s,This excludes the strike-shortened, nine-regular-season-game 1982 season and the lowest total in team history for a sixteen-game schedule. Having concluded that longtime starting quarterback Joe Ferguson's career was over after a spike in interceptions in the early 1980s, the Bills cut him in the offseason. (The assumption would be in error, as Ferguson would sign with the Detroit Lions and play an additional six seasons in the NFL after being released.) Ferguson's replacements, quarterbacks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Kelly (quarterback)
James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). Kelly played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, earning offensive MVP honors in the 1981 Peach Bowl. One of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft, Kelly was selected 14th overall by the Bills. He chose to sign with the Gamblers instead and did not play for the Bills until the USFL folded in 1986. Employing the "K-Gun" offense, known for its no-huddle shotgun formations, Kelly led one of the greatest NFL scoring juggernauts. From 1990 to 1993, he helped guide the Bills to a record four consecutive Super Bowls, although the team lost each game. Kelly was also named to five Pro Bowls and received first-team All-Pro honors in 1991. Along with teammates Thurman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
