Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 14, 1994 TAG: 9401140088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DON PIERSON CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ The Buffalo Bills, the Harold Stassen of the NFL, are being heckled. Defensive end Bruce Smith appeared Wednesday on a national teleconference call when a voice identifying himself as "Kevin from Los Angeles" broke through.
"I heard you guys called an ambulance for this week," the voice said.
"Why's that?" Smith bit.
"Because I hear you guys are going to choke."
Somebody chased Kevin before Smith jumped through the line. Apparently, Kevin has not seen Smith's potato chip commercial, or maybe he already was wearing a dress.
The former Virginia Tech star took the intrusion in stride. It is as if the whole NFL world is betting the Bills can't eat just three Super Bowls, and Smith plans to swallow an unprecedented fourth in a row.
"Personally, we don't care what these particular people want," Smith said. "If we earn the right and we deserve it . . . that's the only thing we're concerned about."
The Bills definitely have earned the right. They meet the Los Angeles Raiders on Saturday to kick off the conference semifinals, and they have the home-field advantage in the AFC. They also carry the baggage of three consecutive Super Bowl losses, a burden they earned but don't deserve.
Losers are despised so much in the NFL that a perennial championship contender such as the Bills can be saddled with a reputation worse than that of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who just completed their 11th consecutive season of at least 10 losses in relative obscurity.
Smith said he believes the public aversion to the Bills is so strong it may have cost him votes for AFC Defensive Player of the Year, an award won by Pittsburgh cornerback Rod Woodson.
In this regard, Smith was in his usual championship form Wednesday, touting his statistics as if he were a sled-dog racer from Nome named Smith.
"I don't mean to be a person who sounds conceited in any way whatsoever, but this truly was my best year overall, totally," Smith said. "I've looked at a number of defensive players all year, and I just haven't seen a defensive player who has had the effect I've had on a consistent basis from Game 1 to Game 16.
"Just to roll off some of the things I'm talking about," Smith said, pausing to thank teammates, coaches and fans, "I was able to achieve 108 tackles. At the same time, I had 14 sacks. That was second in the league. At the same time, I was able to accomplish all this while being double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed."
It was at about this time that Kevin interrupted, apparently breaking the code required from less biased reporters on the call.
The Bills have the lowest-rated defense (27th) by far among this year's playoff teams, but they have forced the most turnovers.
"Each and every person has taken it upon themselves to make big plays," Smith said. "You don't just see three or four guys making big plays anymore."
Because the Bills' vaunted offense has struggled this season, scoring its fewest points since 1988, the defense has stepped up, giving up its fewest points since 1988. Buffalo's takeaway-giveaway ratio of plus-12 is the best among the remaining playoff teams and was second only to San Diego's plus-15 overall.
"That has definitely made this season gratifying," Smith said, "because in the past, each and every time they've mentioned the Buffalo Bills - and they still do it to this very day - the only thing they show or mention is the offense."
The Bills and coach Marv Levy are masters of the "us vs. them" mind-set, so even if it includes a little defense vs. offense jealousy, the team appears to be in playoff form.
"We're not going to go out and say, `Hey, we've lost three Super Bowls and we know that people don't want us there,' " Smith said. "I believe the pressure is definitely on other teams. If they don't want us there, it's up to them to put us out."
Smith, 30, praised Bills management for renewing contracts for him, Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly, but he also praised former general manager Bill Polian, hired Wednesday as director of operations for the expansion Carolina Cougars.
"Hopefully, he's going to be there awhile, and if at some point in time I'm free to go, I'd like to see him sometime down the line," Smith said.
He meant as a player. Smith said he has a 102-year-old great grandmother who lives near Charlotte, proving there still are Bills fans outside of Buffalo.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB