Bills lose two family members

[JeffreyMiller]

The Buffalo Bills lost two members of it's alumni over the weekend. Former DE and member of the Bills' 64 and 65 championship teams Jim Dunaway and former head coach Chuck Knox.

[sheajets]

Knox was also Jets oline coach 1963-1966 and instrumental in the drafting of Joe Namath,

[sheajets]

Saw some pictures of Jim Kelly and Josh Allen of late and as you may expect Jim looks about 15 years older than he is with what he's gone through but he's a battler, and I hope he pulls through

[Rupert Patrick]

Ground Chuck was a very deserving HOVG member, who was successful everywhere he went except for his second run with the Rams, but by that point he had reached that 20-season point as a head coach in the NFL where often a head coach has pretty much exhausted his bag of tricks and begins to quickly lose what made him so great. He turned around the fortunes of the Bills and Seahawks, but like Marty Schottenheimer, he was never able to win a conference championship game. His problem with being unable to come up with one quarterback and stick with him in Los Angeles in the mid-70's probably cost the Rams a Lombardi Trophy in the 1973-77 window, where the Rams went thru Gabriel, Hadl, Harris, Jaworski and finally seemed to settle on Haden before he was hurt and Ferragamo took them to the Super Bowl a couple years after he left. I still think he should have stuck with Jaworski and Haden, and do a Woodley/Strock type combination with them until it became clear one of them was far superior to the other.

The 1980 Bills could have gone all the way. The 1980 postseason was perhaps the most evenly balanced postseason I have ever seen, in that if you could replay it ten times, you would probably get seven different winners. I think all the teams except for the Vikings and Oilers had a really legitimate chance of running the table in the playoffs, and in the AFC you had all the playoff teams at 11-5 which led to some weird playoff situations, such as the Bills, who beat the Chargers in the regular season, having to travel to San Diego in the playoffs. I don't know that the Bills would have lost that game if it would have been played in Buffalo.

The 1983 Seahawks were a Cinderella team according to the simple methodology I set up, in that they finished below .500 in each of the previous three seasons before the season in question. They swept the Super Bowl champion Raiders during the season series. I was at the 10/30 game in the LA Coliseum where the Raiders had Mark Wilson was starting (Flores had benched Jim Plunkett) and Wilson tossed four interceptions in the 34-21 Seattle win. The game was also notable in that it was the game where Dave Krieg took over the starting QB job from Jim Zorn; except for ankle injuries in 1977 and 1981, Jim Zorn had been the starter since the first game of the Seahawks franchise. The Seahawks upset of the Dolphins in the playoffs was one of most inexplicable playoff upsets I have ever seen, and I knew there was no way they would beat the Raiders a third time. Knox managed to keep the Seahawks competitive the rest of the time he was there, and the bottom dropped out right after he left.

[BD Sullivan]

Ground Chuck was a very deserving HOVG member, who was successful everywhere he went except for his second run with the Rams, but by that point he had reached that 20-season point as a head coach in the NFL where often a head coach has pretty much exhausted his bag of tricks and begins to quickly lose what made him so great. He turned around the fortunes of the Bills and Seahawks, but like Marty Schottenheimer, he was never able to win a conference championship game. His problem with being unable to come up with one quarterback and stick with him in Los Angeles in the mid-70's probably cost the Rams a Lombardi Trophy in the 1973-77 window, where the Rams went thru Gabriel, Hadl, Harris, Jaworski and finally seemed to settle on Haden before he was hurt and Ferragamo took them to the Super Bowl a couple years after he left. I still think he should have stuck with Jaworski and Haden, and do a Woodley/Strock type combination with them until it became clear one of them was far superior to the other.

You forgot Namath, but then City of Angels Joe's time there was forgettable. I'm guessing Namath was foisted upon Chuck by Rosenbloom, though it only took six games for the experiment to fall apart.

[Retro Rider]

The 1983 Seahawks were a Cinderella team according to the simple methodology I set up, in that they finished below .500 in each of the previous three seasons before the season in question. They swept the Super Bowl champion Raiders during the season series. I was at the 10/30 game in the LA Coliseum where the Raiders had Mark Wilson was starting (Flores had benched Jim Plunkett) and Wilson tossed four interceptions in the 34-21 Seattle win. The game was also notable in that it was the game where Dave Krieg took over the starting QB job from Jim Zorn; except for ankle injuries in 1977 and 1981, Jim Zorn had been the starter since the first game of the Seahawks franchise. The Seahawks upset of the Dolphins in the playoffs was one of most inexplicable playoff upsets I have ever seen, and I knew there was no way they would beat the Raiders a third time. Knox managed to keep the Seahawks competitive the rest of the time he was there, and the bottom dropped out right after he left.

I have some great memories of Chuck Knox's time with Seattle. The '83 Seahawks were a true Cinderella. I was thinking earlier about their two regular season wins over the Raiders ... Seattle wins the first game 38-36 despite Jim Zorn completing only 4 passes in 16 attempts for 13 yards! Their road win in L.A. was Knox's 100th NFL coaching win (I just might watch some of those '83 Hawks games later in the week). And if Curt Warner doesn't go down with a season ending injury in Week 1 who knows how far the 12-4 Seahawks could have gone in 1984? Knox's 1986 Seattle squad was one of the NFL's hottest teams at seasons end but missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record. They could have made a serious run in the post season. I listened to earlier interviews with both Steve Largent and Jim Zorn and each paid tribute to their former coach.

One of my first football cards was a '69 Topps Jim Dunaway. I remember him being a monster size player for that era. 7-8 years later I saved up my allowance/lawn mowing money and persuaded my parents to order me a complete 1969 Topps Football set from Larry Fritsch Cards for something like $14.95 ... that turned out to be a pretty good investment.

R.I.P. Jim Dunaway & Coach Knox

[Jay Z]

You forgot Namath, but then City of Angels Joe's time there was forgettable. I'm guessing Namath was foisted upon Chuck by Rosenbloom, though it only took six games for the experiment to fall apart.

Knox did not want Namath. I wouldn't have either. I was 12 years old and I knew Namath was through.

Jaworski was a strange situation. He came in as a #2 pick in 1973. Gabriel had a series of forgettable backups, so that job was his. Gabriel was a tough player, but I think a bit lacking in the emotional leadership department. Anyway, Hadl in, Gabriel out. Shouldn't have mattered to Jaws.

The way it played out, with journeyman James Harris winning the role and getting hot for a half a season, then Haden, it was just strange. Rams got a bunch of players and DC for Gabriel and Hadl, but you're trying to get to the Super Bowl. Do what it takes, not just hoard draft picks. Jaworski forced his way out after 1976, signed an offer sheet with the Eagles, Charle Young did the same with the Rams, and it was a "player exchange." Not really a trade.

All of the teams that actually made it to the Super Bowl committed to a direction, eventually. Steelers worked it out with Bradshaw. Raiders developed Stabler. Cowboys figured out Staubach/Morton. Vikings lost Kapp, which is mostly Kapp's doing I think, dithered a bit with Cuozzo and Snead, but had enough and ponied up for Tarkenton. Rams were constantly dithering and indecisive, and it cost them.

[Todd Pence]

Sadly, Knox suffered from dementia in his final years. The man who won 186 games in the NFL did not remember coaching football at all.

[sheajets]

Ground Chuck was a very deserving HOVG member, who was successful everywhere he went except for his second run with the Rams, but by that point he had reached that 20-season point as a head coach in the NFL where often a head coach has pretty much exhausted his bag of tricks and begins to quickly lose what made him so great. He turned around the fortunes of the Bills and Seahawks, but like Marty Schottenheimer, he was never able to win a conference championship game. His problem with being unable to come up with one quarterback and stick with him in Los Angeles in the mid-70's probably cost the Rams a Lombardi Trophy in the 1973-77 window, where the Rams went thru Gabriel, Hadl, Harris, Jaworski and finally seemed to settle on Haden before he was hurt and Ferragamo took them to the Super Bowl a couple years after he left. I still think he should have stuck with Jaworski and Haden, and do a Woodley/Strock type combination with them until it became clear one of them was far superior to the other.

You forgot Namath, but then City of Angels Joe's time there was forgettable. I'm guessing Namath was foisted upon Chuck by Rosenbloom, though it only took six games for the experiment to fall apart.

I remember how padded up his knees were at that point. Just how clunky he looked trying to drop back.

[nicefellow31]

The Buffalo Bills lost two members of it's alumni over the weekend. Former DE and member of the Bills' 64 and 65 championship teams Jim Dunaway and former head coach Chuck Knox.

Looked up some info on Dunaway, and man he had some similarities with his teammate, O.J. Simpson.