Bruce Smith the hall of famer

I know there has been lots of coverage this week about Bruce Smith getting into the Hall of Fame and rightfully so. Smith in my opinion is the greatest Buffalo Bill of all time. Just look at the numbers. His 200 sacks ranks 1st in NFL History. Lots of fans compare Smith to Reggie White, considering both are ranked 1 and 2. Whenever you look at a hall of famers body of work, you should look at who they played with. How good would have Jerry Rice been had he not played with Joe Montana and Steve Young or vice verse. White played in the 46 defense that was designed by defensive guru Buddy Ryan. The goal of the defense was to blitz, blitz, and blitz again. And who did White line up with? All-pros Clyde Simmons and the late Jerome Brown. The Eagles defense sported 7 pro bowlers in a 4 year stretch from 1989-1992.

As for Bruce Smith supporting cast. His defensive coordinator was Walt “Swizzle sticks” Corey. His defenses were best know for their bend but don’t break strategy. I mean for god sakes, radio personality Chuck Dickerson was the line coach. So there was no confusion between comparing Corey and Ryan. As for Smith’s linemates, we aren’t talking the fearsome foursome. Jeff Wright was your undersized nose tackle who made a career just in sacking Dan Marino but nobody else. And how could we forget, Dr. Sack, Leon Seals. The only thing he sacked was food. Bruce had very little help when it came to trying to sack the quarterback. I sometimes wish the Bills could of brought in a guy like Ted Washinton during the Bills Super Bowl run.

Bruce may have not gotten as much love as Jim Kelly or Thurman Thomas. But he was the Bills most talented player in my lifetime. He dominated offensive lines and put fear into the hearts of quarterbacks. If he had the supporting cast that Jim Kelly had on his side of the ball Bruce Smith would of been a MVP candidate. Fans always say that the Bills haven’t found their next Jim Kelly yet, well they sure as hell haven’t come close to finding their next Bruce Smith.