They couldn’t have a Hall without Bills’ Smith

By Anthony Bialy  |   Tuesday, February 03, 2009  |  Comments( 57 )

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It’s no surprise, but it still needed to happen: If former Buffalo Bill Bruce Smith wasn’t elected on the very first ballot, they may as well have shuttered the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Thankfully, his weekend selection was unsurprising even by the oft-curious standards of voters. The level-headed decision to put in Smith the moment he reached eligibility was perhaps partly motivated by the desire to avoid the fallout caused by a million Bills fans writing their congresspersons in an effort to make the museum illegal had he been omitted.

They would have earned the right to complain. It’s easy to understand why the team hasn’t issued No. 78 since Smith left: Through no fault of new players themselves, no one will soon, if ever, come close to matching his staggering abilities. That’s true beyond the Bills and across football.

While Smith managed a pair of interceptions over his career, it was more likely that his 200 sacks on the nose influenced voters. It’s a mark equaled by none, as he totaled two more than fellow all-time great Reggie White and 40 more than third-place holder Kevin Greene. With Washington Redskin Jason Taylor standing as the active leader with 120.5, Smith doesn’t have to fear being passed until there’s a franchise on Mars.

Every mention of the record is accompanied by the disclaimer that sacks only became an official statistic in 1982, but it’s at the point where that qualification has become less significant: He’s still been the best at sacking for the 27 seasons during which the quantity has been tracked. Mature fans can argue that there were better ends toiling during the head-slap days, but Smith remains undeniably and measurably the best of an ever-lengthening era.

Smith got to the record by being extraordinary on an ordinary basis, as he got at least 10 sacks in 12 of his 15 Bills-based years; the only exceptions were his first and last seasons plus his injury-scarred 1991 when he was limited to five appearances. For good measure, he added a 13th double-digit sacking season in 2000, his first of four campaigns with the Redskins.

The Virginia Tech product preferred speed as his attack method, and he managed to stop some runs when he wasn’t busy making quarterbacks whimper, too. Smith was unofficially credited with 1,225 tackles over 279 career games, a mark of around 4.4 per contest which suggests he did more than tackle quarterbacks behind the line of scrimmage.

Still, times weren’t always cheery when it came to Smith. For one, his allergic reaction to practicing was off-putting, especially when the condition struck him particularly hard during training camp when his teammates were suffering through two-a-days.

He also shamefully racked up two DUI arrests over his career, although he was convicted neither time; his lawyer got one of those charges cleared by claiming his client suffered from sleep apnea, a defense accepted as true by the same sorts who think Phil Spector isn’t a murderer and Michael Jackson never molested a child.

Smith’s 1989 four-game drug-related suspension also remains a blot on his record to fans, the same ones who felt baffled by the time when he brought up the racist letters he received from a handful of undeniably severe morons. Dignifying those hateful cretins with a response was almost as curious as the fact that Smith chose the week before Super Bowl XXVI to do so; it wasn’t the sort of attention he or the Bills needed at any time and especially at that time.

But, despite his appetite for distraction, Smith was uncommonly dominant on the field. He was the sort of player whom offenses game planned around, not to mention that he still did what he wanted regardless. The votes have confirmed that Smith needed Hall induction as soon as possible, so there’s no need to pester your Representative.
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About Anthony Bialy

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CommentsComments: 57  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
PimpDaddy		10:56 AM
02/03/2009
Is this a pro Bruce Smith article? No man is perfect. Not even me. Way to try to tarnish the news of his HOF induction....
No.2
Alan		11:32 AM
02/03/2009
ya i didn't understand the point of bringing up all the dirt, it almost seemed as if you were being sarcastic about the fact that...
No.3
ebouton		11:32 AM
02/03/2009
This article was like a chocolate bunny on easter that the NFL passed out to participants who regrettably thought they were...
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