Tony Greene is not a player that often becomes the topic of conversation when talking about the great, or even good, players that have donned an NFL uniform and that have made their way between the spectating sidelines, onto the gridiron. In some circles- groups featuring die hard fans that know not only the current rendition of a franchised team, but the history of that team, inside out- there emerge the exhumed presence of players long forgotten. Free Safety Tony Greene is one such player of the past, whose spirit lives on in the minds of Buffalo Bills fans.

In Week 8 of the TLL77 season Tony Greene made a name for himself, gaining the attention of three of the five respective coaches in route to winning the defensive player of the week bid, after making 14 tackles in an overtime win against the rival Miami Dolphins. For the Fake NFL Bills, the most committed fans know Greene as a ball hawking safety who patrolled the back end of the Bills defense for nine solid seasons. Although Greene only made one pro bowl in his 9 year career, and was placed on what are among the worst Bills defenses in franchise history, Greene is listed 30th on the ‘Buffalo Rumblings` Top 50 greatest Bills of all time list.

The undersized Greene tells a story of what it was like coming into the league: ‘The guard at the door didn`t think I looked like a football player….one of the Bills trainers came out and told the guy who I was. ` Greene weighed under 170 pounds, but proved a durable and reliable option for a Bills team much in need of defensive playmakers. Greene became an interception machine by his fourth season, hauling in 9 picks, a trend that would continue for the next four seasons. Despite Greene`s huge interception numbers, he was a player constantly overlooked, as indicated by making it to only one pro bowl squad- a result that is probably a product of playing on, as mentioned before, some overall porous defenses. Though, even when the Bills did make modest strides toward defensive improvement, the media attention was locked in on O.J. Simpson, undoubtedly the face of the franchise for most the of 1970`s.

One of the aspects of the Tecmo Legacy League that I enjoy most is becoming more familiar with the history of the NFL, and the bevy of talented players that remain to a great extent on the fringe or out of the spotlit grand narrative. Greene is yet another example of a productive NFL player rarely gaining mention.

When attempting to get the goods on Buffalo Bills safety Steve Freeman, the only notable piece of information that kept (repeatedly) surfacing was the fact that Freeman ‘finally made it to a Super Bowl’, serving as the back judge for Super Bowl XLVIII (Denver-v-Seattle).

Freeman collected 23 interceptions in his 13 year NFL career, with his best span of football happening between (1979-1984). During that time, the rangy safety never made a pro bowl. If there was a season he could have been a pro bowler it would have been 1980 when Freeman had his most productive season, picking off seven passes, and helping Buffalo to the second best passing defense in the league.

In TLL80, through twelve weeks, Freeman has tied his FNFL counterpart, capturing seven quarterback passes. Prior to this season Freeman had just two interceptions in his TLL career.

Against the Dolphins and Bob Griese, Freeman proved to be a menace, picking off two of Griese’s soft floaters, nearly returning one for a touchdown.

The win was the Bills’ seventh in a row against AFC East opponents.

No Movie (Yet)

The Patriots were riding high, fresh off of a 48-14 drubbing of the Miami Dolphins when WR Darryl Stingley dropped a bombshell on the team, announcing his retirement after the 1977 season. According to a reporter from the Pat`s Pulpit, Stingley is disgruntled at the overall functioning of the offense. Said the reporter, `Grogan has struggled much of the year, and Stingley is discouraged by Grogan`s regression from last season. When he isn`t struggling he`s locating rookie WR Stanley Morgan more often than not. Stingley isn`t happy with this, nor with coach Cheapcatch`s reluctance to throw 80-yard bombs like last year`s coach, Landryshat.` It appears that Stingley lost his starting spot to Morgan prior to the Miami game, and Morgan`s 6 catch 136 yard 2 TD effort will most likely earn him a permanent place at that post, further propelling Stingley down the path to retirement.

As well, Stingley declined to discuss the prospect of being traded in the off season, opting to continue playing rather than hanging up the cleats for good. Either way, it`s a bold move by Stingley to drop this suddenly upon the team, and to include such incendiary remarks toward his team, especially as it is amidst a tough fight for a playoff spot and division title.