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1972 Buffalo Bills

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Record: 4-9-1, Finished 4th in AFC East Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 257 points (18.4/g), 19th of 26 in the NFL.
 Allowed 377 points (26.9/g), 24th.
 Differential of -120 points (-8.6/g), 22nd.
 Expected W-L: 4.0-10.0.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -8 (-0.6/g), 19th.

Coached by Lou Saban (4-9-1)

1972 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Starters

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters
Pos Age Yrs GS Summary of Player Stats Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
 Offensive Starters Complete Team Stats
QB Dennis Shaw 25 2 13 136 for 258, 1,666 yards, 14 td, 17 int, & 35 rushes for 138 yards and 0 td

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 30th pick / 1970

RB O.J. Simpson*+ 25 3 0 292 rushes for 1,251 yards, 6 td, & 27 catches for 198 yards and 0 td

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 1st pick / 1969

FB Jim Braxton 23 1 0 116 rushes for 453 yards, 5 td, & 24 catches for 232 yards and 1 td

Buffalo Bills / 3rd / 57th pick / 1971

WR Bob Chandler 23 1 0 33 catches for 528 yards, 5 td, & 3 rushes for 27 yards and 0 td

Buffalo Bills / 7th / 160th pick / 1971

WR J.D. Hill* 24 1 0 52 catches for 754 yards, 5 td, & 1 rush for 11 yards and 0 td

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 4th pick / 1971

TE Jan White 24 1 0 12 catches for 148 yards, 2 td

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 29th pick / 1971

LT Dave Foley 25 3 12 1 fumble recovered

New York Jets / 1st / 26th pick / 1969

LG Reggie McKenzie 22 Rook 14

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 27th pick / 1972

C Remi Prudhomme 30 6 0 1 fumble recovered

St. Louis Cardinals / 3rd / 37th pick / 1964
Buffalo Bills / 14th / 108th pick / 1964

C John Matlock 28 5 0
RG Bob Penchion 23 Rook 0

Buffalo Bills / 5th / 108th pick / 1972

RG Dick Hart 29 5 0
RT Donnie Green 24 1 0

Buffalo Bills / 5th / 107th pick / 1971

 Defensive Starters
LDE Walt Patulski 22 Rook 0

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 1st pick / 1972

LDT Don Croft 23 Rook 0 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Baltimore Colts / 5th / 115th pick / 1972

RDT Jerry Patton 26 1 0
RDE Al Cowlings 25 2 0 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 5th pick / 1970

LLB Paul Guidry 28 6 0 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered

Buffalo Bills / 8th / 73rd pick / 1966

MLB Ken Lee 24 1 6 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 8th / 204th pick / 1971

RLB Mike Stratton 31 10 0 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered

Buffalo Bills / 13th / 100th pick / 1962

LCB Robert James* 25 3 0 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered
RCB Tony Greene 23 1 0 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered
SS Maurice Tyler 22 Rook 0 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Buffalo Bills / 10th / 235th pick / 1972

FS John Pitts 27 5 0 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 22nd pick / 1967

FS Alvin Wyatt 25 2 0 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Oakland Raiders / 6th / 154th pick / 1970

 Special Teams Starters
K John Leypoldt 26 1 0 16 of 24 field goals & 29 of 30 extra points
P Spike Jones 25 2 0 80 punts for a 38.8 average, 1 blocked

Houston Oilers / 4th / 92nd pick / 1970

PR Alvin Wyatt 25 2 0 11 punt returns for a 7.7 average and 0 td

Oakland Raiders / 6th / 154th pick / 1970

KR Alvin Wyatt 25 2 0 17 kick returns for a 25.4 average and 0 td

Oakland Raiders / 6th / 154th pick / 1970

Roster

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Wt Ht College/Univ BirthDate Yrs Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
Bill Adams 22 G-T 6 0 255 6-2 Holy Cross 2/4/1950 Rook

Miami Dolphins / 7th / 161st pick / 1972

Tom Beard 24 C 12 0 280 6-6 Michigan State 6/10/1948 Rook

Denver Broncos / 8th / 187th pick / 1971

Jim Braxton 23 RB 14 0 243 6-1 West Virginia 5/23/1949 1

Buffalo Bills / 3rd / 57th pick / 1971

Bob Chandler 23 WR 14 0 180 6-0 USC 4/24/1949 1

Buffalo Bills / 7th / 160th pick / 1971

Edgar Chandler 26 LB 1 0 225 6-3 Georgia 8/31/1946 4

Buffalo Bills / 4th / 86th pick / 1968

Bob Christiansen 23 DT 4 0 230 6-4 UCLA 5/8/1949 Rook

Los Angeles Rams / 5th / 125th pick / 1972

Linzy Cole 24 WR 8 0 172 5-11 TCU 4/21/1948 2

Chicago Bears / 9th / 210th pick / 1970

Frank Cornish 28 DT 6 0 282 6-4 Grambling State 6/20/1944 6

Chicago Bears / 11th / 144th pick / 1965

Paul Costa 31 TE-T 9 0 268 6-6 Notre Dame 12/7/1941 7

Green Bay Packers / 4th / 55th pick / 1964
Kansas City Chiefs / 14th / 106th pick / 1964

Al Cowlings 25 DE-DT-LB 14 0 255 6-5 USC 6/16/1947 2

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 5th pick / 1970

Don Croft 23 DT 14 0 254 6-4 Texas-El Paso 1/7/1949 Rook

Baltimore Colts / 5th / 115th pick / 1972

Dick Cunningham 28 T-LB 9 7 245 6-3 Arkansas 10/12/1944 5

Detroit Lions / 9th / 136th pick / 1966

Jeff Curchin 25 T-G 1 0 260 6-7 Florida State 12/17/1947 2

Chicago Bears / 6th / 139th pick / 1970

Dale Farley 23 LB 7 0 225 6-3 West Virginia 9/27/1949 1

Miami Dolphins / 3rd / 74th pick / 1971

Dave Foley 25 T-C 12 12 255 6-5 Ohio State 10/28/1947 3

New York Jets / 1st / 26th pick / 1969

Leon Garror 24 DB 12 0 180 6-0 Alcorn State 5/2/1948 Rook

Buffalo Bills / 5th / 105th pick / 1972

Donnie Green 24 T 14 0 272 6-7 Purdue 7/12/1948 1

Buffalo Bills / 5th / 107th pick / 1971

Tony Greene 23 DB 14 0 170 5-10 Maryland 8/29/1949 1
Paul Guidry 28 LB 14 0 227 6-3 LSU,McNeese State 1/14/1944 6

Buffalo Bills / 8th / 73rd pick / 1966

Dwight Harrison 24 DB-WR 7 0 187 6-1 Texas A&M-Kingsville 10/12/1948 1

Denver Broncos / 2nd / 35th pick / 1971

Dick Hart 29 G 5 0 253 6-2 none 3/4/1943 5
Leo Hart 23 QB 2 1 203 6-3 Duke 3/3/1949 1

Atlanta Falcons / 3rd / 59th pick / 1971

J.D. Hill* 24 WR 14 0 202 6-1 Arizona State 10/30/1948 1

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 4th pick / 1971

Randy Jackson 24 RB 5 0 220 6-0 Wichita State 11/13/1948 Rook

Buffalo Bills / 4th / 79th pick / 1972

Robert James* 25 DB 14 0 184 6-1 Fisk 7/7/1947 3
Bruce Jarvis 24 C 1 0 250 6-7 Washington 11/3/1948 1

Buffalo Bills / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1971

Spike Jones 25 P 14 0 197 6-2 Georgia 7/9/1947 2

Houston Oilers / 4th / 92nd pick / 1970

Ted Koy 25 TE-RB-LB 14 0 212 6-2 Texas 9/15/1947 2

Oakland Raiders / 2nd / 50th pick / 1970

Ken Lee 24 LB 12 6 230 6-4 Washington 9/3/1948 1

Detroit Lions / 8th / 204th pick / 1971

John Leypoldt 26 K 14 0 229 6-2 Northern Virginia Community College 3/31/1946 1
Jeff Lyman 22 LB 1 0 235 6-3 BYU 8/21/1950 Rook

St. Louis Cardinals / 4th / 82nd pick / 1972

John Matlock 28 C 11 0 249 6-4 Miami (FL) 10/19/1944 5
Mike McBath 26 DE-DT-T 2 0 251 6-4 Penn State 5/29/1946 4

Buffalo Bills / 5th / 119th pick / 1968

Reggie McKenzie 22 G 14 14 255 6-4 Michigan 7/27/1950 Rook

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 27th pick / 1972

Haven Moses 26 WR-SE 5 0 208 6-2 San Diego State 7/27/1946 4

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 9th pick / 1968

Steve Okoniewski 23 DT-DE 10 0 257 6-3 Montana,Washington 8/22/1949 Rook

Atlanta Falcons / 2nd / 41st pick / 1972

Dick Palmer 25 LB 4 0 232 6-2 Kentucky 4/9/1947 2

Baltimore Colts / 10th / 252nd pick / 1970

Wayne Patrick 26 RB 13 0 254 6-2 Louisville 9/1/1946 4

Cincinnati Bengals / 10th / 247th pick / 1968

Jerry Patton 26 DT 14 0 261 6-3 Nebraska 3/27/1946 1
Walt Patulski 22 DE 14 0 259 6-6 Notre Dame 2/3/1950 Rook

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 1st pick / 1972

Bob Penchion 23 G-C 12 0 265 6-5 Alcorn State 8/11/1949 Rook

Buffalo Bills / 5th / 108th pick / 1972

John Pitts 27 DB 14 0 218 6-4 Arizona State 2/28/1945 5

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 22nd pick / 1967

Remi Prudhomme 30 C-DE-G-DT 8 0 250 6-4 LSU 4/24/1942 6

St. Louis Cardinals / 3rd / 37th pick / 1964
Buffalo Bills / 14th / 108th pick / 1964

Louis Ross 25 DE 14 0 248 6-6 South Carolina State 8/31/1947 1

Buffalo Bills / 8th / 183rd pick / 1971

John Saunders 22 DB 2 0 198 6-3 Toledo 4/29/1950 Rook

Los Angeles Rams / 4th / 87th pick / 1972

Andy Selfridge 23 LB 13 0 218 6-3 Virginia 1/12/1949 Rook

San Diego Chargers / 13th / 321st pick / 1972

Dennis Shaw 25 QB 14 13 217 6-3 San Diego State,USC 3/3/1947 2

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 30th pick / 1970

O.J. Simpson*+ 25 RB 14 0 212 6-2 USC 7/9/1947 3

Buffalo Bills / 1st / 1st pick / 1969

Mike Stratton 31 LB 10 0 224 6-3 Tennessee 4/10/1941 10

Buffalo Bills / 13th / 100th pick / 1962

Mike Taliaferro 31 QB 5 0 202 6-2 Illinois 7/26/1941 8

New York Giants / 10th / 138th pick / 1963
New York Jets / 28th / 219th pick / 1963

Bob Tatarek 26 DT 1 0 270 6-4 Miami (FL) 7/3/1946 4

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 34th pick / 1968

Maurice Tyler 22 DB 14 0 188 6-0 Morgan State 7/19/1950 Rook

Buffalo Bills / 10th / 235th pick / 1972

Dave Washington 24 LB-TE 14 0 223 6-5 Alcorn State 9/12/1948 2

Denver Broncos / 9th / 219th pick / 1970

Jan White 24 TE 14 0 216 6-2 Ohio State 10/6/1948 1

Buffalo Bills / 2nd / 29th pick / 1971

Alvin Wyatt 25 DB 14 0 184 5-10 Bethune-Cookman 12/13/1947 2

Oakland Raiders / 6th / 154th pick / 1970

Willie Young 25 T 1 0 270 6-4 Alcorn State 11/12/1947 1
Team Total 25.0 14 230.5 6-3.0 2.2