Category Archives: NFL

NFL

Sanders, Zebrie

Card: Leaf Rookies 2012
Acquired: 2012, Box Breaker

Zebrie Sanders is an absolute man-mountain of a tackle from Florida State, clocking in at 6’5″, 320. (His 50 games played at Florida State are tied for second all-time in the school’s history.) Zebrie had a poor Senior Bowl showing where he got beaten off the edge which sent his stock plummeting.  The Bills grabbed Sanders in the 5th round.  Considered a wonderful set or on-the-move run blocker, Sanders has the tools to excel at either left or right tackle if he can improve his overall explosiveness and anticipate the pass rush better. Still many pundits considered him a project to edge into the lineup and wanted him to put on a bit more weight to his gargantuan frame.  I think it was a good selection, as his ability to play at both positions, will allow him to sneak onto the field each week and get that needed experience, however at the end of the preseason, the Bills felt otherwise and stashed him on IR.

 

NFL

Reasons, Gary

AP90 reasonspset90 reasons 2nd place

Card: ProSet 1990, Action Packed 1990
Acquired: TTM 2013, C/o Home
Sent: 3/4 /13  Received: 3/22/13  (18 days)
Failure: TTM 2010, C/o Home

A beast at linebacker from tiny Crowley, Texas, Reasons joined the Northwestern Louisiana and had 394 tackles over his 4 year career for the Demons- a school record.  He also had personal highs of 24 in one game against McNeese St., and 172 tackles as a senior. Over his time at NW Louisiana, Gary was named three times as an 1-AA All- American.

The New York Giants drafted Gary with their 4th round pick of the 1984 draft, and the league collectively yawned. Gary always seemed to be underrated, but went out his rookie season and started 11 games at left inside linebacker, recording a sack, 2 picks, and 3 fumble recoveries.  He called the defensive formations for the Giants, but lost his job in 1987 after an acrimonious holdout. Still he came on strong as a reserve, and later reclaimed his starting role with the team. Gary played for the Giants through 1991, and one season for the Bengals in 1992.

He’s a player who always seemed to shine most when the Giants needed him. The cards above illustrate a perfect example, in what fans refer to as ‘The Hit’. In one of the greatest tackles in history, the Broncos were driving late and decided to go for it on 4th and one at the Giants’ one yard line. As the ball was snapped, Gary came through the hole and stuffed Broncos’ runningback Bobby Humphrey in the backfield. The hit was so jarring, that Humphrey’s mouthpiece came flying out. In addition, during the 1986 NFC Championship game, Gary recorded 12 tackles, a sack, and a pick against the Redskins.  Reasons is also remembered for taking a fake punt 30 yards for a first down against the 49ers in the 1990 playoffs. Finally to top things off, Gary recorded a team high 6 tackles against the Bills in the team’s 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

Since retirement after the 1992 season, Gary’s number (34) has been retired by the Demons.  He briefly dabbled in color commentary for NBC in 1994 as well. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

G/Gs 134/88      Tac      Sac 3.5    Fum 9   Int 10     Yds 137    Avg 13.7    Td 0     Lg  40

 

 

Arena, NFL, usfl

Bentley, Ray

Card: Score 1991
Acquired: Canton Acquisition 2012

After finishing college at Central Michigan in 1983, Bentley went undrafted by the NFL and was taken by the Michigan Panthers in the USFL Territorial Draft. He’d play for the Panthers over the next two seasons, helping them win the USFL Championship, as the connection from Bobby Herbert to Anthony Carter on offense was almost unstoppable. Bentley played with the Oakland Invaders in 1985, which had merged with the Michigan Panthers, and reached the championship again, but the league folded after the season. As one of the quieter names in the league in an unglamorous position, Bentley again was not selected in the draft- this time being the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players. He signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in ’86.

An excellent find by the Bills, Bentley worked well in the team’s 3-4 alignment, alongside starters Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan, and Darryl Talley, plugging right into the lineup at right inside linebacker. A menacing run stopper, Ray relayed the play calls from the coaches to the team and made adjustments at the line of scrimmage for the defense.  An intimidating run stopper, Bentley was fond of using eye black and streaking it down his cheeks as though they were tears. After playing in Buffalo for 6 years, Ray finished up his career with one final season playing for the Bengals, recording his first professional touchdown on a fumble he returned 75 yards.

Ray has been a very active guy since his days in the NFL ended. He’s done a series of children’s books including “Darby the Dinosaur” and has spent a lot of his time in color commentary for the Arena Football League and Bills radio broadcasts. He’s considered a member of the ‘New’ USFL advisory board, and also spends time coaching high school football.

G/Gs  87/53   Tac  N/a    Sac 2.0    Fum 3     Int 3    Yds 71     Avg 23.6     Td  0    Lg  58