Tag Archives: buffalo bills

NFL

Davis, Andre ‘Freakshow’ (USF)

sage15 davisCard: Sage Hit 2015
Acquired: 2015, Box Breaker

Andre Davis AKA ‘Freakshow’ piled up the numbers while at USF. While the quarterback position suffered from inconsistency, Davis took the advice of his position coaches who suggested he could take his game to the next level by watching more game film and doing the little things to tweak his game. He would go on to set the Bulls consecutive game catch record but missed 4 games in his Senior season due to a sternum injury. Still Freakshow earned team MVP honors with 36 catches for 594 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2014. He got a lot of attention at the Shrine game and coaches and players alike liked his willingness to make the play. Still Andre couldn’t shake his initial scouting report despite his productivity because his measurables weren’t eye popping. What is going for the young receiver is his intangible ability to make plays when it counts in game time situations.

In early May of 2015 the Bills signed Davis to a free agent contract, where he has made serious noise for a roster spot with Buffalo. Caught in a numbers game, Davis was one of the final cuts at the end of the preseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers snagged Freakshow off of the waiver wire in October, where he  found a home on their practice squad. He’d be cut in April of 2016 and is currently a free agent.

NFL, Pro Football HoF

LeBeau, Dick

Cards: TNT Signature Select, Topps 1971
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o The Tennessee Titans
Sent: 1/19/17  Received: 1/27/17   (8 days)

To say that Dick LeBeau has a decorated football history would be an understatement. After playing both halfback and defensive back in college, LeBeau was moved to cornerback fulltime when he entered the NFL. Selected by the Cleveland Browns in 1959, LeBeau did not make the squad and was quickly snatched up by the Detroit Lions. The rest is history. The Lions already had an outstanding secondary. LeBeau was icing on the cake. He arguably became one of the best players in Detroit history (at least defensively) recording 62 interceptions for 762 yards and 3 TDs.  He earned 3 ProBowl trips from 1964-1966 and AP in 1964, 1965, and 1970.

Retiring from play after the 72 season, LeBeau immediately jumped into coaching, working as a special teams coach for the Eagles from 1973-1975.  From there he honed his skills as a positional coach with the defensive backs for the Packers (1976-1979) and Bengals (1980-1983). Dick was promoted to defensive coordinator for Cincinnati in 1984- a position he held until 1991.  In 1992 he joined the Steelers as a defensive backs coach, and in 1995 was elevated to defensive coordinator.  LeBeau returned to the Bengals in 1997 and was head coach for the franchise from 2000-2002.  After a brief stay on the Bills in 2003 LeBeau returned to the Steelers as their defensive coordinator from 2004-2014, and then off to the Tennessee Titans as their coordinator where he coaches to this day (2017).  LeBeau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Pride of the Lions in 2010.

Dick LeBeau is one of the most reliable high profile TTM signers in the hobby today. I think I had taken it for granted for a long time, but I finally decided to take a shot at him in 2017. Part of the reason for my delay was the lack of decent cards of him. Frankly most of the cards that were on the market were quite bad looking, or were just plain expensive. LeBeau’s turnaround was quite quick signing this old beat up Topps card and my custom in about a week flat.

G/GS  N/a    Tac N/a         Sac N/a          Fum N/a
Int   62       Yds   762          Avg  12.2      TD  3     Lg   70t

CFL, NFL, University of Texas

Cavil, Kwame (3)

sage00 kcavilud00 kcavilCards: Sage 2000 (1/4,500), Upper Deck 2000 (1000/1000)
Acquired: In Person 2016, Jordan Shipley Camp
See Also: Kwame Cavil, Kwame Cavil (2)

Kwame loves signing cards when I see him. When I presented these two cards to him after camp, his first response was, “Ohhhh yeah!” Cavil has been rounding the football camp for kids circuit over the past few years. He’s very good with them, knows how to organize and lead, and it seems that all the kids respond well in kind and just love him. As of 2016 Cavil has moved from Manor High School up to Temple where he coaches football as well.

Coincidentally both of these cards are very important numbers in their ‘limited release’ with the Sage being #1 of 4,500, and the Upper Deck issue coming in at 1000 of 1000. It means very little value wise, but as far as their place in my universe, it’s the first time I’ve ever hit on either end like that.