Tag Archives: buffalo bills

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.

NFL, University of Texas

Williams, Aaron (3)

Cards: Sage 2011, Upper Deck 2011, Score 2011, Playoff Contenders 2011, Playoff Threads 2011, Panini UT 2015, PressPass 2011,
Acquired: IP, Aaron Williams Lone Star Showcase 2015, UT Coop Celebration 2016.
See Also: Aaron Williams, Aaron Williams (2)

Making a habit of grabbing a few Aaron Williams autographs
when I see he’s around.  While there seems to be an almost endless supply of cards, I’m still finding quite a few nice ones here and there especially this surprising Sage 2012 entry.  The
Playoff Contenders was a late find and a really nice card.  I appreciate the reflective areas on the card.  Even though Upper Deck seems to be taking a beating recently, I do appreciate the 1991
throwback entry they did of Williams. The Press Pass card left much to be desired however.    When I showed Aaron his Panini 2015 UT card at the Coop, he stopped to show Fozzy Whittaker how it looked. I knew he wanted one but unfortunately I did not have an extra.  Shawn luckily had one to give him.

I really liked the Lone Star Showcase. Williams crew ran a tight ship and the kids really appreciated the camp, event, and how it was run. Aaron started the LSC because he felt that if he just had the guidance and help earlier, he could’ve been a better player and teammate. In a sense this is his way of giving back. After the event, the best kids were given trophies.  It was a really hot event, but it was worth it. Outside of the autographs, the highlight of the event was the DB WR drills and watching these kids go up one on one on each other. I really wish something like this had existed when I was a kid as there was no shortage of NFL talent on the field willing to help, teach, and encourage these youngsters. Aaron continues to be highly active in Central Texas hosting events, and making charitable radio appearances.

 Aaron really blossomed into the heart and soul of the Buffalo defense. His knowledge and understanding of Rex Ryan’s defense was unparalleled. The strong safety was leaned heavily upon in the system, and as neck and concussion issues have impacted his playing time- it has had an adverse effect on the Bills defense as well. He’s been limited to 10 games over the last two seasons, posting 22 tackles, an interception, 8 passes defensed, and a fumble recovery for a TD. In March of 2017, Aaron Williams was released by the Buffalo Bills. He’s weighing his options as he hopes to continue his career elsewhere.