Bruce Smith
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Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former
Considered one of the greatest defensive ends of all time, Smith is the NFL's all-time career leader in
High school and college careers
Smith is a native of
Professional football career
Buffalo Bills
Following this stellar collegiate career, Smith was
In March 1989, as a restricted free agent, Smith signed an offer-sheet with the Denver Broncos for $7.5 million over five years. Smith had excelled as their defensive leader, but the Bills were concerned about him with his substance abuse problem (since he had been suspended four games the previous year for it) and thus had him followed by undercover detectives in November, which stuck with him months later. Faced with the choice between Smith and two draft choices from Denver, the Bills picked Smith.[4] Now, as the highest-paid defensive player in the league, Smith would stay with the Bills for a considerable amount of time. He responded by playing in all sixteen games of the season and recording thirteen sacks to make his third straight Pro Bowl. He broke the record for sacks by a Bill all-time during the year (51), and he would continue to raise the total for years to come. Some conjecture that his 171 sacks in Buffalo set a standard that "may be unreachable" for future Bills.[5] He recorded half a sack in the divisional round playoff game that year, which the Bills lost to the Cleveland Browns 34–30.[6]
The next year, his defensive performance helped bring the Bills to
In 1991, though Smith's knee problems forced him out for most of the season, the Bills once again reached the Super Bowl. In 1992, in much better health, Smith was again a first-team All-Pro and was voted to the Pro Bowl while recording a team-leading fourteen sacks, and he repeated his sack total the following year. He led the league in forced fumbles twice with five (1994, 1996).
By 1996, though the Bills' run of Super Bowl appearances had ended, Smith was still putting up prolific numbers, with ninety tackles and fourteen sacks. In 1997, Smith had 65 tackles and fourteen sacks and by 1998, although he was getting older, he still had a respectable fifty tackles and ten sacks.[8][9]
In the final postseason game of his career, he recorded a best in sacks with 2.5 in the wild card round game for the Bills against the Tennessee Titans, although they lost 22–16 on a last-second controversial play.[10][11] Smith, along with Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas, was dumped from the Bills roster in an emergency salary cap measure after the 1999 season.
Washington Redskins
Smith signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent. Although he was now playing in mostly passing situations, he posted 58 tackles and ten sacks in his first season. He pressed onward in pursuit of Reggie White's all-time sacks record (198, achieved in 15 seasons), which he passed in Week 14 of the 2003 NFL season by sacking New York Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer in a 20–7 win at Giants Stadium.[12] Smith finished his career with 200 career sacks, the only person ever to reach that mark.
Smith had hinted in interviews that 2003 would be his final season, but never completely ruled out continuing to play. However, on February 24, 2004, the Redskins released Smith, saving $6.5 million in salary cap space.[13]
NFL career accomplishments
Smith was a first-ballot inductee to the NFL Hall of Fame. In his 19 NFL seasons, Smith played in 279 games, amassing a record 200 sacks, two interceptions, 46 forced fumbles, and 15 fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a 33-yard touchdown. Of his 19 seasons in the NFL, 13 of them were seasons where he had at least ten sacks, a testament to his consistency year in and year out. He was also named to an
Honors
- 1995, inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
- 1999, while still an active NFL player, Smith was ranked number 58 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
- 2005, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, honoring players from around the state of Virginia.
- 2006, Smith was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
- 2008, he was part of the inaugural class to be inducted into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, an institution honoring athletes, coaches and administrators who made contributions to sports in Southeastern Virginia.
- 2008, inducted onto the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame in 2008.
- 2009, enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his first year of eligibility.
- 2016, the Bills announced they were retiring Smith's #78. No player had worn the number since Smith left the team. His number was retired in a halftime ceremony on September 15, 2016 during a game against the New York Jets.
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
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AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year
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NFL record | |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
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GP | GS | Sck | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sfty | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | TD | PD | ||
1985 | BUF | 16 | 13 | 6.5 | 48 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1986 | BUF | 16 | 15 | 15.0 | 63 | — | — | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1987 | BUF | 12 | 12 | 12.0 | 78 | — | — | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1988 | BUF | 12 | 12 | 11.0 | 56 | — | — | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1989 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 13.0 | 88 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1990 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 19.0 | 101 | — | — | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1991 | BUF | 5 | 5 | 1.5 | 18 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1992 | BUF | 15 | 15 | 14.0 | 89 | — | — | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1993 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 14.0 | 108 | — | — | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1994 | BUF | 15 | 15 | 10.0 | 81 | 57 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1995 | BUF | 15 | 15 | 10.5 | 74 | 52 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1996 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 13.5 | 90 | 69 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1997 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 14.0 | 65 | 49 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1998 | BUF | 15 | 15 | 10.0 | 50 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1999 | BUF | 16 | 16 | 7.0 | 45 | 30 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2000 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 10.0 | 58 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2001 | WAS | 14 | 14 | 5.0 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2002 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 9.0 | 49 | 37 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2003 | WAS | 16 | 8 | 5.0 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 279 | 267 | 200.0 | 1,224 | 1,075 | 149 | 2 | 43 | 15 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Post-football life
Smith lives in
Smith also works with Thurman Thomas in their new business venture, Legends Energy Group. They promote energy programs across North America.
Smith, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, and Jim Kelly were the subject of the 30 for 30 film Four Falls of Buffalo in 2015.[15][16]
Notes
- ^ Note that the NFL only began tracking sacks as an official statistic in 1982 (3 years before Smith entered the league).
References
- ^ "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Dunne, Tyler (May 11, 2016). "Marv Levy remembers Bruce Smith's turnaround: 'He was overweight, self-indulgent, didn't have great practice habits'". The Buffalo News. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ "Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts - December 13th, 1987". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ Friend, Tom (March 24, 1989). "Broncos Sign Smith For $7.5 Million". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b Wilson, Allen (August 19, 2009). "Bruce Smith: A rare talent: Bills legend's consistency and durability place him among the best defensive ends ever". The Buffalo News.
- ^ "Divisional Round - Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns - January 6th, 1990". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Super Bowl XXV - New York Giants vs. Buffalo Bills - January 27th, 1991". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Bruce Smith 1997 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "Bruce Smith 1998 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "Wild Card - Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans - January 8th, 2000". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Bruce Smith Playoffs Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ Litsky, Frank (December 8, 2003). "With No. 199, Smith Becomes Sack Leader". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
- ^ "Redskins cut four, including Smith". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 24, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
- ^ Manese-Lee, Angela (May 11, 2007). "Red Lion Inn site plans become official". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- ^ "Four Falls of Buffalo - ESPN Films: 30 for 30". ESPN.com.
- ^ Deitsch, Richard (December 7, 2015). "The '90s Bills recast as heroes in new documentary The Four Falls of Buffalo". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Virginia Tech Hall of Fame Archived February 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Pro Football Reference