Who is the Buffalo Bills Enforcer?

Nov 10, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Buffalo Bills tight end Lee Smith (85) in pass catch drills prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

In hockey there is a role known as an enforcer, it is currently in a fight for its life as the game progresses into the 21st century. Some feel that this position is no longer needed, others argue that you will always need someone to defend the team as a chaperone. This position is not only privy to hockey; all major sports have had and do have them. Whether it is a pitcher who will throw at an opposing batter in baseball if one of their players was caught with a dirty play, or the power forward in Basketball who fouls the opposing teams star player hard as they drive to the net.

In football the enforcer position has two roles, like any enforcer worth his salt he must: A) protect his teammates and enact revenge upon those who do something dirty towards their team mates who can not defend themselves and B) they must get inside the head of their opponent and get them off their game so the enforcer’s team can capitalize.

Now some may argue that that second characteristic is more of an agitator role, but to those people I say aren’t agitator and enforcer synonyms in the sports lexicon? It seems more to be a semantics debate rather than a philosophical one. But I digress. Over the Easter weekend I went back and watched all the Bills wins and I noticed one thing through out; one player in specific constantly got into scruffs with opposing players. These plays occurred at least twice a game and would normally be targeted at a player who had been having some success against the team.

There are many players who off the top of my head I would guess are the enforcer for the Bills: maybe it’s one of the captains. It could very easily be Eric Wood protecting his fellow offensive players, and laying a smack down for anyone who hit the Bills young players in a dirty manner. However, it is not Wood because as the center and anchor for the offense he is too far away from exterior players to make an sort of run against them. Perhaps it’s Kyle Williams, the veteran Defensive Tackle who had a career last year. Surely he’s the one who dawns the cape and protects his team. For a similar reason that excludes Eric Wood, Williams simply can’t get out there to enforce some street justice. There is a list of player I compiled that I thought would have fit the enforcer role: Aaron Williams, Leodis McKelvin, Cordy Glenn, Stevie Johnson, Marcell Dareus, Kraig Urbik, and Frank Summers. All these players I would’ve thought of over the actual enforcer of the Bills. The actual enforcer for the Bills is TE Lee Smith, yes you heard me right, Lee Smith.

Every single game I watched he was getting into a scuffle with someone on the opposing team, and at first I just thought he was just getting into it because some players enjoy that. However, after I looked at these skirmishes more in depth, I realized he was getting into it with players who had in previous series came up with big plays for the opposing team. Whether it was a DE who just made a sack on 3rd and long, or the linebacker who scraped down and came up with a huge stop. Now I don’t believe these players were targeted specifically by Smith, nor do I think there was any intent to injure these players. However, Lee Smith saw an opportunity normally on a run play or special teams play to get into his opponents head and he took it.

This is how the enforcer/agitator works in professional Football, specifically on offense. Normally it’s a play to the opposite side of the field and player will relax and not go an 100%. That is when Smith strikes by driving the player back and blocking them until the whistle blows. This normally will start a shoving match after the whistle. This is one of the many things Lee does that are not illegal, but drive opponents mad. In one game where Smith got into the fracas with his opponent, after the play Smith can clearly be seen on film laughing heartily, rapping his tree branch of an arm around an official, and saying something to that official. The player Smith instigated with had had two sacks on the day and after that point his name was not called again once. This is the beauty of Lee Smith, he is able to protect his teammates, and get inside the head of his opponents heads without doing anything blatantly illegal. I say keep it up Lee, there needs to be more players like you in the NFL, who are willing to protect their teammates while still staying within the rules. Most importantly GO BILLS!

In football the enforcer position has to roles, like any enforcer worth his salt he must: A) protect his teammates and enact revenge upon those who do something dirty towards their team mates who can not defend themselves and B) like any great enforcer they must get inside the head of their opponent and make them get off their game so the enforcers team can capitalize.

Now some may argue that that second characteristic is more of an agitator role, but to those people I say aren’t agitator and enforcer synonyms in the sports lexicon. Its seems more to be a semantics debate rather then a philosophical one. But I digress, over the Easter weekend I went back and watched all the Bills wins and I noticed one thing through out, one player in specific constantly got into scruffs with opposing players. These occurred at least twice a game and would normally be targeted at a player who had been having some success against the team.

There are many players who off the top of my head I would guess as the enforcer for the Bills: maybe its one of the captains, it could very easily be Eric Wood protecting his fellow offensive players and laying a smack down for any who hit the Bills young players in a dirty manner. However it is not Wood because as the center and anchor for the offense he is to far away from exterior players to make an sort of run against them. Perhaps its Kyle Williams, the veteran Defensive Tackle who had a career last year surely he’s the one who dawns the cape and protects his team. For a similar reason to why Eric Wood is not in that position the same reason is for Williams he simply can’t get out there to enforce some street justice. There is a list of player I compiled that I thought would have this role: Aaron Williams, Leodis McKelvin, Cordy Glenn, Stevie Johnson, Marcell Dareus, Kraig Urbik, and Frank Summers. All players I would’ve thought of over the actual enforcer of the Bills. The actual enforcer for the Bills is TE Lee Smith, yes you heard me right Lee Smith.

Every single game I watched he was getting into a scuffle with someone on the opposing team and at first I just thought he was fitting just getting into because some players enjoy that. However, after I looked at it more in depth I realized he was getting into it with players who had in previous series came up with big plays for the opposing team. Whether it be a DE who just made a sack on 3rd and long or the linebacker who scraped down and game up with a huge stop. Now I don’t believe these players were targeted specifically by Smith, nor do I think there was any intent to injure these players. However, Lee Smith saw an opportunity normally on a run play or special teams play to get into his opponents head and he took it.

This is how the enforcer/agitator works in professional Football specifically on offense, normally its a play to the opposite side of the field and player will relax and not go an 1o0%. That is when Smith strikes by driving the player back and blocking them until the whistle blows. This normally will start and shoving match after the whistle. This is one of the many things Lee does that are not illegal but drive opponents mad. In one game where Smith got into the fracas with his opponent, after the play Smith  can clearly be seen on film laughing heartily, rapping his tree branch of an arm around an official, and saying something to that official. The player Smith instigated with had had two sacks on the day and after that point his name was not called again once. This is the beauty of Lee Smith, he is able to protect his team mates and get inside the head of his opponents  heads with out doing anything blatantly illegal. I say keep it up Lee, there needs to be more players like you in the NFL, who are willing to protect their team mates while still staying within the rules. Most importantly GO BILLS!