Inside The Bills

Have your question answered on Bills All Access

Bills All Access with Steve Tasker airs every weekend during the football season and this season they want to make you part of the show.

Each week Tasker answers a question from the fans during a segment of his show. To submit a question you have about the Bills just go to Buffalobills.com and along the right rail of the All Access page you’ll see where you can submit your question.

Then see if your question is answered on the show that week.

Bills All Access airs in the following regional markets, and certain segments are also available in the Bills media lounge on Buffalobills.com. Here’s the question that was answered from Week 2.
Day  Time  Station 
Sun. 11:30 a.m. WKBW – Buffalo (ABC)
Sun. 12:00 p.m. WHAM – Rochester (ABC)
Sat. 12:35 a.m. WTVH – Syracuse (CBS)
Sun. 12:00 a.m. CW-WHAM – Rochester (ABC)
Sun. 12:05 a.m. WBNG – Binghamton 
TBA City TV – Toronto

Fan can now lobby for HOF candidates

For the first time, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is asking fans to voice their choice for who they think should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 with a dedicated fan forum.

At the Fans Choice Forum you can argue for the candidacy of Bills Wall of Famer Steve Tasker or three-time finalist Andre Reed. Kent Hull, Cornelius Bennett, Darryl Talley, Fred Smerlas, Chris Spielman and former head coach Chuck Knox current join Reed and Tasker on the Hall’s preliminary 2010 induction list.

The Hall wants to know what fans are thinking and it’s time for fans to speak up and be heard by casting their ballot! Almost 10,000 fans have already cast their ballot in the first 24 hours! 

Andre Reed is currently ranked #9 while Tasker is at #17, so get behind your guy and vote!

Top 10 fan’s choice as of this morning:
1. Jerry Rice
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Cris Carter
4. Shannon Sharpe
5. Charles Haley
6. Ray Guy
7. Richard Dent
8. Tim Brown
9. Andre Reed
10. Phil Simms

Tasker again left on outside

Steve Tasker made the list of 25 Hall of Fame semifinalists, but did not make the cut to 15. Former Oakland punter Ray Guy also did not make the cut, so special teams will not have a pioneer candidate on the finalist list.

The finalist class is pretty stacked so that may be why Guy and Tasker were left on the outside looking in, but I fear it’s going to be a long time before a special teamer is legitimately considered for enshrinement.

In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if players like Guy and Tasker have to wait to be nominated by the Seniors Committee for enshrinement. Hopefully I’m wrong because Guy and Tasker were special.

Bills Owner, Bruce, Andre, Tasker make HOF semifinalist list

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has reduced their preliminary list of candidates for the Hall of Fame induction class of 2009 to 25 semifinalists Tuesday and Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Steve Tasker and owner Ralph Wilson are among those that made the cut.

The list of 25 will eventually be reduced to 15 modern era finalists.

I think all four have a fair shot to make the finalist list. Bruce is a shoe-in, Andre has been a finalist the last 2 years and there has been growing support for Tasker and Mr. Wilson.

Mr. Wilson and Tasker have been semifinalists before as well.

The results of the modern-era reduction vote to 15 finalists will be announced in early January.

Several 90′s Bills, Ralph Wilson on prelim HOF list for 2009

Bills recent Wall of Fame inductee Bruce Smith, Kent Hull, Andre Reed, Darryl Talley, Cornelius Bennett and Steve Tasker make up the list of AFC Champion 90′s Bills that are are on the preliminary list of modern-era nominees for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009. 

Also on the list is Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson as a contributor nominee.

Other former Bills players on the list are Fred Smerlas and those who spent parts of their career with the Bills like Larry Centers and Chris Spielman.

Former Bills head coach Chuck Knox is also a preliminary nominee.

Bruce Smith is a shoe-in as a first ballot nominee being the league’s all time leader in sacks and a four-time AFC Champion and a countless number of Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams. Reed made the list of finalists last year. We’ll see if he can make it in this time. Tasker will get consideration too.

Mr. Wilson stands a good chance I believe as more of the committee I understand is coming around to understand the magnitude of his contributions to the game.

From this preliminary list of modern-era nominees, Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates who will advance as semifinalist nominees.  The list of 25 modern-era semifinalists will be announced later next month. The 25 modern-era semifinalists list will be reduced by a mail ballot to 15 modern-era finalists. 

The final list of nominees that will be considered for election will consist of the 15 modern-era finalists and the two previously announced senior nominees, Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey.  Hayes and Humphrey were selected this past August by the Hall of Fame’s Senior Selection Committee. 

The Class of 2009 will be selected from the list of 17 finalists (15 modern-era and two senior nominees).  The actual voting will be conducted at the Hall of Fame Selection Committee’s annual meeting, which will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Tampa, Florida the day before Super Bowl XLIII.  The election results will be announced immediately after the meeting at a press conference in the media headquarters.  While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the ground rules provide that between four and seven new members will be selected. 

The preliminary list includes 110 players, seven coaches and 16 contributors, including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and longtime team owners Bud Adams, Jerry Jones, Art Modell and Ralph Wilson.