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The NFL lockout has put players and owners in limbo. The ripple effects are also felt by people whose lives or businesses touch their teams. Here are their stories:

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Big Tree Inn has been a Buffalo Bills institution for decades.

The beloved watering hole and wing joint is about 600 yards of Abbott Road sidewalk away from Gate 4 at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Signed jerseys from Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Kent Hull, Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley adorn the walls of the modest 1,600-square-foot space. Ruben Brown, the perennial Pro Bowl guard, has his own corner.

The Big Tree Inn is a gathering spot for fans and a rite of passage for the players who pass through during the week -- and after home games -- to hang out with hardcore patrons. Wise visiting players place to-go orders for the bus ride to the airport or the outbound flight.

Reed called the Big Tree "a hallowed place," which, when he walks through the door, gives him the same feeling others might get when they walk into Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium.

"That was the first place I walked into as a so-called Bills rookie at that time," Reed said. "Every time you walk in there, you get a sense of what the Bills are all about."

You can imagine how much a Ralph Wilson Stadium neighborhood restaurant with 12 employees would rely on NFL games to remain profitable. With the lockout threatening to wipe out exhibitions and maybe even regular-season dates, Big Tree Inn owners Dan DeMarco and Brian Duffek are nervous.

"We're just praying," Duffek said on a quiet Tuesday afternoon at the bar. "If this is the crowd we have on a Sunday in October, we've got a big problem."

The Big Tree is as much of the game-day routine for many Bills fans as putting on a parka. Duffek said home games account for about 30 percent of the Big Tree's annual revenues. The till already had been shorted by games the Bills outsourced to Toronto through 2012.

In addition to the business' bottom line, bartenders could lose out on hundreds of dollars in tips each day. Hours likely would be cut for the whole staff.

"Everybody says 'There's only eight or nine home games,' but people don't realize that a home-game crowd starts showing up on Thursdays and pour into Mondays," DeMarco said from behind the bar. "People flock in from out of town and fill the motels around here. They give us four or five days of business every home game."

DeMarco joked about his regular crew of "season-ticket holders" who prefer to watch the home games at his place rather than in person.

A large wood carving of Reed stands outside the entrance, alongside versions of Kelly and ESPN's Chris Berman. Bottles of Reed's Over the Middle Sauce are stationed around the bar.

"It's been cemented in my life," Reed said. "When we became a team in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Big Tree was a huge part of that.

"The camaraderie was always evident when we showed up there and, over some beers and some wings, would talk about our team and what our goals were. Every Friday we went to the Big Tree, talked about the week's practice and could be ourselves away from the coaches and the stadium. A lot of tension was released there. A lot of things were gotten off our chests in that place. Any time I go back up there, it's a lot of memories."

There are a lot of ghosts wafting around the Big Tree, but Sundays could make the place look like a ghost town if the lockout endures.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Before we get too far removed from the NFL scouting combine and mired in the labor morass, it's time to empty out the notebook from Lucas Oil Stadium. Here are some AFC East-oriented tidbits from the defensive players who met with reporters there.

Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers on the NFL's greatest offensive tackle:

"If I had to pick, I’d have to say Jake Long. One of the best I have ever seen."

Bowers on being compared to Bruce Smith and Reggie White:

"It's amazing. Just to be in the same sentence as those guys is amazing. Anytime anybody can put you in a sentence with Reggie White and Bruce Smith, you must be doing something right."

Ohio State defensive end Cameron Heyward on being compared to Vernon Gholston:

"We're two totally different players. Vern, they had him dropping at linebacker. You've seen my dropping abilities. They're pretty good [joking]. Me, I can play all over the line. I can play 3-technique and 6-technique. We are two different players. We had the privilege of going to The Ohio State, but we're not the same player. I'm never going to compare myself to him, and I don't think he'll ever do the same."

Fresno State outside linebacker Chris Carter about working with former Patriots outside linebacker Willie McGinest:

"We've been working primarily on drops. I know how to rush the passer. That's my big thing, work on drops and perfecting that, getting the hips loose. Making sure we go over the defenses 100 percent and I know everyone's assignment. When you play DE, you pretty much only have to know the front-seven assignments. But as a backer, one thing they emphasized is making sure we know everyone's assignment."

Hampton defensive tackle Kendrick Ellis on a fellow alum with the Miami Dolphins:

"Every time when I used to be at Hampton, I'd watch Kendall Langford. He just gave us hope. Small-school guys, we're not on TV every week. Just with him doing it, it gave us hope that we could do it. Kendall was a good player. So I try to emulate what Kendall did, being strong in the weight room, working hard and trying to be just like him."

Clemson safety Marcus Gilchrist on what he learned from C.J. Spiller:

"Humbleness. A lot times you hear about these big-time, high-profile guys and a tendency to judge them with character issues because they have such a big head. But C.J. is one of the most humble guys you'll ever meet."

Florida punter Chas Henry on speaking with Jets special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff:

"I’d sure love to hear from him. It’s a great organization. They’re going to have a lot of success in the future, and I’d love to be a part of it. ... I’m definitely following their situation."

Illinois linebacker Martez Wilson on comparisons to Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby:

"I've heard that a lot. I could definitely see myself as a similarity to Karlos. We're both tall and got long arms. Actually our play styles are very similar. That's a great comparison. He's a great linebacker. Just to have that type of comparison, someone who was in the NFL, is just a great accomplishment."

Clemson defensive tackle Jarvis Jenkins on being coached by the Buffalo Bills at the Senior Bowl:

"It was real good, being coached by the Bills. They opened my eyes a lot. I had to improve my pass-rush a lot, and they taught me a lot about not looking in the backfield, beating my man first, and actually had a good Senior Bowl, got better each day."

Cancer survivor and Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich on his relationship with Tedy Bruschi:

"Tedy reached out to me first. I remember the date, Sept. 29th, because that's the date I was told I didn't have cancer any more. One thing he told me that night back at my dorm at Boston College was 'Mark, you're a survivor now. Be proud of being a survivor.' Those are words that have stayed with me through my whole process. To me, that meant get your story out there, raise as much money as you can, be helpful to other people."

This blog item doesn't pertain to the AFC East sincerely.

But it's too fun to pass up. I'll find a way to stretch it.

ESPN Radio host Doug Gottlieb has assembled a tournament bracket to determine the greatest sports video game of all-time. You cast the votes.

Thirty-two entries made the field, and it's difficult to argue with the No. 1 seeds in each of the four regions: Tecmo Super Bowl, NHL '94, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out and NBA Jam.

That's a murderer's row and darn near an exact lineup of my personal favorites.

The Madden franchise is represented by its 2005 version (Ray Lewis cover) and is a controversial No. 2 seed in the Tecmo Super Bowl region. That will be an elite eight matchup for the ages.

The Madden edition I recall most fondly is '92. I was so dominant my big brother actually would find opponents for cash games that required an hour-long drive to a neutral site. I was undefeated in those showdowns. That's listed on my resume.

I'm truly terrible on the PlayStation3 model. I'm more of a "Red Dead Redemption" guy these days. Anybody know where I can pick up a John Marston rookie card?

What a snub not to see Earl Weaver Baseball in the tournament. Yet Duck Hunt made the cut. Incredible.

I was disappointed to see my beloved SNK Baseball Stars as a No. 7 seed. Arch Rivals, the arcade game that devoured my quarters in the basement of the Baldwin-Wallace College student union, is the No. 5 seed in the same region.

So let's make this an AFC East-related post somehow.

For your stroll down memory lane, here are the top Tecmo Super Bowl players from the division. I mistakenly listed the 1994 Super Nintendo version earlier. I've also added the Indianapolis Colts to round out the division. Thanks to readers redvenomweb and ucnu112 for their help on tracking down the 1991 rosters:

• Buffalo Bills -- Bills QB (licensing issue), running back Thurman Thomas, receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Bruce Smith.
• Indianapolis Colts -- Quarterback Jeff George, running back Albert Bentley, receiver Bill Brooks.
• Miami Dolphins -- Quarterback Dan Marino, running back Sammie Smith, receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper.
• New England Patriots -- Quarterback Steve Grogan, running back John Stephens, receiver Irving Fryar, linebacker Andre Tippett.
• New York Jets -- Quarterback Ken O'Brien, running back Blair Thomas, receiver Al Toon.

Now who wants to run down with me to the 7-11 to pick up a couple two-liters, a bag of Funyons and some beef jerky, then pull up the footstool and pop in a cartridge?

Andre Reed and Curtis Martin received bad news about their Pro Football Hall of Fame bids.

Reed and Martin were among the 15 finalists for induction, but neither AFC East star made the cut Saturday when the next induction class was determined.

The 2011 class includes running back Marshall Faulk, tight end Shannon Sharpe, defensive end Richard Dent cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Films patriarch Ed Sabol. Senior nominees headed to Canton are linebackers Chris Hanburger and Les Richter.

Reed has been a finalist five times. For the second year in a row, the Buffalo Bills legend finished ahead of Cris Carter and Tim Brown in the selection process, which pares down the group of finalists from 15 to 10. Reed made the top 10, while Carter and Brown did not.

But Reed didn't make the next cut to five. That's the group the selection committee makes a final yea or nay vote on, with 80 percent agreement required for induction. The committee approved all five.

Reed will have to wait to join his former teammates already honored in Canton: quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, receiver James Lofton, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy.

Reed made 951 catches for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns and played in four consecutive Super Bowls. He's known as one of the best yards-after-catch receivers in NFL history, perhaps second to only Jerry Rice, and among the grittiest over-the-middle threats.

Reed was a seven-time Pro Bowler. He posted 13 seasons with at least 50 receptions, tied for second all-time. He's tied for third in postseason history with five 100-yard games. His 85 postseason receptions rank third.

Martin, a star running back with the New England Patriots and New York Jets, was on the ballot for the first time. His former coach, Bill Parcells, advocated Martin be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Martin ranks fourth in all-time rushing yardage behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders, a pretty good crew -- if you're into that kind of thing.

Martin rushed for 14,101 yards and scored an even 100 touchdowns, 90 on the ground and 10 more off catches. He ran for 1,000 yards in 10 straight seasons, the second-longest streak in league history. Martin was the 1995 offensive rookie of the year and made five Pro Bowl rosters.

Carter was another Hall of Fame finalist with an AFC East connection, albeit barely. Carter finished his career with the Miami Dolphins, catching eight passes over five games in 2002. His 130th and final touchdown was with Miami.

That gave every AFC East club a link to Saturday's selection process.

Can a team put too many players into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Bill Polian doesn't think so.

Polian assembled the Buffalo Bills teams that went to four straight Super Bowls. Five members of those teams already have bronze busts in Canton: quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, receiver James Lofton, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy. Bills owner Ralph Wilson has been enshrined, too.

"It seems like every second or third year somebody gets inducted into the Hall of Fame and we have a reunion and get to reflect on it," Polian told me Thursday night. "It's a big family that has stuck together and still stays in touch.

"It's a blessing. To be associated with guys like that? It's a special, special group."

Polian insisted more Bills belong in the Hall of Fame and is bothered that wide receiver Andre Reed hasn't gotten in yet. Reed could get the Canton call Saturday. He is among the 15 finalists who will be evaluated by the selection committee for five openings on the 2011 class.

"It's shocking to me that he's not viewed as a shoo-in Hall of Famer," Polian said. "Andre Reed was our biggest big-play player on a team that went to four Super Bowls. How he could not be included in the Hall of Fame when he's one of two guys who dominated is beyond me.

"Go with the facts. Don't go with perception. Go with reality because if you go with reality, you have to say Andre Reed belongs, without question. To me, it's just baffling."

That would give the Bills five Hall of Famers who played or coached all four Super Bowl teams. Lofton played on only three of them. Bills owner Ralph Wilson also has been inducted.

Put that group up against the New England Patriots, who won three Super Bowls in four years.

"The teams are comparable," Polian said.

There aren't that many slam-dunks from all three of New England's championship rosters.

Head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady are surefire Hall of Famers. Beyond that, Adam Vinatieri has a strong case for his heroics, but there are no guarantees for kickers. Jan Stenerud is the only Hall of Fame kicker or punter. Maybe defensive end Richard Seymour or cornerback Ty Law will be considered.

Beyond that, much of the Patriots' roster was comprised of semi-stars such as linebackers Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel, who went to one Pro Bowl apiece, and transients.

That the 1990s Bills will send more players to Canton than the 2000s Patriots is fascinating to me. It shows how incredible the Patriots have been at navigating free agency and the draft to maintain a consistent winner with a fluctuating roster -- and how truly magnificent that collection of talent was for Buffalo.

"That'll never happen again," Reed told me last week. "You won't see an assemblage of players like that -- at least not in Buffalo. I know that."

Those Bills teams also featured offensive linemen Kent Hull and Jim Ritcher, linebackers Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan and Darryl Talley and special-teams star Steve Tasker.

Polian is an advocate of Tasker's induction into Canton, too.

"Steve Tasker was, pound-for-pound, the greatest special-teams player ever to play," Polian said. "If you value special teams, then Steve Tasker belongs in the Hall of Fame. I am also an unabashed Ray Guy fan.

"I've seen every player that's played in this game since 1977, and I can tell you Ray Guy literally changed the game -- as did Steve Tasker."

So that would make at least seven Hall of Famers from the 1990s Bills if Polian had his way.

When you consider how much talent Polian gathered with the Bills -- and his success with the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts since then -- there's no way you can't consider Polian himself.

But for now, Andre Reed is on deck.

"Andre is clearly, clearly, clearly deserving to be inducted," Polian said. "By any measure in the era he played, Andre Reed is a Hall of Famer."

Receptions come a lot cheaper these days.

The game has changed, and all you need for proof is a glance at Paul Warfield's career stats. He caught more than 50 passes once. He gained more than 1,000 yards once. In some of his Pro Bowl seasons, his numbers wouldn't have justified a roster spot in your 10-team fantasy league.

Yet Warfield is considered one the most dangerous receivers NFL history, a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.

"Our game is beginning to resemble baseball in which everyone is looking at numbers," Warfield said this week from his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "Numbers tell the story to a degree, but I like to look at one's full body of work.

"I'm from the old-school generation. You might be termed a wide receiver, but you should be a football player first."

Steve Largent is another example of how stats don't quantify a receiver's worth like they used to. Largent retired after the 1989 season as the NFL's all-time leading receiver with 819 catches. He, too, was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Twenty-one years later, Largent ranks 20th in receptions behind such names as Derrick Mason, Torry Holt, Keenan McCardell, Muhsin Muhammad and fullback Larry Centers.

In 1985, only four players had caught 600 passes. The list is 55 players long now.

"It doesn't necessarily undermine a player's ability to get into the Hall of Fame because he had great stats or doesn't have great stats," Largent said Monday from his office in Washington D.C. "You're looking for a guy who was the total package."

With that in mind, you might consider Andre Reed's stats if you choose when deciding if he belongs in the Hall of Fame. They're sterling -- if a little outdated and discounted by time.

To both Largent and Warfield and other legendary receivers, Reed qualifies for Canton without even looking at the numbers.

"I saw the value Reed had to that team not only as a receiver, but also as a leader," Largent said. "There are some attributes you don't keep statistics of, but you become aware of as one player watching another play the game."

Reed is Largent's "total package" and Warfield's unequivocal embodiment of "football player."

"It's long overdue for Andre," Warfield said.

Reed is among the 15 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists who will learn Saturday whether they will be included in this year's induction class.

The star Buffalo Bills receiver has been a finalist five times. There's a belief this year offers his best chance yet. In previous years, he has shared the ballot with at least one receiver who took precedence because they were icons (Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin) or had been waiting longer (Art Monk).

Reed could become the sixth Hall of Famer from a team that went to four straight Super Bowls but failed to win one.

Already enshrined are Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy. Wide receiver James Lofton also is in Canton, but he didn't play on all four Super Bowl teams, and is more closely associated with the Green Bay Packers.

"I was a part of something special, and I'll take that to my grave," said Reed, 47. "We were a family. But the Hall of Fame, I don't know how I would react. It would be a validation of your work and what you did.

"Hopefully on Saturday I can be in that fraternity with them, but every year it's a tough ballot."

The other finalists include running backs Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis, receivers Tim Brown and Cris Carter, tight end Shannon Sharpe, center Dermontti Dawson, tackle Willie Roaf, defensive ends Richard Dent, Charles Haley and Chris Doleman, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, cornerback Deion Sanders and NFL Films patriarch Ed Sabol.

The Hall of Fame's 44-member selection committee will decide Saturday. The group includes NFL writers, one representative per franchise, 11 at-large voters and one from the Pro Football Writers Association. The committee will pare the group of 15 finalists down to 10 and then to five. At that point, a vote will be held, with 80 percent agreement needed for induction.

Up to five modern-era candidates may be elected each year. First-time nominees Faulk and Sanders are virtual locks to get inducted. That leaves three spots available for Reed and the other finalists to get in.

Buffalo News reporter Mark Gaughan will make the case for Reed's induction. It's a compelling one.

"He certainly had a great career, one of the great clutch receivers," Warfield said. "He was consistent, one Jim Kelly could always go to and always find open in a situation where they're trying to make a big play. He's an all-encompassing receiver."

Reed was third on the NFL's all-time receptions list when he retired after the 2000 season with 951 catches, behind only Rice and Carter. Reed was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a superstar on a team that won four conference championships in a row.

"He was as dangerous a receiver as there is," former Bills quarterback Frank Reich said. "Versus press coverage, he was almost impossible to stop, coming off the ball. We always felt if they tried to play tight man on Andre it didn't matter who was guarding him. Any shutdown corner in the league in press coverage, Andre was going to beat him."

Reed was a force on the big stage. In 19 postseason games he had 85 receptions for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns. He didn't score any Super Bowl touchdowns, but he did have 27 receptions for 323 yards.

In the Bills' epic comeback against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 postseason, he made eight catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

Reed is known as tremendously durable. He played 253 games, counting playoffs. He often darted into traffic to make plays in a crowd of defenders.

"No fear," Reich said.

Reed was one the greatest ever when it came to yards after the catch, second perhaps only to Rice.

"Most people that were on that team or played against us will remember how explosive he was in run-after-the-catch," said Reich, now Peyton Manning's position coach with the Indianapolis Colts. "He rivaled Jerry Rice in that category. Like Jerry Rice, his 40 time was good and probably not great. But there was nobody faster with the ball in his hands."

What put Reed's production in even greater context is a closer look at Buffalo's offense in the 1990s.

Many fans, even those who closely followed the Bills then, recall a prolific aerial attack. They remember Kelly running the no-huddle, K-Gun offense and slinging the ball all over the field to Reed and Lofton.

As Gaughan will point out again Saturday, the Bills ranked 17th in passing offense throughout Reed's career. In Reed's six prime seasons from 1988 through 1993, the Bills passed 51 percent of the time. By comparison, the Washington Redskins' famed "Hogs" offense passed 50 percent of the time when Monk was there.

Reed didn't have much receiving help either. He played with Lofton for four seasons, but Lofton was 33 years old when he joined Buffalo. In 1988, for instance, Reed's second and third receivers were Trumaine Johnson and Chris Burkett.

So far, the chief impediment for Reed's induction hasn't been his resume, but the other names on the ballot.

A wide receiver has been inducted each of the past four years, and in seven classes out of the past decade.

Gaughan noted there is room in Canton for at least two more receivers from the 1990s. A breakdown of membership shows seven receivers who predominantly played in the 1960s, four from 1970s, four from the 1980s and two from the 1990s.

Reed, Carter and Brown are the worthiest receiver candidates to join Rice and Irvin from that decade.

There's a velvet rope. This is Reed's fifth year as a finalist. Carter has been a finalist four times, Brown twice.

Reed apparently jockeyed to the head of the receiver line last year. In the selection process, Carter and Brown didn't make the top-10 stage, but Reed did.

That development has raised Reed's hopes for 2011.

"I'll be more nervous because of the way the voting went last year," Reed said. "I feel I'm more deserving of it. It was pretty close. The anticipation is enhanced this year."

But there are no guarantees. Several legendary receivers have waited longer than five years to get the Canton call. Don Maynard, John Stallworth and Monk got in on their eighth time as finalists. Lynn Swann was a finalist 14 times. The Seniors Committee was necessary to induct Bob Hayes 34 years after his last NFL game.

Reed admitted he has fantasized about the phone call too many times to count. He's even tried to research the moment.

"I've talked to a bunch of Hall of Famers who say when they get the call they're at a loss for words," said Reed, who plays a lot of golf and sells his own line of barbeque sauce in the San Diego area. "They don't know how to react.

"I'll just have to wait and see."

And hopefully not have to wait some more.

Buffalo Bills fans will wince at the idea, but I encourage them to check out a Buffalo News package that looks back 20 years on Super Bowl XXV, the first and most heartbreaking of the Bills' four consecutive trips to the NFL championship game.

Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan, beat reporter Mark Gaughan and editor Greg Connors presented a compelling retrospective of a bittersweet event that began with Whitney Houston's moving national anthem and F-16s whooshing overhead.

"Then I remember the Apache gunship flies over," Bills special-teams star Steve Tasker told Sullivan. "They weren't supposed to fly low, but it seemed to me I could see the whiskers on the guy hanging off the sides. It was as though he wasn't just flying for the ceremony. He was watching over us, like, 'Go ahead and play because I'm on guard.' That was awesome."

The game, however, will forever be remembered for how it concluded.

Scott Norwood's 47-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right. The Bills lost by a point.

The Buffalo News spoke with two dozen members of the team and uncovered intriguing new information.

For instance, holder Frank Reich revealed for the first time that Norwood kept hooking his practice kicks to the left before the game, possibly impacting his fateful kick. Long snapper Adam Lingner told the story of how Norwood's successor, Steve Christie, noticed the laces were not spun to the proper place, suggesting Reich's hold wasn't as good as believed.

Sullivan also wrote about the brotherhood that was forged and how much the 1990s Bills loved to party. Another piece laid out all the "what-if" scenarios that could have made the difference. The two biggies for me: Bruce Smith's inability to strip Jeff Hostetler on a second-quarter safety and failing to stop Mark Ingram on third-and-13 in the third quarter.

In the style the Buffalo News now handles its Monday coverage of games, Gaughan breaks down Super Bowl XXV with a quarter-by-quarter report of how the game unfolded.

Connors added a feature on Van Miller, "the man who will forever be known as the voice of the Bills," and his recollections of the Bills' heyday. The story includes Miller's call of Norwood's kick.

Buffalo Bills

• On a team that needs tackles, seventh-round draft choice Kyle Calloway couldn't make the roster. Calloway was among three cuts Monday.
• Lane College head coach Derrick Burroughs is getting support from former mates Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley when it comes to inspiring his players.

Miami Dolphins

• Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post lays out Dolphins developments from Monday, including the release of tight end Joey Haynos and linebacker Channing Crowder's injury.
• Miami Herald reporter Jeff Darlington explores agent Drew Rosenhaus' relationship with the Dolphins' locker room.

New England Patriots

• Boston Globe reporter Shalise Manza Young forecasts the Patriots' 53-man roster, which must be settled Saturday.
• ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss notes Thursday preseason finale will help the Patriots prepare for the Jets in Week 2.

New York Jets

• ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini provides a Monday notebook of Jets items, including injury updates and news quarterback Mark Brunell with start Thursday's final exhibition.
• Newark Star-Ledger reporter Jenny Vrentas considers the Jets' defense without top pass defender Darrelle Revis and top pass-rusher Calvin Pace.

Andre Reed knew this wasn't going to be the year he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were eligible for the first time, and both were no-brainers. Space is limited in each class, and the voters weren't going to induct two receivers.

But Reed views 2010 as a step in the right direction. The legendary Buffalo Bills receiver won't get into the Hall of Fame this weekend, but he's walking up the front steps.

Reed this year finished among the 17 semifinalists a fourth time. Although the board of selectors didn't vote to enshrine him this year, he finished in the top 10, something he'd never done before.

"My phone was blowing up when we got to the final 10," Reed recalled of the selection process, which concludes Super Bowl weekend. "I hadn't gotten to the final 10 yet. You're only a stone's throw away then."

He also received more votes than Cris Carter for the first time, indicating Reed's candidacy is on the rise.

Reed's case is an interesting one that has been explored on this blog before. When the seven-time Pro Bowler retired in 2000, he ranked third all-time with 951 receptions. He has slid to eighth and probably will drop out of the top 10 this year. Randy Moss, Torry Holt and Hines Ward are closing in.

"That's just how it is," Reed said. "A lot of guys are going to have a lot of catches. The game has changed. Now it's pass to set up the run. Before it was run to set up the pass. But maybe catches won't be as much of a factor. It'll be how many championships, how many times did you go to the Super Bowl? It'll be more team-oriented because anybody can catch 800 balls nowadays.

"In 1989, I caught 88 balls. That was a career year. These guys are catching 100 balls left and right now. Wes Welker had 100 balls three years in a row. Is Wes Welker going to be a Hall of Famer? I don't know. It's an accomplishment to catch 100 balls a year, but ...

"Keyshawn Johnson caught 800 balls, but nobody really talks about him. Great receiver, but do you put him in? Steve Smith? Keenan McCardell? Those guys are on the wayside."

Reed was the best receiver on a team that won an unprecedented four consecutive conference titles. The Bills couldn't manage to win one Super Bowl, but that hasn't barred Reed's teammates from the Hall of Fame.

Twenty years from now there likely will be more inductees from the Bills of the 1990s than the New England Patriots of the 2000s. Already in are quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy. So is James Lofton, who spent four seasons with Buffalo.

"I played in the best era of wide receivers ever, if you ask me," Reed said. "All the guys that are in my era are Hall of Famers. The next group of guys will be Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison and Randy Moss.

"They'll be arguing about those guys, but it'll be a different argument because of how the game has evolved."

While folks are formulating those arguments, Reed is content to wait his turn.

"I'm humbled by it," he said. "I don't trip and say 'Aw, man!' If it's going to happen, it's not on my time. It's on somebody else's.

"My friends and family are more upset about it that I am. When it's my time, it's my time."

Notable players: QB Jim Kelly, RB Thurman Thomas, WR Andre Reed, WR James Lofton, C Kent Hull, DE Bruce Smith, OLB Cornelius Bennett, OLB Darryl Talley, ILB Shane Conlan, CB Nate Odomes, ST Steve Tasker.

Analysis: The Buffalo Bills went to an unprecedented four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s and lost them all.

Buffalo's best shot was its first, and not merely because it came down to a last-second field goal attempt that went wide right. That squad was its most complete on both sides of the ball.

The 1990 Bills are known as one of the best teams not to win the Super Bowl. Their 13-3 record is tied for the best in franchise history. They ranked first in scoring offense and sixth in scoring defense. Kelly led the NFL in passer rating, Thomas led in yards from scrimmage and Smith was voted defensive player of the year.

The Bills rolled through the regular season. They went undefeated at home and seemed to be surging down the homestretch. They outscored their first two playoff opponents 95-37, but went up against the NFL's best defense when they met the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

The Bills led the Giants by nine points in the second quarter and held a two-point lead in the fourth quarter. But the Bills trailed by a point when Scott Norwood lined up from 47 yards away for what would have brought Buffalo its first major championship. The kick sailed wide of the upright.

Most impressive win: The Los Angeles Raiders went into the AFC Championship Game at Rich Stadium with only four losses while allowing an average of 16.4 points. The Bills annihilated the Raiders 51-3 with the help of six interceptions. The score was 41-3 at halftime.

Norwood not to blame: Did Norwood really choke? To claim he did is to suggest a successful kick was probable. The fact is, Norwood never had made a field goal longer than 49 yards in his six NFL seasons. That meant 47 yards was about the limit of his range. He made 6 of 10 attempts from 40-plus yards that season. The fateful attempt also was on grass, a surface he was kicking on for only the fourth time.

Honorable mention

1964: The Bills won their first of back-to-back AFL championships with a squad that ranked first in total offense and defense. They outscored opponents by an average of 11 points a game.

1991: The Bills rebounded from their "Wide Right" heartbreak, repeating their 13-3 record and reaching the Super Bowl again. They scored at least 34 points nine times.

1993: Buffalo won the AFC championship a fourth straight time. The offense ranked sixth in total yards, while the defense ranked fifth in yards allowed and had a league-high 47 takeaways.

Sixteen years ago today, one of the most surreal and flabbergasting moments unfolded in front of the world.

O.J. Simpson -- Hall of Fame running back, luggage-hurdling Hertz pitchman, Officer Nordberg, beloved sports icon -- was a fugitive, accused of murdering his wife and her friend.

Simpson was crouched in the back seat of a white Ford Bronco. His USC and Buffalo Bills teammate, Al Cowlings, was at the steering wheel, leading a low-speed police chase and potential suicide run along Southern California freeways.

"This can't be happening," former Buffalo News sports editor Howard Smith recalled the reaction of a stunned newsroom glued to the television. "O.J. killed his wife? O.J.?!

"Today, it would be like hearing Peyton Manning killed his wife. How can this happen? It's the Juice! All those funny cop movies and the nicest guy on television and, of all people, our guy?"

"June 17th, 1994" is the latest installment of ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary film series. Oscar-nominated director Brett Morgen revisits a colossal time in sports history.

President Bill Clinton presided over World Cup opening ceremonies in Chicago. Arnold Palmer cried at the end of his final round at the U.S. Open. The Houston Rockets and New York Knicks played Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden -- when NBC wasn't interrupting with O.J. updates. The New York Rangers held their ticker-tape Stanley Cup parade through the Canyon of Heroes. A Major League Baseball strike loomed.

The most indelible images, however, are the overhead footage of a white Bronco being pursued by a fleet of squad cars, with gawkers cheering along the median and on bridges spanning the freeway. The chase ended at Simpson's driveway.

Back in Buffalo, an entire city was stunned.

"O.J. Simpson is the first guy whose autograph I got when I was 7," said Chris "Bulldog" Parker, co-host of the afternoon drive show on Buffalo sports-radio station WGR. Parker watched the Bronco chase while managing a pizzeria.

"That's the beginning of me growing up as a sports fan and not loving it like I used to," Parker continued. "The reality is we don't know these people at all. You can trace a pretty lengthy trail of bread crumbs from there to where we are now about an automatic assumption of guilt over any athlete -- Tiger Woods or whoever -- and what he has been accused of. The Bronco chase was a tipping point."

Simpson was the most revered athlete the city had seen. Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith still were active and not yet etched into legendary terms.

"O.J. was the most famous athlete ever from Buffalo," Howard Smith said. "He was still a prominent national figure because he was on television a lot and on NBC with Bob Costas. He was still our spokesman. He was a Buffalo guy and would talk about the Bills. He was an icon.

"Bruce and Kelly and Thurman were viewed as keys to the Super Bowl-slash-pains in the ass. There was a lot of aggravation. It was a bittersweet ride for a while."

That day in Los Angeles, the ride was surreal.

"What everybody thought they were doing was watching this guy take a ride to go kill himself," Parker said. "That's what it felt like. And this was our most famous athlete. Him getting arrested at the end of this ride was a good outcome."

NBCSports.com recently compiled a slideshow of the top 52 athletes in any sport never to win a championship.

A healthy chunk of them have AFC East links, and most of them are former Buffalo Bills. The list was presented in alphabetical order.

• Jim Kelly
• Dan Marino
• Randy Moss
• Terrell Owens
• O.J. Simpson
• Bruce Smith
• Thurman Thomas
• LaDainian Tomlinson

Moss, Tomlinson and presumably Owens still have chances to remove themselves from the list.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo News' Allen Wilson wonders just how long free-agent wide receiver Terrell Owens will be out of work.

Also from Wilson: Is this the year James Hardy emerges as an impact wide receiver?

A day after his passing, the Press-Democrat's Robert Rubino remembers a classic Dennis Hopper commercial filmed in the Buffalo Bills' locker room with Bruce Smith's shoes.

Miami Dolphins

Dolphins quarterback Pat White assesses his progress. “I have a year more experience in the system,” White said. “Great teachers in the room, from coaches to the other quarterbacks. I listen to what they have to say, try to learn from them and do my best to try to help this team out as much as possible.”

The Dolphins outside linebacker position is a work in progress, writes the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson.

Now that the Dolphins have a true No. 1 receiver in Brandon Marshall, the team has a lot of options for the No. 2 slot. Third-round draft pick, lineman John Jerry, was working with the Dolphins starters at Saturday's OTAs.

New England Patriots

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss has 10 quick hit thoughts on this NFL offseason Sunday.

After receiving a posthumous doctorate of human letters on behalf of his father at UMass Lowell on Sunday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft held a joint news conference. The two touched on the status of the collective bargaining agreement and the possibility of another cold-weather stadium hosting a Super Bowl.

The Boston Globe's Albert Breer asks, in the wake of ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer declaring the Patriots offense "exposed": Is the Patriots spread going dead?

New York Jets

ESPN New York's Rich Cimini gives a weekend rundown of Jets news.

Jets coach Rex Ryan took in the first game of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. According to the Chicago Tribune's Luis Arroyave, Ryan wore wore a No. 00 Blackhawks jersey with the name "Griswold" on the back (a reference to National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation").

Hanover Township Mayor John Sheridan calls the 2014 Super Bowl in Morris county, "the biggest event of the decade," in terms of economical impact on local businesses.

NFL.com's unveiling of the 75 greatest draft picks resumed Wednesday with picks No. 11 through 25. No AFC East teams made selections in this group, but a couple are in the division now.

The top 10 selections will be named during Thursday's draft telecast on the NFL Network.

Here are the players with AFC East ties on the list so far:

16. Randy Moss, Vikings receiver (1998, first round)

22. LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers running back (2001, first round)

33. Joe Namath, Jets quarterback (1965, first round)

35. Bruce Smith, Bills defensive end (1985, first round)

42. O.J. Simpson, Bills running back (1969, first round)

45. Jim Kelly, Bills quarterback (1983, first round)

47. Junior Seau, Chargers linebacker (1990, first round)

55. Thurman Thomas, Bills running back (1988, second round)

61. Terrell Owens, 49ers receiver (1996, third round)

67. Larry Csonka, Dolphins running back (1968, first round)

Zach Thomas is infuriated over the way the Miami Dolphins handled Jason Taylor's departure.

Thomas and Taylor combined for 13 Pro Bowls in the 11 years they starred together for the Dolphins defense. They're also brothers-in-law. Taylor married Thomas' sister, Katina.

So you better believe Thomas had a well-informed and passionate opinion about how the Dolphins handled Taylor's situation and his decision to join the New York Jets.

"Everybody hates the Jets," Thomas told Sid Rosenberg of Miami sports-radio station WQAM. "I hate the Jets. But he has to do what he has to do and get respect. You're driven by respect as a player, especially the good ones. And he's got it from Rex Ryan."

Thomas' comments will resonate with Dolfans. While they ran hot and cold with Taylor over the years because he sometimes was viewed as a pretty boy who made too many commercials and dared to participate in "Dancing With the Stars" and not Bill Parcells' first offseason conditioning program in 2008, Thomas is revered.

Thomas is a Dolphins icon, an everyman overachiever who was drafted in the fifth round and selected first-team All-Pro five times. When I asked readers to select their Dolphins Mount Rushmore as part of an ESPN.com project last year, Thomas received the fourth-most votes behind Dan Marino, Don Shula and Larry Csonka.

Thomas, his decibel level rising throughout the interview, said he's "a Dolphin for life," but alleged Taylor deserved better treatment from general manager Jeff Ireland.

"I mean, all-time sack leader right now as an active player, and you're going to talk about him when you're asked in the media like he's a first- or second-year player?" Thomas said. "[Ireland] should know how to respect guys that's been great to the game. That's fine if you don't have a need for him, but you tell him up front."

The Dolphins insisted upon waiting until after the draft to address Taylor's future with the club. Even then, there were no guarantees they'd have Taylor back.

The move was bittersweet for Thomas, who predicted Taylor will thrive with the Jets.

"He's sad," Thomas said. "He waited as long as he could. Everybody wants to feel wanted. The Jets, they wanted him. They're a team on the rise, and I hate to say it, but they got the No. 1 defense and are going to be even stronger, and you don't think Rex Ryan has a game plan for Jason Taylor?

"It's going to be better than the game plan they used with him [in 2009] because I hated watching it. When they were taking him out on third down, it was like taking Bruce Smith out on third down. That was frustrating for me. I'm a fan now. You don't take one of the greatest pass-rushers of all-time out on third down."

Thomas didn't appreciate the way the Dolphins handled his exit after the 2007 season, either.

Shortly after Bill Parcells took over football operations and hired Ireland and head coach Tony Sparano, they released Thomas after a dozen highly decorated seasons.

Thomas said he had only one request as he cleaned out his locker, to say goodbye to Dolfans with a news conference at the team's facility. The request was denied.

"You've got to respect players that's been good to the game," Thomas said. "I don't like the organization to look bad that way."