After Buffalo's winter storm postponed his original visit back in November, Darryl Talley will finally return to Buffalo to get Bills Mafia out of their seats as the Legend of the Game Sunday afternoon when the Bills welcome the New York Jets to Highmark Stadium for an AFC East rematch.
"I'm excited to see what they're doing, how they play, and just hope continue to do with things that they've been doing all along," Talley said.
Talley was planning to head to Buffalo when the Bills were scheduled to play the Cleveland Browns at home on November 20, but the snow had other plans. But after playing in Buffalo for 12 seasons, the former LB is quite familiar with the lake-effect snow that passes through Orchard Park and has seen for himself the challenges the weather can present, especially to quarterbacks. No. 56 has full confidence in QB Josh Allen to throw the ball under any weather conditions, just like he saw his former QB Jim Kelly do when they were in Bills uniforms together.
"That's Buffalo weather, we live for that, and everybody knows that," Talley said. "When it's too tough for everywhere else, it's just right for us. That's why Marv (Levy) came up with that saying I think because that was one of our key weapons. People would come to Buffalo, and they'd be scared. They didn't care about us; they were more worried about staying warm than playing the game."
In 188 games with the Bills, the Cleveland native tallied 11 interceptions, two touchdowns, 38.5 sacks, and 83 solo tackles. Talley was also named to the Pro Bowl in 1990 and 91. He spent his last two seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.
And his 14-year NFL career encouraged him to stay connected to the game through the NFL Legends Community.
"I think that we can give the younger guys an insight as to what they got to look forward to," Talley said. "Just by talking to them, they get an understanding of how we felt as players, and how together we were as a team. We all show up, and we all want the very best for them because, at heart, we're all still Buffalo Bills. We spent so much time there and we love the city of Buffalo."
Now after watching the young guys in the first 13 weeks of the season, Talley is proud of their ability to not let one game define them.
"At times the defensive line plays exceptionally well, then we have times where Josh has to be a hero, and then we have times where our offense runs really well," Talley said. "And what I admire about these guys is that they play, and they play hard, and that's all you can ask."
