Buffalo Bills Alumni Spotlight: Former NDSU All-American Phil Hansen
6/25/2004 5:00:00 AM | Football
Only nine months removed from helping the North Dakota State Bison capture the 1990 NCAA Division II title, Phil Hansen found himself in the starting lineup of the defending AFC champion Buffalo Bills. Getting the nod at right defensive end because Bruce Smith was out with an injured knee, Hansen helped Buffalo open the ?91 campaign with its second of what would be five straight victories.
(PHOTO ID: In 11 years with the Bills, Phil Hansen played in 156 games and had 876 total tackles and 61.5 sacks.)
"I'm sure I was nervous, but I was up for the challenge," said Hansen, a second-round draft choice who ended up starting 10 games as a rookie during an interview with BuffaloBills.com. "I was finding my way, I guess you'd say. I was finding what would work for me and what wouldn't. I had a great supporting cast. Those guys all made me feel a part. When they talked amongst themselves, I'm sure they said, ?Aw geez, we've got to cover for him.' Which they pretty much did, but they never made me feel that way. They always accepted me and made me feel like I was a part of their unit. And I was improving, so that helped, too. They could see improvement week to week."
Week after week, game after game, Buffalo earned its way back for another shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Going 13-3 and winning the AFC championship, the Bills met the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis, Minn., for Super Bowl XXVI.
"Minneapolis was about three hours from my house, so it was kind of like a homecoming," recalled Hansen. "I didn't know what to expect. I knew we were going to play a game and it was going to be televised, but I just didn't realize about all the marketing and how everybody wanted a piece of your time during Super Bowl week. Whether it was shoe contractors or the Zubaz people. Back in the early ?90s, that was the hot item. They wanted to get their stuff out so people could see it, so they were giving it to everybody. I remember some players went to their factory and came back with as much as they could carry."
The following season, Hansen was starting at left defensive end, a position he'd hold for the next 10 years, and shined in the playoffs. He recorded 11 tackles in the wild card game against Houston. Two weeks later, in the AFC Championship Game against Miami, Hansen intercepted a Dan Marino pass as the Bills beat the Dolphins, 29-10. He would start against Dallas in that year's Super Bowl and the next, Buffalo's third and fourth consecutive appearance in the title game.
"I wasn't there for the building blocks of what propelled the Bills to those four Super Bowls," Hansen said. "The building blocks of those teams were the same guys, the continuity, and that happened in the late ?80s. I got to experience the best part of it which were the Super Bowls. One thing that I remember in all of those years, with all the core guys being together, is no matter how far we were down, there was always something extra. ?Ah, don't worry. We'll come back and we'll win.' It was just a sense. It was nothing I could write down on paper. It was just a feeling that we always knew we'd win. And we did most of the time.
"They talk about chemistry and all those things that make teams great, we had a lot of physical talent. We had good offense, good defense, good special teams, but there was something extra. That was just the feeling that you knew no matter how far you were down, you'd find a way to win. It was a real calming feeling. Marv Levy had a lot to do with that, too. He kind of was the calming, soothing, father figure for the rest of the players. I think that did a lot for our play on the field as well."
Sure, Hansen had his share of injuries, but beginning midway through the ?93 season, he started in 86 consecutive games, not including six playoff games. While his reliability was applauded, was Hansen overlooked at times because the Bills had a future Hall of Famer, Bruce Smith, at the other end of the defensive line?
"No, I'm very happy with my career," says Hansen. "You know, you could look at that several different ways. When people looked at our defense and looked at our defensive line, Bruce Smith was the first thing that came to mind. So maybe I got lost in the numbers and they didn't account for me as much. I don't think that was a bad thing. Do I think I got overshadowed? I got a lot of good publicity. I would have loved to went to a Pro Bowl or something like that, which I never got to do. But was that because of Bruce Smith? No, that was because I didn't play well enough to go to a Pro Bowl."
Hansen retired following the ?01 season. In 11 years with the Bills, he played in 156 games and had 876 total tackles, 133 quarterback pressures, 61.5 sacks and one touchdown, scored against the Raiders in ?98 on a 13-yard fumble recovery.
"I don't remember who the reporter was at my retirement, but he said, ?How do you want to be remembered?' It was almost like a eulogy," Hansen laughed. "I said, ?I was never the greatest player on the field, but what I gave to the Bills, I want to be remembered as a consistent, dependable and accountable football player. Someone who the coaches always knew where I was and what they'd get out of me week in and week out.' A lot of those things, they followed me from youth and they'll follow me for the rest of my life. A lot of coaches were very happy with, ?Well, he may not be the best player in the world, but at least we know what we get with Phil Hansen. He's not going to let us down. He's going to give us everything he has.'"
Hansen and his wife, Dianna, make their home in Detroit Lakes, Minn., with their daughters: Hope, 2 1/2; and 11-month-old Jillian. He may be retired as a player, but Hansen can still be found on the field during the fall months, and, for that matter, on the courts during the winter. He officiates high school and college football and high school basketball games. In addition, he is North Dakota State's radio color analyst during its football season.
This July, Hansen will tackle another project by holding a football camp in Fargo, ND,fargoparks.com exclusively for high school defensive and offensive linemen.
(Story By Jim Gehman, buffalobills.com, photo courtesy of buffalobills.com)
(PHOTO ID: In 11 years with the Bills, Phil Hansen played in 156 games and had 876 total tackles and 61.5 sacks.)
"I'm sure I was nervous, but I was up for the challenge," said Hansen, a second-round draft choice who ended up starting 10 games as a rookie during an interview with BuffaloBills.com. "I was finding my way, I guess you'd say. I was finding what would work for me and what wouldn't. I had a great supporting cast. Those guys all made me feel a part. When they talked amongst themselves, I'm sure they said, ?Aw geez, we've got to cover for him.' Which they pretty much did, but they never made me feel that way. They always accepted me and made me feel like I was a part of their unit. And I was improving, so that helped, too. They could see improvement week to week."
Week after week, game after game, Buffalo earned its way back for another shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Going 13-3 and winning the AFC championship, the Bills met the Washington Redskins in Minneapolis, Minn., for Super Bowl XXVI.
"Minneapolis was about three hours from my house, so it was kind of like a homecoming," recalled Hansen. "I didn't know what to expect. I knew we were going to play a game and it was going to be televised, but I just didn't realize about all the marketing and how everybody wanted a piece of your time during Super Bowl week. Whether it was shoe contractors or the Zubaz people. Back in the early ?90s, that was the hot item. They wanted to get their stuff out so people could see it, so they were giving it to everybody. I remember some players went to their factory and came back with as much as they could carry."
The following season, Hansen was starting at left defensive end, a position he'd hold for the next 10 years, and shined in the playoffs. He recorded 11 tackles in the wild card game against Houston. Two weeks later, in the AFC Championship Game against Miami, Hansen intercepted a Dan Marino pass as the Bills beat the Dolphins, 29-10. He would start against Dallas in that year's Super Bowl and the next, Buffalo's third and fourth consecutive appearance in the title game.
"I wasn't there for the building blocks of what propelled the Bills to those four Super Bowls," Hansen said. "The building blocks of those teams were the same guys, the continuity, and that happened in the late ?80s. I got to experience the best part of it which were the Super Bowls. One thing that I remember in all of those years, with all the core guys being together, is no matter how far we were down, there was always something extra. ?Ah, don't worry. We'll come back and we'll win.' It was just a sense. It was nothing I could write down on paper. It was just a feeling that we always knew we'd win. And we did most of the time.
"They talk about chemistry and all those things that make teams great, we had a lot of physical talent. We had good offense, good defense, good special teams, but there was something extra. That was just the feeling that you knew no matter how far you were down, you'd find a way to win. It was a real calming feeling. Marv Levy had a lot to do with that, too. He kind of was the calming, soothing, father figure for the rest of the players. I think that did a lot for our play on the field as well."
Sure, Hansen had his share of injuries, but beginning midway through the ?93 season, he started in 86 consecutive games, not including six playoff games. While his reliability was applauded, was Hansen overlooked at times because the Bills had a future Hall of Famer, Bruce Smith, at the other end of the defensive line?
"No, I'm very happy with my career," says Hansen. "You know, you could look at that several different ways. When people looked at our defense and looked at our defensive line, Bruce Smith was the first thing that came to mind. So maybe I got lost in the numbers and they didn't account for me as much. I don't think that was a bad thing. Do I think I got overshadowed? I got a lot of good publicity. I would have loved to went to a Pro Bowl or something like that, which I never got to do. But was that because of Bruce Smith? No, that was because I didn't play well enough to go to a Pro Bowl."
Hansen retired following the ?01 season. In 11 years with the Bills, he played in 156 games and had 876 total tackles, 133 quarterback pressures, 61.5 sacks and one touchdown, scored against the Raiders in ?98 on a 13-yard fumble recovery.
"I don't remember who the reporter was at my retirement, but he said, ?How do you want to be remembered?' It was almost like a eulogy," Hansen laughed. "I said, ?I was never the greatest player on the field, but what I gave to the Bills, I want to be remembered as a consistent, dependable and accountable football player. Someone who the coaches always knew where I was and what they'd get out of me week in and week out.' A lot of those things, they followed me from youth and they'll follow me for the rest of my life. A lot of coaches were very happy with, ?Well, he may not be the best player in the world, but at least we know what we get with Phil Hansen. He's not going to let us down. He's going to give us everything he has.'"
Hansen and his wife, Dianna, make their home in Detroit Lakes, Minn., with their daughters: Hope, 2 1/2; and 11-month-old Jillian. He may be retired as a player, but Hansen can still be found on the field during the fall months, and, for that matter, on the courts during the winter. He officiates high school and college football and high school basketball games. In addition, he is North Dakota State's radio color analyst during its football season.
This July, Hansen will tackle another project by holding a football camp in Fargo, ND,fargoparks.com exclusively for high school defensive and offensive linemen.
(Story By Jim Gehman, buffalobills.com, photo courtesy of buffalobills.com)
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