Raiders G Buehler Was Undersized, Underrated

The Oakland Raiders’ front wall of the 1970s has been selected as the greatest offensive line in National Football League history more than once, and why not? Since it included future Hall of Famers Jim Otto at center, Art Shell at tackle, Gene Upshaw at guard, and Dave Casper at tight end.

When Otto retired, Dave Dalby stepped in at center, the Raiders didn’t miss a beat, and John Vella was a rock at right tackle.

The player many overlooks is right guard George Buehler, who was perhaps a bit undersized at 6-2 and 260 pounds but played much bigger than his numbers in his 10 seasons with the Raiders.

Buehler, a member of the Stanford Football Hall of Fame, played the interior offensive line, tight end, and defensive line during his career for the Cardinal, making 85 tackles during the 1968 season.

The Raiders selected Buehler in the second round of the 1969 National Football League Draft (No. 50 overall). After playing a backup role at guard as a rookie, he stepped in as a starter at right guard in his second season and remained there for nine seasons.

“We had a great offensive line, and without a doubt, George was the most underrated player on that unit,” quarterback Kenny “Snake” Stabler said. “We always knew we could depend on him, and I knew there wouldn’t be defensive linemen or blitzes coming untouched up the middle in my face because he had that covered.

“George Buehler had the perfect build for an offensive guard, like a Coke machine with a head on it. … We had great backs and receivers, but we couldn’t have done nearly as many of the things we did and made the plays we made without our offensive line, which included Buehler. They were the best and made it all possible.”

Buehler played the bulk of his career with the Raiders against all-star defensive tackles such as Mean Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Manny Fernandez of the Miami Dolphins, and Buck Buchanan of the Kansas City Chiefs and more than held his own.

During his career, the Raiders played in five American Football Conference Championship Games before finally winning one by defeating one by beating the Steelers, 24-7, at the Oakland Coliseum in the 1976 season.

“Buehler did a great job of containing the great Joe Greene in that game,” said Stabler, who threw two touchdown passes without Greene, who didn’t have a sack, all over him.

Then the Raiders next defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, Calif., and everybody talked about how Shell dominated defensive tackle Jim Marshall and Upshaw took care of defensive tackle Alan Page of the Vikings.

But Buehler also held down defensive tackle Doug Sutherland, a known tackling machine which made only one stop in that game. Some observers said it was the best game of Buehler’s career, even though he again didn’t get much credit.

“Upshaw and Shell get all the credit for what the offensive line did in that game against the Vikings, and they were great, but George Buehler, Dave Dalby and John Vella played just as well,” Stabler said. “Our entire line played well and dominated them.”

Buehler played in 115 regular season games for the Raiders with 98 starts in his 10 seasons and never received an All-Pro or Pro Bowl recognition, perhaps because of the Hall of Famers he played alongside. But he fits in perfectly with them.

After being traded to the Cleveland Browns, Buehler spent the last two seasons with them in 1978 and 1979.

The Raiders invited Buehler back to the Oakland Coliseum to light the Al Davis Memorial Flame on Aug. 27, 2016.

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