1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,200
And welcome back to the Buffalo Bread podcast. I'm your host, Dan Roberts, filling in for

2
00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:20,880
JJ today is our friend of the pod, not friend of the bills, our noted Patriots expert, Brandon

3
00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:27,200
Bennett. JJ needed to take this week off. So we have Brandon filling in here. Brandon, as always,

4
00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,360
it is great to have you back on the pod. Nothing I enjoy more than talking Buffalo

5
00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:35,040
Bill's football with a noted New England Patriots fan. How are you doing today?

6
00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:42,240
Good. For the listeners, I'm surrounded by folding tables where I am currently.

7
00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:49,600
The folding tables are safe. I am protecting them. But I appreciate you having me back behind

8
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:55,440
enemy lines here. That's amazing. That's absolutely amazing. I am telling you,

9
00:00:55,440 --> 00:01:00,480
you were born for Bill's mafia. If you are currently surrounded by folding tables,

10
00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:05,120
and you have even the slightest urge to jump through them, you serve a rooting for the wrong

11
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:12,160
team. And I will take that to my grave. So what we're going to do here, folks, given how odd

12
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:19,760
the Buffalo Bill's opening season schedule of games has been with the Sunday Sunday 1pm game,

13
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:25,520
Thursday game, and now the Monday night game against Jacksonville, this is going to serve as a

14
00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:30,720
post game for the Finns and the Bill's from Thursday night. And we're also given that we

15
00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:36,240
have the opportunity with Brandon Bennett on the pod. We're going to talk a little bit about

16
00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:41,600
Thursday night football and the AFC East implications of the upcoming matchup between

17
00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:49,280
the surprisingly sprightly New England Patriots and the New York Jets. So then later on this week on

18
00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:56,080
our normal pod drop date of Saturday, you're going to get our pregame of the Monday night game between

19
00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:01,200
the Bill's and the Jaguars. So one more early week pod drop, and then by the end of the week,

20
00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:07,520
we'll be back on our normal schedule of Saturday drops. Brandon, are you ready to enter the

21
00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:12,160
table-laden Thunderdome that is Buffalo Bill's podcast talk? Let's do it.

22
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:19,520
All right. So I'm actually fascinated, Brandon, by your take on what you saw. You are, again,

23
00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:25,360
a noted Patriots fan, goes without saying, guest hosted on the pod on a multitude of occasions.

24
00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,880
But what we're seeing here early on in the season from the Buffalo Bill's,

25
00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:37,040
I would think has to be a little bit surprising for casual fans of football in the AFC East,

26
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:43,440
and then more hardcore fans like you and I who are mired in the offseason data. We pay attention to

27
00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:49,680
the rumor mill, we pay attention to the trade and personnel churn mill, and no one thought

28
00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:56,000
the Buffalo Bill's would get off to this type of start in the season and the way that they have,

29
00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:03,040
given the roster churn that they experienced. But on Thursday, and you could credit that it is

30
00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:09,200
Sean McDermott facing an opponent that he just knows how to game plan against very, very well.

31
00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:14,960
You could chalk it up to Josh Allen, who had a very efficient game, but not an outstanding game

32
00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:19,680
against the Miami Dolphins. But that being an opponent that he really does not sweat playing

33
00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:25,040
at the stage of his career. The emergence of James Cook, there are a ton of things, Brandon,

34
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:30,240
that you could point to for the reason why the Bill's dominated that game and the fashion that

35
00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:36,640
they did. Lots of rational reasons. But I don't think it necessarily takes away the surprise

36
00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,680
of seeing how dominant the Bill's have been in the first two weeks with back to back 30 point

37
00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:48,480
games and a defensive effort on Thursday that was impressive, not just because of the quick turnaround

38
00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:54,160
and the injuries that they're facing, but all of that piled on to the fact that they were playing

39
00:03:54,160 --> 00:04:01,200
what has historically been over the last few years, a really, really explosive offense. Brandon,

40
00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:08,800
why don't you take us in through the lens of an AFC East competitor? What did you see in that game

41
00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:14,320
as a Patriots fan that has you potentially scared about playing the Bill's in the future,

42
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,800
but also maybe where you see some opportunities for the Patriots to move up now that it looks

43
00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:24,960
like the Dolphins may be looking at a decline this season? Yeah, I think the interesting thing,

44
00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:32,800
kind of the last two weeks, is that the Bill's won in week one in a very, very different fashion

45
00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:39,280
than the Bill's won in week two. We saw in week one sort of what Bill fans have seen many, many

46
00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:45,600
times before, which is Josh Allen putting everything on his back and throwing his body out there for

47
00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:54,080
some insane highlight real-type plays. In week two with Miami, kind of a completely different game.

48
00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:03,040
Challenge you a little bit in terms of performance, but I don't think Josh had to

49
00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:09,600
overperform as he does sometimes in games. The defense, like you said, came up really big for

50
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:15,600
the Bill's in week two against Miami, three interceptions, which I think kind of sealed the

51
00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:24,560
deal for that one. Not super efficient in the passing game, 68% completion rate for Josh.

52
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,240
Do you know what two of his completion rate was before the Confession?

53
00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:33,440
Before the Confession, he was somewhere around like 63% for that game, wasn't he?

54
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:40,560
68%. So they're tied. Josh and Tua tied at 68%. How many rushing yards, or not rushing yards,

55
00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,200
passing yards between Tua and Josh? Do you know the difference?

56
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,200
There wasn't much of a difference that game. I mean, total yards passing.

57
00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,920
Tua had a bunch more attempts than Josh to that game. Josh only checked it up 19 times.

58
00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,400
And then passing touchdowns for each quarterback.

59
00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:07,120
Well, I know one, one and one. It was the first time in the last, it was the first time since

60
00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:13,440
Josh started playing the Dolphins, I think that he hadn't thrown for two TDs. Yeah. Yeah, that was

61
00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:19,840
a longstanding record. I will say this though, about the efficiency metrics offensively for this

62
00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:29,600
game. The Bill's still targeted 10 different pass catchers on 19 different attempts. Shakir

63
00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:36,240
and Kincaid were featured early and often, which I appreciated. This was a clear criticism that

64
00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:41,360
JJ and I had coming out of the Arizona game and that game plan that they're your two playmakers,

65
00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:46,560
they're your Yacht guys, get them the ball. I loved the schemed up touches for them early on.

66
00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,680
And their catch rate for both of them was 100% on the targets that they received. I mean,

67
00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:57,120
they were just vacuuming all the balls that they possibly could. And then James Cook, my friend,

68
00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:05,760
is a absolute efficiency maven at this point. He had 12 total touches for 95 total yards,

69
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:15,520
three total TDs. His rush yards after contact, absolutely absurd. 68 rush yards came after contact

70
00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:22,880
out of his 70 plus total rush yards for that game. I mean, this offense, while not spectacular,

71
00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:29,120
to your point that you made earlier on, was finding a new way to win, was finding a different way

72
00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:35,680
to overcome some obstacles the opposing defense was throwing at them. And I think for me, that's

73
00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:41,840
the most surprising part is a Bill's fan Brandon. And if I were an AFC East opponent, the most

74
00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:48,720
scary part is that despite the roster churn, the Bill seemed to have a multitude of different ways,

75
00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,760
despite the turnover and despite the injury to beat incoming teams. Now granted, it's week two,

76
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:59,200
and you don't want to overrate. And the bills have been here before. I will remind our listeners,

77
00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:03,920
and I'll remind you Brandon, probably much to your delight, that the bills were in this very

78
00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:09,120
same place last year. After the Miami Dolphins hung 70 on the Denver Broncos in week three,

79
00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:15,200
Buffalo lambasted them in week four, to the point where there were ESPN articles that were

80
00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:20,320
incredibly written that said the bills would go 15 and two for the rest of the season after that

81
00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:27,680
performance against the best offense we had ever seen in our time. They then lay an egg in London

82
00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:32,560
against Jacksonville, who coincidentally is the next opponent they'll face on Monday. And that

83
00:08:32,560 --> 00:08:38,160
leads them into a three and five stretch over the next eight weeks, where people were literally

84
00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:44,880
calling for McDermott and Bean to be fired. So things can turn very quickly. But again,

85
00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:51,040
again, going back to your early earlier point, the bills seem to have multiple gears and multiple

86
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:56,240
levers they can flip to win games this season. And that's something I don't think anybody expected

87
00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:04,320
based on the off season they had. Yeah, Cook is very special. As you know, from our conversations,

88
00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:10,080
not on a podcast. Cook has been a target of mind and fantasy football for the last couple of years,

89
00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:15,600
just because of how they work them into the passing game. Again, yards after contact,

90
00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:22,080
how many opportunities and touches he gets his ability to, for the most part, stay very healthy

91
00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:30,400
with a very heavy workload. So yeah, I fantasy wise, very pleased with James Cook's performance.

92
00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:37,360
He is literally the reason why I think our friendship is so strong during football season.

93
00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:42,800
We have this one commonality that we can root for you root for James Cook and fantasy, I root for

94
00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,920
him in real life. And that keeps our bonds of friendship and brotherhood very strong, sir,

95
00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:53,520
very, very strong indeed. All right, let's dig into this game a little bit more, we've already

96
00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:58,960
talked a little bit about the offense of offensive efficiency. And again, while not a spectacular

97
00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:05,360
game for the offense, one, I think that to me at least turned my head when I was really digging

98
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:12,480
into some of the advanced metrics on this. Again, we talked about concaid, we talked about Shakir,

99
00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,800
their efficiency in catching the ball, the different targets that they were able to spread

100
00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:24,000
around the field, the use of James Cook in the run game. And here's the thing that really popped

101
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:30,320
off the screen to me, Brandon, Cook's overall speed. He's always been a smooth accelerator.

102
00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:35,600
His first step when he chooses to make his first step is one of the quickest in the league. But

103
00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:41,600
JJ and I earlier in the seat earlier this season had talked about ironically, which running back

104
00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:47,920
room would you rather have Miami, or Buffalo's and JJ convinced me to take Miami's because of

105
00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:53,760
the raw speed. Last season, James Cook didn't have a single run over 20 miles an hour, whereas

106
00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:59,600
Devon H and had nine. And that raw speed makes an absolute difference in the game regardless of

107
00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:06,560
how good your run scheme is. But Brandon, James Cook hit 20 miles an hour on a carry this week.

108
00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:11,840
And that is speed I have not seen from him yet. It was that long touchdown run he had where Poir

109
00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:18,000
took the bad angle and ended up chasing him down the field, hit 21 miles an hour on that run. One

110
00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:25,920
of the fastest runs here early in this season for a running back carry. Brandon, if Cook's speed

111
00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:32,160
continues to develop and continues to grow in that way, to me, that's a scary element for two

112
00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:38,720
reasons, the traditional run game, which Brady is screeming up so well. But also what it means for

113
00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,640
him as a pass catcher out of the backfield, because he leaks out so effortlessly on a lot

114
00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:49,600
of these schemed up touches from Brady in the past game, case in point that fourth and three that

115
00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:55,840
he scampered into the end zone for a touchdown. No one around him. Great play scheming by Brady,

116
00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:01,120
but you add that scheming to just raw speed and athletic ability. There's not a lot of

117
00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:06,160
defenses that are going to touch that. So let me ask you, as a fantasy owner of James Cook,

118
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,800
how excited are you that it looks like he is in fact faster than he was last season?

119
00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:19,440
Yeah, very exciting. I mean, he's 198 yards on the season. And so if he keeps that pace,

120
00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:25,680
I mean, it's going to be phenomenal for you all as Bill's fans, but also for me as a fantasy

121
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:33,120
manager of James Cook. No, it's very exciting. A chance exciting too. And, you know, he had a lot

122
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:42,000
of yards in that game as well. But yeah, I think this is going to be a strong year for James Cook,

123
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:48,320
which you had to have known kind of going into it with so many new faces in that offense.

124
00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:55,920
We haven't really seen Keon Coleman get super involved yet. And so, you know, I think

125
00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:04,880
time will tell. But the team was going to have to rely on the returner who came back this season

126
00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:11,520
in James Cook. And he's really leading the way. Yeah. And it's not like the Dolphins Brandon

127
00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:17,360
weren't trying to stop him. Last season, James Cook only faced a stacked box, which is eight or

128
00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:27,040
more guys in the box about 20% of the time against Miami that almost double 36% of the run looks he

129
00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:32,960
faced were against a stacked box. And there was nothing Miami could do to stop him in those

130
00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:40,160
particular situations. He had a success rate of 50.4% and overall yards per carry against a stacked

131
00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:46,960
box 7.1 yards a carry. Now, a lot of that is due to James Cook, but also a shout out to the offensive

132
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:53,440
line that I feel like as we progress here, I become more and more wrong about and my early,

133
00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:58,480
early offseason takes that the bills had maybe their biggest strength from last season. They

134
00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:06,080
had decimated it by choice. And Aaron Kroemer, we trust my friend, like the way this offensive line

135
00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:13,120
is playing the guard pole schemes that they're running duo dark, all of that stuff that Joe Brady

136
00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:19,440
is getting into his bag with is effective almost every single time. And when I look at the AFC East,

137
00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,000
because you guys starts with winning your division. And even when I look beyond at a team like

138
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:31,120
Cincinnati, who people think is going to be an AFC contender, Kansas City, no one is built to stop

139
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:36,160
the run. And it's a super bad sign if the bills are doing this against stacked boxes. Because that

140
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:41,440
means eventually, as this offense continues to grow and mesh, they're going to start taking some of

141
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:47,040
those open field shots down the field and really bring back the deep ball game here. So there are

142
00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:54,000
layers that I look forward to seeing this bill's offense add on. But I am hesitant, hesitant to

143
00:14:54,000 --> 00:15:00,640
say for sure that the bills are in the catbird seat at this point in the AFC East, because there's

144
00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,640
still a lot of football to play. And we've been here as bills bands before. But this is all very

145
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:09,920
optimistic. Brandon, you brought up a Chan, which I think is a great opportunity to switch over to

146
00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:14,160
the defensive side of the ball, which I think you and I can both agree. That's where the bills

147
00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:20,400
won this game. A Jomarcus Ingram coming out party credit to Brandon Bean and Sean McDermott,

148
00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:26,160
they just seem to find these undrafted free agents, these late round draft picks, Cam Lewis being

149
00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:32,320
another one in the secondary that they develop over and over and over again. It has really become

150
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:38,400
cornerback university at Buffalo, add to the fact that Bernard goes down in this game and you get

151
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:44,560
Balanspector coming in, playing meaningful snaps and playing meaningful football against a really

152
00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:49,840
good offense and really locking down his area of the field. And I don't think you could be happier

153
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:55,280
with what you saw from the depth pieces on this defense. But listen, man, this thing was one and

154
00:15:55,280 --> 00:16:01,120
lost in the trenches. I mentioned that stacked stacked box metric to you, Brandon. What type of,

155
00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:06,480
now we all know, Devon HN is going to run the ball. We know Miami wants to run the ball to set

156
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:13,040
up what they want to do downfield. Knowing this, and knowing James Cook faced a stacked box on

157
00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:18,960
36% of his rushes. What do you think is the percentage of stacked boxes that the Buffalo

158
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:34,560
bills threw at Devon HN? You're really testing me here. 45? 9%. Okay. 9%. Even without Taryn

159
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:40,080
Johnson, even after Terrell Bernard went down, this was a team that was committed to too high

160
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:49,200
coverage on almost every snap on 72% of their total snap call, snap share. The Buffalo bills were in

161
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:55,440
too high coverage. They welcomed the run. And while the total yardage for HN looked great at the end

162
00:16:55,440 --> 00:17:01,840
of the game, his advanced metrics weren't that great. Not only did he fail to really take advantage

163
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:07,360
of these light boxes, his rush yards over expected per attempt were a minus 1.2 yards.

164
00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:14,560
He only had a success rate brain in a 40%. Again, against light boxes, where the Buffalo bills were

165
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:21,600
playing their backup linebackers, a backup nickel corner in their base nickel package, and still,

166
00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:28,640
still, were able to really mitigate it. So basically, on EPA per rush, every time HN touched

167
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:33,680
the ball in a traditional run, it was a win for the Buffalo bills in the overall metric,

168
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:38,800
because it was chewing up clock. Tua could never get into a rhythm in the passing game,

169
00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:43,200
because the bills were giving him so many tasty looks in the run game. And there was never any

170
00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:48,640
fluidity. And there was never any consistency to that offensive game. Add to the fact that the

171
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:54,320
bills were just dropping everybody into coverage, their blitz rate against Tua, only 4.7%.

172
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:58,320
They dropped everybody back, and they were like, we're going to close down these anticipatory

173
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:04,480
windows. And best of luck to you in trying to figure that out. It was just, it was a,

174
00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:10,000
I don't often say this about McDermott and Brandon, I don't think Bill's fans often say it about

175
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,280
McDermott, but he outcoached Mike McDaniel on that game. The scheme him and Babbage ran

176
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:23,520
against this vaunted Miami Dolphins offense was just supremely tailored, supremely tailored.

177
00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:28,960
To all of the weaknesses that this Miami Dolphins team brings to bear. And it was a master class.

178
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:32,480
It was an absolute master class. What do you think from your view?

179
00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:40,000
Yeah, I mean, do you think there's an element of the players coming into this game with just

180
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:46,800
sort of free built confidence because of the record that they have against Miami since Sean

181
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:52,880
McDermott came in. The number I'm seeing is 14 wins to two losses against Miami. So coming in

182
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:58,720
is it already the expectation that the bills are going to walk away with a win because they've done

183
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:04,240
it so many times and then the players get kind of juiced from that? That's a great question. I

184
00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:09,440
mean, that kind of success, you don't see divisional records like that. Often, ironically,

185
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:13,280
your pets hold one over the bills and the Tom Brady era, I think he was like, what?

186
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:19,600
36 and three against the bills in his career. Frick Tom Brady, hate that guy. Anyway,

187
00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:25,520
glad he sucks at announcing football right now. That gives me hope that he is, in fact, human.

188
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:33,280
But I mean, complacency can kind of set in there. I do think that's a factor,

189
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:40,240
but you also got to keep in mind what Flores was doing when McDermott first took over the team,

190
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:46,560
what Flores was doing in Miami versus what McDaniel was doing, two very, very different styles of

191
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:53,760
coaching, two very different schemes offensively and defensively. To be able to have that kind of

192
00:19:53,760 --> 00:20:00,080
success, no matter who the coach is, no matter who the quarterback is, I think confidence plays a

193
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:06,240
role, but I think coaching and scheme plays even more of a role. And to me, that was on full display

194
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:14,320
in this game for sure. Yeah, the other, you know, you brought the Patriots dynasty. Belichick was

195
00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:22,400
38 and 11 against the Jets. And I just remember, you know, owned the gold year's opponents.

196
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:28,160
Yeah, right. But this is what great teams are supposed to do. They're supposed to own the people.

197
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:34,320
They play the most. That familiarity should breed some sort of consistency of success.

198
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:41,520
So, I mean, again, it was on on display for your Patriots during their, their dynastic run.

199
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:47,600
But here the bills also, this run that they've had against Miami, it's not just McDaniel again,

200
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:53,280
it extends into the Flores era as well. I mean, is really astounding. Now that being said, the

201
00:20:53,280 --> 00:21:02,000
Pats tend to play them closer. I will never forget that the sole fourth quarter comeback

202
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:09,920
that Mac Jones ever led against any football team was against the Buffalo Bills last season

203
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:16,240
on that ridiculous touchdown throw to Mike Gisecchi, who is my least favorite tight end in the league,

204
00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:23,200
Mr. Horrible Gritty himself, right? So, but this is the thing, right? As Bills fans, we sit here,

205
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:28,640
it laid it after moments like this being like the AFC East runs through us, but the Jets and the

206
00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:37,840
Patriots play us a lot closer than the Dolphins do. So that overarching, that overarching dominance

207
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:43,520
throughout the division that you guys displayed in your dynasty is still something the Buffalo

208
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:50,080
Bills are not yet fully on that level. And I don't know that they're going to get there with the

209
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:57,040
roster construction and the injuries they've faced this season, especially playing you guys so late.

210
00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:01,920
If we're at the speed up now in week two, we don't play you until what's our first game against

211
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:07,520
you guys is December 22. We get you guys two out of the last three weeks of the season week,

212
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:15,200
16 and week 18. Like, maybe Milano's back by then, maybe Johnson's back by then, or what's more

213
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:20,720
likely to happen is the Bills are going to be even more beat up and have to reach further into their

214
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:26,400
roster to find answers, right? But that's all stuff for down the road, man, because right now,

215
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:32,720
I think Bills fans, we want to live in the elation. And we want to hope that what happened last season

216
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:38,080
after we trounced Miami in our first first meeting doesn't ultimately repeat itself with a game against

217
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:44,720
Jacksonville coming up on Monday. So Brandon, I want to get your take here as an overall AFC East

218
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:50,240
fan. This was, I think in a lot of ways, a devastating loss for Miami. And I don't think it

219
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:57,520
can be understated. But a lot of preseason prognostication had the Miami Dolphins and the New

220
00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:02,960
York and the New York Jets battling it out for first place in the AFC East with the assumption

221
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:07,280
that the Patriots would be bad and the Bills because of the roster churn would be abdicating

222
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:14,000
the throne after four straight division titles. But after two weeks, it looks like the Jets are

223
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:20,160
still finding their way. It looks like Miami is headed for a season from hell, especially now

224
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:25,280
with two are going on IR. So which means he will not be eligible to play for the next four weeks

225
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:32,640
at minimum at minimum. So this opens the door just to Creek for your New England Patriots.

226
00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:39,360
But as an AFC East fan, what do you think this means for Miami? And what do you think it means

227
00:23:39,360 --> 00:23:43,200
for a potential early ascendance for your beloved New England Patriots?

228
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:52,240
Yeah, so we're seeing this really interesting thing in the NFL right now where every month

229
00:23:52,240 --> 00:24:00,320
there's a newest highest paid quarterback in the league, it seems like, with the recent

230
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:07,280
Dak Prescott bag of money. And let's not even talk about the amount of money that Daniel Jones

231
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:17,680
is raking in for whatever reason, it is just so difficult to find a quality week in week out

232
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:24,960
quarterback that's reliable. So teams are willing to go broke to pay for the right guy.

233
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:35,200
And as it pertains to Miami to what with their guy, right, they put all their chips in that basket

234
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:41,520
and Skyler Thompson is not going to get it done. They'll TBD is whether or not they are going to

235
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:48,320
assign somebody to come in a veteran there's been talk about Tom Brady coming out of retirement and

236
00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:56,400
it all comes back to Brady. It's just the rumor. Well, I've got to especially it's Chris Collins

237
00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:05,200
worth is calling the games. But yeah, you know, some of that's conjecture, right? All the calls

238
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:11,680
for two over to retire. That is, you know, we've seen this before. So I don't think, you know,

239
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:17,360
two is done for the season. I think he'll get cleared after concussion protocol. And then we'll

240
00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:22,960
stand back out there. But and then we'll see what happens from there what the recovery looked like

241
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:30,880
if he's the same when he comes back. But it's going to be rough for them with Skyler Thompson

242
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:38,480
under center. I feel bad for stars like Tyree kill and HN and, you know, waddle and all that sort

243
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:44,480
of stuff. Just because they're going to have a rough time out there. So yeah, and it's hard to

244
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:51,520
see Brandon what their path forward is. Let's say and listen, there's been plenty of conjecture.

245
00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:57,600
There's been plenty of like, sort of values casting people think, you know, what people think about

246
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:02,160
Tua's future and what he should do. I don't want to get into that. That's a decision that

247
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:07,120
is between him and his family. And I hope he is getting the right console. And he is going to

248
00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:12,960
ultimately make the right decision about what's best for him and his. But until that gets resolved,

249
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:20,080
you've got a big cap number tied up in Tua. You just re up jail and Ramsey, you just re up Tyree kill,

250
00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:26,880
and you just resign jail and waddle to his big second contract. There is there are significant

251
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:32,480
cap commitments on the offensive side of this ball. And on the defensive side, you've got decisions

252
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:40,160
you got to make about Javon Holland, Jalen Phillips, you wonder what type of room, given how much money

253
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:45,120
the dolphins have committed to a quarterback and two wide receivers, how much room they're going to

254
00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:51,200
have to really improve this team should Tua come back. Because again, he is the foundation

255
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,720
that this offense rests on. Mike McDaniel went to bat for him in these contract negotiations and was

256
00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:04,000
like, Tua is my guy, this offense runs the way that it runs because of him. But here we are,

257
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:10,240
and under Mike McDaniel and to a tongue of a loa, the Miami Dolphins are now one and 11 against

258
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:16,720
teams with a winning record. And they are only averaging 15 points a game this season at home.

259
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:23,040
Their first two games at home, where last season that number was nearly double at 29.2.

260
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:29,680
Now Tua going on the IR, all of these cap commitments. I think if you're a dolphins fan,

261
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:37,040
once you figure out the domino that is to fall with Tua's future, you really do need to ask yourself

262
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:42,240
where and how does this roster improve? It hasn't been through the draft, because of the limited

263
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,400
amount of draft picks that the the dolphins have had because of that tampering scheme with the

264
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:53,760
aforementioned Tom Brady. It all comes back to Tom still ruining AFC Easteams, even in retirement

265
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:59,840
at this point. It's unbelievable. But you got to wonder if last season wasn't the season that

266
00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:04,960
could have stole one from the bills, stolen a division title, gotten a home game, as opposed to

267
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:10,080
having to go on the road and minus six degree weather in Kansas City. Last year, if you're a

268
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:16,880
dolphins fan, really does begin to feel in hindsight, like the year where the dolphins could have kind

269
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:22,080
of gotten their shot, gotten their home game, their division title, and maybe a deeper than

270
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:28,800
expected run into the postseason. It feels at this point again, we got what 16 more weeks of football

271
00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:36,080
here. But it feels like Brandon, the dolphins missed their shot. Yeah, not their year.

272
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:42,720
Yeah, without a doubt. Let me tell you, Brandon, whose year it might be. And I would load this if

273
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:47,600
this was if this was the actually the case. You're New England Patriots. I want to wrap here by doing

274
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:53,440
something we don't often do outside of a bills game. I want to do a pregame chat with you of

275
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:58,960
about Thursday night football, Brandon, you are New England Patriots against the New York Jets.

276
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:04,400
Brandon, I want to kick it off by this. I've got a ton of metrics, a ton of stats,

277
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:11,760
and some burning questions I want to ask you. But first and foremost, are the Patriots good?

278
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:20,320
Take it away. The Patriots are amazing. No, I don't I don't think they're very good.

279
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:30,400
I think we are seeing the the new coach bump that teams get when there's a new coach. We've

280
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:37,200
talked about this before. We saw it in Vegas last season in the middle of the season for all

281
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:44,080
intents and purposes. They looked terrific. They got a new coach. Suddenly guys are willing to run

282
00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:50,560
through a brick wall for that guy. And I think that's what we're seeing in New England. Definitely

283
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:57,120
an upset win in week one against Cincinnati since he does not look good. Jamar Chase is very clearly

284
00:29:57,120 --> 00:30:03,280
unhappy there, which I think is a big source of their problems in the locker room. That's

285
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:11,200
translating to stuff on the field. And then we have this Seahawks game. It was a close one.

286
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:17,760
Went to overtime, you know, and the Patriots couldn't couldn't figure it out.

287
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:23,920
Huge game by Hunter Henry. He looked fantastic. I think if the Patriots are going to ask,

288
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:29,360
he's your best best catcher by a lot. 100%. You know, and I made a comment earlier about

289
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:34,560
Keon Coleman on the bills not being super involved. I don't know what's going on, but Pop Dogless

290
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:41,600
has not been super involved in the passing game for New England. So, you know, Remandry has been

291
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:49,200
doing a lot. He looks excellent. You know, I'd be actually curious if we were to do a stat

292
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:55,120
comparison between Remandry Stevenson and your James Book. Because I think, you know, they're

293
00:30:55,120 --> 00:31:02,240
comparable in terms of last two weeks for the season. But yeah, I mean, they're going to have to

294
00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:06,640
get the rookie Jalen Polk involved. They're going to have to get Pop Dogless involved. They're going

295
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:13,120
to have to keep being Hunter Henry the ball. And all of those were short passes for the most part,

296
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:21,200
right up the middle. And yeah, just a lot of efficiency there. But yeah, no, to your original

297
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:26,640
question, I don't think the Patriots are good. I don't think this is a winning season. I think

298
00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:32,240
they're probably looking at seven wins. I think that's the feeling. So.

299
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:40,800
And yet, based on point differential, if the season were to end today, the New England Patriots

300
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:46,960
would be the six seed in the AFC playoffs. So there is always hope, my friend, there is always hope.

301
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:53,840
But let's break this down because listen, is a Bill's fan base, Bill's mafia, we have a we have

302
00:31:53,840 --> 00:32:00,400
a keen interest in this game. Everyone has been saying the the Jets and the Dolphins are two top

303
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:07,440
opponents in challenging for the crown of the AFC East. And the Jets, you know, have looked different

304
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:13,600
this season. It's not just because they have a competent QB under center and Aaron Rodgers.

305
00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:19,760
But the defenses look different here and in a bad way. Now granted, that was a rough matchup to

306
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:26,400
catch San Francisco week one in San Francisco, the way that they caught them. But there were

307
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:31,760
some troubling trends, I think, with this new New York defense Brandon, that JJ and I talked about

308
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:38,160
in the preseason, most specifically around their pass rush. Now, here's where I think you all have

309
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:44,320
an opportunity. Your offensive line by every metric is still not great in New England. It's

310
00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:49,760
31st and pressure rate allowed. It's 32nd and pass block win rate. These are not best improvements

311
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:54,560
over last year. And you guys are still really banged up. You're just searching for depth literally

312
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:59,760
off the street for your offensive line, which is why when you're given the opportunity, you guys are

313
00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:04,560
going to the quick game so much. The problem is percent doesn't have a lot of time to throw normally.

314
00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:11,120
He's faced a pressure rate of 42% this season. So almost half his dropbacks, he is almost immediately

315
00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:16,960
under pressure. So he's trying to buy as much time as he can. But the Jets Brandon, their defensive

316
00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:24,000
line, this is a team that rushes for drop seven, pretty consistently, they're only 25th and pass

317
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:31,040
rush win rate. If there were a get right game for your offensive line, and I hesitate to go on record

318
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:37,360
with this, but I think I'm going to. It might be this game, Germain Johnson for the New York Jets,

319
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:44,000
now lost for the season. They've got Will McDonald, who's been doing some things for them off the edge.

320
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:50,880
But all of a sudden, a really deep defensive line unit that was the pride and the foundation of this

321
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:56,160
New York defense now looks really, really depleted. And frankly, that couldn't come at a better time

322
00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:02,080
for you guys coming off of a short week after a really rough road game. Now you guys are at home

323
00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:07,360
for this one too, aren't you? This is a home game in New England on Thursday. That sounds right.

324
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:12,720
Yeah. Okay. I can't remember. I'll check and I'll put the correct thing in the show notes.

325
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:20,160
But regardless, home or road, this could be a game where you guys get to figure some stuff out in

326
00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:28,080
both the quick pass game and in the run game too. Brandon, what are some of your keys to victory here

327
00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:30,880
if you're New England Patriots are going to pull it out on Thursday night?

328
00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:40,720
Well, I think Raul Andreis Steven Finn is going to have another heavy workload in that game.

329
00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:49,840
I think the Jets have shown that you can run against them. They still have a very strong corner,

330
00:34:49,840 --> 00:35:00,480
the Jets do. So certainly, yeah, questions about the passing game. It's really hard to say.

331
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:11,200
I think the Patriots have an opportunity to be two in one. So yeah, we'll see. I do think the

332
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:18,160
Patriots are at the New Jersey Jets. It's a road game. Road game. I just looked it up.

333
00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:23,120
So yeah, I agree. I think you guys are going to want to run the ball. They've been trying to work

334
00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:28,640
the quick game with Berset, surprising advanced metric and quick game efficiency. You guys are

335
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:35,520
number three in the league after two weeks. The problem is, there's not a great amount of protection

336
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:41,440
for Berset. So he doesn't often, he isn't often able to get it out in under 2.5 seconds. I think

337
00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:46,160
it's total time to throw this season is over three seconds, but it's usually because he's running for

338
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:51,520
his life trying to extend the play. But if you guys, yeah, if you guys can give him some protection,

339
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:58,480
I actually think your pop Douglas comment from earlier is because listen, Douglas is a speedster,

340
00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:03,520
but he's not a great round runner still. He needs time to get separation and get open. I just think

341
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:07,520
his lack of involvement is because they don't trust him over the middle and the protection

342
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:14,480
isn't holding up long enough for them to use him in the deep passing game. That could potentially

343
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:20,160
change if you guys are going up against a depleted defensive unit in New Jersey. So Brandon,

344
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:24,160
let me start with this because I got some burning questions that I want to get to about your squad

345
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:29,600
for you. But before we get to that, who do you got on Thursday? Pats or Jets and why?

346
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:38,800
I have to take the Patriots. I don't think Aaron Rodgers is the same quarterback that he was

347
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:47,360
pre injury. I don't think he's been the same for a long time. Again, I think the best years are

348
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:56,960
behind him. And at this point, he's just cash in checks. So this is this is Breece Hall versus

349
00:36:56,960 --> 00:37:05,840
Ramon Andre Stevenson, not Jacoby Brissette versus great Aaron Rodgers. And so there's going to be

350
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:13,280
a lot of check downs to the running back position. Probably a back and forth game. I don't see it

351
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:26,320
I don't see it being super high scoring. So I'll say Patriots 24 Jets 21 Patriots 24 Jets 21. I like

352
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:32,000
that. I like that. Yeah, these Thursday night games are always super weird, but I agree with you.

353
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:36,880
I think that running game travels and I listen, I don't know if it's because of their own offensive

354
00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:42,480
line deficiencies, despite the improvements they made, or if it's because of Rodgers general health

355
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:48,080
right now as he recovers from his Achilles stare. But dude, they are they're dialing up the quick

356
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:53,360
game in New York. Like it's nobody's business. Roger's time to throw this season is very

357
00:37:53,360 --> 00:38:00,480
to a like it's 2.26 seconds. They do not want him taking hits in the pocket for obvious reasons.

358
00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:05,840
And Nathaniel Hackett is scheming up a lot of quick stuff to try to get the ball out of Roger's

359
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:12,320
hands as soon as possible after the snap. I mean, Garrett Wilson, Brandon has 10 receptions this year,

360
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:18,720
eight of them have come on a time to throw of under 2.5 seconds. That's great for the health of

361
00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:23,760
Rodgers. But you've got a really dynamic weapon in Wilson that you're really just using as a

362
00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:29,360
check down Charlie right now. His average depth of target is just under seven yards, seven yards

363
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:36,720
per catch. I mean, it almost feels like an underutilization of Wilson and his skill set to have

364
00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:41,520
him inserted into the game plan in this way. But I don't think the Jets have a choice right now

365
00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:45,920
based on what they're given a quarterback. Now that may change. Rodgers may get healthier as the

366
00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:50,320
season goes on, may get more comfortable. We got to remember he didn't play football for almost a

367
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:57,680
calendar year. But right now, it looks like the Jets want to do anything but let Rodgers spend time

368
00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:04,160
in the pocket and look for a deep shot down the field. Yeah, I just, you know, bring back the

369
00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:11,200
game against Seattle this past weekend. The backup running back for Seattle, Zach Charbonnet,

370
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:17,440
he had like 100 rushing yards or something like that. And so Patriots and Jets have shown that

371
00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:22,560
their defenses can be run on. So there's going to be a lot of rushing yards this game.

372
00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:28,480
Old fashioned slobberknocker on Thursday night. That's what we want to see. But you got the

373
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:33,520
Pats pulling it out 24-21. All right, you are now on the internet forever with that take. We'll see

374
00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:39,360
if it comes back to haunt you. Trust me, it almost always does. All right. So Brandon, before I let

375
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:42,560
you go, I just, I got a couple of quick hit questions I want to get to you because I don't

376
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:47,920
know when we're going to be back on the pod next. So we have mentioned kind of the offensive,

377
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:52,800
the offensive scheme that New England is running out there. And there's a lot of deficiencies on

378
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:59,760
this roster. But there have been a lot of fans clamoring to sit bursat because of the lack of

379
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:06,080
explosives in the New England offense and bring in the Prince who was promised Drake May into the

380
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:12,640
starting fold sooner rather than later. What do you need to see Brandon in order for Berset to

381
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:18,480
keep May on the sideline on Thursday? First of all, I love the Game of Thrones reference.

382
00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:27,040
Prince, that was promised. That's a good one. I don't think it matters. The O line is not good

383
00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:32,640
enough. Berset just needs to be healthy. As long as Berset stays healthy, I think he's going to

384
00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:40,240
keep starting games. I think the plan is for Drake May to continue learning, right? I said in a

385
00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:47,360
previous episode of this pod that I didn't think we'd see Drake May before week eight. So as long

386
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:54,560
as Berset continues to scramble and stay out of harm's way, get the ball quickly out of his hands,

387
00:40:54,560 --> 00:41:03,680
I think the job is going to continue to be his. Boring, again, absolute disaster. So

388
00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:13,360
yeah, we'll see. Yeah. And I agree with you. The rookie QBs that are currently starting,

389
00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:22,400
Bonix, Jane Daniels, Caleb Williams, have exactly as many passing touchdowns combined as Drake May has

390
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:28,320
sitting, and that is zero. And this isn't always an ongoing debate with rookie QBs at this point in

391
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:33,280
the season. Be a stardom and give them the real game development, or do you sit them and allow

392
00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:40,480
them to learn? And I think we've seen success going both ways. But I think CJ Stroud and his

393
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:47,840
coming out party last season as a rookie really kind of muddied the view of what rookie QB success

394
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:53,600
really looks like. Stephen Ruiz, who is one of my absolute favorite quarterback commentators,

395
00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:58,400
quarterback evaluators, works for the ringer. Highly recommend looking at his QB rankings on a

396
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:05,600
weekly basis. You know, he was like, rookie quarterbacks by QBR are basically on average,

397
00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:11,440
the 26th best quarterback in the league every season, when it all is said and done.

398
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:18,800
I think that is an argument exactly in favor of what the Patriots are doing, which is sitting

399
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:24,880
Drake May, keeping the wear and tear off of his body, allowing him to learn the game as they

400
00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:30,320
continue to build the roster in the next couple of seasons around him. Now, I wouldn't advocate for

401
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:34,640
sitting him beyond this year, because I think you want to get this party started while he is still

402
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:41,360
on that rookie deal. So don't Jordan love this guy. But I think I'm sit as opposed to putting him

403
00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:46,000
in a situation where you know he's not going to be successful. I think is absolutely the right way

404
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:52,480
to go. All right. My final question for you. And you've kind of alluded to this already, but you

405
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:58,480
guys were very competitive against two projected playoff teams in your first two games. You beat

406
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:04,080
Cincinnati, who is now 0-2 on the season after losing to Kansas City. And you came close in

407
00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:10,640
in a really, really kind of physical game against an up and coming Seattle team that was getting

408
00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:15,760
great QB play out of Geno Smith has a much improved defensive line. And you guys put up a fight in

409
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:21,760
that game too. What do you think Brandon is motivating your guys roster right now is depleted

410
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:26,640
as it is from an injury standpoint on the offensive line? What's motivating this roster to play with

411
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:33,760
this level of toughness? Yeah, I think I mentioned it earlier, but I think it's that that new head

412
00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:40,000
coach, Bill, and that they're getting Berset is he's been around the league for a while. So I do

413
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:47,840
think he is, you know, leading the locker room in that way. So, you know, I think it's the players

414
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:57,840
that are playing for each other and trying to bring back, I think, some of the Patriots name

415
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:02,960
that's kind of been tarnished over the last couple years. It's been embarrassing, right? It's been

416
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:08,320
bad. The drop boss. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about.

417
00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:14,880
I've loved you. You guys just keep doing this. You know, but again, like, I think

418
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:21,360
the team, the identity of the team needs needs to prove that they can win without Tom Brady.

419
00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:30,080
And I think they're trying to figure that out. So that is, you know, how sustainable that is

420
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:35,600
as TBD, right? As injuries happen. I think we're on our third string left tackle right now. So

421
00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:46,720
yeah. And if Berset gets her, and Drake may gets forced in early, I think it gets ugly from that

422
00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:53,200
point. So yeah, yeah. Well, listen, at least right now, you guys got a lot of reasons to be

423
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:58,160
optimistic. It's been a better than expected start for you all. And listen, you have it, you have a

424
00:44:58,160 --> 00:45:05,840
chance to set the set the new New Jersey Jets at one and two to start the season and really assert

425
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:10,880
yourself with an early season lead over a divisional rival. So listen, man, best of luck on

426
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,880
Thursday. I don't mind rooting for you guys when you don't play against the bills and when you can

427
00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:20,240
hurt one over other divisional rivals. So I'll be watching that game with great interest. Brandon,

428
00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:24,000
listen, man, thank you for filling in today. I know it's not easy to come on the pod with

429
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:29,920
short notice. But as always, you have done an absolutely sterling, sparkling job. And we really

430
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:36,720
appreciate it. Well, I'd like to try something if you're open to it. It's something I'm going to call

431
00:45:36,720 --> 00:45:43,360
10 second take. And I'm going to give you 10 seconds to give me a take. All right. Oh, dear God. Okay.

432
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:51,040
Here's the first one is Sam Darnold. Good. You have 10 seconds. He's not good. No. But he is in a

433
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:56,400
great situation. He's always had the physical tools to be a really good QB. He's never had the

434
00:45:56,400 --> 00:46:00,560
coaching. I think he's ingrained too many bad habits. All right, time's up. It's really good.

435
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:09,120
Next one, you have 10 seconds. Bryce Young is going to be benched for the great Andy Dalton.

436
00:46:10,240 --> 00:46:16,400
Can Carolina win games with Andy Dalton? Yes, Andy, Andy Dalton's won games in this league.

437
00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:21,600
Andy Dalton and Bryce Young are not the reason why that team will win or lose. It's the rest of that

438
00:46:21,600 --> 00:46:28,240
roster and the poor construction and personnel and coaching turnover they've seen. Okay, this is your

439
00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:36,080
last 10 second take. The end of the Chiefs Cincinnati game ended with a very controversial yet again

440
00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:42,480
pass interference ball in favor of the Chiefs, who then responded by winning the game. What's going on?

441
00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:48,080
We all know what's going on. The script is the Chiefs will repeat the season because this is what

442
00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:54,000
the NFL wants. No, I mean, listen, Mahomes and the Chiefs, they're Jordan. Jordan, by the end of his

443
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:59,280
career, got all the calls because he was the goat. Same thing is happening to the Chiefs. Is it great?

444
00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:05,600
No. Is it fair that it's on display every single Sunday on nationally televised games? No. But it's

445
00:47:05,600 --> 00:47:12,720
a credibility that they've earned by being as good as they are for as long as they are. If somebody

446
00:47:12,720 --> 00:47:18,400
doesn't like it, beat them. That's all I got to say. Thank you so much, Dan, for your 10 second

447
00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:23,600
takes. And thank you again for having me back on the ball. Not prom. And thank you for all of you

448
00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:28,560
listening at home. Like, share, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts soon to come YouTube,

449
00:47:28,560 --> 00:47:44,480
Apple and Spotify. And as always, go Bills.