1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,440 Welcome back to the Buffalo Bread podcast. We are talking week seven bills tight ends 2 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:15,440 and how exactly they were able to turn things around. Just when Buffalo bills mafia thought 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:21,520 that there was going to be another abysmal outing with rough inconsistent and accurate 4 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:28,240 throws and and you know just absolutely no no first downs no performance at all. They 5 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:33,720 somehow redeem themselves. Dan what was the journey like for you. 6 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:40,240 I will say this while it is an unsettling theme for these bills to start so slowly at the 7 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,560 beginning of games. I think as we get into this game more of this was explainable to 8 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:50,520 me. I think for example that third and one on the Amari Cooper drop. I think if he catches 9 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:56,000 that ball right off the bat the complexion of that drive changes dramatically. I mean 10 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,720 listen they were getting coverage looks they like JJ and at the end of the day they just 11 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,840 didn't execute until the second half of the game on both sides of the ball. So I was actually 12 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,680 pretty Zen watching this one because I'm like I've seen this before. This looks different. 13 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:13,520 These players will write the ship and they did against an inferior team. 14 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,680 And I think that that might be the thread of this entire game is that this was an inferior 15 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:24,360 team. This was a Mason Rudolph. The Red Nose failure led tight Tennessee Titans. 16 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,400 No Christmas jokes before Halloween. Man give me a break. 17 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:35,640 I'm sorry. No. So you know this this team the Titans offense was inept going into this 18 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:41,000 game with Will Levis leading them and with Mason Rudolph who actually was he playing 19 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,340 quarterback against the bills in the playoff game. He was. Yeah. So they had a lot of familiarity 20 00:01:45,340 --> 00:01:50,440 with shutting down Mason Rudolph who I thought actually looked as good as he could have looked 21 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:55,600 against a reasonable NFL defense in the first half of this game until the bills sort of 22 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,040 figured out what they were doing which was basically just misdirection play action get 23 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,800 a tight end open in space dump it down. They were not able to stretch the ball down the 24 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:10,920 field very much. Once the bills tighten up the kind of levers on that approach to offense 25 00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:15,120 the Titans really had no answer. And that's why you saw you know in the first half it 26 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:20,880 was a reasonable kind of match up for the first two quarters and then from there forward 27 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:26,040 you know second half no score at all from the Titans and the bills defense really took 28 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,920 over in a lot of ways once they figured out protection schemes what they were doing with 29 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:35,560 misdirection. So why don't we start there Dan with bills defense Titans. Oh what were 30 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,560 some standouts and things that you noticed that you really particularly loved. 31 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:44,600 Greg or so got out of the Jerry Hughes zone for me like right off the bat. Okay. His sack 32 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,240 production has mostly come in one game up until the Titans game. And this is not a great 33 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:55,040 offensive line. He is getting pressure on opposing QB's and he got pressure on Mason 34 00:02:55,040 --> 00:03:00,560 Rudolph here in this game against the Titans. So it was nice to see him granted and I'll 35 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,640 be it and I feel like we're going to say this caveat a thousand times against an inferior 36 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:09,640 opponent and an inferior offensive line. But that's the type of game you would expect 37 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:15,760 a guy like Greg Russo who is above average to have against a team like this. So that JJ 38 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:22,800 right off the bat was very comforting to me. And I was really happy to see it overall. 39 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,460 And listen we have had qualms with with the situational game management of this coaching 40 00:03:27,460 --> 00:03:33,480 staff for years now. But they just know how to extract the most value out of everyone 41 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:40,120 in the field. And it felt like everyone in that defensive line rotation from smooth to 42 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:45,720 Carter to Epineza. They were just eating especially in the second half of this game against this 43 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,760 Titans D. They did a good job shutting down Tony Pollard in the rush game in the second 44 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:56,440 half JJ. And to me this was a show out game for every member of that defensive line rotation. 45 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,320 That's what impressed me the most. No I think I think you're absolutely right. I was I was 46 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:06,320 also impressed with them. I think even early in the in the game more of the problems that 47 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:12,000 the bills defense saw on the first kind of three or four drives were really about coverage 48 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:17,060 linebacker. It was second and third level challenges. It was really the you know the 49 00:04:17,060 --> 00:04:23,160 Titans approach was to run away from Greg Russo and to try to stretch the field to the 50 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:28,440 edges as much as possible in order to take advantage of you know the bills playing with 51 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:33,800 a light box the bills are top two in the league in terms of playing every down with six or 52 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:38,840 fewer players in the box. They do not bring extra linebackers they do not bring extra 53 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:44,640 safeties down. They focus purely on coverage on stopping the big play on stopping things 54 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:50,240 over the top. And they invite teams to run anytime bills fans you know get after Sean 55 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,960 McDermott about him being soft on the run. And we've both done it at times too. It's 56 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:01,800 by design late. That's actually the defensive design is that it's unlikely for teams to 57 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:07,040 break 40 yard plays with a running back coming out of the backfield. It's way more likely 58 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:12,080 for them to hit those you know seam balls or deep stretch balls down the sidelines. And 59 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,720 so Sean McDermott coaches his players to protect the that at all costs and the cost oftentimes 60 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:22,840 is running the ball effectively. And even still Tony Pollard only had you know 61 yards 61 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:29,240 on 16 attempts which is a 3.8 average it's not super great. And it got even worse later 62 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:34,160 in the game as the Titans weren't able to kind of have any they kind of ran out of unique 63 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:39,000 run fits in their in their scheme. And we're just doing their vanilla offense which even 64 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,760 Greg we're so commented on in the post game that eventually every team has to play their 65 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:48,400 normal offense against us. And eventually our film study will come through. And so I really 66 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:53,880 liked what the defensive line had to present. A.J. Epinezza. Dude you got to bring that 67 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,880 interception in what are you doing like I know right. He also he and I think there's 68 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:03,480 another you know media person in Buffalo Buffalo Bills media that comment on this I can't 69 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,760 remember who it was. But he's a Benezza when he had the stack strip late in the game. He 70 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:13,920 started celebrating while the ball is still live and in play. That was super frustrating. 71 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:21,080 I mean granted that is super frustrating to see. But also he hasn't had a whole lot to 72 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,760 celebrate this season. So I mean let's give the guy a break. 73 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:29,840 Let him have some emotions. I know just just just let it just let him be in his feelings 74 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:35,640 man. But I want to go back to something you said about Tony Pollard in the run game because 75 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,800 there has been a difference in like the eye test with this Buffalo Bills rush defense versus 76 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:45,600 what is actually playing out in the stats because it felt like in the first half Pollard 77 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:50,640 was having his way with this defensive unit and then in the second half absolutely clamped 78 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:55,640 down and I feel like with the exception of the Baltimore game that has been the story 79 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:01,360 in both winning and losing efforts for the Bills this season. J.J. I mean I feel like 80 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:08,560 when I watch our run defense I've seen them gashed a lot but they're almost like wearing 81 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:14,320 down opposing teams to the point where it becomes so inefficient and so cumbersome late 82 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:18,760 in games for teams to run the ball that it is in fact working in the Bills favor because 83 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:24,880 as we know they stubbornly run light boxes. They are J.J. the Buffalo Bills 26 in the 84 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:31,320 NFL right now and light box rush defense efficiency per NFL next gen stats. But when you look 85 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:36,600 at their when you look at their DVOA they are ranked their number eight. It doesn't make 86 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:43,040 any sense to me whatsoever that this unit is this good against the rush defensively. It 87 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:44,240 just doesn't make any sense to me. 88 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,200 Yeah and I think you're right and that sort of goes back to kind of what I said that that 89 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:53,520 is the scheme is Sean McDermott presents a light box but I do think that you cannot you 90 00:07:53,520 --> 00:08:01,480 know even the detractors against him as a head coach can't deny that he coaches his units 91 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:06,480 to play together as a team to fly to the ball to rally and tackle to kind of you know get 92 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:11,400 more hats and the point of attack. There's I don't think you'll ever see a Sean McDermott 93 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:16,600 coached player kind of give up on a play and jog to the sidelines when he's still in the 94 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:21,080 in the field of play and ready to make a tackle. I think it's a pretty largely one of those 95 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:26,760 culture based things for this team to to rally to tackle to group tackle to swipe at the ball 96 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:31,520 to do all those things that are kind of hallmarks of a really well coached defense. No I think 97 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:37,560 I thought they did good. I liked kind of moving back to the second and third level to relearn 98 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:41,680 artists so critical. Gosh I hope he I hope he's not on the injury report this week I 99 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:47,520 hope he's able to kind of he got he went down three times in the game head chest and then 100 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,400 ankle he kind of worked all three levels of his body with injuries throughout the game 101 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,800 and went out came back in went out came back in and then the third time he went out with 102 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,680 the ankle he stayed out looked like somebody got rolled up on him. So hopefully he's good 103 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:07,040 but I think that he is critical. Dorian Williams was struggling early in the game in sideline 104 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:11,400 to sideline coverage he was the one is he was getting pretty well played in those you 105 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:16,960 know misdirection plays where they got tight ends open to quick dump offs that was sort 106 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:22,440 of Dorian Williams his coverage was failing here and there and then you know I think that 107 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:30,040 the back end still Russell Douglas Christian Benford amazing. I still love what Taylor 108 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:34,280 rap is putting out there. Damar Hamlin got the int but I think that he had sort of a 109 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,640 weak game otherwise. And so that's sort of what I think of the defense generally and 110 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:45,280 at each level of the in each position. I would like to see so much more of Cole Bishop. I 111 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,520 really hope they give him a series or two here or there because I think he could work 112 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:55,400 his way into replacing Damar Hamlin. I would too. I really would. He just dude he just 113 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:59,960 seems to be a really quick learner. He seems to be absorbing this defensive scheme at a 114 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:04,960 rate that would lend itself to one thinking that he should be in the right rotation a 115 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:10,120 little bit more regularly. You've been rewarded with Dwayne Carter in his early season play. 116 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:15,560 Dwayne Carter currently in a rush stop win rate is number seven in the league and has 117 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:22,760 been so for two straight weeks. So you're getting rewarded with guys on the rookie deals. 118 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,720 This is the formula we know that the Buffalo Bills need to win when you have an expensive 119 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:32,520 QB. Let's take the next step and let's see what Cole Bishop has man. Absolutely. Yeah 120 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,680 no I think that's a good point to switch over. You want to talk about the Bills offense 121 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:41,760 versus this Titans defense. I do and I'm dying to talk about a Mario Cooper because we didn't 122 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,440 have a chance to unpack the trade with all the craziness that happened in our lives last 123 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:50,560 week's but I think you got to start with Keon Coleman right. Yeah. Yes you got to start 124 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:56,160 with over a hundred yards receiving and almost a touchdown. Dude I loved it. I loved it. And 125 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:04,480 you know it's interesting because on broadcast and on the all 22 his limitation show up so 126 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:09,560 clearly like he is a dude who I know exact. I feel like I know exactly the type of situation 127 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:13,640 he's going to be successful in and the type of situation he's going to fail in and he 128 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:18,680 does disappear and press man a lot and he needs a lot more moves to get a release off 129 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:23,280 the line of scrimmage when guys are up on him but you can see him trying to work these 130 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:28,120 things into his game. And what I loved about what they were able to do is they were able 131 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:33,520 to ISO him on one side of the field in single coverage against a DB. A lot of times it was 132 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,960 a what's his name Jarvis Brownlee Jr. Was that the guy he was lined up a lot. That was the 133 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:43,320 one he was targeting. Yeah. Yeah. They did a Brady especially in the second half did 134 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:50,360 a great job of finding ways to get Keon that favorable match up to where Keon was so obviously 135 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:56,160 an overmatch for Brownlee Jr. and and made it work to perfection. I mean that that I 136 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,920 think it was the second to last catch of the game. I can't remember what it was. It was 137 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:05,680 either a second to last or his last catch the 57 yarder where he finally quadrate digs 138 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:11,000 brought him down Brownlee pressing him at the line. Keon doesn't give the greatest move 139 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:16,640 in the world but like faints enough to outside leverage before cutting in. And he just squares 140 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:22,640 up to Josh gives him a great target and then boom his contact malice and athleticism take 141 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:30,120 over Brownlee swings around him on a mistackle and then Keon is off. That's the type of explosiveness 142 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:35,720 that the bills are banking on with such a high variance prospect like Keon Coleman. We've 143 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:41,680 joked before that Keon is the Josh Allen of wide receiver prospects because all the tools 144 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:46,440 are there but it looks so raw at times at this stage of his development. But you saw 145 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:51,960 it in this game JJ and you saw with smart scheming what a weapon he could potentially 146 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:58,760 be in this offense. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that I think that you cannot understate 147 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:02,880 how important it is that Amari Cooper was on the field for some of those snaps that Keon 148 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:08,160 Coleman was producing. Everything else fits now because of him. Gravity. Gravity towards 149 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:14,280 your brand new number one receiver who only played like 18 snaps. You know. Yeah. Like 150 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,680 19. Yeah. You're right. Yeah. But still with enough you know again with enough gravity to 151 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:25,280 pull coverage because they cannot you know teams can't look at Amari Cooper lining up 152 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:29,480 and just shrug and be like it's fine whatever corner we have can just cover him. It's fine 153 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,440 like they do with Mack Hollins because that's the reality of Mack Hollins game is that you 154 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:37,720 know you your biggest worry as a defensive coordinator when you have somebody lined up 155 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:42,240 across from Mack Hollins is that they're going to run to your side and if you have an 156 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,960 undersized corner because that's really the concern is that my corner is not going to 157 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,360 be able to get involved in the run game if Mack Hollins is lined up over him. Yeah. 158 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:55,680 Absolutely. He doesn't even Mac. I like Mack Hollins. We've stated that I like Mac out. 159 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:59,960 I love his social media presence. I think he's a great wide receiver three four four 160 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:06,800 likely three maybe in a pinch and an excellent special teams ace. Weird dude. Everybody seems 161 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:13,080 to love him. But I just he needed to move down in the target distribution. He needed 162 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:19,560 to move down in the snap counts and for this offense to be a functional NFL offense. And 163 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,760 likewise I think one of the one of the kind of the fire plugs or lightning bolts for this 164 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:29,280 offense was also Curtis Samuel getting hurt and they were forced to play Keon Coleman. 165 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,760 They were forced to play Khalil Shakir. They were forced to you know make sure that Amari 166 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:39,120 Cooper's pitch count was fully you know was fulfilled out for him. And in doing so they 167 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,760 were able to get productivity from all of those guys and Dalton concade. This was the 168 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:49,280 best Dalton concade game in a lot of ways that we've seen. And really the thing that 169 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:55,160 they did in the latter half of the game is they found their guys. It's Amari Cooper, 170 00:14:55,160 --> 00:15:01,480 Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Dalton concade. Sprinkle in either Ray Davis or James Cook 171 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,520 and you're good. You got it. Like that's an offense. 172 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:09,920 Absolutely. And they were finally trusting to go back to your Mac Hollins point. They 173 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:15,760 were finally trusting Keon and a lot of those jumbo package situations where he was one 174 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:22,320 of two wide receivers maybe with Hollins or he was a solo wide receiver out in a super 175 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:28,320 heavy set. And they were trusting him in the run block game where he's made just amazing 176 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:34,000 strides when you look at it on film how good his run blocking has gotten so quickly. But 177 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,800 they were also giving him more of that Mac Hollins role which you and I have been saying 178 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:43,160 like needs to happen. Listen on that on that play that we just talked about the reception 179 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:49,280 for 57 yards off Brownlee Jr. It was him and Mac Hollins and then it was our jumbo set. 180 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:55,720 We were playing three guards David Edwards Alec Anderson Osiris Torrance and they they 181 00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:03,360 let Keon win one on one against an inferior corner and let his skill set do the trick. 182 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:08,720 And a lot of his reception stage came out of that jumbo formation. This to me is the 183 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:13,560 path to success for the bills where I felt like the offense really stalled out particularly 184 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:19,480 on the first half. They had Josh and shotgun. They were lined up an 11 personnel and they 185 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:24,800 were running back those dorsi shotgun runs with James Cook that absolutely need to be 186 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:29,320 ripped out of the playbook like I don't know why they still exist right. It was when they 187 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:35,080 went heavy and they forced Tennessee into their base where their guys were a lot more adept 188 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:41,360 at winning on the outside one on one. And listen defense the Tennessee the Tennessee Titans 189 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:47,360 defense say what you want about the team is pretty legit in the second half Brady in the 190 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:52,080 scheme were just dictating what the personnel packages the Tennessee Titans wanted to run 191 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:57,320 out needed to be. And they were a very adept at taking advantage of it. Overall it was 192 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:03,280 a great kind of it was a great kind of redemption arc in the second half. But dude everybody 193 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:10,960 eats to your point is Cooper Coleman concave Shakir Cook. That's the list. 194 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:15,720 There's the only ones that should be led in the restaurant. Like don't you know there's 195 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:21,360 a table and it should be reserved in the restaurant for those individuals. Everybody else can 196 00:17:21,360 --> 00:17:27,520 come after the rush like everybody else can show up when Mitch Trebit sexy Mitch Trebisky's 197 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:32,440 spin in the ball like nobody needs to be out there catching the ball from Josh Allen if 198 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:37,440 their name is not concave Cook Shakir Coleman or Cooper. 199 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:44,960 I love how you called Mitch Trebisky sexy. It's an absolutely incredible really awesome 200 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,600 stuff out of you today. I love where your head's because he reminds me of Rex Grossman. That's 201 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:54,440 what I'll say. They're both Chicago. Remember sexy Rex. Yeah. I remember Rex Rex Grossman 202 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:59,400 went to a Super Bowl. Yeah. Yeah. He went. He did win. But he went. No he didn't win. 203 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:03,440 He didn't win. But that's fine. He was he was the he was on the team that Devon Hester 204 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,480 was on when he returned an opening kickoff in the Super Bowl for a touchdown. 205 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,040 No. Yeah. Oh yeah. That's right. That's right. Let's go the way back machine. So JJ just 206 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:15,400 to wrap things up here some some key numbers that I was able to pull after the game that 207 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,980 again showed to me that the bills were getting back on track. Josh Allen's time to throw 208 00:18:19,980 --> 00:18:27,560 2.58 seconds after a get after it had been as high as 2.87 seconds in this most recent 209 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:32,920 run of road games. Now granted the bills are a different team playing at home than they 210 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:38,640 are on the road. So as we'll get into later on this week Seattle may be a pretty big test 211 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,720 for them. That's a hostile environment and that's the defensive line in particular that's 212 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:47,120 getting really healthy out there. But this has been the formula for success for the bills 213 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:52,760 and we know it. Josh gets the ball out quick. He is the best quick rate passer in the league 214 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:58,440 only behind Aaron Rodgers this season and Jane Daniels out of Washington. When these guys 215 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:04,600 get it out in 2.5 2.5 seconds or less great things are happening. Geno Smith is also that 216 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:09,200 hierarchy interesting enough which we'll talk about in the pregame. And then he targeted 217 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:14,200 a bunch of dudes and a bunch of dudes had a bunch of catches and this is just the formula 218 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:19,400 for them to win. And what's interesting is they could not really get the run game going. 219 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:24,280 James Cook was really bottled up and they forced these wide receivers and Josh Allen 220 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,520 to beat them through the air and listen for once this season for the first time when the 221 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:34,360 run got shut down. Brady had a nice answer and these individual players executed to find 222 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:39,560 those answers. So overall it was a solid team win outside of that first quarter that I like 223 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:45,200 to fire into the sun. Yeah. And the bills cannot have these slow starts against better 224 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,720 opponents that just can't happen. We saw what happens when the Baltimore Ravens are playing 225 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:55,520 you and you have a slow start that just snowballs and you're done. So like I think that that's 226 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,680 you know we can all be super happy about this game but it's fair to have a little bit of 227 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:04,120 concern and criticism for the bills not being able to you know not be able to kind of run 228 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:09,560 out the gate and be competitive on both sides of the ball. I just want to give one quick 229 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:16,560 shout out to Tyler Bass won a kicking competition in practice this week and had he not won that 230 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:21,800 competition with Havr sick who they brought in it's likely that Havr sick would have been 231 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:26,280 elevated and Tyler Bass would have been a healthy scratch. And so he won the kicking 232 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:31,120 competition he kept his job for another week and he came on the field and hit 100% of every 233 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:35,360 kick that he tried. So if that's what it takes if they got to bring in a different kicker 234 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:41,600 every week and have them compete against Terry or Terry Tyler Bass to keep his his confidence 235 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,440 up that's let's do that. 236 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,760 It's amazing that that is where we're at and the bills kicking saga but you know what 237 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:54,920 he earned it and I'm I'm totally cool with him keeping his job for the time being again 238 00:20:54,920 --> 00:21:00,360 I see in a higher leverage situation will see what happens. I'm really worried. Yeah. 239 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:07,000 Well but I'll say this. I actually found it kind of heartwarming that the fans in attendance 240 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:12,480 got up for him like really did. I think everyone wants to see him succeed. 241 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,920 I expect I expect nothing less after the show support he got last season after the miss 242 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:22,720 against Casey like yes. Meatheads like us have been talking on this podcast openly about 243 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:27,640 challenging him for his job. But the reality is is that much of Bill's mafia they want 244 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:32,040 to see these dudes succeed. Like it makes no sense to root against guys on the roster 245 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,960 to fail just so you can be right. And some stupid argument you're having with your buddies. 246 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,840 And like that's what I've always enjoyed about being a part of this fan base is that we get 247 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:46,840 stuff like that. Sure true story true story. So really quick man before we wrap it up here 248 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,840 let's talk about trade candidates. We were the beneficiaries of trade already with the 249 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,400 Cleveland Browns bringing in a Mari Cooper. And while we have noted that Cooper played 250 00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:00,360 a limited snap count as he learned this offense when he was out there he was immediately taking 251 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:05,160 the attention of the Tennessee Titans defense and opening things up for the other guys on 252 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:10,640 offense. And he had a productive day in and of himself including his first catch as a 253 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:16,560 Buffalo Bill being a touchdown from Josh Allen in the red zone. JJ one of the things 254 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:20,640 even through the rough patch that the bills had on that three game road trip that has 255 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:27,240 been consistent has been their red zone production. And because Cooper is such a great mid range 256 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:32,520 target for them. I'll ask Stefan Diggs and where he was at at the end of his tenure. 257 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:37,720 It feels like now finally they have guys that can attack at every level of the field. But 258 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:42,760 more importantly I mean in the red zone this is a very dynamic offense and Cooper makes 259 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:48,240 it even more so. So JJ real quick thoughts here I got two questions for you as we leave 260 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:54,080 here. What do you think about Cooper's debut as a Buffalo Bill and are there other players 261 00:22:54,080 --> 00:23:00,440 out there that you feel like being in company may target at the trade deadline. 262 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:06,800 So first of all I thought his debut was good. I think his his first target as a bill being 263 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:11,640 a clear drop when he leads the NFL and drops made everybody a little bit cringe you know 264 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:17,480 cringe a little bit like oh yikes myself included. But then to turn that around and have the 265 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:23,000 next four targets all go for receptions and the next media next one to go for a touchdown. 266 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:28,280 I think everybody saw what they needed to see not to mention you saw this passing offense 267 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:34,280 look productive and look functional like it hasn't in weeks even against the jets it did 268 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:39,600 not look super functional. So I think that that that was helpful and I'm hopeful that 269 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:44,000 that continues and that you know essentially with him moving up into the upper echelon of 270 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:49,560 snap counts getting closer to 100% of you know snaps on offense and knowing the playbook 271 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:53,800 the just the better it's going to be. And I think that Josh Allen showed a lot more 272 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:59,080 comfortability and patience having him on the field for those snaps. I mean it was a 273 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,480 difference you could notice a difference in the way that Josh was dropping back with the 274 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:08,320 ball when a Mari Cooper was out there. Oh yeah absolutely. It's an immediate rapport that 275 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:12,280 I think is only going to get better throughout the course of the season and listen he's got 276 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,160 all the routes on his route tree just like Stefan Diggs did and I don't want to draw 277 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:21,120 too many comparisons. Diggs and Cooper both throughout their 10 years in the NFL have 278 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:26,760 been really dynamic players but when you look specifically at what this team was missing 279 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:31,960 it was someone who could win at a variety of levels of the field not just a deep threat 280 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:37,720 not just in short area yard situations and having a guy like Cooper who's such a technician 281 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,920 with his route tree and you can line him up in a variety of different places it just feels 282 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:48,440 like now everybody else's role on this offense makes sense. We already we already said it 283 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:55,000 before but it's bears repeating. Matt Collins' snap share I think deservedly went down as 284 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:00,920 did his target rate but he was out there in situations that set him up for better success. 285 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:05,480 That Ray Davis touchdown the lead blocker in the touchdown Matt Collins and that's the 286 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:09,920 kind of player Matt Collins is. He's not the guy who you target on third and seventh in 287 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:15,920 the red zone on a on a middling slant like they did against the Jets the week prior he's 288 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:21,480 not your gotta have it play guy but he's a dirty work guy which is what Gabe Davis was. 289 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,800 He's the guy who's going to get out there and block until his his teammate running back 290 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:31,040 is in the end zone like we saw and that is what sets up Matt Collins and his skill set 291 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:35,360 for the most success in this unit. We already saw the benefits to Keon Coleman not just on 292 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:40,120 the stat sheet but in some of the favorability and matchups that he got and now this allows 293 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,760 Cleal Shakir shoot you do whatever you want with Shakir like we have been sleeping on 294 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:49,800 the fact that Shakir is in fact fast and can stretch the field in ways that a lot of the 295 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:55,160 other wide receivers on this unit Cooper and Coleman included cannot but he can also be 296 00:25:55,160 --> 00:26:01,520 a reliable target in the slot and be a yak guy. You can now do so many so many things 297 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:06,320 that play to the strengths of this wide receiver group because you've got a guy as reliable 298 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:14,160 and consistent as a Mario Cooper. Absolutely. And to kind of go off of your previous comment 299 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,480 you know about possible trade targets. I really I don't see a lot of holes in the bills defense 300 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:25,640 right now or offense that they could address with a with a player by trade especially somebody 301 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:32,000 who's going to take like substantial resources. But I mean some players that might you know 302 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:37,320 might be worth a mid round pick or something. They could pry Andre Cisco away who's sort 303 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:41,600 of the enemy of Jacksonville right now for calling out all of his teammates for being 304 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:47,240 you know lackadaisical low effort players. I think that that could be that could be somebody 305 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:51,600 bring him home. He's from Syracuse. You want Syracuse. Yep. Bring him back to you know 306 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:57,840 the kind of upstate area and see if he can you know play play into a role with the bills 307 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:03,800 because I think immediately he would upgrade either safety position and you know of a starting 308 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:12,240 through a trio of you know Andre Cisco Taylor wrap and Cole Bishop really excites me you 309 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:18,600 know for late season. Yeah. They're all sort of that exciting splash player types. Yep. 310 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:25,040 No I agree. And on the right side age wise of their careers too. I do I feel like we 311 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:30,960 I feel like we need another edge presence like Van Miller was playing well before his 312 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:36,400 suspension granted. But I just feel like we need another dude and like we need another 313 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:41,360 dude that is not up and as a who's going to start opposite of Russo. Okay. Can I interest 314 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:46,840 you in a different AFC East target and Josh Uche. I could be interested in Uche for a 315 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:57,360 mid round for a mid rounder. I listen man. I I want Max Crosby and I'm going to tell 316 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:02,400 you why how many how many ones would you send for Max Crosby because it's more than one. 317 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:07,520 It's one. It's just one just one one. It's just one one. It's just one one. I feel like 318 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:13,400 I feel like it's just one one like will Las Vegas want more. Yeah. I don't know that anyone 319 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:19,120 though because you eventually do need to rework Crosby's deal. This is the this is the last 320 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:23,600 year that I believe he has fully guaranteed money on the contract and then he's got two 321 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:29,520 years of non guaranteed after this. So you do need to bring a guy like that in assuming 322 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:34,120 you're going to work a deal. But the bills have the cap space next season to spend. And 323 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:39,120 listen they're one they're probably spending on an edge because they're going to part ways 324 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:43,480 with Von Miller or at least they should part ways with Von Miller at the end of this season. 325 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:47,400 And they're going to be looking for another running mate for Greg or so. Why not spend 326 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:54,200 that one on a proven top two or three edge rusher in the league and Max Crosby and then 327 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,680 figure out the money for next year because you know you can't you know you've got that 328 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:02,520 bandwidth. I mean he signed through the 2026 season. 329 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:07,560 I think I think the last two years there were non guaranteed. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But the 330 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:11,880 last two two years have a twenty eight million and twenty four million dollar cap it. So like 331 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:17,680 that's pretty affordable for an elite edge rusher. Absolutely. I might not tear up his 332 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,200 deal I might just find a way to get that money on the cap. Right. Or promise him a little 333 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:27,120 bit more guaranteed money so you can really flex that cap for the next couple of years 334 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:32,360 to sure. I think. Oh that's a dream. Why would you do this to me. You just like don't don't 335 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:37,520 you dare do this. Don't give me hope. I mean listen we know where Brandon Bean is best 336 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:45,920 Brandon Bean his best first round picks have been Josh Allen and Stefan Diggs who he traded 337 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:50,080 the pick for. Yeah. Like that's the reality and that's no shade at a guy like Rousseau 338 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:56,320 Rousseau to me is a B plus first round pick. He's a solid performer but he needs a running 339 00:29:56,320 --> 00:30:02,320 mate next to him to really be his true self and realize his potential like Greg Rousseau 340 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:07,560 isn't going to be the first defensive end in and for any team to pick if they're building 341 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,080 a roster from scratch in like a fantasy draft like he's not going to be the one that a team 342 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:18,040 is like ooh he's our cornerstone edge rusher. Exactly. Yeah. So do you fire yet another 343 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:23,640 first round pick into this defensive line or do you send it with some additional compensation. 344 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:28,180 I mean listen maybe it's a one and maybe it's that Minnesota Viking second round pick which 345 00:30:28,180 --> 00:30:32,140 now looks a lot like it's going to be a lot closer to where the bills were naturally pick 346 00:30:32,140 --> 00:30:36,680 in the second round based on how good they've gone but that is compensation that I would 347 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:41,280 trade for a guy like Crosby to have an immediate and long term effect on the steam. I've seen 348 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:47,320 Miles Garrett thrown out there too. There's no way. No. There's no way. No it's like three 349 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:52,720 ones like what's that going to be. Yeah. Miles Garrett like Max Crosby is elite Miles Garrett 350 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:59,880 is on a different level. Yeah. Miles Garrett is is like Diet Coke Bruce Smith like that's 351 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:05,080 you're not you know it's it's a generational talent. Well I think the other thing about 352 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:11,520 Max Crosby Max Crosby strikes me as the kind of guy who for whom Buffalo he might live 353 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:16,800 in Buffalo the rest of his life after retiring. He just feels like a Buffalo guy. He does 354 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:22,560 he absolutely does. Max with two X's I mean I've seen store fronts you know with that 355 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:29,760 title on them. Yeah I mean listen man the Buffalo bills are the exact middle of the pack 356 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:39,120 in pressure rate and pass rush win rate this season. It has not been a poor defensive line 357 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:45,040 effort but it has also not been great and the reality is is that eventually you've got 358 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:49,320 to figure out a way to contain a guy like Lamar Jackson. You've got to figure out a way to 359 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:54,240 get to and bring down a guy like CJ Stroud who is very comfortable in pressure but like 360 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:59,000 a lot of pocket passers when you hit him like we saw against Green Bay this past weekend 361 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:03,960 you can disrupt him and then you finally need somebody who's just going to absolutely destroy 362 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:08,960 Patrick Mahomes and Max Crosby has made it his mission as a raider to do that. Like I 363 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:14,840 just think the Crosby deal makes a lot of sense. It's going to be higher end compensation 364 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,800 and you got to rework the deal probably a little bit but at the end of the day worth 365 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:24,240 it for both the short term and long term impact. And then you're working an edge rotation 366 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:30,240 that is Gregor so AJ Epin as a Von Miller when he comes back and Max Crosby name me 367 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,120 a deeper four. Name me a deeper four. I'll wait. 368 00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:36,560 Right. No I can't. I can't. No it's a good look. 369 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,400 For me it's edge and I really hope Bean does something and doesn't sit pat because this 370 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,240 defensive line is good enough against the Titans will not be good enough against the 371 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,640 Ravens Chiefs or Texans. Yeah. Fair. 372 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:51,720 JJ is always good pah-ton with you. For those of you listening at home like share and subscribe 373 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,680 wherever you get your podcasts YouTube soon to come Apple and Spotify and as always go 374 00:32:56,680 --> 00:33:15,600 Bills. Go Bills.