What's up, Bill's Mafia? Welcome back to the
Buffalo Bread Podcast. I am your host, Dan Roberts.
We are very excited here to be kicking off another
season of Buffalo Bread. You'll notice that it's
just me on this recording this evening, and that's
what it's going to be for the next couple of
recordings that we drop on the pod. JJ who is
our normally scheduled co -host here on the program
He is going through some some family issues right
now some personal issues And he has need to take
a little bit of space from the pod in order to
attend to those of course We love JJ. We wish
you and your family the best man, and we cannot
wait to have you back on the pod But at JJ's
request Given that we are so close to training
camp, we are turning out new episodes of the
pod starting this week as we are now a couple
of weeks here from training camp and the kickoff
to the Buffalo Bills, uh, pre season. So we're
going to be dropping a few episodes on you. It
is of course, list season, ESPNs dropping lists,
the ringer, the athletic, they're all dropping
lists of best coaches, best position rooms for
the upcoming season. We're going to be diving
into all that with some of our regularly scheduled
co -hosts. Um, and also a couple of new faces.
on the pod that have found their way onto recording
with us. We're appreciative, of course, all of
their time and all their energy that they're
giving to us as we get ready for another Buffalo
Bills NFL football season. So, tonight what we
have for you as we kick the rust off this podcast
is we've actually got a great interview that
I want you to stick around for with one of our
newest co -hosts, Mike Kujowski. Kujo, as we
affectionately like to call him. A huge Bills
fan, has been working abroad for the past few
years. has recently made his way back to upstate
New York and is very excited to rejoin his home
community of Bill's Mafia. You're going to get
a chance to hear about what it was like being
a Bill's fan abroad, some of his favorite memories
at the Ralph here as we close out the final season
of that glorious, glorious stadium before the
opening of a new Highmark next year. A lot of
really good stuff. We hope you stick around for
that. Before we get into that, there is, of course,
some news and notes starting to come on, one
of which, and I think the most prevalent piece
of discourse of Bill's Mafia, has been having
this season has been around one James Cook and
his contract situation. So as everyone I think
is aware, James Cook shortly after the season
made it known what he thought his worth and value
was to the Buffalo Bills, i .e. $15 million a
year guaranteed. He is going to be eligible for
an extension at the end of this season being
a second round pick. This is the last year of
his rookie deal. No fifth year eligibility being
that he was not a first round pick. So, he is
asking for a number that I think a lot of Bill's
mafia and a lot of folks in Bill's media have
kind of balked at. And the reason being is because
there's only two guys that are getting that amount
of money, that 15 million guaranteed tier at
the running back position. That is Saquon Barkley
and Christian McCaffrey. So many Bills fans,
while we love what Cook has brought to this unit
offensively, and we've loved to see his development
over the past few seasons, there's a lot of Bills
fans that balk at that number for a couple of
reasons. One, in general, the value of the running
back position despite the success of second and
third contracts that Saquon Barkley assigned,
Christian McCaffrey assigned despite his injuries,
and Derek Henry in Baltimore as well, despite
that, recent run of success, there are still
questions about how valuable it is to have a
running back in your system locked up at that
type of cap hit, especially when you're a Buffalo
Bill squad that is already tied up against the
cap year after year, and you have big decisions
coming up on guys like Osiris Torrance, David
Edwards, and Conor McGovern. So we're gonna dig
into a little bit of that here in this intro.
But I got to tell you I think and we'll find
out where JJ stands when he returns to the pot
on this I think we're I stand right now is I
lean towards giving cook Close to what he's asking
for and before you come out with your pitchforks
and Spears Hear me out as to why I am fully cognizant
of where James cook needs to improve He is still
not a three down back. He has a lighter frame
511 190. He is last season and seasons before
he has averaged just over 200 carries per season.
Nowhere near the 300 carry load the guys like
Saquon Barkley and Derek Henry and Christian
McCaffrey that elite tier that we talk about
are taking on when healthy. All right. So I enter
this conversation fully cognizant of the fact
that James Cook is just not on the field as much
as those guys are. Part of it is because of the
skill set and the physical traits that he brings
to the table. And then the other part of it is
the Buffalo Bill scheme in general. They have
carried and played three running backs in that
running back room for multiple seasons under
Sean McDermott at this point and through multiple
offensive coordinators as well. It is a piece
of the game. They've always valued complimentary
football and they like to spread out and share
the load. I say all that wanting you to know
that I'm totally aware of all the reasons why
James Cook probably should not be paid at that
elite tier. But there are some things that he
legitimately brings to the table that I think
are a hand in glove perfect fit for the scheme
that the Buffalo Bills want to run in their ground
game. And I feel like every season we've gone
into a year and we've talked about where James
Cook has needed to improve. And he has improved
after his rookie season. It was all about field
vision. He was going dancing too much East to
West. He wasn't going North to South enough.
What did he do? He elevated his field vision
in the next two years to get to what I would
like to call S tier. His first cut, his first
read and first reaction hitting holes is one
of the best in the league. And his yards per
carry before contact, bear that out. I understand
that's also an offensive line metric as well.
On average last season was 3 .4 yards, which
was top five in the league last year. I get some
of that as the offensive lines production and
the offensive lines effectiveness as well. But
he has also added power to his game that we have
not, I think, anticipated or talked about enough.
His touchdown production in the red zone, two
seasons ago, going back to 2023, he was only
used in about a quarter of the snaps that the
Buffalo Bills were running in the red zone. Simply
didn't have the physicality, he still was working
on his field vision, understanding his reads
and things like that. And in the red zone, the
Bills were going to a myriad of other options
that were not James Cook. Last year, he got about
60 % of the snaps in the red zone. Why? His field
vision improved. His acceleration is through
the roof, as we have all seen on film and in
watching real -time games. But he added an underrated
power element to his game as well. We said already
that he averaged 3 .4 yards per carry before
contact. After contact last season those number
went up to three point five yards carry After
initial contact according to next -gen stats
that it was good for top 14 in the league last
season overall when you take out Quarterback
runs they take out guys like Jane Daniels and
Lamar Jackson He was number six amongst all running
backs and overall yards per carry at almost five
yards a clip He is elevated and added a skill
set to his game each and every season that has
continued to help his development accelerate.
It's also accelerated in perfect cohesion and
unison with where this offensive line program
has gone. You guys may remember last season.
Not so much JJ, but definitely me had a lot of
questions about how the bills were handling the
offensive line room. It finally felt like after
the 2023 season they had figured out that formula
they had rolled out at that time would have been
the. best offensive line that they had had arguably
in the Josh Allen, Sean McDermott era. And we
had a lot of questions about letting guys like
Mitch Morse go, Ryan Bates go, letting go of
a lot of our depth. Well, as it turns out, an
Aaron Cromer we trust because last season was
arguably the best offensive line that the Buffalo
Bills have had to work with, not just in pass
protection, but also in the run game as well.
There is a lot of discourse because of the efficacy
of that offensive line that you can plug any
running back into that old lines into that online
scheme and they will be successful. Here is my
counterpoint to that. Philadelphia Eagles are
in Baltimore Ravens, arguably. better offensive
line factories than the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo
Bills are new to this game, where it's next man
up, be it an Alec Anderson or be it a Cedric
VanPan Granger, and they're able to play at a
level of really high efficacy, coming off the
pine. Philly and Baltimore have lived that life.
They have built deep rotations along their lines
for many, many years. They made the decision,
respectively, to invest in quality veteran running
back skill because they felt like that would
put them over the top. One of my favorite guys
to listen to an O line play aside from JJ is
Michael Junior. And I remember an interview he
did, I want to say it was four or five years
ago, where he was just talking about what it
was like to be an offensive lineman at Notre
Dame and then for a cup of coffee in the NFL.
And he always, he says something that was really
striking to me. He was like, yes, and I'm, this
is not exact word for word. I'm kind of paraphrasing
here. He was like, O -line play matters. 100
% absolutely O -line play matters, but it makes
such a huge difference to have a guy carrying
the ball behind you that can understand the openings
that you're creating for them and attack them
with the speed. and the confidence that they
need to, to make the most of those openings.
We all remember the Devin Singletary, Zach Moss
days, where it felt like Motor, in particular,
had opening after opening for him at certain
points. Granted, there were issues with the O
-lines he played behind, I understand this. But
it felt like that when the holes in the openings
were there, he wasn't hitting them with any kind
of real confidence. Same thing with Zach Moss,
who was supposed to be this bowling ball with
knives for us. Again. All line was not back then
what it is now, but openings were there and we
did not have the horses in that running back
room to really exploit the limited amount of
opportunities that they were being given flash
forward to now. And it feels like you have the
perfect match of a running back with great field
vision has increased his, not just acceleration,
but his overall top speed last season, clocking
in at multiple 20 mile per hour runs. Um, and
became a home run threat last season in James
Cook. It wasn't just about his power game in
the red zone. There were quite a few breakaway
runs. I mean, the one I remember the most was
against Miami and watching Jordan Poirier take
a terrible tackling angle and Cook basically
waving goodbye to him and breaking away. We haven't
had that total package at running back, I would
argue, since potentially Travis Henry maybe.
Fred Jackson was an incredibly effective and
cerebral running back, but he didn't have a lot
of the juice as far as the speed and acceleration
went that James Cook has. I mean, Cook feels
like he has a skill set that is developing at
the same time that this O -line scheme is finding
its height of perfection. I feel like the bills
should highly consider. I don't know. 15 million
is the number. Maybe 12 million is the number.
Maybe 12 .5 is the number 13, even average annual
value. I don't know what that is, but when I
think about a guy like James Cook and his skillset
potentially walking out the door, when I see
what Philly and Baltimore identified for their
squads that have helped put them over the top
offensively and needing to bring in some veteran
running back help that fit their scheme. I kind
of don't want to let the guy walk out the door,
because I think if we do, we are starting from
a further back building point that I think a
lot of us really understand. Yes, I think Ray
Davis is great. I think Ray Davis is actually
more effective at catching the ball out of the
backfield than James Cook is. But I think the
total package of what Cook brings to the table
is something that is worth keeping an eye on
as these contract negotiations go out. Listen,
man. I think back to that AFC Championship game
against the Chiefs, and I think about who played
their best game. Who played their best game for
the Buffalo Bills? Who showed up when the stage
was the absolute brightest at that particular
moment? Definitely wasn't the defense, as we
have talked about all offseason. Wasn't the wide
receiver room. You could argue, too, that it
wasn't even Josh's best game of the season. Came
out very jittery in the beginning, and Brady
had to do a lot to settle him down. Who played
their best game of the season when it mattered
the most for the Buffalo Bills? It was James
Cook scoring multiple touchdowns and only 13
touches and a snap share 47 % and the AFC Championship
game even if even if Cook cannot for whatever
reason improve his pass blocking And I understand,
and I've watched the film, and I know that the
play before the Dalton Kincade missed catching
that AFC Championship game, Cooke absolutely
blew a blocking assignment and allowed easy pressure
to get to Allen. I get that it is an issue. Totally
understand that. But when you look at the big
reasons why the Bills were even in that game
so close towards the end against the Steve Spagnola
defense, it was because of James Cooke. I just
have a hard time letting a guy walk out the door
who fits our scheme so well. And I think we should
learn the lessons that Philly and Baltimore chose
to learn two seasons ago and signing their veteran
running backs to the deals that they did. And
I think we should give James Cook a look. What
does it look like? I don't know. But I'll tell
you what, I'll feel a lot better about paying
someone like James Cook $13 million a year than
I would someone like Josh Palmer $13 million
a year. I think... Cook makes this offense better
in a way that no wide receiver, say for maybe
Cluel Shakir, can make this offense better. He's
a pressure release fell for Josh. He fits in
perfectly with our scheme. And I think we should
not be so quick this season to dismiss his value
to the team just because of the position he plays.
That's all I got to say about that. I can't wait
to hear how you guys Absolutely disagree with
that take and how JJ disagrees with that take
when he comes back But I appreciate you guys
letting me go off on that for a little bit So
please stay tuned because following up next we
have a very entertaining interview with one Mike
Kujawski About his time being a Bills mafia member
abroad What's up Bill's Mafia and welcome back
to the Buffalo Bread podcast I'm your host Dan
Roberts and we have the pleasure today of being
joined by our newest guest host Mike Kijowski
for those of you regular listeners of the pod
you know that JJ and I we carry a very very deep
bench of Buffalo Bill's fans Bill's mafia lovers
and I've had the pleasure of getting to know
Mike Kijowski here over the course of the past
few weeks and we're very Excited to have him
on the pod. We've had a chance to bond since
meeting each other over a number of things, music,
movies, comic books, and of course, Bill's Mafia.
And we are very excited to have Mike here today
to talk a little bit about where his love for
Bill's Mafia comes from and where he thinks the
2025 Buffalo Bills can ascend to this season.
Mike, welcome to the podcast. How you doing,
sir? Dan, thanks so much. Awesome to be here.
I'm doing great. Happy to talk some bills. Happy
to be in Bill's country. And yeah, let's get
it. Let's get going. Awesome, dude. So you mentioned
being back in Bill's country We're going to let
you get into kind of your backstory and your
history here a little bit. But you are a recent
returner here to the upstate New York, western
New York area. What I'd love to know and what
our favorite thing about having some of our guest
hosts on is to find out where their fandom started
and kind of where their love for their team comes
from. So, Mike, if you could walk our listeners
through your journey of falling in love with
the Buffalo Bills and tell us a little bit about
your story about being a fan. Thank you. Great
question. My journey begins like many Bills fans
in Wegmans. My earliest memory is they used to
put up Squish the Fish behind the cashiers at
Wegmans on the wall, you know, unashamedly loud
and proud. And I remember just getting revved
up by that as a little kid. And, you know, my
love for the Bills came through my dad. Obviously,
he raised me right. You know, he was a Bills
fan, grew up in Batavia, New York. So him and
his buddies were always plugged in, going to
games, you know, tailgating harder than I probably
ever could try, you know, if they'd invent it
or not. So, you know, I got to see the glory
days, the 90s era Bills, the Jim Kelly era. I
got to meet him and a million Bills through the
at the stadium, they had something called the
NFL experience for any of our listeners who've
done that. And my dad used to get access through
his work. And so got to do that a bunch when
I was young and like get actual FaceTime, you
know, besides like going to the mall and like
seeing Thurman Thomas and getting a signature.
So those are my earliest Bill's memories. And
then, you know, that run in the 90s codified
everything and. You know. The fashion, you know,
from the get go had the bills, the bills, gear
in elementary school, ready to go. So Zubas pants
always. Yes. Yeah. And then one of my other favorite
early memories was we would make cookies with
my cousins for Christmas, you know, like old
school with the cutters. But you would like kind
of do it. And we would customize the dolphin
ones so that, you know, they were being murdered,
basically. You know, in a cartoon fun kind of
way. So yeah, it was my love was born on dolphin
hate, like any good Bill's fan, I think. Oh,
excellent. Hating the Dolphins, loving Wegmans.
And then of course, the very clutch love of family
member who stewarded you through your early childhood
and getting you hooked on the bills. All those
things swirled together have made you Mike Kujawski.
I think one of the most like energetic bills
fans I've had a chance to talk to I remember
day one meeting you at the office. And you called
yourself the bills fan. And I absolutely loved
two things about that, right? Like the confidence
that you put behind that but it was spoken like
someone who was yes excited about the team but
carried the weariness of the drought years in
their soul like so many of us grew up in the
90s loving this team did right so I felt an immediate
kinship with you sir and I want to go back to
something that you had kind of touched on earlier
which is your bet find yourself back in upstate
New York if you could tell us a little bit about
what you've been doing for the past few years
Just to touch on that last point, those 17 years
playoff drought, that's true love. That is. All
you bandwagon fans or you new fans, we love you,
welcome, but you don't know love like that until
you've been through it. You don't know love until
you've known pain, and we know our pain. Yeah,
like a jaded 15 -year -old. So for since 2000,
well, I grew up in Rochester. Let's start there.
Been going to those games any chance I could.
Went to Eastman School of Music. Started a career
in music from there and moved to New York City.
Quickly got snatched up by cruise ships. I said,
I'm going to do this for a year. That was 2009.
They said do you want to go to Alaska for the
summer? I'd never been anywhere I've been to
Washington DC for a school trip and maybe Toronto,
you know, that's it Never even been to Syracuse,
right? And so I said yeah, I found myself there
It was contract work had the time of my life
playing music traveling, you know finally earning
a paycheck at one point I would joke and say
that I was I had a unicorn job. I was a full
-time employed musician with healthcare in the
United States. It wasn't lost on me how blessed
I was to make that trinity. So one year turned
into 15 years. So that's why I say I'm back in
Bill's country because I was a Bill's fan all
over the world. I would come home. I was always
home in the winter at crunch time. So when we
weren't in the playoffs, yeah, it was pretty
lonely. But recently it's been pretty awesome.
And getting to watch the Bills from afar and
you know. be a part of it that way has been a
really cool perspective, but, you know, getting
to now be here with everybody, you know, and
the cumulative energy of that is... is already
awesome. And the season's like just getting going.
Oh, God, I know. training can kicks kicks off
here in a couple of weeks. I'm so stoked. So
stoked for regular bills content news to start
coming out of St. John Fisher and training camp.
Turn it out. Yeah, dude. Yes. Mike, that's, that's
a such a cool story. And The Buffalo Bills being
such a small TV market in the US comparatively
I'm curious what your experiences were like being
a Bills fan abroad I can't imagine that you were
able to get many games other than things that
maybe you could stream Tell us a little bit about
what your experience was like being a Bills fan
being away from like the core energy of the fan
base here in this area and Just kind of what
it was like to be a Bills fan working abroad
So to start with I worked for a company that
like most companies don't employ a lot of Americans
so I would be on board and all of our guests
would be American for the most part or globally
it was like a 51 % split but for one country
that's still a huge like Sway of the population
so Only being like a dozen crew members. I didn't
have a lot of other people that were Americans
that liked the NFL the same way that I did. So
we would even get into the classic arguments
about rugby versus football, which I won't even
entertain. But we should just grab their best
11 guys and our best 11 and let's just have it
out. Let's just do it because they're they want
to talk about the pads and they want to talk
about all that. We could do a whole podcast on
rugby versus football. Maybe we should. That's
the number one question. If it's their 11 versus
our 11, are we playing in pads or are we doing
the snow pads rugby style? Right. Either way,
they have no idea. They have no idea. You're
like irrelevant. They'll get snow. But yeah,
those rugby dudes are crazy. That sport is amazing.
But our guys are they're small businesses. Every
single one of them, like they're not getting
wrecked like that and playing that many games
and. You know, the physics of the sport are just
different, I'm sorry. So yeah, you guys put on
some pads too, or we'll take ours off, whatever
you wanna do, but it's no content. So I did a
lot of that, did a lot of talking about that,
did a lot of explaining rules live, but all the
guests would be really into it, and later in
my career when I got to be an entertainment director,
we would have to choose which game we got each
week, and so. I had significant power in this
way. I always chose a game that was relevant
to the bills or the bills when they were on.
So I think this answer is the first part of your
question. Like the early part of my travels,
I was disconnected. Like I was listening to internet
radio, like even I started, we didn't even have
wifi on the ship. Oh wow. 2009, everyone could
smoke in their cabin and there was no wifi. like
you think that's like the 80s dude that was 2009
there was a radio room before they had computers
and there and in 2009 there was like six computers
and everyone shared them and you paid per megabyte
so there was no bill streaming early on it was
just whispers and rumors of war but you know
later in life we got near -earth orbit satellites
and you know you could you could stream anything
and You know when I got to be entertainment director
and choose the games we would put them on these
big screens these Gigantic, you know movie -sized
screens on a moving ship. That was super cool
You know and a unique experience so sounds pretty
awesome It went from being non -existent to being
like a unique Boutique experience to be able
to do it on the ship and have all the food right
there Have the service and have the ocean and
have your fellow fans around And it could get
pretty rowdy there. You know, it was for most
part friendly, but You know when the playoffs
come around the worst of all so oh a hundred
percent So you didn't you didn't get much in
the way of discourse about football? With your
crew members, but what about some of the some
of the guests that you would travel with like
did you encounter? More bills mafia in your travels
abroad everywhere. So the best part of Bill's
Mafia is how well we travel and how well we sport
our allegiances. So any piece of Bill's gear,
I'd be in an airport in Italy, you know, we deployed
all over the world. So if I saw Bill's gear,
I would, to the chagrin of my fellow, you know,
crew members who were not American and didn't
understand how brazen I was, would just scream,
Go Bills. And then they would also be shocked
when someone would just scream, Go Bills, back.
So I've done that in Japan. I've done it in South
America. The power of that community, if you
don't know, it extends far beyond our shores,
far beyond just having games in London. And the
international games have helped immensely, I
think. I'd imagine. But Americans travel pretty
well, especially in the summer and especially
on cruise ships. I'd see the gear and it was
an easy way to make instant friends No matter
where you were it was I think almost like any
other franchise regardless of sport I would argue
That's so awesome to hear. I mean we know that
bills mafia travels You can hear the squeak toy
and my dog in the background. I'm sure it's almost
perfectly tuned to this comment I'm going to
make Bills mafia travel so well in the US as
we know they travel excellently to away games
and things like that. I have very little experience
abroad. So to hear from you that Bill's mafia,
regardless of how small the TV market might be,
that their influence kind of permeates across
our borders is not something I think I fully
understood or appreciated in all my time being
a Bill's fan. And it is legit. So cool to hear
that Bill's mafia have like Legion everywhere
else that you might go abroad. It's so cool that
you'd like find your people no matter where you
were, no matter what borders you were in. So
we know you found bills mafia, you mentioned
earlier, particularly on playoff time, that things
might get a little bit friendly, but a little
bit rowdy between some opposing fan bases. In
addition to Bill's mafia and connecting with
them, I'm sure you have also gotten some exposure
to other fan bases by while working abroad. What
were some of the largest contingents of other
fan bases you got to interact with? And if you
wouldn't mind sharing, sir, what were some of
the most annoying fan bases you had to deal with
in your travels abroad? Great question. So Some
of it would be dependent on where we were. So
if we were out of Florida Fort Lauderdale, which
was very common You know, there'd be a lot of
Dolphins fans. So in recent times that was just
a joy I would skip through Miami Airport Zip
-a -dee -doo -dah with this exact outfit and
a Bill's hat this Bill's hat right here, you
know Beautiful screaming go bills whether no
one said it or not and it was glorious Actually,
there were so many of those fans down there.
It's ridiculous in Florida But besides like the
local markets West Coast and Florida you just
get bandwagoners who would either choose the
team because the colors or the fashion or Just
because it was the easy The easy attachment like
if anyone doesn't know anything about baseball
they go. I'm a Yankees fan So for a long time
that was either the Cowboys or it was the Patriots
particularly painful for the Bills, the Patriots,
right? There was a lot. And so to answer the
last part, the annoying fans was, you know, during
that Patriots run and all the bandwagoners, that
was particularly painful. You know, Tom Brady
fans, especially people who didn't actually know
anything about football, but we're just blindly
supportive of Tom Brady. You know, it was like,
what are you going to say? It's Tom Brady. Yeah.
Yeah, oh god that that also somehow is a is a
little bit like it's nice to be confirmed that
Patriots fans are not just the most annoying
fans here stateside, but also elsewhere in the
world I gotta I gotta feel like to Chiefs fans
at some point are gonna get up there as well
because bandwagons tend to get large and when
they get large they get a little bit weird like
at the end of that Patriots run some of that
fan base was just I don't even know. So it's
really good to hear that Patriots fans were not
just a plague for Bill's mafia here stateside,
but also there were battles you were bravely
waging against them. And your travel travels
across the seas as well, my friend, Bill. There's
spoiled babies, those Patriots fans. It's wild.
I think Dan talking a little bit about James
Cook, if I may, then the first part. I worry
that we are going to get a bit of a patriot syndrome
as Bills fans and not realize how good we have
it. And like our main problem, if we could even
call it a problem is we're talking about an amazing
running backs contract renewal instead of like
not having one at all or not having Josh Allen
or like think about the times when it was we
had so much more to talk about than that. And
Patriots fans would be, you know, if they lost
any game, no matter the circumstances, would
cry about it because they were just so used to
winning. So we got to be have that 17 years.
You got to have that here, back here, whispering
here to remind you to be humble and remember.
Wow, it's a good time to be a Dills fan. Dude,
it's such such sage advice. And it's a it's a
topic that JJ and I debate all the time because
we do we do this thing weekly and in season we're
doing a pregame show and we're doing a postgame
show. And after a Bill's loss there is being
critical of the team is something that you know
is still really hard for us. But there's always
that like little voice in the back of our minds
that's asking us like should we be upset about
this like. broad scheme macro view, we have it
really good as Bill's mafia right now. The team
in my lifetime has only been more successful
in the 90s when I was a kid and I really didn't
know how to appreciate it. So now the team is
so successful, they are starting to permeate
the mainstream culture thanks to Josh Allen's
popularity, his MVP season, Bill's now going
to be on hard docks. It's like, do we... Do we
deserve this? You know what I mean? There's a
piece of us that is still like you said trapped
in that 17 year drought and every time we criticize
something in this moment Are we being are we
being sort of ungrateful for the grander scheme
of success that we get to we get to enjoy right
now I think it's a valid valid point And yes
Brandon Bean JJ and I, I'm sure, are going to
be critical, especially if this wide receiver
room falls apart this season, though I don't
think it will. I don't love the Josh Palmer signing.
That interview was pivotal, what Brandon Bean
said when he was saying, you criticized the receiver
room. We scored more points than anybody. That's
that kind of mentality that he was going. It's
like, do people realize James Cook was tied for
the most touchdowns as a running back? I still
say it out loud and I'm like, am I getting hoaxed?
On Wikipedia by that like no, that's true. It's
true. Yep, and you know and and again Bean has
every right to make that point and How long do
you think he was sitting on the you guys wanted
Josh Rosen and we picked Josh Allen like? The
bank for sure and he can pull it out whenever
he wants to so that's the balance that's really
hard I think for Bill's Mafia to strike right
now because Yes, we enjoy the success we're having
right now but also we have all had family members
who are bills fans who have lived and died and
Never seen the bills win a championship. So there's
so so there is that added I feel like added pressure,
particularly now in the window that Josh Allen
is in and his athletic peak playing at the height
of his abilities, like to maximize that and finally
bring a Lombardi Trophy home to Buffalo. And
I think that's where some of these criticisms
tend to land and tend to, I think, be fair because
being victims of your own success is a real thing.
and being in McDermott have established an incredible
culture, an incredible, an incredible roster
program. When you look at how deep they are at
certain positions, they may not have stars on
defense and they might not have stars at a lot
of skill positions outside of Josh and I would
argue James Cook, but they have depth. It's so
many different places. When you look at their
average wins as a DVOA DVOA metric against injuries,
they're usually one of the most successful teams
in the league because it's every man up. But
that's only gonna take you so far when you're
going up and losing Constantly against the Patrick
Mahomes is who on his side of the ball was dealing
with his own injury issues the Joe Burrows, right?
And and the Lamar Jackson's even though we've
had some success against that team in the regular
and postseason There is I think there is a yearning
for the Buffalo Bills to not want to to your
point um be ungrateful for what we're living
in but we still still don't want to end up like
so many of our grandparents and our parents and
living an entire life devoted to this team without
seeing it reach the promised land and i think
that's the conflict a lot of bill's mafia are
in but you're right it can come off as being
ungrateful like i said me and jj question that
about ourselves all the time on this podcast
like should we just sit back and enjoy this and
some days we're happy to but then other days
it's like i I want I want I want I just want
one before I die man. You know what I mean? That's
where I'm at some days Yeah, I think you got
to have Bill's optimism and I would challenge
the parent your pair our parents generation mine
and mine included like It's a it's a classic
class is half empty versus a glass is half full.
Yes We lost four Super Bowls in a row, but we
went to four Super Bowls in a row Like how do
you measure success? Like we made it one step
closer last year like And that was a year that
there was doubts. And then I got to rub it in
everybody's faces at the end, which was a glorious
feeling, right? Especially as a Bills fan. That
vindication, like because of what we've gone
through, is sometimes, you know, twice -fold,
ten -fold. So I think the Super Bowl is in the
end all be all, and many people will disagree
with me. But as long as we go out there, as long
as we go out there, and Fill up the highlight
reel and they crush it and they have fun and
it's fun to watch That's a hell of a lot better
than many of the years that we've already been
through and if they get a bowl You know, obviously
it's incredible dude. That's cool It's not it
sounds like you're a person who both love loves
the team but like loves the community around
the team and loves the Experience around the
team and that seems to fill your cup as a Bills
fan. So talk to me a little bit Mike about what
you are the most excited for this season. It
is your your first full football season back
here stateside, back in upstate New York. What
are you most excited for for these twenty twenty
five bills? Well, I'm going to try to go to the
stadium as much as I can. Obviously, the live
experiences is one of the best parts, and that's
why our fan base is incredible. And I've made
it to one every year, more or less, I think,
maybe with one or two exceptions. So. I'm going
to try to go to a bunch. You know, but I just
because I'm trying to highlight our achievements,
does it mean I don't think we're building towards
a Super Bowl and that I don't think it's still
possible and that that cherry isn't still glowing
and that maybe we're not our best version of
ourselves yet in the same way that we thought
we had a ragtag wide receiver core and they churned
out some pretty serious numbers like you know
they could really embarrass some people this
year like it could you know has potential so
um that's what i'm most excited about i think
is even with more eyeballs on them i don't think
they're that flustered like even if the expectation
is higher i think they've been through enough
that core group of them that uh hopefully they
can I mean, Josh is always talking about one
game at a time, like even when he's done the
most ridiculous Superman game of all time, he
comes in with the uber lowball, you know, one
game at a time speech. And you're just like,
seriously, man? So, you know, I think that's
going to spread from his leadership and they're
going to be able to weather more storms like.
Bills fans and probably the players even more
so have been volatile emotionally because of
all the circumstances surrounding the team and
even last year with the refs it was emotionally
volatile because we're thinking here we are doing
everything else right and we're getting you know
this uh this thing we can't control so you know
Seems like there's more eyeballs on that subject,
too. Maybe it's the final straw to break Kansas
City's camel's back, I guess. Dude, you're so
zen. I freaking love it. After a Bills loss this
season, I think me and JJ are going to have to
have you back on the pod just to like talk us
off a ledge. It's when we're at our lowest is
when we're recording those postgame pods after
a loss. So we might have to bring you in as like
the objective third party. Be like, hey, guys.
It's still not Trent Edwards out there. We're
OK. Oh, gosh. Yeah, you know. Yeah, we're going
to need some of that this season. I'm going to
keep you on speed dial, sir. Who was it who threw
seven interceptions? Is that Edwards or was it
Peterman? It was Nathan Peterman. Yeah, it was
Peterman. So it ain't that. It's not that. So
if it ain't that, it's by definition. Emmanuel
breaking his leg every every day. You know, all
that. You know, such a god. Such a think about
it, guys. Take five minutes and think about how
bad it used to be and then forget about it and
remember how good it is now I'm also talking
to myself off a ledge here Dan and everybody
but you know If I can be a positive influence
for Bill's fans I'll take it Let your positivity
wash over this podcast and all of our listeners.
Listen, man, a couple more questions. I don't
want to abuse your time. You had mentioned that
you want to get to the stadium this year. This
is the last year of the Ralph, right? Or as others
like some like to call it Highmark Stadium, even
though we'll never call it that. So we're about
to open new Highmark in 2026. This is the Bills
last ride here in the Ralph. You mentioned being
at a bunch of games, wanting to get to a bunch
this year. Tell our listeners what are some of
your favorite memories like top one or two memories
of? Attending games at the Ralph is a Bills fan
I remember going to the Ralph Young with my dad
and his brothers like like a classic crew of
big old boys from Batavia and some guy I Went
to we went to go do something else or you know
and this guy I come back my nachos are gone.
This guy's laughing two rows up eating my nachos
and like to impress his girlfriend who was mortified
right and I get to watch my dad and his two brothers
who by the way are big old boys if I didn't mention
it earlier. I love this. Confront this guy who
wanted to steal nachos from a little kid and
as Bill's mafia All of a sudden I had like 150
uncles and aunts. And basically they just collectively
tossed, tossed them out, like just get out. Yes.
What I'm pretty sure didn't help that he was
wearing like a Jets jersey or something. Oh,
even more so. He's lucky he left with his life.
But those fans are benevolent like that. But
it was just like, hey, buddy, you think it's
still, you know, from the kids. So anyways, it
was great to see that. Like community, you know
come to the rescue of a kid like wasn't that
upset about the nachos I didn't know what money
was back then but that was super cool and This
past year it was December 29th. I believe it
was the game versus the Jets and Everyone I was
talking to Wasn't going to the game because I
think we had the playoffs, you know lined up
and the weather it was December everyone just
didn't want to brave it after they had put the
work in all season. It ended up being, after
a little bit of rain, an amazing day. I think
it might have gotten close to 50 degrees at one
point, even though it was supposed to be miserable.
And there was a small period where it was. And
then we watched the bill stop the jets 40...
40 burger easy to 14. I think it was and it was
14 even came in garbage time. So like I Had gotten
hundred section seats for that So we were behind
like the classic characters like the Elvis and
the cook and everybody was right there We were
by the end zone in the corner. So that was just
like watch the Jets get stomped. It's December
It's basically still Christmas like in the Ralph.
It's not even that cold like that was you know
Christmas present if there was one I'd say so
good so good Listen, man, I cannot let you leave
without Indulging in a tradition on this podcast
So JJ and I are very well known for saying things
about the bills and the NFL that turn out not
to be true, right? so we have this segment that
we do at the end of every pod called prediction
sure to go wrong and As is tradition as a guest
host It is bestowed upon you the opportunity
to give our listeners one prediction for the
Buffalo Bills this year that is sure to go wrong.
So lay it on us. Give us your hottest take for
this upcoming season about the bills and what
you think is going to happen. Cook scores more
total tubs than Derek Henry. Yo, that's a good
one. And here's why I like that one, the stats
nerd in me. So cook has not been a huge TD generator
in his time, because up until this past season,
he really struggled with yards after contact,
totally turned that around this past season,
which made him a more effective weapon in the
red zone. But based on a lot of his TD history,
there's a lot of fantasy nerds out there that
are predicting a regression back to like his
mean and his average for what he might do for
total TDs. You're saying no, you're saying last
year was his first step into ascending into the
elite of touchdown producers. I love this take.
And I'm sure James would like to hear that too,
because if he does, in fact, lead the league
in total TDs this season, in a contract year,
that dude's gonna get paid if the bills don't
lock them up preseason. Love that take what what
makes you so confident that you think James is
going to be able to pull that off this year.
Well, I don't know if he's gonna do it, but I
think he has every incentive to do so Because
the contract problem is really his problem. The
bills are in the best possible spot really they've
got a guy who just cooked all year pun intended
and then stills got a year left and and you know
not showing up to Optional training camps. That's
only so much leverage, right? They still have
I think everything so Um, yeah, I'd love to see
him turn his frustration into productivity. Yes,
turn some of that fu mentality into TDs this
season. I love it, dude. I love it. Listen. Yeah,
you're Yeah, do it. You're the bad you're the
bad boy. Show us again. You know, live it. Yeah,
like, listen, and and the James Cook discourse
is going to continue all season if he doesn't
get locked up at training camp, which it's looking
unlikely that he will it looks like him and the
bills are still pretty far apart on a number
of average annual value that he's looking for
versus what they're willing to give. So this
discourse is going to continue all year. It would
be great. if some of that controversy and negativity
around this contract thing does manifest itself
into one of the best contract years that a player
could have. cook benefits, and then the team
ultimately ultimately benefits as well from it.
So dude, I will be rooting for that outcome for
sure. Love that take love that prediction. We
will of course revisit at the end of the season
to see how close it came to coming true like
we do with all of our prediction should go wrong.
Mike on my lucky bills, Hawaiian lay for that
prophecy there. I love it and that my friend
is the perfect point to probably end the interview
because we cannot top the Hawaiian lay at this
point So Mike, thank you very much for joining
us. Thank you for taking time to guest host with
us It was truly fascinating to hear about your
time with bills mafia abroad and on behalf of
all of our listeners Welcome back stateside.
Welcome back to Central New York. Hopefully you're
gonna get treated to some really great Buffalo
Bills football this season Amen. Thanks for having
me and Go Bills. Thank you and as always, Go
Bills.