All right, welcome back to the Buffalo Bread
Podcast. We are smiling because the Buffalo Bills,
of course, defeated the very hated Kansas City
Chiefs and to all of the Bills nervous mafia
out there who is thinking, oh, they beat them
every year in the regular season. Couldn't we
sacrifice a regular season game on the altar
of a postseason win? We'll talk about that. I
don't think that that's the way this this win
was absolutely necessary for the bills to keep
pace with the Patriots and to knock the Chiefs
down to five and four and their third in their
division. And they are on the outside of the
playoffs if the season ended today. For all those
reasons, Dan, that's why we're smiling today.
How are you doing, my friend? Smiling right along
with you, JJ, for all the reasons that you just
mentioned. We talked about it last pod. It feels
good. Yes, it's another regular season win for
the Bills. It doesn't mean anything is going
to change in the postseason should these teams
meet again necessarily. It did feel different
this time, and this could be me trying to fool
myself into believing that it will be different,
but we'll break it down, man. The way the Bills
won this game, the fashion in which that defense,
which had been so maligned over the past few
weeks, really came in and held their own against
a revamped and vaunted uh, chief's offensive
attack that was kind of on the upswing. I mean,
there's a lot of good stuff to unpack there,
but JJ, before we get into that, it is obviously
Finn's week, the trade deadline passed this week.
For my money, we've got two really positive things
to talk about, two bit of good news things being
the Chiefs win and then our impending game here
against the Finns, which I think there's a lot
of reasons to have confidence about. But before
we get into both of those things, I think we
should knock out maybe the only piece of bad
news that there was for the Bills this week and
that at the trade deadline, it was a big thud.
Brandon Bean isn't able to make a move. I'm not
going to say that he didn't make a move. like
a lot of folks are because he was obviously trying.
And if you listen to that press conference, he
clearly thought he was going to make a deal.
But JJ, ultimately, the Bills are forced to stand
pat. No real additions coming to the squad other
than some practice squad additions. What was
your take, JJ, on the trade deadline? Were you
super disappointed? Do you think the Bills still
have a competitive roster? Where is your head
at right now? Like every Bills fan, I wanted
them to add some superstar stud talent and to
be like, this is it. This is our year, right?
Like, I don't think, and it's because we all
have the scar tissue of postseason exits at the
hands of the chiefs because our defense isn't
up to the standard, because we don't have a stud
number one outside receiver who's open when he's
covered, whatever it might be. I think that we
all sort of have that same... sense of dread
about the bills not doing anything with the trade
deadlines. Like, well, if they if they just did
that, then maybe we would be we'd have some sort
of guarantee. There are no guarantees in football
that they could have gotten a guy and he could
have gotten hurt in two weeks. Amari Cooper seemed
to be a good addition before the trade deadline
last year had his risk his risk in a cast for
a month. Like, there's no guarantees at all is
just making a deal isn't enough to promise success.
And so from that standpoint, I did agree with
Brandon Bean when he said he thought that this
roster had what it took to get to and win a Super
Bowl. I believe that too. I think that they have
the pieces in place. Ask me two weeks ago before
Cole Bishop and you know, Max Hairston lit the
Chiefs on fire in coverage. I might disagree.
I might say they absolutely need some other pieces
on defense. But after seeing the Chiefs game
and seeing how well they can pull it all together
in a game against the opponent who came in super
hot. Yeah, I do believe that this roster has
what it takes. Again, disappointed like most
everybody, but I do trust I think Brandon Bean
is a good GM at managing his roster. I question
his ability at hitting on top draft picks. And
I think that there is a miss rate that is reasonable
and he's probably a little bit over the average
with his hits. So yeah, we talk all the time
about how this roster is constructed. I'm disappointed,
not surprised that they didn't do anything given
the cap constraints, given the fact that they're
not going to sell the farm. That's just not their
way. But I don't know that it matters a great
deal. Yeah, I think the cat piece played more
into it than us mad and GM's fantasy footballers
at home Really realized and being kind of alluded
to this and his put in his press conference after
the trade deadline had passed They were anticipating
The they had the ability to make some more roster
moves and restructure more guys to create more
cap space. And you don't throw that nugget out
there. If you're Brandon Bean and you don't have
that in the, in the chamber, so to speak, ready
to fire. If you're not planning on trying to
upgrade the roster and whatever you want to say
about being draft history. how he doles out these,
some of these mid level contracts and all this
other kind of stuff. He is always a guy who is
looking to tinker and improve the roster from
start to finish beginning of the league year
to the end of the league year. Um, so yeah, he
was absolutely and I'm sure in a lot of players.
Um, I, I'm disappointed too, to some extent,
but I'm also with you, JJ. Like here's the reality
now that we, we have to wrap our heads around
as Bill's fans. We know exactly how this team
can win it all. And how they can win it all is
how they played on Sunday against the Chiefs.
Stout defense with a great four -man pass rush,
taking advantage of, for what seems like the
first time in forever, some real athletes at
the second level, and Max Harrison, Cole Bishop,
and to a lesser extent, Jordan Hancock, and play
defense in that way, and then let your offense
be the sufficient Well run game managed machine
that takes advantage of the correct deep play
action shots, which we're going to get to and
we got throw Joe Brady some flowers for for finally
doing what we've been asking to him due to on
this pod for so long. But here's the downside.
We also know how the squad is going to lose.
This squad is going to lose. As you have said,
and I have said, if you run into a team, like
unfortunately the team we are staring up at in
the AFC East, you run into a team that can manage
your run game and has outside corners that can
shut down your receivers and leave you only small
chunks in the middle of the field. That's how
you stymie and stifle this offense. To me, JJ,
the priorities were defensive line because of
the injuries to Ed Oliver, the unknown return
timeline to TJ Sanders, and now Michael Hoyt
being out and the versatility that he brought.
And still wide receiver, even as good in that
Chiefs game as they were, you still saw the Chiefs
with the ability to leave a spy at the line of
scrimmage on Josh Allen and shadow him to keep
him in the pocket, which reduces like 25%. of
what this offense kind of leans on and kind of
feeds on, which is Josh being improvisational
and sort of breaking glass in case of emergency
scrambles out of the pocket for big chunk yardage
when nothing is downfield. If teams do not have
to deploy extra resources in order to guard our
pass catchers, that opportunity is going to continue
to be stymied for Josh all season. So we know
how they win, man. It's the way that they won
against the Chiefs, and we know how they lose.
It's the way the Patriots, and to a lesser extent,
the Falcons, handled them this year. And there
are some teams in the AFC that can hand the Bills
losses in that way when we get into the postseason.
So we're going to see. I like the predictability,
I guess. Maybe that gives me a little bit of
sense of calm. But yeah, I want to see them do
more, too. JJ, is there any player, especially
now that we've seen the compensation for a lot
of guys that were doled out at the deadline,
is there any player that you wish the Bills would
have maybe, oh, I don't want to say overreached
for, but maybe overpaid for to snatch them away
from another squad. Maybe Rashid Shahid, but
at the same, like, and that's maybe the only
one, because I, people might say any of the players
that left the AFC East from Miami or the Jets.
But the thing with those is those trades are
never going to happen. I don't think if Brandon
Bean says, hey, Miami, I'll give you three firsts
for probably I mean, he did say in his press
conference, everyone has a price like he he might
have, but he would have been required to pay
a king's ransom for a middling pass rusher. to
get to get anybody. And that was a lot of the
sellers were AFC opponents of the bills who had
a may have had a particular way to feel about
making the bills richer, right, with their talent.
And so I do think that it probably came down
to price. I think Rashid Shaheed would have been
a nice piece given kind of the compensation.
And the bills were probably probably at a higher
price to try to get him. Right. Yeah. I would
imagine, yeah. And even that Rashid Shahid feels
like another Curtis Samuel, slightly better to
me. I think he's got way more... efficacy on
the outside just because he, I mean, he really
is like true speed. He is a real deal vertical
threat down the field, which is what they're
kind of missing to take the top off of opposing
defenses. Shahid is the one that felt like a
miss to me. Um, you know, and I put this out
on threads and socials, even though he's not
great in the pass rush game anymore. Draymond
Jones, uh, edge out of Tennessee. He's got some
of that inside ins outside inside versatility
along the defensive line that the bills have
valued. But he is a plus run defender off the
edge. I love what Joey Bosa is doing. But if
we're it's going to be a long, cold remainder
of the season on some obvious rundowns, it'd
be great to have somebody that can spell spell
Bosa on the other side of that line. And Jones,
to me, especially for the price that he went
for, felt like someone who would have been worth
taking a flyer on as a rental for this year to
take nothing away from AJ Appaneza. But also
too, Bean is probably thinking like, I drafted
Landon Jackson with a top 100 pick. Maybe now
it's time to see what that kid can do now that
Hoyt's out of commission. And let's just take
two minutes on that. There isn't a single player
in the last five years of Bill's history. that
I've enjoyed watching more than Josh Allen or
Michael Hoyt. And he just played like a like
six quarters. And I'm just like, that is my favorite
Bill's player. Like the dude just he's a Bill's
Mafia spirit animal. Yeah. Magnificent. He could
never play another snap. And he's a legend. He
literally like I no longer remember the name
of the middle linebacker who came out of Hawaii,
who? took Bill's Mafia by storm for one season
and then was traded to Miami. What was his name?
It was weird. Sean Merriman? No, Josh Allen put
him in a blender running the ball once after
he moved to Miami. Kiko Alonso. Kiko Alonzo.
Yes, Michael Hoy. Was he a liar? He was Oregon.
I thought he went to Oregon. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I don't know why. Oh, Kiko made me think of why.
Yeah, Kiko Alonzo came in and was so amazing
for one season. And what we didn't realize was
he was just sort of accidentally doing things.
But like, that's what I mean about the energy
that Michael Hoyt brought. I haven't seen that
since Kiko Alonso, where people are just like,
look at that guy. And it was six quarters and
he's done. He's toast. And thank God they got
him for a three year deal. And I hope, and I
mean, he's young enough in his career. The recovery
from the Achilles tear has been better these
days than it was years ago when it was an absolute
death sentence to a career. And so hopefully
he's backing around. But yeah, that loss made
me feel at the deadline and like maybe they need
a little bit of defensive reinforcement, but
they also know more than we know about Dequan
Jones, TJ Sanders, you know, and some of these
other players coming back. Yeah, it tells me
that I think some of these players will be back
sooner rather than later, which is is going to
be very, very timely and. Honestly, the best
trade deadline acquisition or addition, let's
say that this team had was Maxwell Harrison,
man. I mean, let's be honest, the timing of his,
the timing, his return from IR, the impact that
he's made his first two games. And to me, that
feels like the perfect segue to recap some of
this Chiefs game and get on the positive side
of what the Bills have been doing for the past
couple of weeks. JJ, he jumped, not just off
the broadcast, but off the film upon rewatch
as well. Dude seems like the real deal. And honestly,
all I wanted from him in this game, knowing that
he was probably going to get snaps, was to, whenever
he was out there, run stride for stride with
Xavier Worthy. And he did. He did. Right? And
he didn't look like he was working as hard as
Xavier Worthy to make that speed, which was also
insane. And his, I mean, it wasn't just his follow
speed, dude. And the fact that he was like step
for step with Worthy, he was tracking the ball
midair. without losing pace with the fastest
wide receiver in the NFL, right? I mean, the
ball tracking skills, the technique on route
follows. I mean, dude, in the raw speed, he seems
to have it all. If he would have gotten an advanced
degree in physics, I would consider his hips
quantum entangled with the person he's covering
because that's the kind of paired movement that
we saw between him and Worthy. They were moving
in tandem through space and time. in a way that
was inhuman. Dare is wild. The other thing I'll
say about Max Harrison is, I guess I'm looking
back today. I'm thinking to the past. He gives
me also the early Tridavius white energy because
he is enthusiastic. The team rallies around him.
He seems like he's a likable guy. Most people
have said that he's a super good dude in regards
to him joining the team. He was just crushing
it and people were cheering and celebrating his
successes. And so I'm very excited about him.
Yeah, same. He reminds me of Trey White, not
just for the personality, but I was thinking
about this the other day as I was kind of compiling
some notes for this pod. He reminds me of Trey
White in that the book on Trey coming out of
LSU was that this is a press man corner, and
Trey very quickly adapted to the zone -heavy
scheme that the Buffalo Bills were running and
immediately showed his coverage versatility by
being able to, early on in his career, be effective
in both man and zone. But really Trey became
known later in his career as like a zone technician.
It's the opposite with Maxwell, Harrison, where
we were like, all right, he's kind of a game
tackler, but we don't know if we'll be able to
stick guys in the run game, but we know he can
play zone and we'll see with his build if he's
able to play any kind of press man or type man.
And the bills have put him in his first couple
of games. vast majority, almost exclusively in
these tough one -on -one man situations, despite
his chops, coming out of college as a zone cover
corner. So like super impressive and very much
so like Trey to me in that he's got scheme versatility,
he's got coverage versatility. A lot of it has
to do with the athleticism, but you see the football
IQ. You see how he studies route trees and opposing
wide receivers, his ability to jump routes, follow
routes. I mean, he knows. is a lot of these landmarks
that these wide receivers are going to better
than a lot of the wide outs that are running
them. Like he's clearly a well studied, very
athletic, very sharp corner. That's got a lot
of versatility within the scheme. Well, I think
we both know it from watching a lot of the NFL.
The most dangerous players are the ones who have
all of the physical gifts and then are also willing
to put the work in to perfect their craft. Right.
so many times. I mean, it's like pretty much
it's a trope at this point in the NFL. You get
one or the other, right? You get the guy who
has all the physical gifts but doesn't really
want to work at it because it's always been easy
for him. And then the guy who is a super try
-hard but has just never had the elite speed.
If he's the full package, that's what makes you
a top five player in the league. You know, those
players are the ones who step aside. That's right.
And if you're just a super try -hard, you start
a podcast with your best friend, Jim on the Buffalo
Bills. Yeah, exactly. and you just keep plugging
away. That's right. That's right. But yeah, man,
outside of Maxwell, Harrison, lots of stuff on
the defense data to me, particularly the four
man pass rush. Listen, man, you're the you're
the defensive line guru. You're the offensive
line guru. That four man pass rush has been pretty
sick all season. What did you see from them that
really popped off the screen to you against Casey?
They used a lot. They took defensive linemen
off the field. We've talked about this because
they've played the last few times they've played
the Chiefs. They've done this in that they've
used more linebackers to play defensive line
spots and then simulated pressures where they
have people crowd the line and then they only
have a four -man rush. But Patrick Mahomes doesn't
know who it is, who's coming. And one of them
players in this game, it was Milano. It was Milano
Hoyt and Dorian Williams all kind of traded off
that mirror match with Mahomes because he had
been killing so many teams by running the ball.
They kept him hand in. I think it was one rush
for five yards. And it was just that he didn't
know who was going to rush him, who was going
to sit back and wait and then rush him, who was
going to sit back, wait. look like they're going
to rush him and then drop into coverage. They
just did an amazing job of muddling the picture
in the middle of the field. The defensive line
was doing an awesome job of having linebackers
kind of chip line the tackles to free up stunts
and twists, which is like it's done in the league,
but it's not super common. And so sending their
super athletic linebackers in to cause havoc
and stop blocking angles just to free up Bosa,
Rousseau, Hoyt. Was all things done. It's part
of the reason you didn't see a lot from Deion
Walker or any of the tackles in the game Because
one the Chiefs with the game script kind of got
away from the run a little bit They are not a
super great rushing team this season even though
they started leaning into it recently and on
top of that the Bills were just kind of they're
playing they're playing games with them and putting
them behind the sticks to the point where they
felt like they could not run and I mean it was
awesome without Pacheco they don't have a ton
of juice cream hunts not breaking any tackles
and taking anything 80 yards anymore. Um, but
yeah, the defensive line put on a clinic and
even the really, really good interior three for
the chiefs. I mean, they started suffering injuries,
which always blows up protection schemes, but
really they, uh, they were kind of twisting up
some of the best, best in the league, uh, by
just creating better rush angles. And then on
top of that, I think a lot of people were kind
of dogging on Rousseau. I was as well early in
the season, we gave them this huge contract.
Yeah, he was plain injured, it seems, because
he looks completely different the past two weeks
than he did before the buy. Oh, absolutely. I
mean, you know, Rousseau had the perfect example
of not a stat sheet game. This is exactly the
reason why so many Bills fans would get frustrated
with Tremaine Edmonds back, way back when, because
the dude would just clean up so much stuff that...
didn't appear on the stat sheet, but let other
guys really thrive. Rousseau was that version
of, of himself on the defensive line. Um, he
was pushing the pocket, absolutely blowing up
his opposing tackle, um, in pure pass rush situations,
sealing off the edge and setting a really hard
edge in the run game as well. And I mean, he
just moved a lot of the pocket towards like Bosa
towards Hoyt. towards a lot of AJ Appaneza just
moved the pocket in their direction and allowed
them to really feast in their one -on -one matchups
too. He affected the game in so many different
ways, again, that show up on film but don't show
up in the box score. But to me, That was Rousseau's,
maybe one of his top two games of the season,
the way he played. And if your hypothesis is
correct and he was playing hurt and now he is
playing healthy, it couldn't come at a better
time for this Buffalo Bills defensive line as
they start to coalesce and start to figure out
life after Michael Hoyt's injury. JJ, one other
thing I want to add, I don't want to get your
take on this. I really like the way the Bills
finished their pressures on this game. You and
I, and I don't want to rekindle any past arguments,
but you and I have lived through enough of the
Jerry Hughes film where it's pressure without
effect. Like yes, this counts as pressure, a
QB pressure technically, on the advanced analytics
and in the stat sheet. But when you watch it
on film, it's just kind of Jerry waving goodbye
at Patrick as he runs right past him and Patrick's
climbing up in the pocket to make like a dot
throw to someone 30 yards downfield. That was
not the way the pressure worked in this game.
Not only did it score well, metrically, you saw
the Bills finishing those pressures with QB hits
and real violence at the point of meeting Mahomes.
I think the most notable one was AJ Apaneza with
that hit on Mahomes on the sideline as he's just
releasing a pass. I'm a little surprised didn't
get flagged, but I'm not upset that it didn't
get flagged. But the Bills weren't just getting
meaningless pressure. They were finishing that
pressure physically whenever they made it to
my home. Oh, my gosh. And that's it, too, is
like pressure over sacks. Like there's no debate
that the better thing is actually hitting the
quarterback is putting them in the dirt. Like
I've said that even though I used to defend Jerry
Hughes, I absolutely know that the truth is pressure
is better than nothing, hits are better than
pressures, and then sacks are better than hits,
right? Like in that order, it's a greater than
big fish eats the little, or little fish is eaten
by the bigger fish, which is eaten by the bigger
fish situation. The bills in the previous nine
meetings with the chiefs were averaging one and
a half sacks and six QB hits per game. And they
had three sacks and 15 QB hits. So they hit,
they physically hit. Patrick Holmes 18 times
in this game, which of course is a high watermark
for any of their their times that they've come
up coming into the Chiefs. And if they can kind
of maintain or improve or even just maintain
that level, he clearly was uncomfortable with
the worst statistical game of his entire career
and didn't complete 50 % of his balls. And we
all know this. We knew this when we watched the
Super Bowl against the Eagles. We knew this in
the Super Bowl against the Buccaneers. Yeah.
That Patrick Mahomes isn't the type of player.
And no, I don't think any, to be fair to him,
most quarterbacks are not the type of player
who get that. shit kicked out of them and are
awesome at their job, right? You don't need to
be fair to him. This is a Bill's podcast. You're
right. He's soft. He's soft, he's weak, and he
sounds like Kermit. I would say there are two
QBs who can get the shit kicked out of them and
still play their best ball. One is on our team
with Josh Allen. The other is Baker Mayfield,
who we're going to play in a couple of weeks.
And I think that's the list. Right. And that's
exactly the point I was getting to, is that most
quarterbacks don't, very rarely quarterbacks
do We've got one, they don't. We're going to
play one this weekend and the Dolphins who doesn't,
right? Like the players that you're physical
with who just fall out of their game and get
in their own head, Patrick Mahomes is in that
list. Another piece of the defense, JJ, that
I want to talk about here is Cole Bishop. And
this is kind of married to the pass rush because
the Bills did not get quick pressures in this
game. And Mahomes had been a quick game merchant.
over the past few weeks. I think he's had the
quickest time to throw of his entire career.
In this game, the Bills made him hold onto the
ball for over 3 .3 seconds, which is insane to
think about when you see what ultimately Mahomes
box score ended up being. A lot of credit, JJ,
goes to the overall coverage scheme that we've
already talked about, starting with Maxwell -Harriston,
but dude, Cole Bishop. Cole Bishop finding his
footing, not just in the past coverage game,
but being sort of that specialist, that guy who
we've been waiting for to take Travis Kelsey
out of the equation on some of his routes, right?
The way that Bishop. was being floated to the
line of scrimmage. And then we see Cam Lewis
kind of drop back out of the slot and basically
play free safety a lot of times. It was a confusing
look pre and post snap for Mahomes, which held
stuff up, but it allowed Bishop to really do
what he does best, which is get physical with
guys. And it was, I don't know, cathartic heartwarming
to see that dude who is he's not not a small
dude, right? But next to Travis Kelsey, he looks
like somebody's little brother, just absolutely
lay shoulder after shoulder, arm after arm into
Kelsey's chest, chipping him at the line of scrimmage,
delaying his get off on his route, delaying the
timing between him and Mahomes, which allowed
that pass rush to get home. Not to mention the
pass breakups in the deep part of the field too.
This was the most versatile version of Cole Bishop
in this defense and easily his best game that
he's played as a Buffalo Bill. Yeah, I mean four
of the five teams teams pass breakups were his
he was affecting the ball He was looking like
a difference maker out there. He basically closed
the game out He and Maxwell Harrison the two
people that I mentioned in the jump that give
me the most hope for this defense In coverage.
I it was definitely people are saying coming
out party. I agree completely He looks like he
knows what he's doing. I Want to give some kudos
to Jordan Poirier because I think that's a steadying
hand back there That's somebody who knows the
knows the defense is an old hat at it And I think
that that must that probably has helped Cole
Bishop a little bit play a little bit faster
Understand his his reads his role and get out
there and kind of trigger and shut down things.
So I Don't know man. He keeps that up. We we
can say we have finally figured out at least
one of the safety spots And this is what we wanted.
We wanted this coat, you know, even though we
said we wanted it. Then when we got it, we didn't
want it anymore. But now this is what happens
when you let your young guys take lumps and really
big games. Bishop had not looked good at the
start of the season. Was really struggling to
find his fit with rap. Had a couple of flashes.
Saints game, most notable, right? But the safety
position around him begins to solidify. We also
see a change in defensive play caller going from
Babich to McDermott, which I think has helped
the situation a little bit more too. I mean,
McD, man, he just knows what to do with safeties.
Like he just knows how to maximize that. uh,
that position group. So those two things happen.
And now we see the young guys after taking their
lumps, really starting to shape into form and
exactly the time where the bills need them to
is they continue to chase, forget one seat in
the conference. They are chasing the top spot
in their own division at this point. And all
of these young guys are going to have to contribute
to it. So it was great to see Bishop rise up
to the occasion. Yeah. Um, JJ, we got to talk
about the offense. Um, another, I would say masterclass
from Josh Allen against bags and capsulated by,
did you see their post? post game handshake.
Yeah, he's like, I don't want you retired already.
I don't want to play against you any longer.
So amazing. It was so amazing. That is that is
such high praise coming from Spagnolo, because
there are not many players in the league that
that dude looks at and doesn't have an answer
for an absolute answer for. Yeah. Belichick looked
at Al in the same way, too. Yeah. And, you know,
that is absolutely we knew we have the guy, but
that just kind of confirms that each time a coach
is like. What do I do? You know, it's what I
do against this unicorn. Yeah, he did it in a
completely different way than he had done before.
I mean, this was Josh's best quarterback game
of the season for my money. It wasn't just the
insane completion percentage to me, the way it
was, the way he was seeing the field, the way
he was distributing the ball. I posted up a really,
really snarky. Thread on social media about everybody
eats versus everybody gotta eat right and our
version clearly being better after this game
Josh completes passes to nine different pass
catchers insane completion percentage But JJ
to me what was different was the average yard
was the average yards per attempt and the a dot
in this game It wasn't bombs away necessarily
but Brady schemed up some really good play action
looks that did let Josh attack downfield. This
was his highest A -dot of the season in play
action. Prior to this, his most average air yards
per attempt in play action was sitting at about
9 .7. In this game, it was about 12 yards per
attempt average depth of target. On play action
passes and it paid off significantly in this
game So props to Brady. He didn't spam play action
like I think we wanted him to but man He schemed
up the right moments and he got these tight ends
working in that play action game, too Yeah, and
I mean that was it was the kind of thing where
we saw again It was just like we talked about
the Panthers. We saw what it looked like when
Joe Brady's designs affected to set up the defense
for the way he wanted them to be set up. And
then the players executed the plays in a way
that they were able to build on his vision, right?
So like it was, again, the best combination of
scheme and execution. When that is all lined
up, I can tell you why, you know, I can point
to reasons why he is considered a hot name for
head coaching positions in the future, right?
Like, but... You know when stuff falls apart
it seems to fall apart for the whole game So
it's a question of again. We love what we saw
from the offense. We love what we saw from the
defense How do they adapt? How do they play role
with the punches if they come out? Saw like in
the first half and they're they're stuttering
a little bit and so It hasn't been great this
season and hopefully this game gives them the
confidence to kind of recover in those situations
But I mean there what can you complain about
Josh Allen set and? Buffalo Bills franchise record
for completion percentage with over 20 completions
in a game Going 23 of 26 one TD. We were wrong.
We both thought he's gonna throw two or more
We were wrong. We thought Xavier were they was
gonna go off for 80 plus yards, but Harrison
shut him down I love that so much. I love it
so much And so yeah, there was the offense was
good freaking James Cook runs over a hundred
yards for the first time against the Chiefs in
24 games You know proving that this Buffalo Bills
offensive attack, rushing attack can be the cornerstone
of the whole unit. And it will go. No, go ahead.
Just finish the thought real quick. And I think
for me, a lot of Bill's fans, because we have
Josh Allen want to see him throw for 400 yards
and four touchdowns every week. That's not how
the bill that's not how most teams create a Super
Bowl winning franchise, you know, attempt on
a season. That's just not it like that. What
the Kurt Warner, uh, you know, Rams over the
past. There's only a few teams that have done
that. Um, the, uh, Broncos with, uh, with the,
you know, later career pain manning, there's
a few teams that have done that, but most teams
need to have a rushing attack or you're not seeing
the postseason success that the bills want to
see. Yeah, no, it's, it's very true. And this
is the piece that feels the most different to
me is. If you're the chiefs, like you didn't
get out schemed in the run game though. It's
a, it's a beautiful, it's a beautiful run design
that Brady has developed alongside her and Cromer
and Buffalo, but you didn't get out schemed.
You got out physical, you got out manned. And
if you're the Kansas city chiefs also having
done nothing at the trade deadline, I don't know
that there's a lot of schematic answers. to meet
that physical disadvantage that you're going
to have when you play the Bills, potentially
again in the postseason either. And this is an
advantage, JJ, that we have seen the Bills develop
against the Chiefs year after year after year.
This is a team, we talk about bad matchups, the
Ravens being a perpetually bad matchup for the
Buffalo Bills. I think it's fair to say that
at least on the offensive side of the ball, the
Buffalo Bills are a really bad matchup for the
way this current Kansas City Chiefs defense and
their personnel is constructed. Yeah, absolutely.
And I think that, you know, even though Bill's
mafia now hates Romo, I guess, but even on the
broadcast, he was saying during the game, during
the latter part of the game, that this Bill's
team is built to defeat the Chiefs. They've been
designed from the ground up to kind of expose
weaknesses and beat the team. But then, you know,
when comes crunch time in the playoffs, it seems
to be sometimes the coaching is the difference,
right? So we'll see how that goes. I just want
to say like, this is the first time in a long
time that the Bills have had two edge rushers
on the team at the same time who are kind of
graded by most of the like, you know, most of
the people in the know when it comes to grading
in the top 15 at the position. And that's, that's
amazing, right? Joey Bose and Greg Russo both
looking very well to those people who study every
snap and every play. It is the pass rush and
the coverage now finally looking like they're
going to be married. There is a lot to look forward
to for the Buffalo Bills here coming down the
home stretch of their season. And JJ, a lot of
that is going to start this week. It is Finn's
week. We are playing the Miami Dolphins in Miami.
for the second of our two divisional matchups
with the squad. While Miami is not technically
out of the playoff hunt yet, they sit here at
two and seven and would need a miraculous run
after parting ways with their longtime GM Chris
Greer last week and trading away some key pieces
at the trade deadline. So it doesn't feel like
a playoff run is in this group's destiny necessarily.
And probably a lot more transition to come for
Miami. But first they got to play the Buffalo
Bills this weekend. Uh, one PM kick, uh, in Miami,
JJ, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna set the table
here. This, the injury report for the bills is
lengthy and everyone was freaking out on Wednesday
because you know, James Cook was a DNP, even
though Wednesdays are normally like, I think
walkthrough practices. So kind of what's the
point. It was a limited participant today. I
am going to start setting the table here by saying
something bold, even if James Cook. Does not
play in this game. There is no reason for the
Buffalo Bills to lose this game to this version
of the Miami Dolphins They just don't are not
gonna have answers For anything the Buffalo Bills
want to do on defense or on offense rather. Yeah
Yeah, I think that the the Buffalo Bills this
could be a kind of a redemption arc game if James
Cook doesn't play this could be a redemption
arc game for Ray Davis to kind of Plant his flag
as I am a capable running back. I think that
he's had some body composition changes It's a
little bit of a maybe there's some scheme differentiation
He hasn't seemed like he's been a confident runner
go out there and get it young man, right? Like
let's do this thing Because between him he and
Ty Johnson. I'm not that worried about the bills
won't need a spectacular a spectacular kind of
like broken open run play to handily run win
this game with their game script with their ball
control offense with working it down the middle
of the field with a healthy Dalton concave with
some, you know, seam shots to Elijah Moore. If
Josh Palmer is back, that could be a thing, right?
Like they have enough tools and weapons against
what has been a surprisingly plucky Miami defense.
in the face of having a terrible offense, but
still being like 29th and scoring against. So
they're like, they, they make some, cause I've,
I've actually had the Miami Dolphins defense
on my fantasy team for a number of weeks and
they have, they have plays, like they get stats
in fantasy, they get some sacks, they get interceptions,
things like that, but they're losing all the
games, right? Like when it counts, they're not,
they're not stepping up. And specifically the
linebackers in coverage, they're, they have one
good safety and two poor outside corners. Who
are they covering? Like even these bills receivers
should be able to get some separation and make
some hay. Yeah, when we talk about the formula
that to beat the Buffalo Bills stout in the run
game up front with your defensive line and then
coverage corners that can take out your outside
wide receivers. The Miami Duffles don't have
either of those things right now in defensive.
past defensive or rush defense efficiency. They
sit 28th, 28th in the league JJ. That is worse
than the Buffalo Bills who do not have a rushing
defense to write home about either necessarily.
So I think from a schematic standpoint, even
if James Cook is out a personnel standpoint as
well, the Bills will have some advantages here.
And what I liked about the Kansas City game that
I'd like to see roll over into this game and
Bill's future games is while everybody eats was
clearly still a thing because of the way the
ball was distributed, we began to finally see
like a solidified pecking order that the Bills
were going to begin to go to. Dalton Kincaid,
I think is fair to say is the primary weapon
in the past game. in on the squad. I would like
to see the bills increases usage more. I understand
they run a lot of heavy personnel and while he
has improved as a blocker, he is not the best
blocking tight end that they have. So they're
taking them off field still for about 50 % of
his snaps. I just want to see this dude when
he's on the field get targeted pretty much every
time he is. Killer against zone. He is their
best. He's their best man beater JJ and he's
a mismatch for any linebacker or safety The Dolphins
are gonna be able to roll out there. So the pecking
order began to solidify but I want to see Dalton
Kincaid Get some get some really quality reps
against a team that struggles to defend opposing
tight outs well, and especially because it With
Dolan Kincaid's history with the Bills playing
injured last year, everyone expected a huge breakout
year from him last year and it never came. I
think that it's high time for him to go and get
all the accolades and prove himself and he has
done a remarkable job of being ready and getting
ready. He's still got a little bit of the injury
bug going on, missed some time this year. but
it does look like he and Josh have a much, much
better rapport. Josh's catchable ball rate when
thrown to Dalton Kincaid is like 97%, which last
year was 54%. And so it definitely seems like
he and he and Dalton are on the same page. where
they weren't all of last year. And so and we
see it in the games, too. I mean, he's he's so
sure handed. He's incredible after the catch.
And just keep it rolling, because I think especially
with, you know, Jordan Brooks and Tyrell Dodson
in the middle of the linebacker. And as I mentioned
before, if he had to, Malafon who might not even
play. So they just have Minka Fitzpatrick and
a third or fourth string safety in the back.
Like it's. pretty bleak if you were the Miami
Dolphins. Their slot corner's not very good,
so it's pretty bleak if you're the Miami Dolphins
and you're looking at a healthy Dalton Cade rolling
into Hard Rock Stadium. Without a doubt. You
mentioned Elijah Moore and how he could potentially
factor into some limited reps here. Is this,
JJ, I'm going to ask you a very, very probably
aggravating question. Is this a game where we
see Keon Coleman? Maybe start to take the step
forward that we hope he can take. And listen,
I, I've got a long ish wind up to this. So let
me get through it. Yeah. Um, two years into Josh
Allen's QB career, we wanted to get rid of Josh.
Right. Um, two years, as you just so eloquently
mentioned in Dalton Cade's career, we want to
get rid of Dalton Cade. Two years into Spencer
Brown's career, we thought this dude was a bust,
injury prone. There's no way that he was going
to be the right tackle of the future. Lo and
behold, this is where we're at. James Cook, second
year, solid starter, but he's never going to
be able to run with any kind of power. The year
after, he has an incredible season with yards
after contact. Okay, but he's not going to be
able to continue the TD production that he had
because he's not going to get so many red zone
reps. His TD production is on pace to outpace
last year at this point, right? Like I know that
the window feels like it is closing because this
is Josh's last season being 29. And I know we
want him to have some elite weapons and be able
to sling it and compete with some of the best
passing offenses in the league. Like it's atrocious
that Sam Darnold gets the weapons he gets in
Seattle and Joshua he gets in Buffalo. I hear
your anger, but is it possible? especially given
Keon Coleman's unique traits that he just needs
a little bit more time to bake and could playing
against a team like the Dolphins begin to set
the timer on the oven. Wow, that was such an
impressive and eloquent and thorough lead in
to the answer. which is no, he's going to suck
terribly. Because like, I'm so out on Keon Coleman
after seeing his body, his body posture and his
like basic attitude in the victory speech is
just like, like, come on, man, like, you got
to give more than that. To be fair, I did watch
the all 22. He did put in a lot of really good
blocking reps in the run game, you know, the
kind of selfless play definitely was noticeable
in the Chiefs game more than it was even against
the Panthers. And so I do think that there's
something there's something redeeming there.
There's a possibility. But for me, I'm just it's
a prove it to me thing for me, Dan, like he's
got a it's he's got to stack two or three games
of 100, you know, not even 100 yards, but two
or three games where he's a regular, reliable
pass catcher who is getting separation enough
to be a viable option in the route. I'm just
so tired of watching the kind of coaches from
the end zone angles and seeing Josh Allen. stare
at Keon Coleman for three beats and then be like,
ah, okay, I gotta dump it down. Like, you know,
because he knows there's nothing there and it's
just an interception waiting to happen. So I
need consistency and I need viability in the
offense before I'm gonna believe in him. And
in my stare this week, I won't, you know, I'll
give it a chance, right? Anything, anybody, I'd
much rather he not be a bust. No, I mean, true.
I mean, it makes no sense to root against his
success. No, I feel you on that. I think your
key on Coleman is my Gabe Davis. You know what
I mean? And like that is that is an opportune
talking point because while I don't think he's
going to play in this game, it seems like Gabe
Davis at some point is going to suit up for the
squad and play meaningful reps. And that is going
to be a direct competition. I feel like with
Keon Coleman because they. They do a lot of the
same stuff, man. And as long as Josh Palmer comes
back healthy, the Bills value what they perceive
to be his ability to separate downfield, though
we have not yet really seen that come to fruition.
So to me, Gabe Davis is a direct threat to Keon
Coleman and his snap share right now. But dude,
the numbers with Gabe are the numbers with Gabe.
Listen, he's not a slouch. He's got, he's got
close to, if not. over or at, I think 30 touchdowns
as a pass catcher in this league. That's not
nothing. But Josh's interception rate and his
passer rating both declined precipitously when
targeting Gabe Davis. I mean, we used to joke
about it on the pod. Hey, Josh, stop throwing
Gabe the ball. He's running a clear out route.
But Josh just was so enticed by Gabe running
down the field in a way that he's not by Cain
Coleman. I worry that the old temptations come
back even in this more mature, more professional
version of Josh. And to me, we've seen the ceiling
on Gabe Davis. Like, we know what he is at this
point. To me... If you're going to put him in
direct competition with a guy like Keon Coleman,
you should have traded Keon Coleman because you're
going to set this kid's development back to a
point. You're already asking him to play left
handed with the way you're using him in the ex
ex receiver spot on the outs on the boundary.
Like now you're going to take away a snapshot
for a guy who kind of does the same thing, but
as an older version of it developmentally, he
may never recover from that and you should have
traded him at the trade deadline. No, all fair
points. And I think that, you know, it's like.
Josh Allen had kicked his Gabe Davis habit and
then they just brought him back in they did.
Yeah, they did. Yeah, it's crazy. That's crazy
All right We have taught we have talked about
the defense a little bit against this Miami offense.
I mean, I think Miami can't really run the ball
in a traditional standard run game scheme, which
is bizarre considering that this has been Mike
McDaniel's bag, you know, as an offensive play
caller over the course of his career. But what
I will say is he has done a really good job and
a really underrated job in getting Devon Achan
open out of 21 personnel. Like when he throws
out HN and Gordon out there, HN's rushing efficiency
goes up, his overall yardage and production go
up, and he becomes a really big threat out of
the backfield to catch passes. I think if you're
the Buffalo Bills game script wise, you want
to get out to an early lead because this Miami
team feels like what they feel like one that
it's like the veterans that are still on the
team are going to be Ready for Cancun here in
the next couple of weeks and if you go up 14
-3 14 nothing early in the game They could start
fantasizing about what their offseason is gonna
look like But if you let them offensively stick
around at home you let a Chan get going to me
He's like the key that drives this whole thing
I think this could be like a New Orleans Saints
type game for the bills right depending on game
scripts Sure, yeah, I know I think it's a division
game There's always risk, you know involved in
division games the Dolphins have even at times
when they look like they're an absolute dumpster
fire in the past couple of seasons Have had have
had games where they played the bills really
hard, especially at home And so I don't think
I don't think the bills will sleep on this and
I don't think They should because there's a chance,
right? I mentioned before that the defense can
be a little plucky. They can have some explosive
plays, but kind of in the long run, they tend
to fail in terms of keeping people out of the
end zone. Likewise, the offense, Jalen Waddle
is still a threat. Devon Achan still has breakaway
speed. You can't take these guys for granted.
You got to show up, strap up, play with a lot
of physicality, knock two down. Play the play
Jalen Waddle hard as a line. Um, I'd like to
see Jalen Waddle and Maxwell Harrison have a
lot of reps against each other. That'll be yet
another test, right? Here's a, here's a proven,
you know, elite contract type wide receiver.
Um, what can you do Mad Max? Uh, and can you
get 75 % of the snaps? Cause it was like 25 then
or 40 then 50. Can we tight treat up his his
snapshot in this in this one? So that feels like
the plan Yeah, that feels like the plan for him
and for once my god It feels like the Bills actually
have a plan for one of their draft picks with
the way They're using Harrison like everything's
pointing up for the kid for sure. Well Just one
more note on Harrison. Yeah, do it for all of
Bills mafia Who's like who was all sweating Maxwell
Harrison? Oh, here's another Kyrie alum Just
watch Maxwell Harrison play this season and as
he gets more responsibility, you'll better understand
why Kyriellum was Kyriellum, right? We were very
wrong about clamoring for Kyre to play. We should
probably take that L right now. Right. Yes. All
right. Speaking of L's, we are hoping the Bills
deliver one to the Dolphins, JJ. Let's do prediction
sure to go wrong here. Absolutely. All right.
So the spread on this game is nine and a half
in favor of the Bills. You know how much I love
a big Bill spread. Thank you, Vegas, for making
this one sweaty for me. Over under 50 and a half
points right here. The bill's the clear favorites
to win, JJ. Point differential wise, the Buffalo
Bills are tied for fifth in the league with the
aforementioned New England Patriots, while the
Dolphins are 28th at minus 63 points. They are
underwater in point differential. JJ, what's
your score prediction? I think that the Buffalo
Bills are going to win 35 to 17. All right, so
you are going with the bills covering a very
large spread and if my math is correct which
it never is there you're taking the over I Am
taking over because it'd be 52 points. Yep. Yep
All right, correct. All right, my math was right
on that one. Yeah. Damn you, man. You know what
I got to do? I'm going to pick the Dolphins to
win because we are on a hot streak with me picking
the... Okay. No, I'm playing. I'm going to pick
those. Yeah, I'm going to pick the best. I don't
know a world where that could... I mean, it could
happen, right? At least any given Sunday, we've
seen crazy. We've seen, listen, the Dolphins
beat the Falcons who laid out the bills in prime
time. There's no transitive property in NFL.
And then the Panthers destroyed the Falcons who
then we destroyed, right? So are the Dolphins
the best team in the AFC? Like by that math,
you know what I mean? But no, I'm going to go
with the bills. I'm going to take the bills.
This doesn't feel like a game. where you're going
to need Josh Allen to chuck the ball 30 times,
even though he could probably make some hay if
he did. Even without James Cook, I think you're
going to see double -digit carries for both Ty
Johnson and Ray Davis in this game. I think you're
going to get a big dose of Dalton Kincaid. I
would go back to being infuriated with this offense
if we didn't. So I'm going to go Bills 28 and
Dolphins 20 at this point. So I'm going to take
the under on the points. Not because I'm not
confident that the Bills can't put them up. I
just this version of the Dolphins offense again
If they don't get going early, like they don't
get a jump start the first couple of drives They
never tend to get off the runway so and and I
could also see the Bills getting up 28 to 13
in the like the late third and then sort of put
subbing some people in you know, like you know
a garbage time touchdown gets them within eight
Yeah, I could see that too. Yeah. Yeah, so that's
fair. All right prop I just have one prop. It's
been a bit, it's been a minute. A touchdown for
over under half touchdown Keon Coleman, to your
point earlier. Oh, you have a Keon Coleman prop.
I'm going to say, you're like, yeah, because
you know. Because I love him. So good. I'm gonna
you know what that's gonna be a hell of an apology
card You're gonna write if this kid ends up sticking
after the after next season. Yeah You're like,
yeah, it's not gonna happen. I'm gonna I'm gonna
say I'm gonna say over I listen I I got I got
faith in Keon man. I just think that physical
profile. Does he have great straight line speed?
Absolutely, not right. Is he good at separating?
Totally not. Does he have great hands? Not really.
He's not His catch rate is improved. He's not
good. He's not good at separating on vertical
routes. Right. I, he's got the ability to create
a little bit of a Separation is not the right
word to talk about with Keon. Like, listen, he
can't do it, right? But when he is locked in
on the boundary, he's not even able to really
provide a passing lane or passing window for
Josh to get the ball to. But you put his big
-bodied target across the middle of the field,
where he can box out an opposing DB, even though
he hasn't really been successful at doing that,
right? But you put him on a couple of in -breaking
routes, where at least he can create a window
in front of a trailing opposing DB. and that
gives him a much better chance, and he can create
some good passing lanes for Josh in that way.
So he is a dude that still brings value to me
in this game, particularly with Josh Palmer potentially
not playing. So I'm going to take the over. I'm
going to say two touchdowns for Keon Coleman
in this game. And I am even willing to put a
bottle of Buffalo Trace on the line with us that
I will send you should Keon not score two TDs.
Wait, is he on the injury report? No, he's not.
No, he's clean. He's clean. All right, I'll take
that. I'll take that. And in the event that he
gets two or more touchdowns, I will, I'm up to
like, I think that would be my third bottle I
owe you. Well, you owe me two bottles and a wood
chopping sword, which I'm still waiting for.
Dude, I totally forgot about the wood chopping
sword, but you are right. Yeah. Yeah, that's
right. Okay. Got it. Got it. Got it. I'm just
going to keep this. Well, what I'm going to do
is I want to work with my legal team to add this
to my to my last will and testament. And that's
going to confuse the hell out of my family in
40 years or whenever I hope to make it going
to be really hilarious. You're going to owe me
a suit of armor by the end of this thing. It's
going to be great. Yeah. All right. Do I have
a prop? I do have a prop for you. This is going
to be Buffalo Bill's defense. Maxwell Harris.
Mm -hmm over under Point five interceptions in
this game. Does he keep the interception streak
alive? Oh I love I love him. I think he keeps
his coverage streak alive. I'm gonna say under
because Interceptions are pretty hard to come
by you're almost always an all -pro if you can
get more than six, you know, like I play in Tua
I'm just gonna throw that out there the league
or interceptions. Oh, yeah, I know he's playing
Tua but also it's the kind of thing where again
the Dolphins play a little bit more careful against
the bills. They know how bad that they can get
rolled up on if they start turning it over. So
I'm going to take the under, but that's with,
you know, I hope I'm wrong, right? Yeah, no,
without a doubt. I am. I'm going to take the
over. I just love what I'm seeing from him. Wattle.
Listen, they use Wattle more creatively than
that. in Miami than the Chiefs use Worthy. Worthy,
I mean, Waddle is just a better catcher overall
of the football, right? Like Waddle is just a
better wide receiver in general. But assuming,
assuming that Benford is healthy and And they're
going to have him, which they have been doing,
trail opposing team's number one wide receivers.
I actually think Harrison's going to get the
ability against some secondary targets to maybe
have one. So we'll see how that goes. Yeah. And
you're not wrong, even if they have him locked
down or try to lock down Jalen Waddle. Tua has
been just bad because he doesn't have Tyree Hill
right now. He's just been throwing balls up into
triple coverage to Jalen Waddle. And we all know
the kind of velocity he can put on those balls.
That might be the path to a Mad Max interception.
We can end on this note. We've talked about the
anticipatory thrower that he is. Tua's not throwing
to guys. He's throwing to grass, and he's hoping
a guy shows up there. So if you know the grass
Tua's going to, just be there before his preferred
target, and you're going to have a pick every
time. Yeah, and I think if what we believe about
Maxwell Harrison's preparation is true, he'll
know where the grass is. Yes, that's what I'm
hoping. And that is a perfect note to end it
on, sir. All right, Bills Mafia. Hope you're
going to enjoy what we believe will be a Buffalo
Bills win this Sunday. For all of you listening
at home, like, share, and subscribe wherever
you get your podcasts. See our faces on YouTube
or listen to our voices on Apple's Spotify, wherever
you get your podcasts. And as always, go Bills.
Go Bills.