Welcome back to the Buffalo Bread Podcast. We
are recording the Thursday after the Miami Dolphins
won their Super Bowl of the season against the
Buffalo Bills to split the series of the year.
And congratulations to all our Finns fans who
will be sitting on their couch watching everyone
else play in the playoffs. You got this one.
Dan, where your head at? Dude, we're like, we're
almost a week, a week removed from this game
as we record this. And the the sauciness and
the bitterness in your tone still appropriate.
It's still appropriate. It was I mean, I posted
a lot of feelings on social media and of course,
with all social media posts. Sure, I'm not going
to regret any of them as time goes on. But yeah,
man, tough game. I will tell you this. I don't
want to talk about it. We don't have to. That
could be it. We're going to leave it there. I
want to pretend it didn't happen. In fairness,
though, I think we've put enough out on our socials.
I think we've put enough out in kind of blips
here and there on some of our channels to where
people know how we feel about the game and everyone
in Bill's media and Bill's mafia knows what went
wrong with it. I would like to hit a reset if
we could. We're at the halfway point of the Buffalo
Bill season right now. And coming off a horrible
loss like that, I feel the need to lighten the
mood a bit. So I kind of want to play a game
with you. And for those of you listeners at home
who might remember this podcast when we first
started it, way back when, when it was Keeping
the Receipts, where JJ and I, our whole shtick,
was kind of going through media headlines because
at the time, the bills we saw as ascending, but
mainstream media was doubting them. We would
go through and we would literally call up headlines,
call up video clips of people doubting the bills,
and then turn it back around on them. I want
to kind of harken back to the days of our founding,
JJ. I want to play a game with you called Halfway
Headlines. So we are actually at the Buffalo
Bills. halfway point. They've played nine games
here with eight left to go. And it's always fun
to kind of look back on where things were at
the beginning of the year versus where they are
now and see kind of how some takes that have
been put out there about Buffalo Bill's football
have aged. So JJ, what I will present to you
are five different headlines from training camp
and into the first couple of weeks of the season.
that are talking about a specific element of
Buffalo Bill's football. It could be a position
group. It could be a specific player. It could
be things related to player contracts. And what
I want you to do, JJ, is I want you to tell me
how you think that particular headline has aged
from then until now where we are midway through
the season. And actually I've come up with a
rating system I'm very proud of to kind of help
make this succinct. All right, so I'm going to
read you the headline and you're going to tell
me one of three options, sir. Has this headline
aged like fine wine, meaning it is gracefully
aged and it is a credit to its vintage, i .e.
It's a really good take that has held up and
gotten even better over time. Option B, it has
aged like milk. Started out okay, but then turned
rotten pretty quickly. This is a take, as you
probably guess, that has really aged poorly and
is bad. And then option C, it's my personal favorite
category, is aged like Paul Rudd. There are no
hints that it is in fact aged, but only time
will tell. In other words, this is a take that
needs just a little bit more time before whether
we know it is a good or bad take. How do you
like those parameters, sir? And are you ready
to dive in? I got to be honest, when I first
read them, when you sent me the run of show,
the the like Paul read read and like fine wine
seemed like the same rating. Because honestly,
that man. I mean, he's gotten better with time,
in my opinion, right? But he has, he's like in
a, he's in a permanent stasis. Like if you look,
I was watching Clueless the other day, and I
happened to call up a photo on my phone because
I'm like, dude looks exactly the same as he did
30 years ago when this movie came out. He has
stayed the same, he has looked the same age for
what feels like a quarter of a century. And there's
one, there's two ways to look at this. One is
that he's a vampire and he's like just permanently
youthful. The other is that he just got his smile
lines when he was 25 and he'll have them till
he dies, right? Cause that's, I know what you're
talking about, but I've looked at those old movies.
The dude just has looked perpetually 32 for 25
years and it started when he was like 19. So,
you know. He sort of he hit a moment in time
and then just stuck it for a while, I think.
Which I am very envious of. JJ, if I were a headline,
I would say I have aged like milk and I would
really like to prefer to age like Paul Rudd.
Me too. Yeah. All right. All right. Let's get
into it, man. Headline number one. Here we go.
This comes from the Democrat Chronicle August
21st, 2025 straight out of Buffalo Bill's training
camp. JJ, here is the headline. Cole Bishop struggles
as the Bills look for answers at safety. What
is your age rating on this one here at the midpoint
through the season? We're going to go with fine
wine, which you may find surprising because I
do. I think that he I think where where you might
say it's a milk rating is that he has had some
breakout games. He's looked like he's starting
to get it. It's starting to click in, especially
when he's lined up next to Poir. But I will say.
what was expected of him. Or maybe it's it's
like Paul Rudd, you know, maybe not fine wine.
Because I don't know if it's an exact bullseye
of a headline. But I don't think that it is a
freezing cold take and that he is some all pro
safety that has definitely come and found his
own. He he he still makes some mistakes. I've
of course watched the last couple of games and
the Chiefs game he was outstanding. But either
game on either side post post bi -week. He still
struggled. He still had some of the same things
that we've seen before, failing to read the proper
route, failing to provide the best, better leverage,
failing to give the backup to his coverage players
on the outside where they need it over the top
or when they need someone to, you know, kind
of squish up against the edge for them to help
with a streaking receiver. So with all that,
I think it's going to be Paul Rudd for me because
I don't think we can say what Cole Bishop is
as a starting NFL safety. until the end of the
season. We just got to see more consistency week
over week. I agree. I actually called this one
Paul Rudd too. There is the temptation to say
like milk because Cole Bishop has in fact splashed
a lot. He's had some really high variance play,
but he's hit that higher tier of the variance
where he's made some really dynamic and athletic
plays that have literally flipped certain drives
in favor of the Bills. That being said though,
I approach this more from less the Cole Bishop
side and more the bills looking for answers at
safety side. And I feel like that is spot on
because I think while they're certainly trying
to find their way with this Poyer Hancock platoon.
opposite of Bishop that has allowed Bishop to
play better. I do think time will tell if the
Buffalo Bills have actually found their answer
there. I actually have been advocating for throughout
the course of the week as we've been gearing
up for the Bucks game, I've been advocating for
Jordan Hancock to get a few more snaps. I think
athletically is going to be a better matchup
for Kate Otten and some of the pass catchers
the Tampa Bay is going to roll out there. So
I think Paul read again because this one still
needs a little bit time to tell before we know
which way it is actually going to age, be it
fully gracefully or be it like milk. So Paul
read for me too, because the jury's out for me
on the opposite side of this question. Yeah.
No, I think that's fair. All right. Headline
number two. I think this one's going to be a
little bit easier, but then again, you could
surprise me. Bill's fan favorite, Matt Milano,
returning to all pro form and training camp as
from Sports Illustrated July 29, 2025. JJ, how
is this? How is this headline aged? This is such
rotten milk that I wouldn't feed it to my dog,
and I use her to dispose of some pretty rancid
things. So, yeah, no, this is really, really
nasty. I. having watched Matt Milano when he's
been healthy, which is always a freaking question,
this season, it looks like they've moved on one
year too late, right? Like they changed his contract,
they reduced his cap numbers for, or they gave
him kind of a pay cut, but gave him a one year
earlier release to free agency. I don't know
that there's gonna, he's probably gonna be back
on the bills as a vet minimum deal, as a depth
linebacker next off season. And people are going
to hate it because I think he just looks bad.
He looks slow. He does not have any splash plays.
He doesn't seem to be able to get off of run
fits. He had this amazing slippery ability early
in his career of even though he was sort of undersized,
he was strong enough to slice through blocks
and get to, you know, the tackle. He does not
seem to have that anymore. He gets stuck. on
guards, he gets stuck on centers when they're
pulling. He doesn't seem to have the athleticism.
You know, it's weird because it's like a light
switch with a loose wire. Like every once in
a while, you see him shoot to the sideline to
take down a quarterback who's trying to flee
the pocket. And you're like, Whoa, that's Matt
Milano. But too often, he just kind of disappears
in the middle. And then, of course, is the fact
that he's only available half the snaps of the
season so far. Yeah, I agree with you. This is
an aged like milk take. And I fell for it to
a training camp. I was very hopeful that Milano
was going to regain his pro bowl, all pro form.
Um, I was reading the hype. I was watching some
of the clips coming out of camp. I'm like, we're
going to get Matt Milano back for one solid good
year as we make a run here. And the reality is,
is the sideline to sideline speed, as you mentioned,
it flashes every now and then, but man, his ability,
his tackling in the run game. When he has left
an open space against a running back or against
a tight end, I mean, he just gets shook and it's
really tough to watch a guy who was so underrated
for so long rise to the prominence that he did
and then see him kind of going out this way.
I actually don't think he's going to be back
next year, JJ. I actually think this is a Milano
retiree year. I think this could be his last
year playing professional football. The toll
that the game has taken on his body. I think
with what he is putting on film this year, the
general interest in him is an undersized aging,
oft injured. Linebacker, I don't think is going
to draw a lot of interest from other teams, though
I do agree with you. If he comes back, I think
it's the bills because I think it's the only
team that might be in the market for his services.
I mean, couple that with how Terrell Bernard
is playing this season. And I was so frustrated
after the Miami game. I know we said we weren't
going to talk about it, but I'm going to put
a piece in here. Bernard, I get why Milano is
declining with his ability to shed blockers.
Bernard seems to have completely lost that ability
comparative to his play last season. And I've
been so frustrated watching him trying to find
his run fits, even watching him in coverage because
he's never had the sideline to sideline mobility
that Milano has in past coverage. So Bernard's
never brought that to the table, but add to the
fact that he still doesn't have that. And now
he's not as effective in the run game. I looked
at spot track to see What are the terms of this
extension that he signed with the bills and can
we walk away from him next year? If need be with
with a minimal dead cap I will say as opposed
June 1 trade or cut it is far more palatable
to walk away from true Terrell Bernard based
on the numbers I'm seeing on spot track and over
the cap and You know what? I'm kind of entertaining
the idea it's crazy to think that we've gone
from this headline to Are the Buffalo Bills resetting
their entire linebacker room next year? Well,
I think that and, you know, to be to be honest,
I think that that's the, you know, that's not
a headline that we're discussing. But, you know,
I'm sure that there's a headline out there that's
like Bills secure their core captain of their
defense in Terrell Bernard contract. Right. Like
that had to have been a headline. And I'm going
to say milk on that one, too, because if this
is what this is and I don't want to like I don't
know that you abandoned him after the season,
he isn't even as a post June one cut. You put
the money in, but you definitely try to figure
out what the heck about it made it look like
he forgot how to play football. Because last
year, his thing was instinctive play, interceptions,
turnovers, forced fumbles, being around the ball
all the time, having a great sense and coverage
of squeezing routes and backing up into the passing
zones. I don't know what is happening that he
just seems to have forgotten how to do all of
that. So, and I watched a couple of the games,
all 22, with a specific eye toward, is it the
huge shuffle of the defensive line? Is it Ed
Oliver and Daquan Jones missing so much time?
Players that he's come to be comfortable with
in front of him on the, because we've talked
about on this pod so many times. Middle linebacker
play is, it's boom or bust based on the big guys
in front of you on the line. And It's not that,
like it's not just that. I think that has some
impact on it from game to game. But there are
so many snaps where Deion Walker and, you know,
Fadarian Mathis or some other player has been
on the line in front of him and has not let anybody
get to him. And he's still making the bad read.
He's still making the bad call. He's still not
where he's supposed to be in coverage. So. Yeah,
I don't know what's happening. And I think it's
it's like milk. I'd love to give him a Paul Rudd
and let him finish out the season to see what
happens. But if he doesn't improve quickly, it's
going to be a lost season and look like an absolute
bust of a signing. Yeah. I mean, that is the
one out of all these out of all of these offseason
re signings right now that is looking the worst.
And I know a lot of people are down on Christian
Benford. I will say this about Benford. A we
know he's hurt. He's always struggled with injuries
throughout the course of his career. So that
That aside, the Bills are asking him to do things
that he's not really built to do and he's holding
his own with. They've never asked him prior to
the season to shadow the number one wide receiver
on an opposing team. He's shadowing a lot more
in a lot of games against the top pass catching
target for an opposing squad. And the Buffalo
Bills, they're playing more man defense, as we
know. And Benford, while he can hold up okay
in man, he can't hold up with that high of a
volume playing man coverage while also shadowing
the most athletic number one pass catcher for
the opposing team. So he's been asked to play
left -handed in service to the Bills trying to
play more base and sell out to stop the run this
season. I think Benford's explainable. I think
Rousseau has hit his ceiling with this squad.
He's always going to be an excellent run defending
edge. He's just never going to be the guy that's
going to get you a 12 or 13 sacks in a season.
And I think as Bill's mafia, we've come to live
with that. You gave the analogy about him. He
is Robin, not Batman. We've got to find his Batman
at some point. Right. But yeah, Bernard looks
like the worst one out of the bunch right now.
Bernard looks like the worst one of four bad
signings. Just... Damn, man. I don't think the
Benford one's that bad. I mean, yeah, no. Benford's
not great based on his play. Shakir is also not
great based on his play. And then Rousseau is
not great. So... We gotta... Dude, we've gotta
talk about Shakir. I wanna get through the game,
because it's fun. But we gotta talk about Shakir.
and why it seems like he is only allowed to be
targeted behind the line of scrimmage. Yeah,
I don't know. We'll talk about it when we get
to the Bucks preview, but let's continue with
our fun game here. All right, headline number
three, JJ. This one comes from The Athletic,
September 2nd, 2025. Kincaid unlikely to be a
full -time player, i .e. his percentage of Snapshare
at the tight end position will not be the majority
of Snapshare. Mean it's milk right because he
became the core pass catcher in this entire offense
like he is the most or he's one of the highest
targeted People unfortunately Keon Coleman, I
think still leads all pass catchers in snap share
Shiki now Shakira past here past him in the Miami
game Yeah, they're still close which is disgusting
very close because Keon should not be seeing
snaps Except for I mean, I guess he's an okay
run blocker We're going to get to you next. But
yeah, no, this age like Mill, Dalton Kincaid
is when healthy, ultimately super critical and
should be getting most of the tight end snaps
and has been seeing them even in two and three.
Well, of course, he's been seeing them in two
and three tight end sets, but has been seeing
them even on rundowns where he's an extra tight
end in an 11 or 12 personnel set. And that's,
you know, what you what you want to see is him
available. I, we're going to depart on this one.
I'm actually going to say this is aged like fine
wine. I think this take was spot on from a statistical
standpoint because at the time of his injury,
JJ, Dalton Kincaid was playing just under 50
% of total snaps available per game. I mean,
we know the Buffalo Bills have been kind of slow
rolling him. We know that they prefer Jackson
Hawes and a lot of obvious run blocking situations.
And as a result, Kincaid hasn't even really been
on the field for a lot of these early down situations
where the Bills are bringing out heavy sets and
pounding the rock with James Cook. So if you
take the article is in the true spirit of the
article, which is Kinkade, not that he's not
going to be a good player, is that he's not going
to be a full -time player and take the majority
of snaps in that tight end room. I do think that
has held water. Yeah, I mean I guess that I guess
that's fair if you're going to just based on
snapshot it has it was accurate for that It was
absolutely his role in the offense that was way
more important than I think that that headline
implies Yes, and his role his role in the offense
to Necessitates that if should should he when
gonna be positive when he returns from his most
recent injury that al's him The bills are gonna
be tempted to slow roll him but they need production
from him immediately. And listen, Dawson, I loved,
we all love Dawson Knox, but Dawson Knox does
not bring to the pass catching game what Dalton
Kincaid does. They need to drastically rethink
Kincaid's usage should he come back healthy and
ready to play at some point this season, because
they just need him on the field. A guy, JJ, that
you would probably argue we don't need on the
field comes next here. Headline number four.
This one comes from CBS Sports. From September
7th, 2025. Uh, let's just enjoy this one. Why
can Coleman was Dave Richards breakout sleeper
of 2025 and what his massive week one means moving
forward. JJ. Do you do. So this is wine for you.
This is disgusting. This milk is so curdled that
you can. can turn the jug upside down and nothing
moves. Like it is so sour and soiled. He is a
breakout nothing. Like he is terrible at football.
And I'm tired of Josh Allen trying to force the
ball to him. And I'm so sick of him. And I just
wish they would have traded him with the deadline.
I don't care. I don't think he's going to redeem
himself. He's got a shit attitude and worse play.
Like what do you want from me? Oh, man. All right.
You make a strong case and I'm scared to say
anything different. This is definitely not a
wine case here, but I'm going to say Paul Rudd
because I do think we just, I just think we need
a little bit more time on this one to find out
how in fact it is going to age. I've been, I
feel like we've had this dialogue and we don't
need to dive more into the, the Keyon discourse,
but I feel like we've had this dialogue over
the course of our last two or three pods. I mean,
I went back and reviewed some of our old clips.
Keyon has been a prop bet for us for the past,
I think three podcasts. Um, most notably last
one where I lost a Buffalo bottle, bottle of
Buffalo trace to you, which sucks, but I will
make do on that. I just think. I think. He is
sharp as hell when it comes to his football IQ.
We all saw that last year. I think he knows what
he needs to be doing in the position that he
is. And I think he is actually taking on an undue
amount of guilt for his poor play that's not
coming through in a lot of his communication
via the media and through the press. And I do
think it's starting to show up in his effort
on the field to that overall frustration with
his play. He bears part of the blame for it,
JJ. But so does this coaching staff for putting
him in a position that Every forget me and you
who podcasts from our living rooms, right? Anyone
Matt Harmon the reception perception guy, right?
Pff and all the great statisticians they have
there Mel Kuyper all the Todd McShay Everybody
the book on this kid coming out of college was
that he was a big power slot And that he didn't
have the route tree yet. He didn't have the ball
skills, the separation ability, the ability to
get off press that you need to be on X Island
for your particular team. Everybody knew it and
the Bills have forced him into this role. And
I think it has stunted his development. But I
also think, too, it just hasn't done the kid
any favors with regard to contributing to the
success of this team because they're putting
him in a role that it seemed like everybody but
them understood he wasn't going to be successful
in. Okay. I just, we're going to talk about this
at the Tampa Bay premiere. At least I'm going
to talk about this, right? You can cut that clip
because that was my moment. That was my impersonation
of Josh Allen when at the press conference last
year, they were like, you know, the offense is
broken and blah, blah, blah. How do you feel?
And he was just like, okay. Oh yeah, when someone
said this, this doesn't look like a championship
offense. Right. Yeah. Well, and that's, that's
all I have. That's all I have for that. Cause
it's like, yeah, like we've had that conversation,
but at some point in time, you are being put
in a position that the coaches believe you can
win in and you are not winning in it. And I get
that some of that fault might land on them because
you're just not built for that success. Sure.
But like, I don't know what to tell you, bro.
Like you got drafted to be an ex and you probably
at some point in that pre -draft process in the
interview with your team said you believed you
could do that. And then in practice every day,
you're in that role, repping it. And you still
completely bungle every big moment and you're
never in the right position and you literally
get bodied and pushed out of bounds. So you're
no longer a viable passing option. Like you're
a huge body strong receiver that's supposed to
be your game. I'm so tired of watching 511 corners
push him so he steps out of bounds, then he can
no longer catch the ball like, whatever. Now,
listen, I have no counterpoint to that at all.
I mean, in the Miami game, he was mashed up against
a corner that was of equal size of him for the
most part. But again, fourth string corner. You
are you're a you're a top you're a top 35 pick
in your draft class You're supposed to be the
number one wide out on this team I I totally
get that frustration and he does constantly lose
jump balls and physical matchups to smaller DBs
that are not athletically as gifted as him, but
operate with better technique, right? Well, that's
what I'm saying is like when he plays against
people who are athletic mismatches He doesn't
look like he's a better athlete and that That's
all I need to know about it. Paul Rudd. This
is Paul Rudd for me. This is Paul Rudd. I'm calling
it milk. You can call it Rudd. All right. I'm
definitely going Paul Rudd on this one. All right.
Last one. JJ, this one was kind of fun because
we are fans, as you know, and we often have we
literally have a segment called Prediction Sure
to Go Wrong. So I thought it'd be fun to get
some fan takes on this one. So this headline
is from pro football network dot com. This is
just after the James Cook signing headline. He
got overpaid in quotation marks. Fans react to
the James Cook signing. Some other fan reactions
that I found in this article, JJ, quote, 12 million
for a non -game changing running back, end quote.
Quote, 12 million when the bills had all the
leverage isn't ideal, end quote. And then the
last one. Quote, way overpaid. Do not draft James
Cook early in your fantasy drafts. End quote.
That last one's probably going to sting for a
lot of people if they followed that advice. JJ,
I think we're both going to be on the same page
with the one where you at. Oh, this is this is
spoiled milk like James Cook is hard milk. He
is a top three. Yeah, he's a top three running
back in the league. I was I was not expecting
this level of step up in his game. He has looked
more elusive, more physical, more. like somehow
has more juice to break and break away speed.
When the blocking is right, and the teams are
not absolutely selling out to stop him and stuff
in the box with nine players. He's every bit
of the running back you can build the franchise
around. Yeah, 100%. He is Jonathan Taylor, Saquon
Barkley, you know, that type of back. Absolutely.
No, I think he definitely is earning his way
into those conversations for sure. Again, I think
the only piece of James's game that we want to
see develop a little bit more and I actually
think it exists It's just about the coaching
staff trusting him. I'd like to see him in on
more third downs I know I know his touch rate
way high way outpacing last year for total touches
of what they They think he can handle but man
they need him on the field in some of these third
down Situations like it's gotten to the point
where when Ray Davis is on the field or when
Ty Johnson's on the field The other team kind
of knows what is coming. I don't think Cook is
the liability we think he is in pass pro, but
even if let's say, even if he is right. I have
no problem. using James Cook as another blitz
beater option on some of these third and obvious
passing downs to leak him right into the flat
or something like that. I mean, the Kansas City
Chiefs literally in the absence of a running
game do have done that for years under Andy Reid.
I don't know why we can't fold James Cook into
the similar type of philosophy and scheme. Yeah.
Well, just the fact that he's not utilized in
the short passing game. At all like crazy. He
had what he's had four targets this season again.
Is that true? Is that I'm gonna I'm gonna look
that up. I looked that up I'm gonna look that
up if that's true because he didn't he was Yeah,
he has not he was not targeted in the passing
game for three weeks when the Bills won other
two game lost skid I will JJ that's gonna infuriate
me if that is in fact the case All right, you
keep talking about stuff. No, I'll just continue
on that note is that the number of times we've
talked in this pod about the opponents having
weak linebackers or weak safeties and tight ends
and running backs being targeted in the short
middle of the field as a tactic being ideal,
and then Joe Brady just refuses to do that. And
it's not even like he's throwing it to other
running backs. They're not throwing it to any
running backs. And then, you know, you have Kinkade,
who for some reason they believe can only be
targeted 20 or more yards downfield. And Knox,
who usually drops passes when we most need him
to not drop them, creates a situation where it
just seems like they're putting the wrong players
in the wrong positions in the wrong times at
the wrong depth of target. And it's really frustrating.
And we'll definitely get into that because I
know that that's one of the talking points you
have for the Bucks preview is, you know, how
the Bills offense needs to evolve if it can.
And in one of those ways it needs to evolve is
to figure out a more creative short passing game,
not just these weird outside whip screens that
teams can scheme the Bills into forcing the issue
to make the Bills throw. 100 % all right. I've
got so he has been he has had 20 targets this
year Through I mean, that's not that's not good.
That's like two targets a game Yeah, and he said
18 receptions So he's averaged two receptions
per game over the course of the first nine games
of the Buffalo Bill season here Which JJ sadly
is exactly on track with how he's been used in
the passing game for the entirety of his career.
No No, yeah, no, so like What can Coleman's getting
an average of six targets per game? I know I
know I want I want James Cook to have four of
those like those numbers should be flipped I
mean I I mean can we give him some of the like
Shakir behind the line of scrimmage stuff like
Shakir in the flat type like can we give him
some of those and use Shakir more in the intermediate
routes you know let's get into the preview because
I want to start it I want to start it with the
passing game. That's the thing that I think we've
been fixated on the most, right? So let's talk
about this Bucks preview. Buffalo Bills have
a very, very important game coming up against
the Bucks, JJ. I still think there's runway for
a wild card for them, even if they drop this
game, but this game is still no less pivotal
to me because I want to see two things out of
them. I want to see evolution. I want to see
this scheme, particularly on the offensive side
of the ball, change and adapt for the personnel
that they have and to answer some of what opposing
teams are rolling out there again. So I want
to see evolution and I want to see edge, man.
This team has not played with an edge in a very,
very long time. And they are, to a large extent,
one of the more physical teams when you look
at the way they're built. how their four -man
pass rush is so vicious this season on the defensive
side, and how the offensive line are absolute
maulers in the run game. For a team that plays
with that kind of physicality, they don't play
with a ton of edge. There are times where as
a unit they look lost. And then I'm really getting
tired in these post -game press conferences of
seeing McDermott being like, yeah, man, we should
be able to pass the ball with our MVP QB. I can't
figure out why. And seeing Josh just so dejected.
I want them to I want them to bubble up and show
some of the anger and the edge and the fire that
they have shown when their backs have been against
this corner or backs against this wall in previous
seasons to this. I want to see some of that.
Yeah, for me, it's it's when when with evolution,
messy when looking like the same abysmal up and
down team. And then loss with evolution. Like,
that's the way I rank those outcomes. Oh, without
a doubt. The win for me matters most. Even if
it doesn't look great. I know Bill's mafia likes
to, you know, watch the Bills stumble and look
sloppy to a 10 point win and then complain all
week as if they just lost, you know, an AFC championship
game. I'm fine with those. I'm like, I move on
to next week. Let's see what you got. If you
got out of the game healthy with the W, whatever.
But yeah, I so some of the guys I am on like
a fan's friend chat with have said it a few times
recently that like they just want to see a team
that looks championship caliber, that looks prepared,
coached, like they know what they're doing, that
they come out and play consistent from the first
whistle to the last whistle and are in control
and look like, you know, and look like the type
of team that we believe the Bills are. And that
most early preseason bettors and talking heads
in the media would have said they were, which
is a contender for a championship. Right now,
they look like a pretender, and they recently
were named as a pretender. And I think ESPN,
somebody wrote an article that the Bills are
a pretender franchise. And so they need to look
way better if they want to lose that reputation.
But they have also had a loss to a Tampa Bay
team in recent history that ended up spurring
them on to one of their dramatic late season
runs. And I wouldn't mind some of that mojo again
this year. The last time they played the Bucs
with their backs against the wall to this level
was 2021 against the Tom Brady led Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. That was the OT game where Josh just
went off in the second half, ran all over the
Bucs, threw all over the Bucs in a losing effort.
But that then set the tone. for the remainder
of the back half of that season of the Bills
front of the playoffs, right? They found their
way to another agonizing defeat at the hands
of the Kansas City Chiefs. That's why I don't
care. That's why I'm just like, nah, I don't
care how we get there. It's only going to matter
when it looks like it's supposed to in the playoffs.
All right. Let's get into some of the specifics
of this game, JJ. You want to start with the
offensive side or defensive side of the ball?
Yeah, let's start with the offense because we
need to talk about how Khalil Shakir is only
a screen target how Keon Coleman somehow frustratingly
gets targeted on third and long when he has not
proven he can do that ever and How they don't
throw to running backs Let's oh man. Let's talk
about Shakira. Let's talk about Shakira. I want
to talk about him first All right before we get
into that because we were just talking about
the Patriots. I keep glancing up I have the Patriots
Jets game on in the background Drake May was
just under severe pressure from the Jets. He's
already been sacked a few times and he had a
perfect opportunity to dump the ball down to
Henderson with no one around him because, and
this is why it turned a second and 10 into a
first down, because he is such a good thrower
of the deep ball and they have such good deep
routes dialed up for him that the team that they're
playing against the Jets who are, you know, not
very good, weren't able to keep anybody up close
to the line. And they had to give a cushion underneath
because they were afraid of the 20 plus yard
pass. That's so sad to watch this and know how
the Bills play football and that Josh Allen doesn't
even have those short dump downs available because
everyone's crowding up because they're like,
you're not going to beat us over the top. Either
A, your wide receivers can't get there or B,
you're so inaccurate throwing past 20 yards that
you're never going to hit one. Like what happened?
Let's go ahead, take it from there. Why doesn't
Josh Allen throw a deep ball? Go, Dan. Why doesn't
Josh Allen throw a deep ball? And this brings
me back to the Khalil Shakir piece. The data
says that he is running those intermediate routes.
When you look on film, especially because the
Bills are facing man coverage at the rate that
they are. He's not uncovering from into from
one -on -one coverage, right? He is not not as
adept at finding Some of those soft spots in
the intermediate zone as he is to the zone closer
to the line of scrimmage I'm not saying he can't
do that I'm saying right now because the way
this wide receiver room is constructed and because
he is usually playing in the assembly of wide
receivers that he is No one needs to dedicate
resources to another area that would make him
better, make him more available in the intermediate
parts of the field. Like teams feel pretty comfortable
deploying the bare minimum around us resources,
each level of our passing concepts to the point
where you can't take advantage of guy like Shakir.
I know we all trashed the Amari Cooper trade
in hindsight last year, JJ, because from a production
standpoint, we just didn't get what we wanted
out of him. But we tend to forget that before
he went down with that wrist injury, Teams had
to respect Amari Cooper like he was the old Amari
Cooper, and it opened things up tremendously
for the rest of this wide receiver room. And
Khalil Shakur had some of his best individual
receiving games when Amari Cooper was on the
squad. They're lacking that element, that big
threat. Shakur's never gonna be that for as good
as he is. He's never gonna fully be Amon Rasay
Brown, right? He's not gonna be the big threat.
He needs that alpha target to help. take away
some of those resources from the parts of the
field he likes to exploit so we can better maximize
his route trees. I think that's the problem with
Shakir is that is an individual matchup winner
in the intermediate part of the field, be it
man or be its own. He's just not the type of
guy who's going to be able to win on his own
in that way. So the Buffalo Bills use his Yak
ability and they play him closer to the line
of scrimmage. And yeah, and it just feels like
this is I'm sorry. I'm like negative bills mafia
right now It just feels like you really are I'm
in a dark place So but that's like that's just
the the the common theme that is like the repeating
trope of this Bill's team is The players that
they have and the players they reward are role
players they don't have those A1 alpha dog players
other than Josh Allen and James Cook. Maybe end
of list, right? Like they just don't got them.
Like Greg Rousseau cannot do it alone. He needs
somebody who's better than him, opposite him.
Khalil Shakir cannot do it alone. He needs someone
better than him, opposite him. On defense, Terrell
Bernard cannot do it alone. He needs huge, excellent
defensive linemen to keep him clean for him to
have a good look at it, or he seems to be completely
ineffective. Cole Bishop. cannot be the best
safety on the field. He needs somebody strong,
a strong, you know, guiding presence as a veteran
like Jordan Poirier out there, or somebody speedy
like Hancock out there to twist it. Like that
just, it's just this repeating over and over
trope of Kalashnikar can't get it done because
somebody needs to take coverage away from him.
And like that, we just gave him, you know, top
15 in the league money at wide receiver, and
he can't do anything on his own. No, I, listen,
I get your frustration and, but it goes back
to less of the fault of the individual players
and even less of the fault of Brady and back
to this roster build. I will say though on a
positive, positive end to things. The bills are
literally, it feels like one piece away from
being able to unlock the remainder of the potential
in this wide receiver room. I don't think that
person is necessarily Gabe Davis, who I think
is going to play in this game. And that'll segue
us to kind of our next piece of this. With Dalton
Kincaid out though, I do think the positioning
of Gabe Davis would allow for some interesting
things to happen schematically for this wide
receiver room that may be a creative way to unlock
some of what they can potentially do. Don't kids
not playing in this game JJ or I doubt he's going
to play in this game They have listed him as
week to week and they have if history is any
indicator They're gonna be very careful with
how they handle him Gabe Davis has played the
tight end position I use air quotes when I say
that he's played that tight end position in the
absence of Kincaid before and some of their heavier
slots we know he's a he's an a plus run blocker
I actually think if we see Gabe Davis rolled
out there Of course, then I'm going to be surprised.
I shouldn't be surprised when this doesn't happen.
But if we see Gabe Davis rolled out there, I
actually think it's more in the Kincaid role
in 13 personnel. He all of a sudden is the guy
in motion to uncover man or zone pre snap for
Josh. And I think it adds the ability to do some
different things passing wise out of that particular
set in that particular formation. If you can
get Khalil Shakir in a Z position or even the
X position, but in a condensed formation, And
you put Gabe Davis in motion, and you've got
Shakir playing next to either Davis or Dawson
Knox, you've got the ability to throw a big body
in front of Shakir right off the line of scrimmage,
to run a little bit of a pick route for him,
and get him free early off the line of scrimmage.
And that might be the key to opening up some
of these deeper parts of the field for him out
of those heavier sets. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I
agree with you. I could I could tell you're like,
but they're not going to do it because they suck
at their jobs. Well, that's I mean, it's so hard.
It's so hard to believe that they're going to
do anything that we know they should do because
they just don't. And like, I understand completely
everyone was like, why doesn't why don't they
do 50 % play action? It's so effective. It's
I mean, there's a Probably a big part of it that
Josh Allen doesn't like it. Elite quarterbacks
from Time Memorial have not liked play action
pass plays, right? Like it is a thing. Joe Burrow
refuses to never play under center. Joe Burrow
refuses. You know, Ben Roethlisberger hated them.
Brett Farr was like, I'm not doing that. Right.
Like it's it's a thing about being an elite,
you know, passer of the ball that you don't want
to turn your back to the defense. You want to
keep a good picture. You want to. And. it sucks
because it's like, dude, just look at the success
you have when you do it. But for whatever reason,
they don't. And so that may be one thing. Players
get to choose two. And then for two, I don't
understand why they're not using bunch sets.
You have a bunch of players who cannot win one
on one off the line, who have terrible releases.
Why aren't you confusing the DBS? Why aren't
you using more creative formations to make the
defensive backfield communicate? Because then
you might get a busted coverage or something,
right? They did this last year, those dirty quad
bunch sets, man. It's like they don't have Matt
Collins, so now they can't do that anymore? I
don't understand. Hey, Matt Collins is balling
out for New England. No, I love him. That's what
I'm saying is like you don't have Matt Collins
and now you can't do these things? What's your
problem? Um, yeah. So I agree completely. That's
the best way to get him free in space. I just
don't think they're going to do it. Like that's
why, you know, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Bill's mafia.
I am, I, I, until they prove me wrong, I'm so
out on this team. Like, and I'd love to be wrong.
I love, I love for them to finally get a championship
this year. And maybe like, wow, I doubted them
the whole way, but I'm really like, I've never
been more. In the like, all right, let's wash
our hands of this fire everybody and start over
camp. I, oh man. That's a whole other, that's
a whole other topic. We don't have to get into
that one right now. That's a, that's a whole
other topic that I do think. I do think even
people in the let's not fire McDermott camp are
starting to come more and more into. Cause I
mean, let's be realistic. What does it feel like
this? What does it feel like the ceiling of this
team is this year? they get into the playoff
sure, but they regress and they're out in the
wild card round. You know what I mean? Like,
I do think, yeah, I do think that as a conversation
for another time, without a doubt. Okay, let's
go. Yeah, let's just, you want to just want to
talk about defense because you're so out on this
offense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, please no bring
up the more of the things that you know You're
putting on our socials that you think could evolve
the offense because I think that's important.
I'm scared to Make an angry buzzer noise from
like a game show like that's not gonna work.
No, they're never gonna do it So I think I'm
gonna I'm okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna break. I'm
gonna gently Present this idea to you We have
been advocating for more tempo to the offense.
And in the Miami game, the Buffalo Bills offense
and the passing game in particular, looked its
most in rhythm when they were in that four minute
offense at the end of the first half. We have
vented our frustrations this team doesn't play
with more tempo, but a team like Tampa Bay that
loves to sub in and rotate their defensive line,
particularly at the edge position where they're
still trying to find some answers there and they're
a little banged up. Um, is very, is a very efficient
past coverage unit. They've got some legit studs
out there, but they have been susceptible to
the quick game. Do we see the Buffalo, but then
the quick game and playing with tempo aren't
necessarily married to each other, but do we
see more schemed up quick game and do we see
the bills play with a little bit more tempo here,
JJ, to keep the Buccaneers off kilter because
this has been their Achilles heel versus teams
that they have played. That would require the
Bills coaching staff to actually use strategies
that take advantage of another team's weaknesses.
Stop asking you questions. No, I think that you're
absolutely right. That is a way to victory for
this team. I think that it's exactly the kind
of thing that we would hope they would use. And
we've both seen Josh Allen look more comfortable
with tempo, with pace, with the ability to kind
of get in a groove. I mean, yes, like I definitely
hope for that. I hope that Joe Brady is seeing
the same thing we're seeing, which is that this
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense likes to have a
lot of time before a snap. They like to get their
guys kind of lined up where they need to get
them lined up specifically because they like
to do some exotic twists and stunts. And that's
a communication. aspect that's harder to do when
the Buffalo Bills are rolling. Usually that's
the first thing to go in a defensive scheme as
an offense is kind of piling down the field on
you. You just start playing straight up because
you don't have time to figure out who's looping
or who's crashing. I very much hope that they
pull that together as a tactic. And I think that
it's, you know, I think there's a lot of people
in the fan base that would say like, oh, we think,
you know, maybe Sean McDermott wanting to cover
up his defense a little bit is trying to get
Joe Brady to play a slower form of offense, trying
to get him to plod and play the long 12, 15 play
drive short in the game, that sort of thing.
I don't know how much of that is true. Like,
I don't know if he's if he's meddling to that
level. I just think it's been a choice and selection
thing. I think Joe Brady is mindful of. being
a good partner to his defense and complimentary
football is definitely preached to the whole
coaching staff. And we know that if they if they
throw it three times in quick succession and
get out after nine seconds come off the play
clock, that puts your defense in a pickle. Right.
Yeah, without a doubt. I I don't think McDermott
is meddling to that point. I don't think so.
I think. defenses are dictating some of that
to, as we talked about, um, with the way they're
guarding this, this wide receiver unit. I do
think offenses are, or defenses are dictating
some of that to the bills more, more than anything
else. And I mean, you know, Josh has shown a
propensity over the past, I would say season
and a half to take what defenses are giving to
him, which is usually just the check down stuff.
down below, but Josh is also really cognizant
of game script, too. And he has been playing
from behind more, I think, than he has in the
past couple of seasons with the Buffalo Bills.
And as a result of that, depending on where they
are at in the game script, against a lot of these
teams, I saw a ton in the Miami game. It looks
like he's pressing, and I agree at times he is
pressing, but I think there are times where I
watch the film and I see, yeah. There's a check
down available in the flat. But also there is
a slot corner. That's got zone eyes on that receiver
That's gonna be a three yard gain on second down.
They're gonna be tackled immediately Which we
saw a bunch in that Miami game, right and it's
gonna be third and seven I do think in earlier
downs He is trying to be more aggressive so that
they can avoid the third and seven third and
eight that he knows They don't have a lot of
answers for with this personnel on this playbook,
right? So Going back to the original point about
quick game with a team like Tampa Bay, not just
allowing them not to set, but not getting so
bogged down and calling out protections because
that's failed a lot too, particularly with Connor
McGovern. I don't know what it is this year,
but McGovern's checks at the line on protections
have not hit right. And Josh, for whatever reason,
is not overriding him from under center. I'm
not saying that that stuff doesn't happen when
you play with tempo. But I'm saying you can dictate
that a lot more and play in better rhythm and
dictate those situations better to the defense.
And that would take some pressure off of this
offensive line to constantly be right for 39
seconds before we snap the ball on where the
pressure is coming from. Yeah, and I'm wondering
about that too. It's such a weird thing. There's
a couple of those weird nuances for this team
that we can't necessarily figure out. Why did
Terrell Bernard forget how to play football?
How is Connor McGovern regressed so much? What
about his play has key defenses to know what
his checks and calls are? That's what it looks
like. It looks like someone's reading his pitches.
And it's made them wrong a number of times in
key moments, and the Bills offense has paid the
price. Yeah, it's one of those. It's yet another
area. Like this is the point in time. This is
me being hopeful and positive. This is the point
in time for this Bill's team to prove what they
always say, which is every, every week is a chance
to get better growth mentality, growth mindset,
like improve on the things that we need to improve
on as a team, stay focused, you know, go one
to know every week, all the things, all the little,
you know, catchphrases they use, get out there
and show us because I think that this is a good
opportunity to do so. Yeah, no without a doubt.
All right. Do you want to mercifully switch to
the defensive? Yes, please. Okay, great All right.
So a couple of keys for me JJ. Let anyone other
than Ibuka beat you like bracket shit out of
that guy Even I saw Godwin's practicing. I don't
know that he's gonna be ready to go for this
game But even if he is ready to go he has been
he has been on injured reserve for weeks at this
point Anybody but Ibuka let anybody but him beat
you. Because he right now, depending on the health
of Godwin, he's the only guy that can really
slash you with explosive plays. So bracket the
hell out of him. Let Cade Otten beat you. If
Sterling Shepard beats you, God bless that guy,
right? Absolutely. You've done it. Sterling,
thank you. Right. Bracket their number one pass
catcher and then... Like heat up Baker like Baker's
completion percentage drops a full 15 points
down to 56 % When he is facing pressure of five
or more pass rushers So you've got to absolutely
be aggressive and light him up if you do sit
back in zone And this becomes even more problematic
if bucky earrings gonna play but if you sit back
is only he's gonna dice you up the whole game
Yep. Yeah, exactly. That's that's the thing that
again. It's a chance for your defense to evolve
it's a chance for you to try to add some new
wrinkles, send, Bernard is lost in coverage,
send him on blitzes. Like he's quick enough to
get there, right? Like drop, heck, drop Rousseau
into the middle zone. He's a condor, right? Like
he can throw an arm up into a passing lane if
you need a minute and do some simulated pressures
and send, you know, send Bernard right down the
throat. Like that's... Do some different things.
Try to get that guy some confidence because I
think that's the biggest problem is he's been
playing with a mixed bag next to him. He's been
injured. He's been in and out. He is not counting
too much on his defensive secondary. Every time
he's out there, it looks like he's second guessing.
who's got the route behind him and how close
they're going to be. And that's part of the reason
he's not squishing back onto those crossing routes
over the middle and has been seeming lost in
coverage. Just send them, you know, get Terrell
Bernard in there on some things. I hope Teron
Johnson plays because I think that he does matter
for this defense. Although I've liked seeing
Cam Lewis. He's been good. He's been good. We
don't lose a ton in run fits and he's been better
in coverage. I still hope for Teron Johnson though.
I mean, like he was one of the best slot corners
in the league last season. Yeah, he absolutely
was man. But us being a couple of guys of advanced
age 30 comes free. Oh, yeah, 30 comes free fast.
Like bad goes. Yeah. And he's another guy that
because of his style of play and how aggressively
he hits his run fits over the course of his career.
He's also dealt with a lot of injury issues.
Some some publicly known I'm sure many that aren't.
He does seem like a guy who If he is on the back
end of his career, that decline is going to come
quick. So I am actually okay if Cam Lewis gets
a majority of the snaps in this game. Sure. Who
would you like to see on the defensive line take
a step in this one? I mean, TJ Sanders looks
like he's going to play. So I don't know if it's
take a step, but let's see what you can do rolled
out in a high leverage situation for this defensive
line that is really hurting for depth at this
point. We all know that Deion Walker has been
one of the success stories of this rookie class
that Brandon Bean has brought in. I want to see
TJ Sanders live up to his draft stock. I mean,
we traded up for this guy. I think the skill
sets there, health has not allowed him to be
functional for the squad. I want to see him come
in and make an immediate impact against What
is a what is a pretty stout offensive line particularly
on the interior for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
I don't see what he's got from that penetrating
style of pass rush Yeah, no, this offensive line
is pretty solid. They're tackles worse and go
to key. You're very good interior defensive,
but to your point I think their interior offensive
line for the Bucs is where their vulnerability
is That's where I think that you can make some
hay. It's gonna be much harder for the pass rushers
on the outside Yeah, I do. I definitely think
so, too. If Bucky Irving plays in this game,
I become a lot more worried about this offensive
scheme. You know, it's interesting because the
Buccaneers' OC has gotten a lot of crap from
Tampa Bay media that... He's not doing a lot
of play action. He's not doing a lot of pre snap
motion stuff. This is all stuff that the Buffalo
Bills struggle with. But when you look at their
splits on those things, when Bucky Ervin, because
of how dynamic he is, is on the field, they're
doing a lot more of those things because he is,
he's a more lateral threat than like, I think
it's Rashard White is their backup, right? He's,
and he's got way more sideline to sideline versatility
and that jet sweep game and all that kind of
stuff than Sean Tucker has, right? I think third
stringer out of Syracuse. So I think if Irving
is in, I think misdirection and play action is
probably back on the menu. We saw them try to
roll that out with some pretty decent levels
of success against New England last week. And
that freed up some things in their run game and
passing game for them. I think if Irving is back,
they're going to spam the crap out of that stuff.
And then that becomes a problem for this Bills
defense that still does not handle those things
well. Just, I mean, worthwhile to look at the
injury report right now. Bucky Irving was a limited
participant both days this week so far. I hope
he doesn't play. Please wait a week. I know.
But if he does, it's going to be interesting.
Hassan Reddick didn't practice today, correct?
Right. Yeah, Hassan Reddick didn't practice.
Anthony Nelson -Leinbacher did not practice,
but it's just an illness. Ben Bredesen, their
guard, starting guard, did not practice hamstring.
Yeah. Vita Veja is limited too, I think, but
he's going to play. Vita Veja is limited. Chris
Godwin's limited. Antoine Winfield, Jr., limited.
Oh, man. That dude, that's rough. Yeah. That's
almost as bad as our list. Yeah. But I think
for the most part, we had mostly full participants.
Yep. Cam Lewis, limited. Khalil Shakir, limited.
Which, hey. This might be the Ken Coleman slot
game if Shakir can't go. Please like I honestly
like this is the thing for me. I want to see
him there so bad because that's I I'm like so
out on him as an X receiver. That like I just
need to see what he looks like with an easier
release like he could be amazing and then all
of a sudden like OK, yeah we drafted him be the
X but what we found was a solid above average
slot receiver power slot. That's fine. Let's
keep looking for an X. What is stopping us in
11 personnel from putting if Palmer goes in this
game, which it looks like he's going to go our
separation God and Savior Josh Palmer What is
stopping us from putting Josh Palmer in the X
clearly Shakir should he play in the Z? Dalton
are not Dalton Kincaid because he's not playing
King Gabe Gabe Davis in the Dalton Kincaid tight
end role. No, and then can Coleman slot What
what's wrong with that? Why can't we do why can't
we have nice things? Why can't we do that? Why
can't we try something else? Because what we've
been trying doesn't work. Yeah Fair. Yeah, and
then you've got I mean Palmer's the field stretcher
You know Gabe Davis can stretch the seam from
that tight end position all of a sudden the middle
of the field looks really open for an intermediate
end breaker from Kahlil Shakir or something closer
to the line of scrimmage of Kian Coleman and
dude listen I know you hate them, but When he
gets the ball in his hands, he makes stuff happen.
The problem is him getting the ball in his hands.
I will not debate you on that. The problem is
the whole operation of being a receiver in the
NFL. Everything that happens before that, right?
But if you get the ball in his hands, man, he
still makes stuff happen. I like him as a runner
with the ball in his hands. It just never gets
there. I love how we were like let's flip to
the defense to close this thing out and then
immediately they're back on the often Because
I think that we both know one thing hurts. Yeah
one thing hurts Well, and we both know the same
the same thing about this team is that without
a working offense? The defense will never work
right like they're not built to close or change
games. They are built to maintain Correct. Look
the running engine that is the offense. Yes,
the offense drives game script for this team
It has for the past few seasons. It has since
Joe Brady honestly took over. Yeah, man. We're
just going to work. I have another Coleman thought,
but I'm going to save it for another pod because
I feel like this is going to be a debate that
never ends. And I'm also I'm all my voice is
toast. Let's close this thing out. Let's do this
thing. Predictions sure to go wrong, my friend.
All right. So the line on this game is moved,
but it favors Buffalo by five and a half. Vegas
shut up. Like this five and a half spread. Bill's
favored by five and a half points. I hate you,
Vegas. Over and around this game, forty seven
and a half. J .J. Final score prediction. Oh.
I'm going to say Bucks, twenty seven. Bills,
twenty one. Oh, I think they're not. You're not
looking bills. There's only the second time in
the history of our podcast and the other ever
picked against the bills. I know the only other
time you did that was against the Chiefs. Yep.
Okay. Um, what, what makes you think that the
bills are going to drop this one? Oh, because
they're just, they just seem so sloppy. There's
like, I think for me, it's the fact that the
bucks have a very good, I know that they have
some, some injured players. They're trying to
figure out their pass rush, but overall they
have a solid well coached defense. And if they
get an extra possession, they have enough of
an offense to keep this out of the hands of the,
of the bills. Okay. I am also picking the Bucks.
I picked the Bucks preseason to win this game.
And this was always one that kind of troubled
me on the schedule, kind of where it sat from
the stretch of games that we are on right now.
We've got Pittsburgh coming up. We've got the
Texans coming up on a short week. And then we've
got what is a looming important matchup against
the New England Patriots. So where this game
was situated, We've just seen we have seen it
this time of year against NFC opponents the Buffalo
Bills drop games exactly like this Yep, so just
based on recent history. I was like, yeah the
Bucks maybe squeak it out So I've got bucks 28
bills 27 I think it's gonna be a close one for
sure But I think the Bucks are gonna Bucks are
gonna take it and I'm also taking are we both
taking the over on points on this? We are yeah,
we are. Okay I yeah, I think both of these offenses
can find a way to score on these opposing defenses.
I really do. All right, JJ, do you have a prop
bet? I have just one. Josh Allen, plus or minus
or over under 250 yards passing. I would normally
say that's easy money, but. It's been a it's
been a struggle and it's been a real struggle
with his a dot his average area yards per completion
as well. I mean, I'm going to say and I'm going
to say under I know he went for 300 against Miami,
but they were playing from double digit score
behind most of that game. I'm going to say under
I'm also going to say under. Yep. Yeah, I just
he seems to not whether it's scheme. Receivers
whatever it is don't think he's gonna be out
this game. I think it's gonna be a struggle Do
you think he is kind of like protesting this
offense in his own way on the field? Quiet quitting
right. He's like, oh you want to you want to
turn me into a five -step trap QB. Okay here
Chuck this thing downfield. I don't know. It's
something though. There's something fishy right
like he just doesn't seem interested in playing
football and if it's I don't know if the scheme
if it's like He's Hollywood Josh now, which is
what I've said a couple of times Are we are we
at that stage of our Josh Allen doubt where it's
he's doing too many commercials Josh And that's
why he's not playing well. It's not about the
commercials actually I actually take it from
a standpoint of his life fulfillment that he
is like he got married he's like renowned he's
beloved across all media and it's just a play
like what else does he of course he wants a championship,
but does he want a championship he's got $250
million guaranteed. Like, is that important?
I'm not saying he's the kind who gets paid and
gives up, but he might be one of the kinds who's
like, you know, he even said in an interview
that Haley has taught him there's more to life
than football, Dan. Listen, man. Him and him
and Haley, as far as I'm concerned, are unimpeachable
with their love of the Buffalo Bills. All right.
And what they want for this town and this team.
I will have no Haley or Josh slander in my presence.
But I will say this is this is how Josh was playing
before Dorsey got fired. And Josh, while he did
not do so publicly on the field, you could tell
there were moments of real frustration that he
was having with this offense. It looks a lot
like it did before Dorsey got canned. Now, I
think Josh and Brady have a different relationship
than Dorsey and Josh did. And I think whatever
they're gonna hash out, they're gonna do it behind
closed doors. And I think Brady is very well
known for taking player feedback. Like, he pulls
in... the offensive line, he pulls in each of
the positional groups to help build the game
plan each week. What plays do you think are going
to work? What plays do you don't? So like these
players have skin in the game when it comes to
what's being put out there on the field. I think
Josh's frustrations, though, are kind of echoing
where it was where it was at with Dorsey. That's
what I'm picking up on. I don't think it's life
fulfillment necessarily. OK, well, there's also
the there's also Sean McDermott's. effusive praise
and support of Joe Brady as the offensive coordinator,
which is the same thing he did two weeks before
he fired. Yeah, Ken Dorsey. Yeah, kiss of death,
right? Yeah, he's our guy. We absolutely got
his back. Like, you know, we'll figure this out.
We trust him. We trust his scheme. I've I've
got the Steelers game circled, man, because I
think I think I think if the Bills dropped this
one and they dropped that Steelers game, I think
you could I think you could see some weird stuff.
Well, who would come like who would? Joe Brady
was an obvious had been an offensive coordinator
in the past. Aaron Cromer's called plays before,
man. I don't like that. I mean, he wasn't bad
at it. He wasn't terrible at it. I'm not. And
to be clear, I'm not advocating for it. I am
saying there is someone with more experience
than Brady calling an NFL offense that has the
ability to pick up that clipboard and call some
plays. Fair. OK, fine. Yep. And he has built.
Kroemer's built this run scheme. He's helped
build this run scheme, right? That's true. And
he studied, he was with McVay who knows how to
do a passing freaking game. Well, this feels
like, this feels like the, all the people who
are like, Jim Kelly should come back and be the
quarterbacks coach, you know, feel like that
kind of statement. But when you say Aaron Kroemer
just run, you know, can call plays, I just think
of like Aaron Kroemer running the run game and
just turning the entire play calling over to
Josh Allen for anything that's not a run. What
would be wrong with that? What would be wrong
with that? What would be wrong with giving Josh
a little bit of Aaron Rodgers freedom, right?
That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying
to play with tempo Do whatever you want and swing
it Seriously Josh Pete. You know what Josh just
becomes the OC. That's what happens. Yeah OC
on the field Yep, absolutely. All right doesn't
even need a headset just it just He just needs
the longest wristband in history to wear. All
right. I do have a prop for you It's not can
Coleman related at all. Thank God TJ Sanders
who you and I both really like Coming, you know
the preseason I'm I I don't want to take a sack
metric because I don't know that he's gonna get
one in this game But I do want to go TFL TJ Sanders
Tackles for loss over under one and a half in
this game mm -hmm TfL 1 .5 Wow the Patriots are
running it up not running up, but they just scored
again, so it's 21 It's gonna be 21 to 7 so you're
in a second. What is that on the third quarter?
Yeah, yeah Hey, I mean the the Patriots listen.
We'll talk about the Patriots. That's it. That's
a team with flaws but No one on their schedule
except maybe us in Baltimore will be able to
exploit them So so I'm gonna I'm gonna hit the
hopium and say over on TJ Sanders Tackles for
loss nice. I'm gonna say over to okay I think
especially if Dequan Jones is fully healthy and
we've already seen listen. We've already seen
Walker kind of step up I'm very interested to
see Walker and Sanders play next to each other
and Walker's big gap sucking body Open up some
open up some quick lanes for TJ to get in there
quickly So I'm gonna say over nice awesome. Yeah.
All right, man. It was Listen man, I just hope
you feel better. All right, no matter what happens.
I hope you're I hope you're feeling better after
this game and bills mafia I hope you are feeling
better no matter the outcome this weekend as
well after watching another Sunday of a 1 p .m.
Bills kickoff for all of you listening at home
is always like share and subscribe wherever you
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