All right, welcome back to the Buffalo Bread
podcast. And it's a short week, the second of
the season that the Bills are playing on Thursday
night. And very much like in the NFL, a short
week means a short vanilla game plan podcast.
We are not trying to rebuild our entire scheme
this week, Dan. We are just trying to. Get out
of this game with a W. We just want to get out
of this, JJ, healthy with a limited amount of
our body parts on IR and, you know, still try
to give the people what they want as well. I'm
ready to get into it, man. I loathe short weeks,
but if there was any way I would want to enter
a short week, it would be after watching the
Josh Ellens. a Josh Allen performance we watched
on Sunday. What were your thoughts, JJ? Let's
dive right into it on Josh going pixie stick
Josh and just lining up a line, snorting it,
and then going out and playing on the field.
I just wonder like if they did the NFL ever actually
banned smelling salts because if they did I'm
pretty sure Josh Allen just replaced the smelling
salts with cocaine because that was like cocaine
bear Josh Allen like that was you know cocaine
grizzly He had the smelling salts surgically
implanted in his nostrils in his nostrils ready
to break on a moment's notice I think that most
Bill's fans have this experience I did my buddy
George was down with us watching the game and
the first half we were just like Here we go again,
right? Like the Bills looked slow, sluggish,
mistake prone. The offense was sort of like,
you know, hemming and hauling and fitting and
starting. And then the second half just broke
wide open. A couple of turnovers, a couple of
short fields. Josh Allen barreling in the end
zone multiple times, hitting a couple of long,
long pass plays. It was, it was pretty awesome.
It was, it felt like the Josh Allen we've been
missing. It did. It felt like a throwback to
2021, and I referred to it a couple of times,
I think, in our texts, but also on our socials,
too. It was classic. Early on in the game, Josh,
I don't even know if he had the jitters. He was
definitely pressing, but it felt more like this
time around, JJ, he was just trying to kick off
the rust. He had not been really unleashed in
this downfield passing game all season, and he
was trying to get his bearings. And initially
in the game has those first couple of bad turnovers
when the Bills also, I think not coincidentally.
don't have great field position. One of those
coming in there and literally in his own end
zone. But I think once the bill special team,
special teams games got going, gave Josh a more
favorable field. You saw him more comfortable
taking some risks in early downs and listen,
credit to Joe Brady too. He didn't try to put
the, put the, uh, general or the, what are the,
uh, the mayor didn't try to put the mayor back
on Josh Allen here. The governor, there we go.
I'm looking for a non -elected official. That's
the civil leader reference to limiting something
for the governor. Exactly. He didn't try to put
the governor back on Josh, but instead sort of
leaned into it in the most responsible way you
can when you see your QB1 going off on the field
in the way that Josh was. Brady gave us everything
we wanted. Early down, play action. was a factor
in this game. The downfield passing game was
a factor. And also too, I mean, he was sending
out more than three route runners at a time in
his passing concepts to really, for once, put
the opposing defense in conflict. And listen,
that Tampa Bay defense I get Jamel Dean got hurt
earlier in that game. That's still a really good
defense. And the Bills made some nice adjustments
with how they were shifting to accommodate for
some of those Todd Bowles pressures. And again,
Brady just leaned into what Josh was giving them
and it worked well. It was the most in unison
I have saw play caller and QB on this team in
quite some time. Well, I think it was not just
the most in unison. You saw, you know, Josh Allen
vibing with what was coming out in the play sheet,
but it was also the the receivers, including
Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers doing their job
to be in the right space of the field with the
right amount of effort. And especially that Tyrell
Shavers dot long touchdown where he sort of dove
for the hands catch. That one, that was six seconds
after the snap. That was not his route. His route
was a very quick out. and he ended up extending
it, finding open space, getting behind the defense,
which is one of the things that we, you know,
in Gabe Davis's best times with the Bills, something
he was excellent at, is the second reaction play,
just finding open space in the field and run
the grass. And I think that that's something
that we have not seen from the Bills, you know,
the Bills with Josh Allen and this wide receiving
core, other than Dalton Kincaid. And again, occasionally,
it's not been a consistent thing. So I think
that was all an excellent kind of view of what
the offense could be. Again, it's the kind of,
you know... I was buoyed by the hope and positivity
of the fact that the running game was largely
shut down. James Cook was not finding a lot of
space. The Buccaneers were following a little
bit of what Miami's defensive game script was
and selling out to stuff the run, especially
spilling out with run blitzes to the outside
gaps in that zone, kind of wide zone play that
the Bills have been hitting so hard. And and
it was really not working for the Bills in the
run game. And they found a way to pivot and use
the pass game, which is the first time this season
that it's it's been a team has shut down the
run and the Bills have had a counter punch. Yeah,
absolutely. And you make a great point about
and this is me about to give more flowers to
Joe Brady. The Bucks were on that wide zone crack
toss that we absolutely spammed against Carolina.
The Miami Dolphins had it schemed really well.
The Bucks had a good plan for it. To his credit,
Joe Brady did not get stubborn and continue to
call it over and over. He went to whatever the
next tool in his toolkit was going to be in this
particular game. Yeah, dude, I mean, we've been
shading Brady a lot early on in the season for
vanilla play calling, predictable play calling.
I mean, we saw runs out of shotgun with Ty Johnson.
We saw, as we mentioned, early down play action.
We saw under center pass game get involved as
well. I mean, just changing up some of his tendencies.
And again, I think the first half was less Josh
pressing and more this offense has not exercised
those proverbial muscles all season. So we're
finding everyone trying to reconfigure and reform
how they were going to operate. within this new
set of play calls that Brady was getting out
there. I mean, whenever you settle into something,
eventually you're going to get comfortable with
it and you're going to atrophy at some point.
And this Bill's offense just needed, you know,
a couple of quarters, maybe we can say two and
a half quarters to really kick the rust off,
kick the soreness off some of those pass game
muscles before they really unlocked it. And then
Brady looked more comfortable as the game went
on getting into some of these more unconventional
for him. play sequences. It was just, JJ, it
was Joe Brady's best game of the season, without
a doubt. Now, do I think we can replicate this
game plan or whatever actually happened on the
field against Houston? Absolutely not. That defense
is a different animal. But it was good to see
the Bills be able to roll out some of these concepts
to the effectiveness that they did. And it was
great to see Josh Allen with three rushing and
three passing touchdowns. you know, make a mark
on the NFL that hasn't been done since Josh Allen
last season and before that since 1964. So pretty
remarkable, you know, whenever you see a game
like that with our guy. And he seemed to be having
fun, which I think is the thing that we've been
kind of missing, missing so far. Also, I found
it interesting. And of course, you know, we have
to mention the fact that Keon Coleman being set
inactive for missing or being late to the team
meeting on Friday was a huge storyline of this
game. Tyrell Shavers getting those snaps turned
them into an excellent game in production. And
also the thing that I noticed in this game that,
you know, if you're, it could be frustrating
if you're Keon Coleman or Keon Coleman Stan.
Tyrell Shavers is being used from the slot, which
means that the person that they have lined up
at the X is not. restricted from being in that
slot, it may just be that Keon Coleman hasn't
shown that he's good at his assignments from
that position, because it doesn't seem to be
a play design issue. I think it's a Keon Coleman
issue. Eight minutes and 14 seconds. That's how
long it took you to bring up Kian Coleman. I
just want to want to note the time to that head.
I bag, I've bagged on him in almost every episode
of the pod. No, this is great. I finally have
reason. I finally have reason, even more strong,
more strong reason to bag on him now. When you
get benched as a healthy scratch in an NFL, you
know, NFL week when you're supposed to be out
there helping your team win a game. I mean, what
more can be said? You're just not a professional.
Yeah, no, I get it. And this was for clear disciplinary
reasons, missing that Friday meeting, I think,
as you covered. So, you know, the offense looked
better without Keon. Everyone's role seemed to
have a little bit more clarity, aside from, I
would say, Khalil Shakir, who it still seems
like Joe Brady just doesn't want to put him downfield
in any intermediate route whatsoever. at any
point during the game. He had one catch for negative
three yards in this game. Some of that too could
have honestly been he has been battling injury
and the Bills didn't want to put a lot of volume
on him. So we'll see kind of what this looks
like against Houston. But yeah, I mean, Keon
not being on the field is disappointing. And
it's also, I think... I see a lot of social media
arguments raging about, well, the Bills haven't
used Keon right all year. What do you expect
versus it's your job to show up. This is what
you get paid for. You do what the team asks you
to do. And I think all of that is absolutely
fine hypothetical conversation to have. But the
reality is this, this wide receiver core JJ is
still banged up. So for people saying, we're
not going to see Keon Coleman again this season.
I mean, I would say hold the, uh, pump the brakes
on that a little bit. Um, because Curtis Samuels
still battling injury, Khalil Shakir battling
injury, McCole Hardman, uh, Kansas city chiefs
grade. We may never see again. And Gabe Davis
only got about 50 % of the snap share. They're
still working him up from his debilitating injury
from a year ago. Keon Coleman, it may not be
this week, but Keon Coleman's gonna see snaps
again for this squad. And it is in everyone's,
I think, best interest. to not necessarily use
this moment as like a victory lap around what
they do or don't think he is, but hope that in
this moment he can sort of regain some of that
mental edge, that enthusiasm he had for the game,
because the squad is definitely going to need
him. Health has been one of the things that's
been a constant for this team in that they have
been unhealthy in a variety of their positional
rooms. Keon's going to see snaps again this year.
Yeah. And, you know, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not
completely down on him if he shows up and proves
it right like I can believe in a redemption arc
I think that we we as a Bills fan base had our
suspicions of Dawson Knox who I don't think is
worth his contract but is a solid Second tight
end, you know, I think that the fan base was
frustrated with Spencer Brown turns out to be
one of the best top ten You know right tackles
in the league Dalton Kincaid Dalton Kincaid Cole
Bishop like we have we have seen developmental
arcs of players on this team that are there currently
Turn around Torell Bernard Wasted pick and then
last year looked extra two years ago looks excellent
last year looks good Some reason this year doesn't
look great, but I think that this was a good
he had a good game this past week This is the
best game. Yeah, this was his best game. So I
think there's and I know he also was dragging
around an injury. So it might just be a sense
of him kind of knocking that rust off too. So
we'll see as that goes. But I do think that there's
a lot of redemption arcs with this roster. And,
you know, I'm not super hopeful or positive that
Keon Coleman is going to be in that league with
those players I mentioned. But you're absolutely
right in that he's going to, you know, he's going
to have the opportunity to prove it. If he has
that in his bag, he's going to have a chance
to show it. Yeah, without a doubt. Let's switch
to the defensive side of the ball here because
while it was Terrell Bernard's best game and
Cole Bishop continues just to be, I would argue
the best safety we've had since maybe Poyer and
Hyde at their peak. The rest of the defense,
JJ looked really, really bad. And unlike the
offense where we have seen some schematic shifts,
we have seen some play sequencing changes and
upgrades. maximize the personnel on the roster.
I don't think those same solutions are there
for the defense. I think the defense is what
it is at this point. And it could very well cost
the bills and force the bills to see an early
round exit in the playoffs this year, the run
defense. I mean, they can't stop anyone. We've
got what Nick Chubb and Woody Marks coming up
this week for the Houston Texans. Honestly, if
I play fantasy football, I am dropping everyone
I have. I'm picking up those two and I'm letting
them be my running back room this week because
they're probably going to run all over the Bills,
especially with Davis Mills in the lineup as
opposed to CJ Stroud. The run defense looks unfixable
at this point. And JJ, that's by design. This
is not a team that's ever wanted to stop the
run. They're designed to stop the pass and they
need to rely on their offense to control and
manage game strip. Script to go up 10 14 17 points
so that the run game is not even a factor for
opposing teams This is where the Buffalo Bills
get into trouble Especially in a game like this
and like the Rams game last year and the Detroit
Lions game last year Where you've got an offense
that can go tit -for -tat with Josh even on his
best pixie dust day, you know what I mean? So
I don't know that that's going to be the case
with the Texans, but JJ, there was a lot in this
Buccaneers game where you look down the road
at our schedule. There are some concerning matchups
coming up for sure. What are some of the things
that saw from the defense that you want to specifically
call out? Yeah, I think that, again, Cole Bishop
had a good game. We already mentioned that Terrell
Bernard looked good. I think Christian Benford
had some snaps where we saw more of his old form,
Christian Benford. Deon Walker's graded out surprisingly
well in the face of, you know, Sean Tucker, of
all people, undrafted out of Syracuse. Going
off for, I didn't have it on my bingo card that
that guy would get what was like three touchdowns
and 200 yards from scrimmage. 240 flipping whatever.
Right, so like, yeah, I think that all of that
was very surprising and it seemed like the Buccaneers,
other than some errors here and there in high
critical, you know, money downs, we're running
up and down the fields at will. And so I think
that it was a quintessential Josh Allen doing
Josh Allen things and the bend but don't break
defense. And I think that we're seeing Joey Bosa
starting to slow down a little bit. I think that
Greg Rousseau, as we've always said, is a role
player who really needs somebody bringing the
heat from the opposite side for him to shine
and is still This game wasn't great for him,
but it I think still offers as a plus defensive
end against the run. And so yeah, I think that
what we're seeing is like what the what the team
looks like. while they're suffering major injuries
to Ed Oliver, Michael Hoyt, having an old kind
of past his prime, Okun Jobe, old past his prime
and coming back from injury to Kwon Jones. Hopefully
he stays healthy because he was one of the bright
spots in the game. And so I think there's a lot
of defensive. Milano still looks old and cooked
a little bit here and there. He was getting washed
out in a couple of those run fits where Tucker
was breaking one. So, yeah, I think overall it's
the same defense. defensive worries that we have
had in the past and I think specifically the
The defensive pass rush not being able to heat
up Baker When they were in must pass mode was
a little bit frustrating Yeah without a doubt
and the four -man pass rush has been good this
year but we had noted in our pregame that Baker
does not respond well to extra rushers and the
bills chose to rely I think more on that four
-man pass rush and I mean, listen, it's been
great this year at times and then at other times
it's looks completely washed out. And I think
that is the story of the Buffalo Bills. And I
want to have this larger conversation with you,
JJ. This is the story of the Buffalo Bills defense
under Sean McDermott, where we say it's this
high floor unit. We know what we're going to
get, but they really want to play one way and
they're only built to be one thing. And that's
the pass game. and everything else sort of hinges
off of that. The four -man pass rush has disappeared
at times. We noted that they didn't get a single
sack on Tua this year, going up against that
Miami Dolphins offensive line that is suspect
at best. Yet, a significantly upgraded Kansas
City offensive line is one that they dominated,
right? Due in large part, I know, to the back
end coverage that was wildly improved in that
KC game. But still... There has not been the
consistency of the four man pass rush in the
McDermott era. There has not been the consistency
of the run defense game, and there has not been
the consistency in coverage. We've seen individual
players in this scheme that tries to hide so
many of your weak spots in zone get picked on.
The Dane Jacksons of the world, the Levi Wallace's
of the world. This year it's been Trey White.
JJ, listen, I think you and I both are still
semi hopeful that this season ends the way we
wanted to for the Bills, which is with a Super
Bowl championship won before we die. But the
reality is, is that if the Bills make the playoffs,
it's probably an early exit this year in no small
part to this defense. Are we at the point where
if Sean McDermott comes back for a year, this
would be your 10 right next year. If he is allowed
to come back for season 10, do you Nick Sirianni
him? And do you say you are going to come back,
but you need to pick coordinators that go against
your specific philosophy? Do they go out and
they invite a Wink Martindale in? Or do they
try to snatch O 'Brien Flores away from Minnesota,
bringing somebody that has the opposite philosophy
of McDermott on the defensive side of the ball
and give them the runway to build out what this
defense needs to look like in their own image,
not his. I don't think so. And I don't think
so, not because I don't think it's a good idea.
I think it'd be a good idea because we've seen
this defense crumble in the playoffs in critical
moments. Even in the regular season in critical
moments, we've seen that. And I think that what
we would see is in the event that it's not Sean
McDermott's defense, it's that he's been relieved
as head coach. Like I think that's the only reality
where he's not having a strong influence on the
defense. I think it's this defense. Sadly, unless
he's out the door. No, I think that's fair. I
think that's fair. And part of me holds out hope,
you know, that if we're going to get year 10
of McDermott, someone wakes up and is like, listen,
man, we've seen a decade of this defense. It's
not doing it. We've always got something different.
It always gets cooked against any elite offense.
Can we please change this? Just ruined, ruined.
All right, man. Let's transition over to the
Houston game because it is a short week and we've
got a we have a game coming up the day after
tomorrow. Houston Texans gonna be without their
lead quarterback CJ Stroud still in concussion
protocol here on a short week for them as well
JJ I think this whole thing begins and ends with
this Buffalo Bills offense against this violent
ferocious Terrifying fun to watch when they're
not playing your team Houston Texans defense
JJ What do you think are gonna be the factors
for the Bills just to survive this game healthy?
Mean okay, so they absolutely absolutely have
to set a tone with physicality The Houston Texans
have the number one overall EPA per play defense
in the league number one overall past defense
in the league based on EPA per play and then
the fourth best run run defense in the league
based on EPA per play they are they are not to
be trifled with like if the bills don't show
up on that this is a Terribly hard thing to do
show up on the road in a building they've never
won a game in and set the tone from the first
snap. It's going to be, I mean, it's probably
going to be close at the end. I could see the
Bills, you know, making a game of it. But I could
also see it just being like either a Pyrrhic
victory where they get so beat up that, you know,
they need the extra three days of rest going
into the following week against at Pittsburgh
or. or a loss with even greater losses physically
to their team. So I'm worried about this one.
The Houston Texans are basically built to exactly
counteract everything that the Buffalo Bills
bring to the table. They have... a large and
dominating defensive front four. They have solid
outside corners. They have a good safety duo.
And it's the kind of game that they have excellent,
fast coverage linebackers. It's the kind of game
where all the buttons, the bills are usually
pressed to take advantage. You know, the classic
like Will wears Waldo situation that's not going
to work here. They're not going to be able to
find too many chinks in the armor. No, I agree.
And that piece about the linebackers is the one
that sticks out most to me. Listen, we all know
about Derek Stingley, Kumari Lassiter. We all
know about Will Anderson Jr. I mean, Deniko Autry.
I mean, we know about this, the studs they have
on this defense, but that linebacking court,
JJ, what we didn't see Tampa Bay do a whole ton
is run out that sort of mug coverage look to
try to hide some of their coverage plan and then
keep a linebacker spy on the line of scrimmage
again. it's Josh. And I think that's not coincidentally,
this was Josh's easily best running game of the
season. But that's because like, you've got Levante
David out there for Tampa Bay and Todd Bowles
has done an amazing job extracting the last bit
of good football out of him that he can, but
he no longer has the sideline to sideline juice
to keep up with a guy like Allen. Aziz Al -Shair,
however, absolutely does. And that guy takes
it as a personal insult if he has not flagged
for a roughing the passer penalty every game.
So you can bet that even though he's dealing
with a knee injury right now, according to the
injury report, If he goes, you can bet that he
is going to be glued to Josh and making sure
that he is not allowed to escape the pocket whatsoever.
So assuming that the Texans can successfully
take Josh's running game away like Miami did,
like other teams have. It's going to come down
to, I think, taking advantage of the aggression
of these edges. We have already mentioned Will
Anderson Jr. You've got to Neil Hunter on the
other end. They love to pin their ears back and
come for it. But off the edges, when you look
at their splits between running outside the tackles
versus inside the tackles, these guys can be
had a little bit. Now I will say. Teams are on
to this crack toss game that Joe Brady is rolling
out there. So he's gonna have to find another
wrinkle. But I think the game plan's got to start
with getting James Cook involved early. Like
you said, setting the tone on that offensive
line to let our guys push and maul a little bit,
but really let James Cook take the tempo of this
game. Because if you put Josh out there and he
starts slinging it down the field against this
secondary in the same fashion they did in the
first half of that Tampa Bay game, Houston is
the type of defense that can... type of defense
that can make you pay for that in a way that
Tampa Bay couldn't. Yeah, absolutely. Well, and
I do think that the other problem that the Bills
have on offense with the run game right now is
teams are basically, they're just mirroring Reggie
Gilliam. and having their best linebacker fly
to wherever the heck on the field Reggie Gilliam
is inserting because they know that that's where
James Cook is going to be or safety. I mean,
I've seen safeties flow to that position too
recently. Well, exactly right. They just they
send some mirror match to Reggie Gilliam to blow
up the block and then have somebody feel behind.
It's really a kind of two man game to shut down
that run play because it's basically just follow
Reggie Gilliam, follow Dion Dawkins or follow
Jackson Hawes and you're gonna you're gonna know
exactly where where James Cook is on every play
so unless Brady needs to pivot off of that in
some ways to have some kind of misdirection some
counter plays where the strength of the blocking
and the the kind of usual suspects for leading
through the hole are maybe leading through a
false hole and then we're doing some different
things with angles so it without that counter
punch I think that the They're going to they're
going to need to find way different ways to get
James Cook involved because the way it is right
now, scheme wise, the scheme isn't winning any
battles. So essentially it comes down to each
of the offensive linemen and other insert blockers
and the wide receiver tight ends and fullback
to win their one block and for all of them to
win their one block. Right. Like you can't have
run design like that usually is not sustainable.
Yeah. Somebody loses a block on each run. And
then what you would build off of the run game,
what we saw in the Tampa Bay game, early down
play action to keep the defense guessing. JJ,
this is also the number one team in the Houston
Texans, the number one team in defensive EPA
per play when defending play action. They don't
bite on misdirection. They don't bite on motion.
They're extraordinarily well -coached and well
-disciplined. And again, super physical. I think
this is going to be a really, really tall order
for this Buffalo Bills offense in its current
state. Even if Josh decides to go Super Saiyan,
I really do think this is going to be a really
tall order for the Bills to to put up some points
against this defense. Let's switch. Do you have
any more thoughts on the Bills offense against
the Texans defense or you want to move over the
other side? No, let's let's flip it around. All
right. I implore anyone listening here. If you
are not rostering Nick Chubb and Woody Marks
on your fantasy football team, do so before this
game, friends, and thank us on Friday morning
after this game is done. Because JJ, listen,
this Houston Texans offensive line has a ton
of questions behind it. Davis Mills is capable
as a backup, but he is not the threat from the
pocket that CJ Stroud is. One would think...
that what that is basically going to mean is
that the Buffalo Bills defense is going to be
able to sit back and actually load up to stop
the run game. And I'm not confident that they
can. And I don't have any other sophisticated
analysis beyond that. This is a squad that has
struggled with the run game. And I think they're
going to continue to struggle with it here. Yeah,
absolutely. And it's not even like this offensive
line isn't a bunch of world beaters, but it is
some capable, large human beings. And I think
that especially with, you know, Dequan Jones
still coming slow to return, TJ Sanders slow
to return, Bosa definitely dealing with some
kind of risk thing. It's a situation where Bernard
Milano are both getting like, they're like bottom.
bottom 10 in the league and run fills as linebackers
right now, they're getting swallowed up. And
so I can see that happening in this one as well,
especially like you said, if they're not going
to lean on Davis male slinging it all over the
yard, expect to run early and often. And I'm,
I think it's going to be pretty successful. Yeah,
I do too. And that is very likely going to take
the air out of the ball, keep Josh off the field
for long stretches, which I think is the path
for Houston to win this game. Um, When they do
need to sling it Nico Collins is still on this
roster I would expect even though he's dealing
with an ankle injury. He's been a full participant
in practice so far early on I would anticipate
that you're gonna see Benford shadow Nico a lot
now in fairness last year in that Houston game
that broke us all. That was the game last year
that broke Bill's mafia. We didn't have Christian
Bennifer on the field. We didn't have Taron Johnson
on the field. Do you see them being able to make
a difference in limiting this passing game? Should
the game script flip in the favor of the Bills?
I think so. I don't actually I'm not afraid of
Nico Collins because I think he's their only
I mean, Dalton Schultz and Nico Collins are really
the only people to worry about in this one. It's
not, you know, they don't have a super high powered,
especially with Davis Mills back there. They
don't have a super high powered passing attack
and their offensive line is not exceptional at
pass blocking. So I think that there are chances
to, you know, and Davis Mills is also not an
extreme athlete or known for his pocket savviness.
So I'm not worried about the passing game. I'm
pretty sure if the Bills can control game script
and get ahead on the scoreboard. that they can
do enough to stop Nego Collins. It just builds
mafia. Fair warning. He's going to get like a
third and 12. He's going to convert a third and
12. He's going to find some open space on a long
and late down seconds before Davis Mills is buried.
And it's going to be so frustrating. But that's
I can see that happening. It really is. The other
thing I could see frustrating the crap out of
us, JJ, is us loading up to stop the run. And
then Dalton Schultz leaking out of some of those
run looks. Cause he's, listen, he's been a yak
God at tight end this year. Um, and he's been
targeted at one of the highest rates on his route
runs this season. I could see as you, if you
are the Houston Texans and you have a backup
QBN. You know, the opposing offense is going
to sell out to stop the run because that seems
to be your most capable offensive phase. I could
see them actually doing some things with Dolton
Schultz. They get him in the short yardage game,
get the ball in his hands and let him make plays
down, let him make plays after the catch, which
is something he's been doing successfully all
season two. You have just given me a really fun
over under for our prediction sure to go wrong
based on your third and 12 comments. OK, I'm
going to I'm going to. Keep that one in the chamber
for the next couple of minutes here. JJ, any
further thoughts here before we do get to our
prediction sure to go wrong for this game? I
mean, just my general thought for the Bills to
win this game, they need to establish physicality.
They need to find ways and wrinkles in the run
game to overcome what is a monumental task in
this Houston defense. And then on the on defense,
the Bills need to be stout against the run. They
need to make tackles. They cannot miss tackles
in this game. And their coverage needs to marry
and complement the rush pass rush or it's going
to be a long day night, Thursday night. Long
long day. Do we do we finally see Max Harrison
here on the short week? Take over the the CB
to roll in a more full -time capacity He's still
been limited or I shouldn't say limited splitting
reps with Trey white But do we see more Max dares
in this game? I think we see the same amount
of Max Harrison I think they're gonna give him
a full week kind of full week of practice before
they do that kind of transition it feels like
the kind of thing where again brand new first
time in a league, you know, never played on Thursdays,
probably, you know, anytime before. So short
week feels like the kind of thing you don't really
put the rookie through to give them the full
snap share. Yeah, no, that's fair. That's fair.
Man, I would say the week 14, week 15, like he,
we've got to get him ramped up. We should see
him in that role. 99, 99 % of snaps has to come
this season for him. It's got to. It's got to.
All right, JJ. Prediction sure to go wrong. Here
we go. The line on this game is Bills minus six.
God, I hate you, Vegas. You suck. You suck. You
suck. Over -under on this game, 43 and a half.
That seems high for this game. Yeah. Smash the
under, folks. It seems high. We are not professional
bettors. Don't take our betting advice, but this
is a really good defense going up against a backup
QB. Oh, God. All right. My prediction's not gonna
leave the teens. All right, JJ, final score prediction,
what do you got? Bills... Bills 24, Texans 21.
Seems to be a popular score that we're going
with here recently. All right. So you are, in
fact, going to take... That's the over, if my
math is right. Oh, wait. Yeah, it is. Yep, you're
gonna take the over. And you're gonna take the
Bills to not cover, which is fine, and the Bills
to win. JJ... Karma is our friend. Every time
I've picked the bills to lose a football game
this season, they have won. And the Houston Texans
game. was one preseason that I'd pick them to
lose. I'd actually pick them to go on a little
two -game mini losing streak here against Tampa
Bay and against Houston. Josh Allen is 0 -3 in
Houston. It's literally some of his worst moments
as a professional football player have happened
in the city of Houston. I don't know what it
is. He just doesn't like playing football there.
Add to the fact, too, that this is a short turnaround
against a very violent and capable defense. I
am going to go. Texans, 19. Bills, 17. Nice.
I think this is going to be a disastrous, horrible,
low -scoring, we're going to want to pull our
hair out of fair on Thursday night. There's a
path for the Bills to win, and I believe, I hope
in my heart of hearts they do, but we need karma,
man. I'm not going to pick the Bills to win another
game this season until I pick them to lose and
they actually lose. Or until I pick them to lose
and they actually lose. Yep, that's right. Yeah,
I understand no and that that's fair so I like
the prediction and you did hit the under as we'd
advised people to do I just find it hard to believe
that My biggest thing is the Bills offense as
much as we have complaints about it It's hard
to believe they score under 20 in a game, but
we'll see And then the Bills defense is so leaky
that the concept of them not letting another
team score over 20 is preposterous to me I think
we could see, I think we just see both teams
take the air out of the pool. I really do. It's
like the old Cleveland Browns bills like six
to three, three punts game or something like
that. It could happen. Like each of these teams
could only get like five or six total offensive
drives. Like it's just, it's just, it's just
lining up to be a weird Thursday game like that.
So, all right. And it's one of those games that
you could see where like teams have long sustained
drives with like 12 or 14 plays and in a turnover
on the seven. And you're just like, uh huh. A
hundred percent, a hundred percent, man. Um,
what do you have any prop bets for this one?
Um, just one, you know, I, I would like to see,
um, I would like to see Cole Bishop keep his
kind of streakiness alive, uh, over under Cole
Bishop, half of an interception. Yeah, I'm going
to go, I'm going to, I'm going to take the over
on that one. Cole, Cole Bishop, absolutely killing
it as far as I'm concerned. Really pleased with,
really pleased with the level of effort that
he's putting out there. Um, Cole Bishop's the
guy. He's the guy for sure. Cool. I got one quick
over under for you, JJ, before we wrap this thing
up. Over under two and a half times, the Houston
Texans will convert a third and eight against
the Buffalo Bills. Third and eight or more? Third
and eight or more. Oh, over under two and a half?
Yeah. Oh, over. Yeah, no, it's going to be a
minimum of four times. Yes, even with Davis Mills.
Those might be the only third down conversions
they convert, but those are going to be the backbreakers
that are like, come on. How could you get 19
yards on the third and 17? Absolutely. It's going
to suck. It's going to be terrible to watch.
It's going to hurt so bad. It is going to hurt.
It is going to hurt. But hopefully, folks, listening
to this podcast doesn't hurt you. We appreciate
you joining us here on this short turnaround.
And hopefully, you're going to enjoy watching
some Bills football on Thursday. For all of you
at home, like, share, and subscribe wherever
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and YouTube. And as always, go Bills. Go Bills.