Well, well, well, well. We need to stop eating
like this. Well, welcome back to the Buffalo
Bread Podcast. It is a somber Sunday evening.
And I mean, I don't have to say, you know, over
time, you just get worn down. I remember getting
very angry and then very sad after 13 seconds.
And I was. really kind of, you know, dejected
after the Bengals snow game lost and various
other times. As of recently, I've had big time
emotions. I'm just numb, Dan. I'm just numb and
empty and I don't know what else they needed
to do. Wait, they needed to avoid turning the
ball over four real times in one imaginary time.
Right. You know, whenever we do our end of the
season pod, there is no real sense in breaking
down the game because really it's all about the
feelings. You know, I'll say this, right? I do
think there are some things that are instructive
for how this game went that should lend itself
to inform how the Bills pursue their off season.
I do think they're at a pretty, I think this
is a roster that has to be at a turning point,
right? Even with some of the more highly regarded
players that we've invested time, resources,
and money into, there comes a point where the
dudes on the roster are still not getting it
done, right? Just regardless of how long they've
been there for. And no, I'm not talking about
Josh Allen in case anyone's wondering, right?
But you do need a set of fresh eyes, or at least
you need to have those that are within the organization
look with fresh eyes at this roster. at the scheme.
And a loss like this can be instructive and it
can be an opportunity. Let's get a couple of
things out of the way really quickly first. One,
it was a catch. Two, was not PI on Taron Johnson.
Three, it was PI on Trey White. Four, never leave
it in the ref's hands anyways. And this is a
lesson the Buffalo Bills need to learn. They
need to learn it and it feels like they need
to learn it the hard way every season. But at
the end of the day, When you are a team with
a tracker like the buffalo bills and a lot of
these close games where it comes down to this
rule or this botched call or this whatever it
is you need to put yourself in a position for
fire yourself to a point where you're no longer
leaving it. to people that shouldn't be controlling
the game, i .e. the officials or anything else.
And that has to start JJ with how this team approaches
the roster. Listen, it was a gutsy, tough year
for the squad. I think that's a positive note
to start on. The injuries that they went through.
I understand a lot of people being like, yep,
you know, Michael Hoyt injury. What would this
defense have looked like? You know, had it come
to full fruition, Joe, you know, Joey Bose's
role. You know, as a result of having Hoyt in
the lineup as well, would it have unlocked Greg
Russo a little bit more? Like, would it have
taken some of the edge off of Milano and all
he had to play? All of these things are valid
questions. Like, what if we had Max Harrison
in that game? And what if we had Max Harrison
in the game instead of Dane Jackson? What if
we had Poirier or Taylor Rap? These are all the
what -ifs that don't matter. No team is going
to win that game when you are down to your fifth
or sixth string DBs in those particular situations.
However, I should have never have come to that
point. Denver Broncos are a good team. But as
you said, the Buffalo Bills turned the ball over
five times and the number one seed in the AFC
still needed overtime to put the squad away.
The Bills are not miles and miles and miles apart
from these teams. However, I do think they need
to stop making. a lot of these marginal adjustments
to the roster and really go in and address the
things that have been eating them on both sides
of the ball. And JJ, they're going to have that
opportunity because the scheme is going to change
very likely on the offensive side of the ball.
Joe Brady is going to get a head coaching job.
Um, Aaron Cromer already announced today that
he is retired. So this is sad and I'm with you
and I'm in my feelings, but it's also an exciting
opportunity to really turn the chapter on this
era of Buffalo Bill's football. Almost kind of
poetically as we closed down the Ralph and we
open up new high Mark and really stretch and
see what this, what this roster and what this
team inside the building is capable of doing
with a fresh set of eyes and effectively a reset.
Agreed and I think that we exchanged no texts
at all during the game. We don't we didn't really
the yeah the The listeners and viewers would
would find it may be interesting that we don't
actually talk about the game during the game
Barely at all ever except for hang on. That's
like for one thing I don't want to step the key
on Coleman to me, which was awesome by the way.
Yeah Yeah, we do occasionally, we used to talk
just like sporadically here and there about Jerry
Hughes, and then we've talked sporadically here
and there about Keon Coleman. We make references
to the players that we depart on the most off
and on. But it's not like, you'd imagine if you're
a listener, right, you'd imagine the two of us
are just nonstop gabbing about it. What's actually
happening is Dan is lighting up our threads account
with shitposts that are getting traction. And
then I am sitting there on pins and needles.
When the bills went down, I think it was 10 points
at the end of the half and first half. And then
they had the strip sack immediately after the
first half or the second half started. I left
my home. Like I left, I went to the gym. I did
the whole second half and overtime on the treadmill.
Wow. And I actually was only going to do like,
I was only going to do until the game ended,
but then overtime happened. I just stayed, so
I had a great workout. And I stayed because I'm
a little stitious and I was like, well, as soon
as I got here, they held them to a field goal
and then scored a quick touchdown right after
that. Like we're, this is what we're doing now.
Like this is my good luck charm. This is how
I can help. And so, but yeah, we didn't talk.
And the point I was getting to in the initial
was after this game ended, like one of the first
things I said to you is like, sell the farm and
get into the top 12. Like you cannot approach.
the draft the same way you have in years past
where you're accumulating end of the round, middle
round picks and trying to turn, you know, chicken
crap into chicken salad. Like this, do something
to get yourself an edge towards the top of the
draft. Trade some people, trade some picks, move
up, get into a place where you can really get
a blue chip prospect, somebody who can be an
absolute game changer. Because right now it's
just Josh Allen and James Cook and on occasion,
Christian Benford, which was cool. But he also,
when the chips are down and they're against,
you know, elite talent, he can get had. And he
didn't too much, but he had a few, he had a touchdown
on him yesterday. Exactly. Yes. I would like
to see Bean play the board a little bit more
aggressively in this year's draft. I texted you
my draft day. Yeah. Carnell Tate, Caleb Downs,
Arvel Reese, no matter what. You probably got
a mortgage, some 27 and 28 picks there too, right?
Yeah. And I, of course, don't expect them to
get all three. But I haven't even started digging
in the draft yet. But the bills, listen, this
roster is going to have some pretty significant
holes in it. They've got some key free agents
that are going to be departing. I think probably
most notably, they got to make a decision about
Conor McGovern and I think David Edwards as well.
Both, yeah. Yep. So the, and now with Cromer
going, this is the opportunity, right? You're
going to bring in probably a new OC who's going
to bring in a new offensive line coach. It is
a chance to rebuild the interior of that offensive
line in your image. And listen, JJ, we love Dawkins,
like Deon Dawkins, snowman, he is the dude, but
this was a, this was a great season for him,
but not a season that is usually up to his standards.
He's passed the point of 30, right? his value
has been his athleticism, you're probably in
the next one to two years, like you're going
to ask him to learn a new blocking scheme, right?
New concepts. You're probably at the point of
one to two years of turning that particular position
around as well. So I agree with you. I mean,
start aggressively because again, The Broncos,
not that much better than the Bills and we saw
it in that game. With the display we just saw
in New England with CJ Stroud, the Houston Texans,
even in the game the Bills played, they were
in it right up until the end and they played
one of their worst games of the season. Like
the New England Patriots, they're very well coached.
Their infrastructure is so impressive. And the
cap room that they have, like they are going
to be in and around. They are going to be the
new standard in the division, I think, moving
forward. And if you're the Buffalo Bills, you've
got to attack it. Like you attacked it when McD
still came on board and the Brady era was still
hanging over the AFC East Like you have got to
take that underdog mentality again and play with
house money And I just I haven't seen me do that
enough, but this is an opportunity Well, and
this is that that's the situation too is like
a little bit It's been now two or three seasons
to two seasons made two and a half seasons that
the Bills have played like frontrunners and played
down to competition, had teams sneak up on them,
not played hungry enough during the regular season
because they had their eyes towards the postseason.
And where has it gotten them? It's gotten them
a two, three, four, five, six seed, right? They
need to finish in the one seed. If they want
to see a Lombardi Trophy, they need to host the
playoffs at home. They are markedly different
home versus away. We know it. We've been there
for a playoff game. It is a completely different
road. It's a completely different environment.
That's the only way. I think Josh Allen never
sees the Super Bowl unless they're the ones in
the AFC. And to do that, they have to play like
you reference with the Brady era Patriots. They
have to play like the Brady era Patriots and
bury teams that are lesser competition. Absolutely
bury them. Make it not a question whatsoever.
And to do that, they need more talent and defense
and they need at least one capable outside pass
catcher who's not a retread first or second round
pick who's bounced around to five teams. Yes,
I would argue too that and again, listen, I think
the Denver Broncos game was Joe Brady's best
called game of the entire year. I really thought
what he was scheming up in the run game, the
passing concepts he had, there was less full
field stuff. There were more multilevel options
for Josh to get to that weren't mesh, you know?
And I mean, I thought Josh did a good job for
the most part hitting his progressions, right?
When he wasn't throwing the ball backwards on
a 16 seconds left in the first half. And we can
get to Josh, right? And this is actually maybe
a good segue into getting to that, because we're
not going to bury Josh. Josh is not accountable
to us. He's accountable to the team and himself,
and no one's going to hold him to a higher level
of standard than he's going to hold himself.
So what we say about him doesn't matter. But
I watched this postseason, right? Teams that
are still in it. The Denver Broncos, they have
an offensive scheme that is tailored to their
quarterback. And their quarterback has limitations
that our quarterback does not. But you've got
a really good head coach, and you've got a really
good offensive staff that know how to tailor
that scheme. to that particular QB skill set.
We just saw the same thing in New England too,
where you've got Josh McDaniels, who knows exactly,
will like probably goad it as an offensive coordinator.
What he's asking what he's getting out of and
asking his second year QB to do and I don't want
to hear the schedule conversation Because two
are the point we made earlier like the Patriots
are burying bad teams They're doing what good
teams should do and not play down to level or
the competition those fans You don't want to
play in Denver this year You beat the Falcons
and you beat the Dolphins like the Patriots did
and you're at home, right? Right. So like don't
play down to your competition. But again, it's
a scheme tailored to a second year QB who is
still developing, like McDaniels isn't putting
a ton on Drake May to assess at the line of scrimmage,
but then you look at a team who's still in it,
like the LA Rams and that Stafford is basically
like linked at the hip with Sean McVay and calling
plays at the line of scrimmage based on coverages,
right? So I look around who's still in it and
everyone has an offense tailored to the most
special player on their unit, which is the QB
and the Buffalo Bills. I think in a well -intentioned
way to take pressure off of Josh. They put together
a scheme that they put together, they thought
was asking him to do less, but was actually putting
him in a place where I think the things they're
asking him to do were not tailored to his skillset,
even though he did a lot of them very well. Like,
I love Josh. But Josh to me is not Peyton Manning
behind the line of scrimmage. Like we talked
about it all year how teams were onto their coverages,
teams were onto their checks, and him and McGovern
just couldn't get on the same page really until
that Jacksonville game a couple of weeks ago.
Josh's Grip It and Rip It. but like they make
him sit there for 39 seconds, checking all these
things at the line of scrimmage. But we've seen
the metrics. We know that when he can play in
a no huddle or a tempo offense, PBR goes up,
rating goes up, average Yarisport temp go up,
and you put teams at a disadvantage. And shotgun
versus under center. Josh is a great under center
play action QB, but he's still not as good at
doing that as he is out of the shotgun, spreading
it out and 11 personnel. So I... What I want
to see happen next is not just the roster rebuild
because let's say Joe Brady is still the offensive
coordinator and we go get Justin Jefferson We
go get AJ Brown. I'm not convinced that those
guys are successful in this particular scheme
as wide receivers So I Stefan Diggs like hit
the bricks, you know what I mean and wanted out
of Buffalo He saw the writing on the wall and
oh by the way, he's playing in the AFC championship
again Right while the Bills go home So it's the
roster build but that roster build has got to
be married to what? the schematic needs of whatever
the new offensive coaching staff are. And it's
got to start with how do we get the most out
of Josh as he is turning the page on his career
too, heading into his age 30 season where, you
know, we don't know what kind of regression we're
going to see. I think his prime is still wide
open, but is he going to age like Matt Stafford
or is he going to age like Cam Newton? Only time
will tell. But you need to bring in an offensive
staff that is aware of that and doesn't want
to throw him across the line of scrimmage in
a tush push situation to get a random third and
Is Davis Mills still coaching somewhere? The
former Davis Webb, that's it, yeah. Is he coaching
somewhere? Yeah, he is in Denver. He's a Kube
coach. He's an excellent Kube coach and he is
considered one of the great up -and -coming offensive
minds. He's going to be obviously influenced
by that Sean Payton scheme. You know, because
I've looked him up because you and I think he's
not really, he's in a good situation in Denver
and it would take a lot to pry him away, I think.
And also he may not be ready to call plays or
scheme an offense. He's still pretty young. Yeah.
He's an OC though, but this is what I'm saying.
He's known to the franchise, so it makes him
more likely. Everybody in the world, when he
was on the team, talked about how he was basically
an offensive genius and that he taught Josh Allen
early in his career. He taught me how to play
offense as the practice squad could be. It's
a question of is he available and would he consider
leaving? Because I know it's a sweet gig in Denver,
but... an OC job from a QB coaching job is a
big, big upgrade. It is a big upgrade. And listen,
I love Davis Webb. I'd love to bring him back
on the staff. The things that we just said about
Davis Webb, we were saying about Bobby Babich,
like two, three years ago. That's true. Young,
up and coming. There are some guys that are just
better coaches than they are call players, than
they are schematic developers, right? I think
Joe Brady, and this could be an unpopular take,
like he knows how to scheme an offense. He knows
how to attack modern defenses. I don't think
he is great at play sequencing or play calling,
but I don't think he's going to need that to
be a really good head coach. Like look at Brian
Schottenheimer. Brian Schottenheimer in Dallas
had a, I would say an unexpectedly good year
in his first year as head coach there. And he
was not known as a great play caller, but word
around the league, when you read up on the Dallas
Cowboys, we're like, listen, there are just dudes
that know how to coach men and there are dudes
that know how to call plays. And sometimes those
things are not always combined with each other.
Yes. Schottenheimer is going to know how to coach
men. He just can't call plays. And I think Brady
is going to be one of those guys that knows how
to coach. Tomlin is one of those guys. Yes. A
player's leader of men not known for his play
calling. Look at New England. Vrabel is like
that. Vrabel is that. I don't know. I agree completely
that unless we get a different offensive coordinator,
there's no point in investing a blue chip. into
a wide receiver because the wide receivers and
this everybody eats isn't just a cute mantra.
It's literally the way it's designed. It's designed
so that there is no premier hot route player
to try to target. It's just whomever is in the
spot. It's a system. And I don't think Josh Allen
works best with as a system quarterback. So I
would I would also welcome a change at OC. I'd
welcome a DC who's not going to be a McDermott
puppet, but we know that's not going to happen.
And it's not like McDermott's going to leave.
I actually don't have any I don't have any I'm
not going to give any guff to the. Coaching because
I don't think the coaches lost any play put the
bills in any hard situation in the playoffs I
think it was execution only it was execution
in depth, right? Like I think that Bean has something
to answer to but I don't know that McDermott
or his staff do I think they coached as good
a game as they could the players did not get
it done in key moments and then on top of that
there weren't the right players to ask to do
those things in key moments. Yes, I would yes.
I agree. I think if you were to Place blame its
player execution and yes Josh. Owns a lot of
that blame for the game that he played right
it is roster build I think first and foremost
I go roster build Josh and I wouldn't put a ton.
For this specific game at the feet of the coaches
but. I mean, come on, you got Dane Jackson out
there in a man's situation and you're not going
to give him safety help over the top. You're
not going to give him anything. Like you have
to know that Sean Payton, who has already targeted
Darnell Savage for the three snaps he was out
there replacing Kam Lewis, was going to go after
Dane Jackson. And like no help over the top.
Come on. Got out coached in that one. You should
have dropped into like some sort of cloud zone
or something that would have given You know a
lot more support and let him play what we know
his strengths are as a as a limited cb athletically,
right? And yeah, I go next like his no zip on
like I listen I hope bonex heals i'm really happy
for like everything he's injected in that denver
fan base I think that's great right like him
and sean payton seemed to share the same like
fun arrogance, right? That makes them like very
exciting for that fan base, hateable to other
fan bases. It's great to have that juice back,
right? But like he's throwing lollipops up there.
Like he's throwing like the biggest moon shots
I've ever seen and like no zip on the ball. Like,
oh God, God. And if it was anyone, and it was
anyone other than Dane Jackson, right? Anyone
other than Dane Jackson in that moment, you know?
Well, I was like, Why can't the NFL instill a
wonky policy where Josh Allen could be traded
to the Broncos for just the postseason for like
their one and just like play with, you know,
with them for you. Get to keep the Super Bowl
ring. I know he would win and then come back
to Buffalo for the offseason and all that. Let's
go deeper. I mean, we just saw what Philip Rivers
did. If you're Denver, why are you not calling
Tom Brady? Right. Why are you not calling Tom
Brady? How cool would that be? Hey, Tom, you
want to ring? Oh, he beats New England. That
would be just... NFL script writers, if you're
listening. I know, if you're listening to any
of this. Now, Tom is... Rolling in the dough
and I don't listen. I don't listen to broadcasts
anymore say for like Greg Olson I'll listen to
JJ watt and then Akeman and buck outside of that.
I mute the broadcasts I put the bills home games
radio radio, but I heard Tom Brady was good at
broadcasting this year That's apparently moving
around the the you know, the social medias. So
Bill's had a really good game Yeah. So, Bills
fans, that's the only hope that you need. If
Tom Brady, who was, by and large, the worst user
of the English language last year, whenever he
had to give a broadcast, has in one year taken
the leap he has to ascend the ranks of TV broadcasters,
I mean, listen, the Buffalo Bills can rebuild
this roster in a year. And being Stunna before,
I think we forget that after Josh's rookie season,
completely wiped out the wide receiver room,
right? Got to change the whole line. Whole thing,
right? Changed the whole offensive line. Yep.
Still took him a couple of years to get that
right. You know what I mean? Like we've seen
Bean operate in this, albeit, you know, with
different salary cap situation. Think, listen,
I think, and we are, we're, listen, we are, we
are free form right now, but we are going to,
you know, come back from our little hiatus at
the beginning of the new league year. We're going
to unpack the draft. We're going to unpack Bill's
needs. We're going to unpack free agency. I think
if I were to simplify what the Bills need on
both sides of the ball, defensively. You cannot
be small and slow, right? And the bills are both,
right? With the exception of guys like Cole Bishop
and Max Harrison, it is a small, slow defense
and it looked as such. And that is a defense
that made some stops yesterday, but ultimately
like they just got out -duded. Like better dudes
on the Denver side of the ball. Same thing with
that defensive line. You cannot be freakishly
athletic. without having good pass rush skills
or discipline, right? And you need, if you're
going to run a 4 -3, like, you need somebody
to anchor next to Ed Oliver. We've been saying
it. We've been saying it. Dianne Walker, while
he's got the size profile that you want, he is
more of a pure pass rush. He does not alignment.
He's a rotational three penetrator, not an inside
eye. Right. So, and then on the offensive side
of the ball, Everyone, listen, everyone is going
to scream for a wide receiver. The bills probably
need a couple, right? Like the bills probably
need a couple. Like go get Alec Pierce. Like
to me to get that down the field, deep threat,
you know, he's probably going to get paid a lot
of money coming out of Indy for the year that
he had, but go get a guy like that. I mean, look
at what Kayshon Booty has meant to Drake May
just in this, in this Josh McDaniel's scheme,
just as a street guy down the field. You know
what I mean? Like get someone with sure hands
that can run a great deep route. You know what
I mean? How Jacobi Myers was making hay against
the Bills for the Jags after a mid -early season
trade for a player that was easily gotten away
from the Raiders. That's another really good
example of a team. Like everyone thought Trevor
Lawrence was cucked, right? Like he was never
gonna be anything other than what he had been.
And then you get Liam Coenen, who has a unique
understanding of what his QB needs. And I'm not
saying it needs to be the head coach, but...
When you turn over an offensive staff, this is
a chance to do it. The first question should
be, what do you think Josh is good at? And how
are you going to build that in? Right? If the
conversation is starting around, we need to do
it. Asking Josh to do less should not also coincide
with asking him to do what he is not good at.
And that's where I think this Brady scheme did.
You're on mute. That's how upset I am. It's good
that the audience couldn't hear the things I
said. They were just all swears. No. You're exactly
right. I think that the Brady scheme was, I think
Sean McDermott liked it because it was ball control,
time control, time of possession, plotting, get
it down the field, wear out the defense. All
those things are good. A defensive coach looks
at those and goes, That's nice. But yeah, it
expected Josh Allen to be making check down and
screen throws and not pulling trigger on super
deep things because most of that was decoys blocking
or running off defenders. I mean, we saw it with
Dable. The hole shots like the deep passing Josh
Allen, it's in there and he wants to hit those
because he was throwing those balls until they
forced his hand by taking Keon Coleman off the
field. He was like, all right, my jump ball guy
will get this. I'm just going to whip it down
there. Even though that's not the play design
and it's into double coverage, I just want something
more than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage.
And he wasn't given those options in the structure
of the offense. Yeah. It's like trying to keep
a bowl in a china shop to some extent, right?
Eventually, he's going to break some plates.
So, but there's, but that's not to say that Josh
is an undisciplined QB. And I think what was
great to see in this experiment that was the
Brady offense is that Josh did have to develop
different arm angles for these screens. He did
have to develop his. Checks at the line of scrimmage
all these things the table wasn't asking him
to do He had to learn how to do and while he
was more successful at some than others I think
if you're an OC coming in you're not just getting
the freakish alien athletic talent that is Josh
Allen You're also getting a much more refined
passer you're getting a guy who can layer throws
all over the field, and you're getting a guy
who's now been exposed to, I mean, quite a few
different schemes that are going to give him
some real versatility for what you want to do,
right? Just start with what the dude is good
at, and don't design an offensive scheme that
is intentionally asking him to be the second
option, right? Like, he should get more than
49 % of whatever the offensive opportunities
are. In terms of just a quick kind of reaction
to your reference of what the bills need, what
expiring contracts they have, I do think that
they're probably not going to try to bid for
Conor McGovern. I don't think they're, they may
or may not keep David Edwards, but I don't think
they're worried too much about it because I think
they can probably do a long -term deal with Alec
Anderson at Center or Guard. And I think that
they're reasonably impressed with Cedric Fran
-Pran Granger to step in at Center. I think that
He showed up for, what, a few snaps in the Broncos
game, or no, Alec Anderson was snapping. It was
Alec Anderson who was on that snap. Had one shaky
snap, but otherwise, and you kind of expect that
with somebody coming in cold on that situation.
For sure. Yeah, I think that they have built
enough offensive line depth that if they need
to utilize resources elsewhere, they have some
guys I think I would trust as starters that have
had that kind of, have had enough experience
in swing and fill in and extra linemen roles.
that I would want to see that go forward. I mean,
granted, do you want to break one of the best
offensive linemen's or offensive line units in
the league up by letting, you know, contracts
walk? I just think that they're going to be outpriced.
I think they're going to be outpriced and low
key. I actually think it's fine. Like the the
interior of that offensive line and pass protection
and listen, car before the horse, chicken for
the egg, whatever you want to say. It could have
been Josh's checks at the line. It could have
been McGovern's check. It could have been whatever,
but. The interior pressure rate of the offensive
line and pass protection. I mean, it went, it
was, it was up, I think, 17 or 18 % from last
year. We saw all the sacks Josh took. I mean,
I haven't charted it yet. I'm going to do that
while we're on our hiatus. My hypothesis is that
a lot of those were up the middle, right? Like
in 2024, or 2023, rather. Listen, again, it hurts.
It hurts. And I think had the Bills won the Super
Bowl, we would have been. thrilled man, like
through the roof. But I think it also would have
given this current leadership permission to keep
the ship steady as it goes. And I think a loss
like this, like the Cincinnati loss a couple
of years ago, should be instead permission to
tear it down and really reexamine what it is
you need to make the squad continue to be successful
in whatever its newest version is going to be.
Yeah. No, I agree. I think that this may be silver
lining things, but yeah, you're right. If they
would have stumbled and flailed their way to
a Super Bowl and gotten that win, it would have
been carte blanche forever. We would never see.
It would have been like Joe Brady leaves for
head coaching job. Bobby Babich maybe leaves
for head coaching job. bills trade a few key
assets for some picks that will get starting
opportunities elsewhere and probably flame out,
right? Just like the classic script that we saw
with New England during the Brady era was they
win a Super Bowl, they trade off a bunch of assets,
they accumulate a bunch of picks, they pick some
studs, you know, and then their coordinators
leave. Success cannot be the enemy of innovation.
And I think the cardinal sin that the Buffalo
Bills made, and the wide receiver room is the
easiest room to point to, is that They did it
without digs last year. They did it in a new
way for them, which was running the ball first.
And they let their success couch them in comfort.
And they chose to not innovate heading into this
season. And it is a miracle. When you look at
it from that lens, that we made it as far as
we did, even in a flawed AFC field, even in a
weird year where the traditional powerhouses
were not so powerful, even in those circumstances.
It's a miracle the Bills made it to where they
are, and we owe a lot of that to Seventeen. He
didn't have his best game yesterday. He doesn't
need us to tell him that. He knows that. But
he also gave us some really great memories this
season, too, that we're going to be able to take
with us in the offseason. The offseason. Here
we are again. Here we are again, man. Can't wait
to talk. Can't wait to talk about how the Bills
will build a surefire roster that absolutely
cannot be stopped on route to the one seed and
a Super Bowl victory with ease by two or three
scores. The Hopium cycle reignites. I can feel
it. I can feel it in my bones. Get the doses
ready. Before we close it out, JJ, any final
thoughts on this game or the Bills 2025 -26 season?
Just that that was a catch. That was a catch.
It was a catch. We should be playing next week.
It was a catch. The Bills would have caught that
ball even if they didn't gain another yard, they
would have kicked a game winner. That would have
meant it. But that was a catch and I actually
appreciated, you know, the final thought on this
game. I actually did appreciate that Sean McDermott
stood up for his guys in the press conference.
He probably will get talking to from the NFL
for doing that. But I did appreciate because
different times and different seasons at the
end, He has been like, oh, we just didn't get
it done today and didn't say anything about getting
robbed by a spot with the ball and this and that.
This time he took the opportunity, he took the
platform he has to say, we absolutely were, it
was, we were done wrong. The players were done
wrong. Yes. There are coaches, Sean Payton is
one, Mike Vrabel is another. Coincidentally,
they're facing off next week in the, in the AFC
championship game. You know, McVeigh does this
to a lesser extent. Like the good coaches, they
will politic for their teams, right? I mean.
It's not a coincidence that the teams that benefit
statistically from the calls are the ones that
work. The officials like Andy Reed is known to
do it on the sidelines. Mike Tomlin's known to
do it on the sidelines. Vrabel does it right.
They do it in public sometimes. towing to the
line of getting fined, right? And we've wanted
McDermott to do that. And I think there's a part
of him that's prideful and he doesn't, but I'm
glad he did it the other day. Because in that
moment, I think if he went up there and was like,
hey, we just gotta, we didn't execute, we gotta
do a couple. We gotta look at ourselves first.
Yeah, we gotta look at ourselves, right? We gotta
self scout here in the off season. I mean, I
think he might have lost that locker room. So
the fact that he had everybody's back in that
way, I think is a really positive note to launch
into 2026 with. For sure. There's some energy
there. And then as for the season, you know,
with the retirement of Cromer, with offensive
line changes, I feel like this is the peak rushing
season for James Cook's career. I don't know
that he's going to get another rushing title
with Cromer leaving. Yeah. And with a different
scheme that's not Brady's where he gets 300 plus
touches, like it's, I feel like that was, and
I think that's awesome. It's good for him. I
think that that makes more of a case for his
long -term legacy and success. But in a lot of
ways that excites me because it means that potentially
we'll be looking at an easy 40 touchdown season
next year for Josh Allen because somebody will
come in and have to develop a scheme that takes
the stallion and unrains him. Yes. Doesn't ask
him. doesn't ask him to do things with a structure
that doesn't allow him to do things when everything
else falls apart, right? So, yeah, yeah, I think,
listen, it sucks, but it's also exciting. Like,
we'll, you know, we'll see where it goes. Any
final words, JJ, before we close out here? As
long as we have Josh Allen, Bill's football will
still be fun. Exactly. Shoot, man, even when
we didn't have Josh, it was, we still made it
fun in our own way, but yeah, it's definitely
better with J .A. 17 in there. All right, folks,
a couple of quick housekeeping notes here. We
are... The pod goes on hiatus. This is going
to be the last pod we're going to record for
the 2025 season. We will come back at the start
of the league year here in March. JJ, I don't
know about you. I need some time away from this
to like process, cope, but then also get reinvigorated
for season six of Buffalo Bread, sir. Which will
build up my mana to talk draft. Your super move
bar, right? From the last five. Assemble enough
combos with clean hits to get that super move
bar before I can jump into a draft season. I'm
still reeling. Yeah. So we're going to recoup.
Socials will still be semi -active. So if you
got any thoughts, please feel free to hit us
up there. We are very limited on socials. We
are only on Instagram and threads, but maybe
we'll grow that here in the off season too. JJ,
listen, as always. It is truly a pleasure to
do this with you. When we started this thing,
I did not think that it would A, go this long,
or B, that we would garner some of the listenership
that we have for two dads that just like to talk
about bills. But this season, while it is sad
to end, it's always just good to be here doing
this with you. It's one of the best parts of
my week. Yeah, absolutely. All right. All right.
For all of you listening at home one final time
in 2025, 2026 Bill season, like, share and subscribe
wherever you get your pods, YouTube, Apple, Spotify.
And as always, go Bills.