Welcome back to the Buffalo Bread Podcast. We
are coming back around to you now that the Buffalo
Bills coaching hires have started coming through
and starting with head coach, of course. And
now we have some coordinators and different position
group coaches are in place. Dan, it's been a
kind of a whirlwind since we last spoke with
everybody in Bill's Mafia with the Coach McDermott
firing and the elevation of Brandon Bean and...
the whole shlobknuckle that that was. Terry Pagula
hasn't been in front of the camera again for,
you know, for good reasons. And, you know, here
we are looking at the offseason. And Dan, where's
your head at these days, my friend? There's been
a lot of positive, I think, that's come out of
the the Brady hiring and the way the Bills have
handled it. And there's also been like a lot
of there's been some question marks as well.
I think it's good for us to go into with optimism.
here heading into the offseason based on some
of the coaching moves that we've seen, the additions
to the staff, particularly the coordinator additions
that Brady has made. I also wouldn't sleep on
some of the lower level coaches they've brought
in, position level coaches, because it is really
clear the Buffalo Bills are moving toward more
of a youth movement at a lot of these coach positions.
And I think it's in response to some stuff that
we're going to talk about as we unpack our reaction.
But JJ, I think there's a lot... I think it's
fair for Bill's fans to be positive about what's
happening, but also operate with a high level
of skepticism based on how, you know, Bean in
particular happens to handle the PR. He's in
the news again for all the wrong reasons, for
all the wrong comments that he shouldn't be making.
And I think it does weigh a little bit in an
outsized way heavily on ultimately what has been
a pretty successful first couple of weeks for
Brady individually as a new coach. Yeah, absolutely.
I think that, you know, in some ways it almost
like Every ounce of goodwill that Brady engenders
in Bill's Mafia and the fan base, Bean is there
one second later to tear it all back down and
make us think he's an egomaniac, maniacal jerk,
right? Wild decisions. Yeah. It's like, why are
you saying this to people on the record, right?
Why are you talking like this? Yeah, so it's
interesting because I think that simultaneously
Bill's Mafia, it's the switch happens so fast,
right? Like Bill's Mafia, Brandon Bean is elevated,
Joe Brady is hired after nine candidates are
interviewed over the course of a week. And everybody
was like, ah, you know, finally the thing to
unite us all, everyone hates it, right? Like
Joe Brady as coach. And literally days later,
everyone's like. Okay, okay, okay. I guess the
good thing about the Bills for the last two years
has been Joe Brady's offense and their production.
Well, let's see what this is. And people started
kind of jumping on the bandwagon again. And then,
you know, you have being ripping people off and
throwing them on the dirt and spitting on them.
But, you know, I think it's interesting because
I'm firmly in the camp at this point in time
of shrug, maybe, right? Like, that's where I
live. I'm just like, okay, right? Like I... I
recognize I'm more comfy in the waters of something
needed to change. I was hoping it'd be Bean and
McDermott. I think we established that on the
previous pod very clearly. But because Bean was
elevated and they've got Joe Brady, I'm into
this position where I'm like, okay, change had
to happen. This is pretty substantial change.
I'm in like let's ride. Let's see what's gonna
happen. It's as much change as you would expect
Yeah from hiring a coach who's been with your
organization for the last three or four years,
right? Like the changes are not just marginal
either But it's also not it's also not I think
to the scale of bringing in a completely completely
new regime would be But it's you know, it's honestly
it's very reflective of the approach the bills
have taken since being has come on board. It's
a as balanced approach as you can imagine. They
are going to largely keep things the same on
offense. It looks like they're going to dramatically
revamp the defense, which I know you want to
get into. But JJ, let's take this chronologically,
right? Let's start with the press conference,
the Brady press conference with Bean. I think
to your point, when the decision came out that
it was going to be Joe Brady, lots of bills mafia,
myself included was like, this is not change.
This is being hiring someone who is going to
challenge him less than personnel decisions.
That was my read on it. It felt unimaginative.
A lot of football folks thought it felt unimaginative.
There were a lot of questions of why not hold
out for Clint Kubiak? Well, in hindsight now,
it looks like he was always going to Vegas and
people knew that. felt like it felt like the
facade of change, performative change. And we
were left to believe that, oh, so stuff really
is going to stay the same. The culture McDermott
created is going to stay the same, which is good.
They just didn't want McDermott a part of it.
Then Brady, he comes in and honestly, dude, that
was a winning press conference out of him. He
did come in with a different energy and an energy,
I think, at least from my observation, the bills
have been lacking. Lots has come out since McDermott
left for a reasonable and I think justified grounds
will have support for him But then the story
started to leak like we found out more about
13 seconds I think than any of us have previously
known, you know tied on who is the McDermott
antagonist forever You know it revealed some
interviews that he had had with McDermott where
McDermott seemed really sensitive to all the
credit Josh was getting for the success of this
team and having to constantly remind people hey
I ended the drought before Josh got here, right?
It really did seem like a team that was weighed
down by the rigidity of a very, very good, very
successful coach. But when you looked around
other locker rooms, and I think the best and
worst thing that could have happened to Sean
McDermott this year is the fact that the NFL
started showing post -game coach speeches. You
look at like Vrabel with his warrior stuff with
the Patriots. You look at Liam Cohen, like spraying
water around the locker room. You look at the
shirtless jubilation of Ben Johnson in Chicago.
And then you get McDermott's post games versus
tough. It's like a sermon, you know, like you
could feel the weight of expectations every time
McDermott spoke to that team and the Brady hire
and the feeling I got from. The first impression
of his press conference is that it's going to
look a lot more like Liam Cohen's vibe and Ben
Johnson's vibe and not Sean McDermott's vibe.
And that to me is a big change and I think probably
a needed change for this clubhouse. I know Sean
McDermott is not a boomer by definition, but
he gave boomer dad energy. He's the most boomer,
non -boomer ever. Right. He gave Boomer Dadd
energy, his entire tenure as the coach. It never
said anything to the media. He was very robotic,
very rigid. We win or we learn. You know, we're
going to get better. We're going to improve 1
% every day. Growth mindset, you know, complimentary
football, like all of the different tropes and
things that he spilled out there. And I think
that, you know, there's the sense that like,
oh, in his last season or two seasons, he started
to soften, show a little bit more of his emotion
and his personality. And what I saw was the emotion
and personality of like somebody who's like addicted
to self -help books and has this like, you know,
is very keyed in and researched on how to lead
but doesn't have necessarily the natural charisma
that you're talking about with Ben Johnson, Liam
Cohen, like Mike Vrabel, like coaches who engender
the real love of their players and not just the
respect of their players. Because I think everyone
across the board uniformly in that locker room,
almost everybody, maybe not Keon Coleman and
a few others who seemed to not really buy in,
had respect for Sean McDermott. They respected
what he built. They respected the way he was
prepared and prepared them, but they didn't want,
they weren't killing themselves for him. Like,
look at the injury bug that we always point to.
We know, and this is just me, like, talking,
right? Like, we know nothing, but... We know
that players around the league play with injuries
all the time. Josh Allen is an absolute warrior.
We also know that if somebody doesn't absolutely
buy into what their coach is selling, it's easier
to be like, no, I'm going to spend that time
in the cold tub. I'm injured. I'm off. I'm out.
Not to mention you have mega high profile stars
like Stefan Diggs wanting their way out of the
team after signing an extension. There's something
to that. There's something to the fact that Sean
McDermott doesn't have a coaching tree. They
don't even call, you know, Dable part of the
Sean McDermott coaching tree. Right. Many people,
when he got the Giants job, referred to him as
the Bill Belichick coaching tree, more than the
Sean McDermott coaching tree, right? Because,
mostly because I believe the coaches that Sean
McDermott had worked, the coordinators that he'd
worked with, weren't going out and having their
press conferences saying, oh, I learned so much
from Sean McDermott. You know, I'm going to instill
that here. Even Brady. He was respectful. I thought
he did a much better job than the organization
at honoring what Sean McDermott had built over
the past almost decade. Totally agree. But he
still talked mostly about how he is a disciple
of Sean Payton. Like he's going to, you know,
he has these experiences, he learned so much.
And so there's something to that. That is the
biggest, brightest, screaming red flag I can
point to as to why this was a proper change is
that There wasn't anybody coming around being
like, oh, this revolutionary coach. I think his
discipline, his research, his preparation is
all excellent. And he probably will be coaching
somewhere in the league after a year off. But
I don't know if I think like you mentioned in
a text message, does he never return to head
coaching? Does he just become an excellent defensive
coordinator? Like a lot of Leslie Frazier, he
had his shot. He had a team for a long time.
He had some great success. But what he proved
was that his leadership style, his CEO style
is not the kind that unifies or brings an organization
together and makes people buy in. I think that
that's the biggest problem is we had former players,
Jerry Hughes, others are talking about how, you
know, this is long overdue. I noticed on Eric
Wood's, Eric Wood is an employee of the Buffalo
Bills. And on a recent podcast. somebody wrote
in a fan question or something like, what was
an experience you had with a head coach? Because
you had so many. He brought up Rex Ryan as his
favorite pregame speech head coach. And he played
for a season and a half with Sean McDermott.
So it's the kind of thing where I'm just like,
there's too much smoke for there not to be fire.
Sean McDermott either didn't have the locker
room, had it, and then they lost faith in him
as the years went on and the failures piled up.
I remember us talking quite a bit about the Tyler
Dunn piece and how much that made sense. That
anonymous sources were like, oh, whenever it
gets super hard, he gets anxious and everything
crumbles, right? Year over year that happening.
is too much. 33 points, 27 points, 33, you know,
like all of the scores against his vaunted Sean
McDermott defense. It was high time for a change.
And I'm very excited to talk about the massive,
massive overhaul to the defense specifically.
Yeah, without a doubt. And I think that is the
thing that has been most striking outside of
the starkly different tone that Brady looked
to set out it as. Opening press conference in
the subsequent press interview since like he
seems like a really positive energetic Charismatic
guy. We know he's got Scheme shops, even though
we disagree with some of the play calling tendencies
and I'm sure there's gonna be more of that this
year, right? But for the most part what seemed
like a move that brought with it little to no
change to me actually does feel like a pretty
big change that we had this guy here in the building
that had these philosophies that had this sort
of very targeted vision for how he would lead
this organization at the coaching level and I
think the bills Realistically were scared of
losing him And you can see with some of the coaching
hires he's made, I think this is a great time
to get into that. Why the bills not the hire
will justify itself based on whether or not he
wins, but you can see why the bills were scared
to let him out of the building because the dude
really does have a complete and I would say somewhat
complex, like nuanced vision for how he wants
to build out this team. I'm sure he has thoughts
on the roster, but based on what we've seen with
the coaching hires, JJ, I mean, it's even on
offense, it's not going to be the same as I think
we have seen in years past. So where do you want
to start? Because the Bills have made a lot of
moves, special teams. offensive line, OCDC. You
want to start with the coordinators, I assume.
You want to start with Leonard or do you want
to start with Carmichael? I think we should start
with Carmichael because it's the most organic
flow from you have an offensive head coach, Joe
Brady, who has led this offense for two and a
half years and who is carrying this offense forward
with play calling responsibilities, who then
brought in Pete Carmichael, who has been Sean
Payton's complete right -hand man from his time
with the Saints, and then on up to the Broncos.
Was he the QB coach there? I don't think he was
a senior offensive assistant. He was OC with
the Broncos. He was OC? Okay. Yeah. Who takes
a, that's a surprising thing to me, I guess.
He takes a lateral move to come to the Bills,
just to probably work with Josh Allen, right?
Like, I think that that's the draw there. Oh,
sorry, no, he was an OC, you're right. He was
QB coach in passing game core. Yeah, I thought
he had like a senior assistant coach or something
like that. He did. He was OC, I apologize, he
was OC in New Orleans. Yeah, for Drew Brees through,
you know, I think he had a 5 ,000 yard pass or
four consecutive seasons with Drew Brees. So
he knows something about designing an offense
that his head coach is going to call because
Sean Payton has always been the caller, right?
And so I really like the hire. I think that his
chops are in the fact that even after Drew Brees
retired, the Saints still had some productive
years while they were trying to smash it together
with you know, hodgepodge pieces at QB and skill
positions. And for that, I think he also has
had the experience of, you know, Alvin Kamara
in his backfield. He's got James Cook now, somewhat
of a similar style in the way they attack the
run and catching passes. So I expect running
back pass catching to go way up, right? There's
a lot of different nuances. So I think, I mean,
that hire for me was excellent. in terms of providing
somebody who's not just an assistant or secretary
to the head coach who's the play caller, which
I think you see sometimes with these offensive
OCs, it's the Eric B. enemy, right? Like, didn't
get any other opportunities for a super long
time because nobody really respected the work
he did. I don't think this is that case. Yeah,
no, I agree. And I think with Carmichael too,
what you get, especially because he was the first...
Big domino to be added to fall to be added to
the staff. You've seen what Brady has added since
a lot of guys from the college game, a lot of
guys in their early to mid thirties. Like this
is a, it's a group of very young, energetic coaches.
Carmichael seems like he's not just going to
be Brady's right -hand man, but he is going to
be kind of like the statesman of that coaching
room. Right? Like that's the guy who's been to
super bowls. That's the guy who's been through
every playoff situation. You can possibly. Imagine
he seems like he's going to be sort of the the
course corrector Should things go a little bit
too far one way or the other with it's not an
it's not an experienced coaching staff per se
But it is a a staff where there are a lot of
guys that are new to this level of coaching in
the NFL Carmichael to me seems like not just
a great fit for Brady and what he wants to install
for an offense But he's also going to be I think
like I said an elder statesman, so to speak,
on this group of, outside of him, relatively
young and untested coaches. Yeah, absolutely.
I think there's a piece of that that is, like
you said, kind of like a steadying body in the
room, somebody who's got so much experience that
it's sort of like when McDermott took over and
had Frazier come in as a DC who had head coaching
experience, like P. Carmichael has not been a
head coach in the NFL, but that level of... time
on task accrued seasons of high level, you know,
production is something that I think Joe Brady
can lean on and Joe Brady knows him well. I think
that's the other piece. Yeah. So that's, I mean,
I'm really excited about that, that pickup. The
new offensive line coach, because I think it's,
we have to mention right now, the retirement
of Aaron Cromer is potentially the biggest, like
maybe the biggest hurdle that this offense is
going to have to overcome in the coming year.
other than, you know, pending free agents on
the offensive line and things of that nature
is having the one of the best coaches, if not
the best offensive line mind in the league taking
retirement, which he's well deserved. He's had
a great career. And then the line coach from
the Steelers whose name is remind me. Oh, God,
I haven't pulled up here. Hang on. Yeah. Because
it's not on the Bills website yet. It's not made
official. I don't think his contract has been
finalized. I don't think it's been finalized
either. It's a Schefter report at the current
time. Yes, Bills offensive line coach. Ryan.
I want to say it's Smith, which I know is wrong.
Which I know is wrong. Pat Meyer, there we go.
Pat Meyer. Yeah, so Pat Meyer who, you know.
Spend time with Cromer. Yeah, spend time with
Cromer at two different stops, which I think
is you spent time with the LA Rams and with the
Bills, has a familiarity with the Bills organization,
has worked for them in the past. So I think that
that's a, you know, it's solid. I'm hopeful,
but it's really hard to know until we get, you
know, snaps on tape in the regular season. We
won't know how big of a drop off that is with
the development of the talent. Well, and not
just the development of the talent, because listen,
we began to the Bills. God, I will, I will mire
myself in this history for forever. It took them
so long to get the offensive line right after
so many resources spent on it. Kind of like the
defensive line situation we're going through
right now. Right now, yes. Right, this very moment.
But when they got it right... Kroemer didn't
just develop the talent I think we're gonna find
out how involved he was in the install the run
scheme because there there have been murmurs
that and this would be this would be the scary
Situate scariest situation imaginable for the
bills is that Kroemer was responsible for the
run install Brady was responsible for the passing
game Right. So we're gonna find that out real
quick as Brady maintains play calling how much
of a how much of a role not just Kroemer had
in the development of the talent and the steadying
of that offensive line. But we're going to see
real quick if there's a drop off in this run
game, what impact Aaron Kroemer really had. Yeah.
And I think you're right that there's something
terrifying about that. The best thing about this
offense might have just walked out the door into
the sunset and retirement. And what we're left
with is whip screens in the passing game and
no wide receiver talent or connection or chemistry
in the passing game. We'll get to that when we
talk about being for sure. Yeah, so yeah, I think
that that's that's the yet to be seen how the
offensive line offensive coaches come together
I know that a lot of the offensive staff is sticking
in terms of you know Rob Boris looks like Rob
Boris is staying at tight ends Ron Curry is looking
to stay at quarterbacks and then they have a
couple other player former players running running
back Kelly skipper is the coach there and so
I'm interested in to see how that goes Are they
keeping are they keeping skippers running back
coach? I mean his profile is still on the website
right now So so that I mean, I guess I don't
hate that but like they got to figure out that
running back rotation Yeah, like if I see James
Cook out on second downs again, I'm gonna lose
my FM Yeah, um, I know you I know you want to
get to Leonard but real quick do you I know And
I'm going to like I'm going to give you the give
you the floor for that one. Jeff Rogers, special
teams coach for the Buffalo Bills. This is one
I didn't like. So he is coming from from Arizona.
His biggest claim to fame is that he has had
multiple years of having excellent return units,
but middle of the pack. coverage units. So that's
the thing that you worry about with the change
there is his tracker. I mean, he's been a special
teams coordinator for like 10 or 11 years and
including he's survived two or three coaching
changes in Arizona. which is hard to do when
a brand new regime comes in. You have to have
your chops underneath you to stick as a coordinator
when a brand new coach comes in because they
all have relationships. They all know people
around the league that they trust. But his play,
his tape proved it to these new coaches. And
so I think that's a good get. It's the kind of
thing where It's not the same as the bills promoting,
you know, assistant special teams coordinators
year over year as people were taken out of their
job and kicked to the curb. It's like they did
last year when they brought, I've already forgotten
him because he's in the Dolphins now. Chris Tabor.
Yeah, it's like last year when they brought Chris
Tabor in. This is a different philosophy. It's
bringing somebody in who absolutely knows what
they're doing and is not learning on the job.
So, for that measure, I think it looks good.
It's going to be interesting because I think
Ray Davis, as an all -pro kick return guy, largely
got to that position because of Taber's run scheme.
He was basically creating zone and gap runs on
the kick return for Ray Davis with a fullback,
with blocking schemes. So it'll be really interesting
to see if they carry that forward at all or if
Ray Davis has one year of all -pro as a kick
returner and then returns to... Special teams,
you know, all four phases, not as big of a role.
Yeah, I think this is the hire that, I think
this is the hire that we're gonna, Bill's fans
are gonna give the least amount of grace to if
there is a drop -off in Ray Davis' production
or anything like that. I mean, I've charted,
because I'm in off -season mode, like what the
hell else am I doing? The DVOA of the special
teams for the Arizona Cardinals over the past
few years. but a steady decline, man. And when
the new kick rules came in, they went from I
think 18th to 30th in DVOI. That doesn't feel
good. Listen, proof is going to be in the put
-in, obviously, but special teams coaches are
one of those things I've always been like, do
you coach good units? Because everybody is getting...
borderline practice squad guys, second, sometimes
third string guys to fill in that unit. Everyone's
working with the same caliber of talent outside
of your kick and punt returner on special teams.
So that's something I feel like is fairly well
equalized across the league. And I can just look
at your metrics and I can decide if you're a
good coach or not. And his metrics have been
on the decline. So I don't love this one, but
we'll see how it goes. Yeah, sure. Yeah. All
right. Let's talk about Whoa, okay. I was gonna
cue you up. Yeah, go for it. What's up? No, I'm
just getting excited You just saw me shaking
with anticipation. Gotcha. Oh, I thought you
did this. All right, cool Big Papa Jim Leonard.
I think that's what I think that's what we're
gonna talk about Yeah, the thing the thing that
was I think the most stark contrast to me in
this press conference wasn't just Brady's energy,
but he had a really clear vision for this defense
and it was an energetic vision about Being able
to attack, being able to put offensive coordinators
and opposing QBs on their heels. Like he attacked
it at the cerebral level and the on the play
level. And then he backed up a lot of that vision
and a lot of that talk, which I think is maybe
one of the best coaching hires of the off -season
cycle. Bringing Jim Leonard on from the Denver
Broncos to be our full -time play caller and
defensive coordinator on the defensive side.
JJ, lots of change coming. This is not going
to be the McDermott. Rush for a sit back and
soft. So this is going to be a very different
scheme. You have been digging into Jim Leonard
tape. from his college days, from his coaching
with Wisconsin. Wisconsin, yeah. Yep. From his
work here in the NFL at the pro level. Where
do you want to start, man? The floor is yours.
Take us. Take us on a journey. So two things
I think are going to be substantially different
for Bill's Mafia when we start watching this
defense. One is going to be the time -honored,
annoying, frustrating thing we always used to
say of the defense is the defense. The Sean McDermott
slash Leslie Frazier defense was... built on
the foundation of we can keep our same 11 on
the field, play in and play out, and we're going
to meet and match you and keep everything in
front of us and stop, you know, big plays over
the top, right? Like, and we're going to give
you the underneath stuff. Well, that's the first
thing that's going to change. You're going to
see a lot of different packages coming on and
off the field with the Jim Leonard 3 -4 defense,
and you're going to see like they're not going
to give you an inch. And it's going to be much
more like the really frustrating defenses that
the Bills have faced in critical moments with
the Ravens, with the Chiefs. It's way more like
that. It's the exact thing that you hope the
defense doesn't do to your offense on a big third
and 11. is exactly what the Bills defense under
this new coordinator are going to do if they
can get the pieces in place. So that's one. You're
going to see more multiple combinations of players.
You're going to see situations where the Bills
might give a big play up because they're stuck
in a personnel that's not ideal for the situation
because it is very critical that you get your
rotations in and out. Defense is given an option
or an opportunity to sub players when the offense
is and that's a good rule change for this defense.
But there is a possibility with like a hurry
up that like you can't get the guys you need
out there and you have a bad matchup. So that's
something to see. That's one is the swap outs.
It's no longer we're going to sit with our exact
nickel defense and just put players in positions
to do what we want them to do. And then two,
and this is the one of the things that I think
is most exciting, sack production if they can
again get the right people is going up. because
as an odd front, they have three down linemen
and then four linebackers. Two of them are outside
rush linebackers who can cover, can rush, and
then two inside backers can cover, can rush.
The idea is that with these long, large bodied
outside linebackers, you have a five man front.
Every snap and you don't know who's coming who's
stunting where they're twisting where they're
flying to Wisconsin Jim Leonard Ran a defense
that was top 25 in the nation for a decade, you
know freaking hard that is in college and you
have people impossible Yeah, you have people
coming and going you have name and your image
and likeness too. Yeah Pre -NIL, you have players
coming and going, graduating, leaving, leaving
for the draft. And it is, you know, he was doing
this all year in and year out. He was coaching
people up and developing talent. At a program
that's, it's not US, well, USC is comparable,
I guess. It's not Alabama. It's not... you know,
any of the other major powerhouses. It's Wisconsin,
a very good program, a storied program, but not
one of the like hot and sexy SEC teams that everybody's
kind of filtering through. And so... That alone,
on top of Jim Leonard, our fanboy for a second,
childhood hero of mine, only played for three
seasons for the Bills on his second stint, but
was awesome. Came to the Bills as an undrafted
rookie free agent after being passed up in the
draft because he was told he was never going
to be the right size, the right speed, et cetera.
But then just had a 10 or 11 year NFL career,
always being counted out, but always just making
plays. And I remember there was it was a bleak
times in the early 2000s for Bill's fans Jim
Leonard was a bright spot as a safety for a couple
of seasons Awesome, dude. I want to I want to
get in we're gonna have a chance to do Madden
GM here after Personnel is gonna have to change.
I had Oliver trade candidate So this is what
I want to get to real quick, right? Like I've
already kind of put some internet chum in the
water for the Jim Leonard hire means these guys
are going to be gone. Of course we don't know
anything, right? We just, we want clicks and
engagement and thank you threads community for
doing that. You guys have been great and given
us some awesome stuff. Like you and I have not
had a chance to talk about it though. Who, who
to you that is currently on the roster has the
best shot of remaining on the roster? I'm going
to give you some names. All right. Greg Rousseau
at Oliver, Taryn Johnson. Deion Walker out of
that grouping who has the best chance in your
mind to remain on the squad and fit the scheme
and then who are the guy who is the guy or guys
that maybe don't. So I think Greg Rousseau and
Deion Walker both have a have a chance to stick.
So Deion Walker doesn't perfectly fit a five
eye three four defensive tackle role but I think
he could do it because he's more of a penetrating
style rush. DT, even though he has size more
like a nose. He can't play nose. He can't anchor.
The Bills don't currently have a player on the
roster who can anchor as a nose in a 3 -4 defense,
in this attacking 3 -4 defense. So, I actually
am sad that you didn't bring up TJ Sanders because
he's a big question mark for me. I don't know
what the heck they're going to do with him because
he is not the size nor the athleticism for any
of the three positions on the front. in the 3
-4. But I do think that Deion Walker sticks.
I think Greg Rousseau sticks because Greg Rousseau,
I think it's a coin flip as to whether they shift
him to outside linebacker or let him try to bulk
up a little bit to be a 3 -4 defensive end and
shade the tackle. Because I think that he plays
much stronger than his weight and he always has
has been that. Like, he's a lanky, bigger -framed,
longer -framed guy who has a little bit more
athleticism, but he's been better at anchoring
against, you know, big tackles than you'd expect
him to be at that size. So, I think Groot and
Deanna Walker, of course, stick. I think at Oliver
and Taron Johnson, I don't know where they fit
or how they fit. I mean, especially with your
– I mean, Taron Johnson has basically played
linebacker. right, for the Buffalo Bills because
of the way they stay in nickel, then they ask
him to fit the run. Leonard's scheme is not going
to ask him to fit the run in the same way. And
he's also not going to see for the salary he
is currently taking in, the amount of snap share
that he has seen because the scheme is changing
so much. I don't necessarily have him yet as
like a pure cut candidate. I actually think him
and Dawson Knox. They're going to be asked to
do the Matt Milano. They're going to be asked
to do the Von Miller. Like, listen, we can cut
you guys. We'd prefer not to let you go, though,
because of what you mean to the team. And they're
going to be pay cut candidates, I think. And
if they can't come to that agreement, I do think
they ultimately both get cut. But yeah, yeah.
Johnson, to me, is the most tenuous. Yeah, I
just don't know. Do you think Taron Johnson has
anything to offer as a dime safety, as a safety,
as a starting safety? That's an interesting question.
I, you and I have talked about like the inevitability
of Taron Johnson going over to safety. I think
the instincts are still there, right? But the
ability, the ability, like you're talking about
him playing free safety, like can he play mycahide?
Can he play side to side? Can he play deep? Can
you read and react and can he pass cover? And
like, listen, man, his run fits were bad is a,
Is a nickel, is a nickel DB this year. Like his
past coverage was bad too. Like he just had a
hard time staying sticky on guys. Maybe with
a little bit more time to read and react from
center field, he can be a reliable safety net.
But to me, I think you've got to, you've got
to swing for that in the draft. You got to go
for like a Bud Clark. You got to go for, is it
a Genesis Rodriguez, the kid out of. Wisconsin,
I don't know, I'm still getting into my draft
prep, but you got to go with someone who can
play true center field. You really need to find
your mic to hide. And I think it would be respectful
to Taron to give him that opportunity, but I
think you are setting yourself back in a year
where clearly you need to go all in with this
new scheme to get the most out of it. I think
I'd prefer to see him as a cut, because I just
don't think he's got much, I don't think he's
got more viability than a rookie candidate in
that particular role. I also don't think that
safety, deep third free safety that this defense
relies upon for the center of the field closed
coverages that Jim Leonard will roll out is not
an impossibility to get even with the bill's
restricted salary cap. You can get a mid to late
20s quality safety who can play that role on
the free agent market. even late in the free
agent market, post June 1, like there's probably
going to be somebody floating out there. Right.
I'd rather take a flower in one of them. Like
I said, I'd rather spend some draft capital on
it. I'd rather see a top 100 pick come in. So
you've got your young pairing of Bishop, Box
safety, Free safety, or Jordan Poyer. And then
you bring up your new Micah Hyde in the system.
Like I just, I'd prefer to see that. I love Taron.
I love what he's meant to the team, but I watched
him in past coverage. I don't love him in center
field next to Cole Bishop. His physical style
of play has worn his body down. Is he post -30
at this point? Yes, he's going to be 32. Post
-30, having played like a linebacker on a slider
frame, the miles are the miles. He's been fit
in 320 pound guards his entire career. Like that's
going to take a toll on you. You know what I
mean? So I think he's a pay cut candidate. And
I think if they can't come to terms on that,
I think he's an outright cut probably. I didn't
bring up TJ Sanders because I think he's gone.
I didn't bring up Landon Jackson because I think
he's gone too. Like it's going to be another
like bean 30 % hit rate on a draft class, which
I want to talk a little bit about that. Right.
And I want to wrap up on that for all the goodwill.
I think Brady is instilled. And I think, I think
Brady has thread has done a good job threading
the needle of paying homage and proper respect
to what McDermott built, but in a clear -eyed,
clear -eyed and optimistic way, acknowledging
what about the McDermott years needed to change
the defensive scheme, the general energy and
vibe and in the clubhouse on game day. Like he
has done a good job threading that needle. And
he's done, I think with a lot of, a lot of, uh,
oratory and grace. Um, Brandon Bean has done
the opposite of that throughout this entire,
entire press tour that he has gone on with, with
Joe Brady. The F the outside comment that he
made recently, and I forget the pod, uh, go long
on the go long podcast is yet another sound bite
to me. in the Brandon Bean 365 day cycle from
the quit your bitch in to the F the outside and
everything in between of a guy who I felt like
was beloved by this fan base for his contributions
to ending the drought and building sustained
sex success. Now he just seems like a guy. He
just seems like a guy who is so has so believed
his own type and has lost the ability to be self
-aware. He to me has become the, the, the the
opposite of Chris Ballard, the anti -Chris Ballard.
Chris Ballard in Indy has been on the hot seat
for what feels like three or four years. And
why? Because he has hit on every other position
in that organization from a draft and for agency
standpoint, except for the QB. Every other word
out of Brandon Bean's mouth seems to be well
I drafted Josh Allen but what else have you done
around that right like you have done like if
you had had even half the success a guy like
Chris Ballard had and filling out the rest of
this roster we'd probably talk about the bills
and multiple Super Bowls but he hasn't and he
continues to try to cash the check of but you
guys wanted Josh Rosen. I pick Josh Allen. And
I feel like this has to be the last year for
that, right? I don't think Bean gets removed
from the organization, but there is a world where
if he misses on another free Asian class, particularly
if he fails to fill out this defensive roster
and the way that Leonard needs it to be filled
out. and the offense doesn't improve, and he
doesn't make any strides in the wide receiver
room, I feel like he has to give up GM responsibilities
after this season. He's not going to get fired,
but that to me is as much of a hot seat as Bean
is going to face. My tolerance for his shtick
is worn very, very thin, right? So for all the
grace and goodwill that Brady has done such a
good job building up, every time Bean opens his
mouth, I feel like he's ruining it. Yeah, I think
you're absolutely right on that. It's just like...
When did like big baller bean go so bizarro like
angry ego maniac bean right like it was I think
it was the last two and a half three drafts of
just Complete misses right where he like started
buying his own started buying into his own myth
as As if he was like he's special and meanwhile
his hit rate on top five in the top five rounds
of the draft Which is the critical place to get
year -over -year starters? has just been miss
after miss after miss after miss. Dwayne Carter,
like, was about to be cut before he got injured,
right? They only put him on injury reserve because
he was like, the only reason he even stayed with
the team is because they could park him on injured
reserve and see what comes of it. So it's just,
oh man, it's just been a mess. Yeah. So, I mean,
I think if Bean can recreate this, roster in
the image the coaches need to fulfill their scheme,
that's going to be his only way to redemption,
because I agree. I think that if we see more
of the same of him slapping it together with
some middling free agent contracts that end up
looking like absolute ... tire fires. It's, I
think, I think you're right. I think it might
be Terry P. Guller's time to be like, let's promote
somebody else to GM to make all of the roster
decisions. Like Terrence Gray, right? I mean,
he's in there waiting in the wings, you know
what I mean? And other teams really covet him.
So that's kind of my theory. That was my theory
at the beginning of this anyway, after I saw
that Bean took on this president of football
operations role, that he was eventually going
to give up personnel responsibilities and bring
on a GM. But I mean, man, Talk about a small,
small margin for error. He's got to nail the
draft. He's got a nail -free agency who cannot
afford another Josh Palmer mid -tier miss. And
you know what I would like to stop hearing Bean
talk about? How hard it is to fill out a roster
when you have an expensive quarterback. The way
that Josh Allen's deal is structured compared
to like a Joe Burrow. Yes, the cap hit is larger,
but the way... That deal is structured in cash
versus cap and percentage of cap that Josh is
taking every year. He's not even a top 10. QB
when it comes to percentage of cap that he takes
up Joe burrow on the other hand is 25 % and He
demanded his two buddies a wide receiver get
paid and somehow was trying to demand the Trey
Hendrickson got paid But that is a financial
and possibility when you're a QB that takes up
a quarter of your cap space Josh Allen's not
doing that the way he has structured this deal
with his agent was very careful to allow the
bills cap flexibility And if you're a GM and
you cannot work with a top -flight QB whose actual
percentage of cap taken up every year is outside
the top 10, I don't think you deserve your job.
And I want to hear Brandon Bean stop complaining
about the burden that Josh Allen's contract is
and instead treat it like the privilege it is
to have a future Hall of Fame QB on the roster
that you need to help get over the finish line
with your personnel decisions. Right. Right.
And I think that that's the other thing is, again,
the last two years, in the same two years that
Sean McDermott as the coach started to engender
more respect and responsibility and people have
been like, okay, coming around, Bean has been
slumping. And more and more, it's about what
excuses he can make for why this didn't work.
Oh, they didn't want to trade with us. We had
the best offer on the table and they didn't want
to trade. They would have traded if you like...
through the farm at them. I know that's what
GMs do. You just, you had a line, you drew a
line in the sand, you said, we're not willing
to go above it. They said no, and you did not
counter, and that's a choice you make. Own that
choice. Own that it was too rich. Don't complain
that the other GMs aren't playing nice, right?
Right. Don't say it's like all these young GMs
want to play Madden. Howie Roseman makes trades.
Brent Veach makes trades. Like the Baltimore
Ravens, they make trades. Like, give me a break
with this, oh, this young guy, like shoot from
the ready fire aim stuff. Like, give me a break,
dude. Like, I mean, so many experienced GMs use
the full season cycle to better their roster
in a way that's been more competent and more
complete than Brandon B has. Do they have their
misses? Absolutely they have their misses. Everyone's
got their misses. It's how it goes. But the reason
the bills are in the salary cap hell that they're
in right now is because they have missed consistently
on the draft. The Philadelphia Eagles, the New
England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks are all
getting valuable contributions from guys that
are on rookie contracts. And when you have guys
on rookie contracts successfully filling out
your roster, you can splurge a little bit more
in free agency. You can make, take a bigger swing
at a trade and bring out a a veteran player that's
got a higher level contract because you've got
those rookie safeguards that are backstopping
you, not just from a talent perspective, but
from a salary cap perspective as well. The reason
the bills are in salary cap hell isn't because
they have a Hall of Fame QB they're playing.
It's because Bean has missed on draft after draft
after draft, and they are not benefiting from
the rookie backstops that other better managed
organizations are. That's what it is. Own it,
move on, and hit the draft. Well said. I think
too, all I need to say is they've spent 10 picks
in the top five rounds over Beans Tenured on
defensive linemen and they've gotten one solid
starter in at Oliver, one reasonable starter
in Greg Rousseau and eight complete duds. Absolute
misses. Deion Walker, jury's still out, could
be a reasonable starter, but three out of 10
is not. It is not acceptable for the top three,
top four rounds of the draft picks on those positions.
And then the free agent money that you then throw
at mid -tier veterans to try to make it work
and try to piece it together. I mean, it's just...
And the wide receiver room is the same thing.
Look at the wide receivers that he's brought
in through free agency or the draft, right? Like,
to me, with the Josh Allen is such a burden.
Shut up, man. Your draft history is the anchor
weighing down this team right now. That's the
burden, yes. 100%. AJ, let's end it on a positive
note. The Patriots are on the super. Sorry. Sorry.
You got me. You got me with that one. I did.
I got you. I got you. Yikes. That was good. That
was good. That was payback for like a couple
of pots ago. The Keyette -Coleman. Keyette -Coleman.
Switch, yeah. No, the Gabe Davis prop. Gabe Davis,
yeah. It was the Gabe Davis one. That's right.
That's right. That was absolute payback. This
is our last opportunity to do Predictions Sure
to Go Wrong. And I think we should do it Super
Bowl edition because after this, for all of you
listening at home, we are taking our normal February
hiatus from the pot. We'll be active on socials.
We'll be doing our homework for you on the draft
on free agency So it can bring you a little bit
of knowledge about where we think the bill should
go here this offseason But before we get to that
there is one final game in the NFL to be played
our friend of the pod Not friend of the Bills
Brandon very happy with what he supposes will
be the outcome of this game, but JJ real quick
Let's let's let's handicap the the Super Bowl
here. So you got the Seahawks. You got the Patriots
Seahawks have stayed a steady four and a half
point favor in this game, which I think is fair.
Over -under on this game is 45 and a half points.
JJ, where do you see the Super Bowl going here?
I think that for the final score, I think they
do hit the over because I think, of course, with
two weeks preparation, every team's going to
bring their best shot. I don't think we're going
to see a boring defensive, you know, drubfest
like the AFC Championship game. And I do think
that the Seattle Seahawks take this one. I think
it's like a 20, 27, 17 type affair. So that's
under, I guess, 44. Yeah, that'd be under, but
I think that's fair. I think the two best units.
in this game are the opposing defenses. The metrics
on Seattle's defense are absolutely wild. Like
every time I look up one of their next -gen stats,
every time I'm pulling up something from FTN,
it's like first team in 20 years, first team
in 25 years. Their success rate in stopping the
run out of dime is 70 % in change. Like unheard
of, unheard of. Dime, dime personnel. So this
defense is stout. I will say this, they have
not played the one area they can be had is out
of structure plays because they are so disciplined.
They like to dictate the timing of the opposing
QB. They have not had to play a lot of QBs that
are good playing out of structure. They haven't
played Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson,
haven't played any of those guys. When they are
clocked if by EPA per play against out of structure
plays or second reaction throws They drop from
top two in the league in EPA per play all the
way down to 14th And they are going against an
opposing QB and Drake may who has not had a good
postseason for a variety of reasons But he is
he's a dude who can extend plays who can make
second reaction throws and who can play out of
structure this is a This is a challenging QB
for this vaunted Seattle defense to go up against.
To your point with two weeks, I think they'll
have a plan for that, but I think to me that's
the big wild card in this game. On the other
side of the ball, if you are the New England
Patriots, can you heat up Sam Darnold? Sam Darnold
has been unconscious for the last two months
of the season, but he's still led the league
over the course of those two months in turnover
-worthy plays. So if you're the Patriots, can
you continue this kind of defensive revitalization
heat up Sam Darnold? I think the Patriots win
this game in the most stupid, stupid Super Bowl
we've seen since the Patriots beat the Rams to
three. I think I think this is this game is like
a weird score. I'm gonna go 16 to 12 New England
Patriots in the dumbest Super Bowl we have seen
in our lifetime because that's what the season
honestly That's what this ridiculous NFL season
deserves. It deserves a dumb Super Bowl to end
the year, right? And I think that's what we're
gonna get All right. Yeah. No, I mean that is
that isn't a reasonable thing to expect but I
yeah, I'm sticking I'm Keeping it hope alive
builds mafia that we don't have to suffer the
absolute insufferable. And this isn't a jab at
Brandon, but this is a jab at all of those stupid
stinking New England Patriots fans who like literally
disappeared and put on Patagonias and then waited
three years while their team sucked. and then
showed back up out of the blue like, oh, I never
gave up, I'd never quit Patriot Nation. Yeah,
no, those bastards are gonna be all over and
they're gonna be absolutely insufferable if the
Patriots win the Super Bowl. I can't with them,
so please, Donald, you gotta pull this one out
for us. Our hopes. for a peaceful offseason rest
on the right shoulder of one Sam Darnold. And
that is not a not a bet I'm willing to take.
I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. But I am
preparing myself for a dumb Super Bowl this weekend.
All right, man. Listen, this is it. We've hit
our off -season break. For all of you listening
at home, again, we will be back at the start
of the league year in March with our usual content,
Madden GM, draft preview, Friends of the Pod
edition to help preview the AFC East, all of
it in the works. But until then, like, share,
and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts,
Google, Apple, YouTube, Spotify. And as always,
go Bills. Go Bills.