← Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Bills camp SURPRISES, tips for Fisher FUN & possible free agent signings
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- [00:03]
A
Buffalo, your interactive look at the week in football, brought to you by Connors and Ferris.
- [00:09]
B
Nah, I wasn't stirring up. Y' all need to stay off my Twitter. That's a little weird. Oh, one game closer.
- [00:16]
A
Let's go. Bill's Mafia. What's up, baby?
- [00:19]
B
I'd like to think I'm not too much of a psychopath. Y' all know what? Hit it for you, know what I mean? Rolls Royce driving, private jet flying. Thanks, everybody. Thank you. Go Bills.
- [00:36]
A
All right, welcome back to the Buffalo plus podcast, presented by Connors and Ferris. Mike Catalana. I am Jenna Cottrell. You might notice two things. One, Mike is outside. And two, Dan Fates is not in attendance today. He's getting in his last little holiday vacation for the start of training camp. Which camp? Just around the corner, about a week away. This podcast, we're going to talk our tips and tricks for training camp, if you're going to practices, as well as some of the surprises we are predicting will be out there on the field for the Bills. And then talk a little bit about the free agents still available. DeAndre Hopkins not joining Buffalo, and just some of the things we're seeing in the NFL, including the running backs not getting paid and what that means for Buffalo and what that could mean for this team moving forward. Before we get started, please be sure to, like, comment and subscribe to the podcast if you enjoy our stuff. All right, Mike, let's start with you. DeAndre Hopkins. Not a Bill. And I'm not surprised. I just. My thing is when they talk about how they want to win so bad and look, money is money. I get it. That's a. That's a piece, obviously. But it's just sometimes I'm just like, just say you wanted to get paid the most. That's totally fair.
- [01:49]
B
Yeah. The way these guys careers are, they should try to get all the money they can and then make the circumstances the best for them. And sometimes that all works out right where the team loves him, it's a winning team, and the guy gets paid. But things change fast. What do we say? NFL is not for long. So if I was a player, I'd say I got to get the best deal for myself. And if that happens to be a team that's currently a contender, that's great.
- [02:14]
A
If.
- [02:15]
B
If not, my goal is there to go help them be a contender. I mean, that's the way the world works. I mean, guys who went to the Giants last year, guess what they got in the playoffs. They won a playoff game. Who knows how they'll be this year. They were terrible. We don't know how the Carolina Panthers will be this year. Or Washington. Like, sometimes you sign there. My thought would be, if you're an NFL player, the way everything goes, go for the best deal you can get financially. You're right. Stop with all the other nonsense. He went to the Titans, Titans gave him the best deal. No one else was ready to step up. He's a very good player, but he's also a wide receiver on the other side of 30. So he probably got the best financial deal. And he's on a team that has been a very solid NFL team. Does anybody think right now they're going to the Super Bowl? No. I guess it could happen, but I don't think DeAndre Hopkins is that guy anyhow. And I think he would have helped a real contender like the Bills or the Chiefs. Do what you do, what's best for DeAndre Hopkins. And then, you know, and then you say, blame your organizations or whatever he said in the tweets. Go ahead, blame the Chiefs and the Bills and every other team for not signing you. I just say, get your money. Go play. And if you win, that's great for you.
- [03:33]
A
Yeah. I will say for Bills fans, like, two things that stuck out to me is the fact that he didn't go in the division, he didn't go to the Patriots, and the fact he's not on the Chiefs.
- [03:41]
B
Yeah.
- [03:41]
A
So you didn't get him, but he won't. I mean, the Bills don't play the Titans this year, at least in the regular season. So it's not even a guy that you're going to have to worry about seeing. If that were to be the case, it would be in the playoffs. So that is something I think we can all. DeAndre Hopkins watch is officially over. Well, and that's the thing, too. Like, as we are getting right around the start of training camp, like, there are still free agents available. We always think, and I even myself, I forget that, like, you know, first couple days of free agency are insane. Then some guys, you know, they wait, they take their time, but camp's about to start, and there are still guys that are out there that are available that could make an impact on this roster.
- [04:19]
B
Yeah. I mean, I look at guys, and Dominican sue is out there.
- [04:23]
A
Yeah.
- [04:24]
B
And the Eagles signed him, like, midway through the season to put him on the D line, and he was very effective. And you're talking about a guy who's made a lot of money in this league. I think he still Wants to play. I'm not saying the Bills are signing sue, but like, those guys were. He was out there last year during the season, not even camp, and he signed and he played well and he ended up in the Super Bowl. So there's a list of guys that you go, hmm, I know you saw a couple of them. You go, all right, that guy's not on a team. Let's see where they are. Because teams sign players really well, we know during the season. But during camp, there's going to be veteran free agents who come in and we'll have an opportunity to help the Bills or help somebody else.
- [05:12]
A
Yeah, a couple of names that stuck out. One of them being Julio Jones, still available. You know, if the Bills really do want to add another wide receiver, someone like that, obviously he is older, but at the same point, like, if he can add something, there's that. Ronald Darby, the former Bill is still out there. Sammy Watkins, Wouldn't that be something? Could you imagine?
- [05:34]
B
Yeah, I mean, look, these are guys that can play, and I guess if they never played for the Bills before, you might look at them differently. But, you know, Sammy is Sammy. He still has some ability. I don't think he's the guy the Bills would be looking for, but you never know. I think Jarvis Landry is still out there. He's a guy I always liked the way he played, and I know a lot of people in Buffalo just do not like him because he lit up Williams of the Bills in a cheap shot, I thought. But, man, he's always been eight. Yes. He's always been a tough, really good football player, and he's out there. So this is why I say to you, like, again, I'm outside, not very far from where Fisher is at camp. None of this would stun me if a weekend to Fisher, all of a sudden a veteran free agent is coming in or after they break camp and go to Buffalo. I mean, this is the NFL, man. Guys still want to play. So sometimes you fill those holes or you add these players at a much later time.
- [06:37]
A
Yeah, I mean, there's going to be some guys that you're like, oh, that. That player is still available at the start of training camp. Which is always funny to me to think about where. Because there's so many names in the NFL and you just kind of. Sometimes you're like, oh, wow, that person's still available and that person. And again, it's like you forget because free agency starts and then you kind of, you know, it's. It. You lose track of things. Or whatever, but.
- [07:00]
B
And sometimes it's veteran players who are just looking for the right spot is like, if I'm going to come back and play. They've made a lot of money, they've been in the league a long time, they know how it works. And they're like, you know what, I can wait. I'm not going to get a huge deal. I still want to play. And they pick a spot and they come and, and so that's the one time I think, like, I know it's DeAndre Hopkins and I know he's a big name and maybe he ends up helping the Titans, but you know, there's other guys out there who can help teams.
- [07:29]
A
Yeah, agreed. Well, let's talk about some of the guys we predict could have a surprise, both either good or bad, on this Bills team. And just kind of what we think of things that maybe fans aren't thinking of quite yet. And I didn't know if there was one that comes to mind, Mike, that you're like, oh, I think this could be a surprise come the time we get to camp.
- [07:50]
B
I think I would call it a surprise because he's not a starter, but I think Taylor Rapp is going to have a big role with this team. I think they're going to find ways to get him on the field. I think he's going to be used differently than just as a backup safety. And I think they signed him for a reason. Of course, you know, you do have two older safeties. He had injuries last year. You didn't know where Poirier was going to be. But I think they look at him as a talented guy, still young, and they'll find a way. Sean McDermott, I think, is going to find a way to get him on the field more, and I think he's going to be a surprise. I'm not saying a starter, I'm not saying he's playing 60% of the snaps. I'm saying is I think there's a role for a guy like that who has played at a pretty good level in this league and signed a one year deal to me, a chance to prove himself, to get a bigger deal. And, and I think he's, I think he's going to be a positive surprise for them.
- [08:47]
A
I love that too, because when you saw him come to Buffalo, you're like, well, he's, he's got to be a bigger piece, where he's at in his career and what he can do on the field. And especially with Sean McDermott taking over the defense. I think they're absolutely going to get creative, and I think that's a guy that fans are going to quickly learn his name because I think that he has the potential to really make some big plays and make an impact on the defense, which is saying something considering the fact that you have Mike Hyde being back.
- [09:15]
B
Absolutely.
- [09:15]
A
Jordan Poyer as well. And just what that addition could add to that, that side of the side of the field, I think for me, I'm gonna stay on that side of the field. I think we have talked so much about middle linebacker and who it will be and when it will happen and all this stuff. And while I do believe it is a competition, Sean McDermott has talked about that, and I think every guy is going to get a shot in that role. To me, though, I think it's not as big of a deal and I. Because I believe that. I think Tyrell Dodson, I really think it's his opportunity to squander.
- [09:52]
B
Wow.
- [09:53]
A
Because with last season, when Tremaine Edmonds was out, it was Tyrell Dodson who was playing. He led the team in tackles, both the games that he filled in for. When you look at the snap counts of Terrell Bernard and then also the fact that Dorian Williams, he. He's a rookie. He's going to be coming in. Yes, he's gotten some work at middle linebacker, but that to me doesn't scream. The Bills are going to just plug and place him in the lineup. So I. Look, Tyrell Dotson has been a special teams player. He's been a very good one for Buffalo. This is obviously a huge responsibility, but I don't know. Because of the pieces you have in the secondary and hopefully with the addition of Von Miller coming back, Greg Rousseau continuing to come into his own. I don't know. And Matt Milano, I don't. I feel like we've made a bit.
- [10:43]
B
Too much, really an interesting take. What way do they want to handle this? Right. I could also see a scenario where they give one of the young guys a shot and they have him waiting. Tyrell Dodson, if it's not working right. So you could go that route, always knowing that Tyrell Dodson is available if they need a veteran, if it's not working with the young players. And I know you could say, well, throw Dorian Williams out there for the opening game of the year against Aaron Rodgers and you could be in trouble. But in this case, I think they. I do think they want one of those young guys to earn it, whether it's Bernard or. Or Williams. And you don't think of. You think of Dodson as more of a fallback, that it's a failure of the other guys or that they just aren't ready to make that commitment to a young guy.
- [11:38]
A
I think it's. They're not ready to make that commitment. That's. That's my personal thing. I think you look at like you're not going to replace Tremaine Edmonds in just this, the size and all that stuff. And I think that's why they drafted a guy like Terrell Bernard, who is a little bit slighter, he's smaller, he's faster, all of those things. But I just think last year was with Tremaine Edmonds being out, Obviously it was T.R. bernard's rookie year. But I think of the way a lot of times they work in some of their rookies, like a Dorian Williams. Will they not really get him out there? Like, I feel like sometimes the Bills don't like to do trial by fire, especially in a spot like that.
- [12:16]
B
Yeah.
- [12:16]
A
So because of that and the confidence that they've already showed in Tyrell Dotson, I mean, would you say that's an indictment on their draft picks if Tyrell Dodson is the one that's starting in the majority of that. That role? You could make the case that the Bills, you know, didn't do a great job in terms of drafting that linebacker, But I just. I think they're gonna try to. They're gonna try to have the younger guys step in, but I think it's going to be Tyrell Dodson.
- [12:45]
B
Yeah, I feel like that's a surprise.
- [12:47]
A
Filling in for Dan Fates right now. Like, I guess this is a hot take. Like, hot take alert. But I don't know. That being said, even regardless of who wins it, we've talked so much about middle linebacker, and I get it. Tremaine Edmonds is gone. But will it be as impactful as we've talked about this off season? I don't know.
- [13:10]
B
I would say this. I think it's impactful. It's the middle linebacker. It's the guy who calls the defenses. So it's an impactful thing. I think first and foremost, they. I do believe they want one of the young guys to win the job. I think they want to be sitting there in a meeting going, terrell Bernard's ready. Dorian Williams is ready.
- [13:28]
A
Don't think they're going to be ready.
- [13:30]
B
You might be right. And do they sit there and they go, you know, Tyrell, get ready. You know, we're going to get you ready, too? Obviously it's a lot easier to get him ready. He's played in the system. He's been that guy. He's started games and he's a good player. But the only way those guys are going to play and get better is to be on the field. So I think that's fast. I think it's going to be fascinating. I think we're going to know a lot early. We're going to see the way they approach it. We're going to, you know, the other players are going to be complementary. That's the way it goes. But I think it's going to be interesting to see how they. By the way, there is so much going on here right now. So I have guys working inside the house. The door's slightly open, so you may hear some stuff. All of a sudden behind me, they decided to do some form of construction back there. They were just waiting for me. I'm outside because guys are working in.
- [14:23]
A
The house and your microphone keeps messing up.
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B
Did it do it again?
- [14:27]
A
No, but yes. So inside baseball for everyone listening.
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B
So we have Mike Fabian and Uncle Lou in there doing work. They are on it today. We have our dog Winnie, who is now. When she's in, she wants to be out. When she's out, she wants to be in. And now I'm hearing the construction site behind me because I got nowhere else to go. Do you know what movie that's from?
- [14:53]
A
No idea.
- [14:54]
B
Officer and a Gentleman. Richard Gere.
- [14:57]
A
I've never even heard of that.
- [14:59]
B
You never heard of that? Deborah Winger, Richard Gere. No, no. It's an old school movie. But he yells, I got nowhere else to go. That is me. Right now. I'm a man sitting on a picnic table trying to do a podcast.
- [15:14]
A
I will say the background looks fantastic.
- [15:16]
B
Yeah. And the flowers. Jenny. My wife's a florist, so we always have nice stuff like that. Me, I'm happy I got a table.
- [15:27]
A
That honestly is about where we're at in terms of just the audio issues and. Oh, I got worried. You froze for a second.
- [15:37]
B
Oh, by the way, let's also make one thing clear. I've had audio issues. A week ago, it was Daniel J. Fates who had audio issues.
- [15:45]
A
Yeah, yeah. No.
- [15:47]
B
And you miss. You know, Chuck is.
- [15:50]
A
Chuck is done in the house.
- [15:52]
B
Really?
- [15:53]
A
Kitchen looks great. Yeah.
- [15:55]
B
Nice.
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A
But Chuck is. Huh?
- [15:57]
B
Yeah. That's nice. Because we're not done, so I'm passing the baton. We are not. So anyhow, yeah, I think that the middle linebacker thing is going to be fun. We've talked about it before. It's a real competition. There is no way in my mind do I think they have made any call yet. They need to see those guys on the field. They're going to watch them in training camp. But you make a good point, because I do believe Dodson is a guy they trust.
- [16:29]
A
Exactly.
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B
But he might be a guy they trust to not screw it up more than a guy they think can eventually become more so.
- [16:36]
A
Yeah. Yeah. My thing is, like, obviously the ceiling for a guy like Terrell Bernard or Dorian Williams is expected to be higher. But again, where that floor is for Tyrell Dodson is a. Is a lot higher than where the floor could be for the younger guys.
- [16:53]
B
Yeah.
- [16:54]
A
So you liked my hot take.
- [16:57]
B
Yeah. Now, keep in mind it competes with Dan's hot take from one year ago.
- [17:03]
A
That's true.
- [17:03]
B
When he stopped in his tracks at Fischer and said, hot take. Scalding hot take. For next year, Terrell Bernard is going to be the Bills starting middle linebacker.
- [17:15]
A
We should have bet something.
- [17:16]
B
We're.
- [17:16]
A
We're. Who's your pick then? Do you think it's Dorian Williams?
- [17:20]
B
I kind of think they want it to be him. You know, this whole idea of, oh, he's going to not play on the out inside, and then, oh, he's taken reps at middle linebacker. I. I think they. They drafted him.
- [17:36]
A
You're good.
- [17:37]
B
Specifically to win the job.
- [17:40]
A
Yeah.
- [17:40]
B
And I think, you know, but what.
- [17:43]
A
Do you make of them when he's drafted, being like, yeah, you know, like, he's. He's gonna be, you know, on the outside or whatever. And then they said, like, yeah, he's been getting reps at middle linebacker. They kind of change what they said.
- [17:57]
B
So here's what I think it is. I think they know what he is physically, and I think he appears to be a great kid, hard worker, but I think they needed to get him in the building to see how he would pick stuff up. I mean, it is a role. Like, it is a lot to digest. You're not just like, hey, even let's pick a guy like Greg Russo who, you know, we'll see how Greg plays this year and elevates. But basically his job is to get the court, get to the quarterback. Right. I'm not. I'm oversimplifying it, but he doesn't have the responsibilities in many cases that certainly a middle does.
- [18:35]
A
Do you have another surprise?
- [18:38]
B
Yeah. I think Deontay Hardy is going to be the weapon that they wanted.
- [18:49]
A
Isaiah.
- [18:50]
B
Either Isaiah or. Oh, my God. Why am I drawing a blank in the backfield. Kick returner that they traded for.
- [18:59]
A
Oh, Nahim Hines.
- [19:00]
B
Nahim Hines. That kind of weapon.
- [19:04]
A
I literally forgot he existed.
- [19:06]
B
Yeah, well, what happened? You sign a guy who's played in the slot before and you're like, oh, they go with that. It gives them options. Then they go drafting Dalton Kincaid, who is the 180 degree opposite as a football player. Yeah, I just think they're going to find some spots for him, you know, maybe even a wheel route. I tell you all the time, I love the wheel route. Guy comes out of the backfield, runs with a linebacker, Josh throws it over. He's a small guy. If you watch his highlights, you can get excited, but we've seen that from a guy like Hines. We've even seen it from Isaiah in the past. Yeah, but I'm talking about he's more of an explosive player, not just fast. He's explosive. So I kind of feel like he's going to be more than what people expect because everybody was like, oh, they paid this guy a little more and he's had some injuries, and then they get Kincaid and people sort of got off of that. Yeah, I think he might give him a little more than people are expecting.
- [20:00]
A
I just think of how much we've heard in minicamp and OTAs about his speed and how when he turns it on, it's like nothing they've seen before. And I mean, it is early, so I don't know how much they can implement him into the offense. But at the same point, when you hear multiple guys, it's like they. They unprompted bring up. Because we asked them, you know, who's some of the guys that like, maybe we don't talk about that. You've been really impressed by it. The players are like Deontay Hardy and it's multiple guys saying that. It's like, okay, that's someone that maybe fans should kind of key into to look out for. Now, could he end up just being the training camp darling? Maybe. But at the same point, I think just having that variation of speed, I think the Bills really want to have that in their toolbox as they go into the season. And if he can get a good rapport with Josh Allen, then, I mean, there's really an opportunity. Considering what they wanted Isaiah to be last year, and it didn't really come to fruition, there's definitely a chance for that to be a spot that can be a playmaker role in this team.
- [21:01]
B
I. He is really small. Like, I. I mean, he really is. And I think that's going to be a noticeable thing when we go to camp. You know, sometimes we've always been that way. It's like, Greg Russo is really big. Like you say about his size. Then you see him. Yes. These guys, they walk out with other NFL players. I'm always amazed at the really small guys to play in this league. Like, I mean, Isaiah. I mean, Isaiah is just like a.
- [21:30]
A
He's a smaller power over Isaac.
- [21:32]
B
Yes. He is a smaller, regular human being. Not even just as an NFL guy. And I think Hardy is. But it is kind of fun to see. Again, this gets me to. I hope it's a surprise, but I really think this is a big year for the offensive coordinator to get things going because it's crucial this year. And, you know, he caught a lot of grief last year. Rightfully so. There were things I just didn't think they did. Well. Not all of it is on him. No, not all of it is on the coaches. Some of it's on the players, too. But I think there is so much pressure on him this year. That. Boy, if he is. If he's a surprise. Jenna, right now, the surprise is that it goes well, which is really something, because I think people were pretty excited going into last year. And if it goes well, I think that will be a surprise.
- [22:35]
A
I don't know if it'll be a surprise if it goes well. But my fear if we're looking at surprises is that it goes really, really poorly. Like, my fear is that we're surprised because we talk about all the pieces and having Josh Allen in the window that that means. But my fear, if we're looking at surprises is just how the wheels could fall off, and they could fall off earlier than they did last season, because early on, we saw this team offensively play really well. And then the middle of the season on was just like a slog. Like, it was just everything they had to fight for.
- [23:07]
B
Yep.
- [23:08]
A
And I know people are like, well, the Bills scored more points last season than they did the year prior. And it's like. But did you watch?
- [23:14]
B
Yeah.
- [23:14]
A
Because it didn't feel like that. And third downs, how Allen would have to put the team on his back and all that stuff. There's the potential for things to go very wrong. And I hope that's not the surprise that fans are in for.
- [23:31]
B
You know, I'm going to give Ken Dorsey this. When Brian D. Took over, he got Josh as this kid, molded him into the guy they wanted him to be. There were ups and Downs, they grew together. Dorsey was around for that but he wasn't the guy. You take over Dorsey, you take over a Dorsey does with Josh as this, I'm going to say finished product. I mean the guy is a phenomenal quarterback. It's different. It just is. And I'm not giving him a mulligan for last year because the idea was it's supposed to be closer to seamless because he had been around. But I do think if I tried to ask him this and then he went into all these different directions but like almost like you take, take that step back and look at yourself and what you did and what you could change this year because I think there'll be things they work on and I think it's. I think you're right. I think we're on the same page here. I'm saying to you is I think most fans expectations on Dorsey this year are low. They don't think it's going to go well. They're frustrated with him and you know, it would be a surprise if it goes really well. But the downside, surprise I guess would be if it goes real really poorly then they're in, they're in it in a bad way.
- [24:52]
A
Yeah. I will say my thing is like I think you look at Brian Dabel's trajectory as an offensive coordinator and he, he failed before he succeeded. I mean he had to go to Alabama for before he get back into the NFL because things went not great. So there is the ability for player for coaches to learn and adapt. But you would hope that the self scouting process for Ken Dorsey is a very aware one and I think he, I mean what's his, what was his sound bite earlier last season? Like I'm not that much. Yeah, like he, I think he has the awareness but it's implementing that and being able to build on top of that which a lot of fans wanted at the end of last year. So.
- [25:37]
B
By the way Jenna, we've gone this far and we have not mentioned 14.
- [25:42]
A
Yeah, yeah. Stefan Diggs. Do we.
- [25:49]
B
I be. Here's my big surprise. He actually speaks to us at training camp.
- [25:54]
A
I honest I don't. I wonder how long that's going to take.
- [25:58]
B
Yeah. And look I get a lot of you were like they don't need to do they. They don't, they don't have to. There's certain things they have to do but like come on, just tell us what you think, tell us what you want to tell us. Say something so your teammates don't have to speak for you.
- [26:13]
A
That is my first. Yeah. That's my frustration with everything, where it's like the media is blowing this out of proportion. It's like, look, you. You do not have to tell us everything, obviously. But if we had heard from Stefan and he put it to bed, I think that would do a lot more in making people understand where the team is coming from.
- [26:35]
B
Yeah, it would have been. That portion of it would have been done six weeks ago and then camp. He would have talked. It would have been a secondary thing. I got to let people in on this, and I've done this for a hundred years. We really don't want those stories. That's an annoying story. Oh, Stefon Diggs. He's not going anywhere. He's not being traded. It's just. It's like, it's hanging in there. Like, we just wanted that. 99% of the reporters just wanted that in the background. Get rid of it. Let's let us focus on real football. Who's going to win a middle linebacker spot, which one of these young guys is going to step up, how the corners are going to shape up, all that stuff, how McDermott's going to do as a play caller. I don't want to talk about Steph being mad and Josh trying. I'm tired of that. I wanted him to just say that. We talked about that for a while. So, yeah, if it happens. It can't. Fine. I think it should have happened six weeks ago and then it would have been put to bed. And by the way, all these people say no one cares. Fans care. They come up to us all the time.
- [27:38]
A
That is what the number one question.
- [27:41]
B
What's going on with digs? What's going on with digs? That's all they ask. So I know maybe some don't care, but I just.
- [27:50]
A
I hope he speaks early so we can just get. I like, this is why I didn't want to be an Entertainment reporter, because I don't care. I don't.
- [27:58]
B
Were you considering entertainment?
- [28:00]
A
Never. No.
- [28:01]
B
Then I don't like dirty laundry.
- [28:03]
A
I don't want that. I don't. It's not my business.
- [28:06]
B
Yeah, don't care. Yeah.
- [28:10]
A
But also, I do want to give a quick shout out to Dion Dawkins because we saw Dion go on Colin Cowherd and all this stuff. He is the same guy no matter who is interviewing him. And I just. I really appreciate that about him. I think he keeps it 100. I think he just. He's a guy that's vocal. Both in the locker room. And to reporters. And just. I really like the way he goes about it.
- [28:37]
B
Yes. And all reporters. Deon is the same with Colin Cowherd as he is with Jenna Cottrell. Like he is. He's not. Some of these guys do their national stuff. You know, Jim Boeheim in Syracuse talks to the national guys way differently than he talks to the local reporters. And some guys are a little more guarded. You know, even Josh is that way. Josh goes on his podcast and he talks about a lot of stuff.
- [29:01]
A
Yeah.
- [29:02]
B
And he. During the season, he's like, just the facts, ma'. Am. That's fine. That's who he is. But then he goes on these other things and talks. Some guys have a national way of speaking. Micah Hyde, I think, talks to us the same way he talks to national reporters. I don't notice a difference. Dion. Is Dion. Those kind of guys. So, yeah, Dion looked like he's having fun. I saw him. He was in London.
- [29:27]
A
Yeah, he's in Vegas.
- [29:28]
B
He's all over the place. Yeah.
- [29:31]
A
Yeah, he's enjoying. He'll be. He'll be here for training camp next week. You want to do tips and tricks? Tips and.
- [29:38]
B
All right, let's. Let's split this up here. Let me take Pittsford a couple quick things because, you know, the other places to get people. I mean, let's be honest. From Pittsford, it's 10 minutes everywhere, right. 15 minutes. So it's. It's good. I mean, I can give you the quick version of the good places to go.
- [30:00]
A
I think we should start, though, with what people should look out for or where they should go. At camp. At practice.
- [30:07]
B
Oh, at camp.
- [30:08]
A
Okay, then we'll get to that. What to do when you come to the area.
- [30:12]
B
Okay.
- [30:14]
A
So I would say if you want to actually watch practice, the probably the best spot are the bleachers across from the grandstand.
- [30:26]
B
Yes. It's a good spot. I mean, you are. You are taking yourself out of the mix a little bit for autographs there on occasion. We've seen guys at the end of practice go to the other side, but you definitely have a clear view. You see a lot of guys working out on the near side. There's a lot of guys standing there on the far side. There's a lot of separate workouts going on with the running backs and handoffs and passes and everything. I'm with you. That is a really good spot to see actual practice.
- [30:58]
A
Yeah. Especially, like, the running backs usually work over there. Wide receivers usually do their individual, like, warm ups and stuff like that over There. So if you want to see practice and kind of see the 11 on 11 work, all that stuff, I would recommend going to the far side. Now, if you want autographs, I would say definitely stay on the bleacher or the grandstand side of things and try to get on as much of the rail as you can.
- [31:29]
B
Yeah, you're going to be on. So as you. As you were to look at the tunnel where the players come in and out. If you're walking out of the tunnel going onto the field, you're talking about to the right hand side as it goes. Yes, because to the left hand side is really, is really more of the sort of like the VIP area. It's like players, families and some sponsors on that side. And players do go there. I mean they do go. They will go down there and sign obviously that spot when they walk out of the tunnel. If you're fortunate enough to be in one of the little, you know, sponsor things, you get against that fence. But we say this every time, Jenna. Josh signs for kids. Yep, he does. The younger, the more likely he's going to sign. He'll take some pictures. He's not signing the football for the 50 year old guy. Sorry, I know you're a collector. He's not doing it. So yeah, he's got enough autographs that he does. So if that's what you're going for. He'll sign a baby before he signs an adult's football.
- [32:31]
A
Yeah, that's just. And honestly, you're right. He has to sign so many. You have to prioritize. And children is the place to start in terms of getting them autographs and experience for them. You can also go behind like where our tent used to be, Mike.
- [32:48]
B
Oh, yeah. But you need some good. Yes. So I know what you're talking about. The players walk along the turf field there and the fans are in the stands. Always yell to a player by his name.
- [33:05]
A
Yeah.
- [33:05]
B
Not hey, 14.
- [33:07]
A
Yes.
- [33:07]
B
You know, like sometimes that with it with the guys, like, you know, the famous ones, it's Josh, Josh, Josh. But like sometimes I've heard players like, Hey, 88, come sign my.
- [33:19]
A
Like, dude, you say, hey, Dolphin. Yeah.
- [33:22]
B
And then again they come over. That's a good one. You know, a lot of times guys are wiped out and I've seen them super tired walking off there. They can get right to the locker room and then they sprint over. Keep in mind they're committing themselves to another usually 20 minutes or so at the end of a workout. But that's a good spot there you get lined up, you got to get there because there will be a decent amount of people there. But players do spend a lot of time in that spot right before they go to the locker room.
- [33:53]
A
Yeah. So it's, It's. If you're looking at the grandstand where they will practice, it's behind that. So it's actually on the turf field. They do not practice on the turf field. Usually it's special teamers who will be out there. But there is another grandstand back there that.
- [34:08]
B
Yep.
- [34:09]
A
That players will. When they're done with practice, they will go and they will walk past us, walk near there. And if you.
- [34:16]
B
So my. Yes. So my advice would be. Right. When you see practice end and Jenna, you know when practice is going to end. Right. They blow the whistle, they go to do a little stretching stretches, take off, get to that spot, because it's only a matter of time before they all start walking. At the. Under the scoreboard, basically, is the way they walk to go to the locker room. And guys are pretty good. They're pretty good about making that track over there and signing.
- [34:44]
A
I see Winnie. Sorry, I got excited.
- [34:46]
B
Yes. Let's see Winnie, she's right here. She's got her West Virginia collar on.
- [34:55]
A
No.
- [34:55]
B
Yeah. She's a mountaineer.
- [34:57]
A
She's a mountaineer. Love it. One final thing. I always think signs, if they're creative, they're funny. That always helps you as well to do what if you have like a funny sign?
- [35:09]
B
Oh, absolutely.
- [35:11]
A
Like, if there's a sign that's funny, like the players will pay attention to that more.
- [35:16]
B
Yes.
- [35:16]
A
That doesn't mean you'll get an autograph, but at least it's like you can get their attention and you can maybe draw them in to.
- [35:22]
B
Yes. Try and get an autograph, but 100%, yes.
- [35:26]
A
You want to talk about the stuff to try out.
- [35:29]
B
Look, I live here. It's a very nice town. There's only about three cool places to go in Pittsford. Wow. I don't love the canal, people.
- [35:41]
A
The canal is nice.
- [35:42]
B
It's nice. It's boring. Like, during the day, it's fine. It's kind of boring. If you want to walk along the canal, go to Fairport, 10 minutes away.
- [35:50]
A
Fairport is very nice.
- [35:52]
B
Cool restaurants, music playing, Lulu's Taco Place, cooler, but three spots. Pittsford Pub out. It's a really good place.
- [36:03]
A
Yeah.
- [36:04]
B
Bar kind of food good. They'll be hopping. They got an outdoor area. Two iconic places there. You want to go to a bar and just hang out. No Frills at all.
- [36:15]
A
Zero thirsties.
- [36:16]
B
It's Thirsty's.
- [36:18]
A
Yeah.
- [36:18]
B
It's all. It's locals and then, oddly, some Fisher students. I'm not exactly sure why a college kid would want to go to that bar and hang out with a bunch of people older. Like your age group is. Thirsty's is probably not a great spot for you.
- [36:33]
A
Yeah.
- [36:34]
B
Because it's usually 20 somethings and 50 plus. 40 plus. I'll say 40 plus. But it's. It's fun. It's a fun place. People are very friendly and it's an iconic Pittsburgh place. And you will see some bills people.
- [36:50]
A
Yes.
- [36:50]
B
Not necessarily players as much, but you will see some bills, maybe executives showing up in there.
- [36:56]
A
That's fair.
- [36:57]
B
And then the other place spits for dairy. And I know you'll give that the exclamation point like 10.
- [37:04]
A
It's just really good ice cream. Very cute. Farmhouse. They have their own, like, they sell their own milk and like specialty craft items. They have a lot. A bunch of, like, local farms. It's. It's really.
- [37:17]
B
Yeah.
- [37:18]
A
It's quintessential. If you're gonna go to camp.
- [37:21]
B
Yeah. And I mean, it. It is busy there. Like, it is busy.
- [37:26]
A
You're gonna. You're gonna wait, you're gonna.
- [37:28]
B
So my stepdaughter works there, and I said to her about, like, tastings and stuff like that, and she's like, we're done with that. The lines go out the door. Like, she. She tells me about the way people order, which is hilarious. Like, you've been waiting in line for like 15 minutes.
- [37:46]
A
I find that.
- [37:46]
B
And then they're like, how is the. Whatever. It's like, they're like, let's go. Yeah. They don't. They used to do, you know. Oh, can I have a little scoop of this? You know, not when they're busy. Like, it moves. But you walk in, like, you got. You got time to see what's there. Everything's good. Everything's good. Yeah.
- [38:05]
A
I think the former server in me is like. Like, you should know what you want.
- [38:11]
B
Yeah.
- [38:11]
A
That's like my pet peeve. When I was serving or when I was bartending would be like, you'd come over with the plates for dinner, like, okay, who had the chicken enchiladas? And everyone would just stare at you. And you're like, someone here ordered this.
- [38:24]
B
Wait a minute. What restaurant was that? What restaurant? What restaurant was that? Was the name of it.
- [38:30]
A
Well, I worked at the Horseshoe in Saratoga, which is an institution, but I worked at a bunch of different restaurants. And then I bartended, and I made more money doing that.
- [38:43]
B
All right, so I've covered, basically. I mean, seriously, Pittsburgh. Yeah. So, you know, so Wegmans. Now there's a Whole Foods. Oh, very exciting.
- [38:51]
A
Trader Joe's.
- [38:53]
B
Trader Joe's. But, you know, you want to see Oak Hill. It's right down the road. Like, you can go around near where the course is and all. But, like, in terms of places, I'm telling you, you know, you want to go to a night. I mean, I don't know how much people go, and then they want to go have a big dinner or whatever. But, like. Like Black and Blue. There's places like that. There's really nice places. No, they have one here and one in. One in here, one in Buffalo and one in Massachusetts, and it's locally owned.
- [39:22]
A
Yeah, I didn't know that. Just.
- [39:23]
B
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [39:25]
A
I like. Genesee Brewhouse is a classic. If you're coming to Rochester, it's right on the water. There's also good near our falls.
- [39:35]
B
Right near our falls. Yes. It's not Niagara Falls, but we have the high.
- [39:39]
A
Oh, our fall.
- [39:40]
B
Our. Our.
- [39:41]
A
Our.
- [39:43]
B
Yes.
- [39:44]
A
I don't know.
- [39:46]
B
We'll leave it to Rochester to have falls and, you know, less than two hours away from the falls.
- [39:54]
A
I get made fun of. I love going to Niagara Falls. I don't love. I don't love, like, the American side. It's not, like, exactly nice, but I think the actual falls are incredible. 100% nerd out on that. And I like to go at least once a year.
- [40:09]
B
Yeah.
- [40:09]
A
I'm also not from here, so maybe that's why, like, I didn't go to field trips growing up there.
- [40:14]
B
Any. Any time I go and see it. When you see it again, it's incredible to see. It's.
- [40:20]
A
It is incredible.
- [40:22]
B
Now, High falls. High falls are cool. Like, you see it. And if you're at the brew house and it overlooks it, it's cool. It's not Niagara Falls, but. No, you got a pretty good vantage point. And the brew house is good. All right. Give them a couple. You said good luck.
- [40:34]
A
Good luck is always good. The new bar bill, if you haven't been to the barbell in Buffalo, they have Barbell east that just opened. I like K2 a lot. It's a brewery. It's probably about 15 minutes from Pittsburgh, but they have great food, great beers. I'm trying to think of other places.
- [40:52]
B
Oh, we're also going to the public market.
- [40:54]
A
That's really fun. If you want to go out, like, I would recommend going to places on Park Ave. Are always fun. And then there's this place called Ziggy's that is really fun. It's in the public market. It's. It's fun. It's like, yeah, they have a bunch of bill stuff on the wall, but it's like if you're going out, like, you're gonna see, you know, it's, it's not 50 year olds. It's, you know, 25 year olds. So.
- [41:20]
B
Yeah. Do they still do the food truck Rodeo on Thursdays?
- [41:24]
A
So it's Wednesdays.
- [41:26]
B
Wednesdays.
- [41:26]
A
I'm sorry, the last Wednesday of every month. So I believe that would be. Yeah, the first day.
- [41:32]
B
Yeah. I was gonna ask you about. Oh, and also there's a bar if you want to check out that we're going to be making an appearance there in August.
- [41:41]
A
Yes. Oh, do you want me to say.
- [41:45]
B
Sure.
- [41:46]
A
Can we say.
- [41:48]
B
Yeah.
- [41:50]
A
Okay. Three Heads.
- [41:52]
B
Three Heads Brewery. Brewing in Rochester. And we're going to be doing. We'll talk more about it. It's coming up. This is not during camp. This is after camp.
- [42:01]
A
Yeah.
- [42:02]
B
But we're going to be making an appearance there as the Buffalo plus team.
- [42:06]
A
Yeah.
- [42:06]
B
And very excited about that.
- [42:08]
A
It'll be fun.
- [42:09]
B
Yeah. And then we're working on doing an appearance in Buffalo too, during the year, so that'll be the next step. So.
- [42:16]
A
All right. We've. We chatted quite a bit. We've had a bit of audio issues as well, so that's always fun. All right. Anything else before Michael?
- [42:26]
B
No. Dan is enjoying his vacation. He's well deserved.
- [42:32]
A
Yeah. Had to make a quick stop to get strep throat medicine for his daughter. No vacation would be complete without someone getting sick.
- [42:41]
B
It's unbelievable. Well, it is. Shane's tough. She'll bounce back quick.
- [42:45]
A
Yes.
- [42:45]
B
And he'll be ready. And then next week, we're on it every day at camp. We will be posting videos every day of camp. We'll, you know, we'll be doing podcasts every week, so.
- [42:56]
A
And we'll do a post practice recap every day, what went on, who we talked to, what stood out. So be sure to subscribe to the channel if you aren't or have not already. And then, yeah, be sure to check out the Buffalo plus store. Buffaloplus Store dot com. We have a bunch of merchandise, the Buffalo plus hat, all that stuff. So. All right. For Mike and Dan, who's on vacation, I am. Jenna, we will catch you next time here on Buffalo Plus. Please be sure to like comment and subscribe.
- [43:24]
B
Subscribe.
- [43:25]
A
Training camp is almost here. We'll have plenty of updates. But for now, thank you for watching.