← Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
BUFFALO PLUS LIVE EVENT. How the channel began and what it is like to cover the BUFFALO BILLS
01:03:43
BUFFALO PLUS LIVE EVENT
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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.
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C
Let's go.
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A
Bill's Mafia.
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C
What's up, baby?
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D
I'd like to think I'm not too.
- [00:21]
B
Much of a psychopath.
- [00:22]
A
Y' all know we're hitting for. You know what I mean? Rolls Royce driving, private jet flying.
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E
Thanks, everybody.
- [00:32]
B
Thank you.
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A
Go Bills.
- [00:34]
B
Thank you.
- [00:35]
C
Yes. Thank you all so much for coming. Thank you, Dave. Thank you. Three Heads Brewery. Obviously, leadership Rochester as well. And we just want to say how excited we are to be here to have you all here. It just. The support means so much to us. Buffalo Plus. And we know there are a lot of Bills fans here as well. Dan.
- [00:54]
A
Yeah. This channel started out as a crazy idea, and it is built into having this live show here, which is really cool, and we hope this is the first of many moving forward.
- [01:05]
B
Yeah. And what we're going to do tonight is, as Dave mentioned, a little bit, we're going to. We're going to talk about the Bills. We're going to talk about covering the team. We're also going to talk about how it's changed. I have a little experience in that through the years. Change in coverage, change in the team, change in the way they are perceived in the community. But we are looking forward at that point. We'll go to Dave for questions out in the audience, and you really can ask us almost anything about what's going on with the team. We thought we'd give you a little insight, too, of what it's like. It's different than a lot of people think it is. I think a lot of people have a perception of what it's like to cover a team, the way you get access to the team. That's the fortunate thing for us is we do have access to the team, but it's limited to a certain point. But we can explain a little bit of that and then how we developed this channel and why this channel was developed and how that's part of the way football in general is consumed. As you see all the Buffalo Bills stuff around.
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C
Yeah. I mean, there are so many Bills fans. When I moved to Western New York, I didn't know what to expect. And then when I got here, I was like, oh, this is a real big deal. So being able to cover a team like this, and we obviously all work at Channel 13, the ABC and FOX affiliates, but we knew so many people Were interested in the access that we talked about, what we get to see with the team, the behind the scenes. So that is why, Mike, maybe you can explain how the idea of the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel came together.
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A
Mike, phenomenal idea by us.
- [02:37]
B
Yes, thank you. It was all my idea because I'm on TikTok and YouTube and Facebook and Instagram and Snap Face. Snap Face. I was on all those things. So here's how it actually started. Our company came to us and said, listen, Buffalo Bills are a popular team. We want to start something where we can be on the digital side. And you guys all get this, whether it's you yourselves or your kids or whatever it is. The world has changed in the way you consume products. So we appreciate everybody who's watched on television and continues to watch on television. But there's a big world out there, and every person in this room has a phone with them and you can watch and consume content, as we like to say, in any way. So they came up with the idea and it was about covering the Bills. Now, there's some interesting parts. We can't call it the Buffalo Bills channel. They have the rights to that. So we made it kind of close with Buffalo Plus.
- [03:41]
C
Figure it out.
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B
And the colors are similar, but there are certain things you can and can't do. But the idea was not just that we decide we're going to put content out there about this team that you might want to watch, but we want to be in a place where you want to consume it. You know, we all know the time when you just flipped on the six o' clock news or you just read the newspaper. Well, the world has changed in that way. And then somebody at this table, it might have been. Was it you?
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A
Yeah, it was me.
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B
Or it might have been Jenna. Me said we need to be on YouTube.
- [04:18]
C
Yeah. I'm not going to lie before I interrupt you real fast, Dan, I don't know about you, but, like, I was on YouTube all of the time watching tutorials, cooking things, and I'm like, you know what? I really feel like Bill's fans would actually really enjoy what some of the things we get to see and what we get to hear.
- [04:33]
A
When I think a lot of people here are Buffalo plus subscribers or through leadership, Roger, and things like that. What you see on the podcast and the videos is pretty much Mike yodeling to us in the sports office. And we decided two and a half minutes of Mike talking on the news isn't enough.
- [04:50]
C
It's not enough.
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A
And Jenna and I thought the World should get to see Mike tell us stories from 1989 and what this team was like and all these things. And we thought, hey, maybe people might care. And. Except this started pandemic.
- [05:06]
C
Yeah.
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A
This was. If you've seen the channels and the graphics and the way that we have kind of grown, it has really taken off, so it's cool to. To see where. Where it's landed.
- [05:15]
C
Yeah. And I think what's cool, too, is we get to see so much in terms of practice, what happens on a game. We're also able, because of our access, we get to be on the sidelines during the game, and sometimes you get tackled, but just what goes on on game day. So many fans, of course, they get to see the product that's out on the field, but the little kind of intricacies that make this team the team and how the community is so connected. So it felt like kind of a really natural thing because Mike likes to talk and Dan also, and I got hot takes, and I could be the mediator literally in between them. So it was really kind of a natural thing. That's. It's been really cool to see how much.
- [05:55]
B
Yeah, it's growing. And so for us, it's been a combination of things. There's great popularity of the Bills. You know, sometimes I will hear from people who say to us, you guys talk about the Bills a lot. Well, we're not stupid. Sometimes we are. My wife's looking at me like, you have your moments. But the idea is the Bills are a very popular team, and they're good, and they have been good. So that is a big part of what we want to do. And we combine that with the passion of Bill's fans, who are always looking for content, and we try to make it. They hear me. This is one of the things they hear me say all the time. We try to inform people in the most entertaining way possible. That's what we do. And if you haven't gotten a chance to watch the channel, if you watch it, we hope you would like it, but you might even begrudgingly be entertained, because I think there are times we have a lot of fun with it. We talk about the games, we talk about the team. We get into it with the things they're doing wrong or doing right. But it allows us to kind of be ourselves and to feel like we connect more with fans than you might get to do in a sportscast on television when it sticks a little bit more to facts.
- [07:10]
C
And we read the comments, too, When. When you all. Unfortunately, we not always, unfortunately.
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A
I read the comments, although Dan gets a lot of.
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C
Dan is wrong, which is why you.
- [07:19]
B
See the mugs here that. The same mug says Dan is.
- [07:27]
C
It depends.
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A
My wife uses this side a lot more, though.
- [07:31]
C
Yeah. So we. We definitely like to have fun. So. And we. And we just appreciate this opportunity as well, because it's really cool. So many people in the community have been so incredibly kind and really excited for us. So. And I think it kind of stems from this is obviously leadership. Rochester and the leadership of Mike. Helping us kind of I. With these ideas and also with us talking about the Bills like we talk about leadership, has made all of the difference with this team. Brandon bean and Sean McDermott, the Bills general manager and the Bills head coach. And I mean, you've. You. It's hard not to talk about Mike being older than us. You've.
- [08:08]
A
Like in the Reagan administration, the quarterbacking play just wasn't what it needed to be.
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B
Yeah, it was.
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C
Joe Ferguson, You've seen it, though, go through the different processes.
- [08:19]
B
So it's no big secret if you follow the Bills for a long time. They were good when they had great leadership, they were bad when they didn't. They're good again. Right. They haven't won the super bowl yet, but they're back to being one of those teams. When I started covering the team, they had Marv Levy and Bill Polian and John Butler. These guys are hall of Famers, and they were so close to winning it all, and then they took shortcuts. And I think your group certainly understands this. Great leadership can handle the ups and downs. And when I look at the Bills, yes, there are times we're all we are on our channel. I'm critical of Sean McDermott or Brandon Bean. The guys are, too. It's the same thing as football coaches. But we're critical in moments of things they've done, and that happens. But if you look at what they've helped to, you know, that's when they talk about culture and establishing that with a team. They've actually done that here. And I think any business can learn from that. We've learned from that in ways that we operate. They just do everything I say. Isn't that the way it is?
- [09:24]
C
You do everything I say.
- [09:27]
B
But the idea of the way this organization is run now is they do set a standard, and that's why they have been a very good team. And I really do think you can learn from it. And Dan, I would say, you know, Dan was right on the field last year in Cincinnati. When that happened with demar Hamlin, he was feet away from Demar on the field with his team, and we got to see it close.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Of the way that team handled a circumstance like that. And honestly, that comes from leadership.
- [09:56]
A
I think it comes from leadership. And like you said, the lack of leadership that was there before, I think so many people asked me about McDermott and Bean and what. What they were like, and the first thing I always say is that even when they were hired, I didn't necessarily love the hires, but I figured, and I knew they would be the adults in the room, and especially among so many people from different backgrounds, different personalities, different ways of life for a football team. You're having 90 to 90 guys right now in training camp. Like, you need an adult in the room that people can respect and trust. And that's just been evident that since the start. When making the playoffs in 17. Mike, you and I were outside the locker room in Miami when they were able to break that drought.
- [10:36]
B
We got. We got to tell that story real quick. So we're outside the locker room, and there's a. There is a cooling off period where we can't go in the locker room. What do they give them?
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A
15. 15 minutes usually ends up being 20.
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B
So all the reporters were standing outside the locker room. Now, they haven't made the playoffs in two decades. They need Baltimore to lose to Cincinnati. The Bills have already won. And we're outside the locker room. We're watching the game on little screens on our phones. The team is watching the game inside the locker room.
- [11:08]
A
And I don't even know if we were watching on our phones. It was more of, like, following. I'm, like, following on phones. It was like, oh, it's third and 14. It's now it's fourth and 20 or whatever it was.
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B
And then we hear the locker room.
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A
Erupt before we even know what happened.
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B
And then the locker room opens up, and it was pandemonium inside that room because they had finally made the playoffs. And, you know, our job is to cover the team. Our job is not to be fans. It's not to necessarily root, but you kind of always root for people that sort of work and get to what they deserve. And that was a pretty happy locker room to be in.
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A
Yeah, you're an Eagles fan. I don't know if you're an Eagles fan or a cowboy hater. Think about it, too. Like, I have my friends here and things like that. Like, I went. Grew up here, like, went to Fredonia. Like, my friends in college. Had season tickets to the Bills, and I really wasn't a Bills fan. Like. Like, how can you not be a Bills fan? All these things. I just wasn't. My family. We didn't grow up necessarily as Bills fans, but we cover the team as if we would cover anything else. But when people ask me, like, what do you think about the team? Like, our job's a lot more fun when they win. It's been a lot more fun to cover this team. Players are happier to talk to us. Otherwise, we walk in and it's like, yeah, what do you guys want today? It's like, never mind. Pass. Like, next guy. Like, it's so that the winning. All of those things has kind of gone with the leadership and especially Jenna. Josh Allen doesn't hurt.
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C
Yeah, Josh Allen. I mean, it's so fun. I'm not from western New York, and, like, Josh Allen is now a household name. Like, my mom is like, oh, what's Josh do it like, it's pretty wild to see. I mean, he's on the COVID of Madden. He's one of those players that's top 10 in the NFL. I mean, the pandemonium around what he brings and the fact that it's like a superstar in Buffalo. And we actually were lucky enough to be there the night he was drafted. And I remember we were all on Twitter. The draft was in Houston. Houston, Dallas. Dallas. It was in Dallas. You're right. And we were all on Twitter, and we were like, you were there, I was there. I know. You can't really.
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B
Okay. So Janet and I are there the day before Josh is drafted, and we're interviewing him.
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C
Can I tell the story?
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B
You tell the story.
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C
So we're.
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A
See what.
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B
I mean, who the boss is.
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C
So see.
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B
We know.
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C
So we're interviewing all the quarterbacks that were coming out that year. It was Baker Mayfield, it was Lamar Jackson, it was Josh Rose, and it was all these guys in these.
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A
Sam Darnold.
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C
Sam Darnold was there. So there's not really a lot of cameras around Josh Allen. And, you know, we talked. Maybe he goes to Buffalo, maybe not. I don't know. It's just Mike and myself. And I'm operating the camera because Mike does not know how.
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B
Really don't.
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C
It's okay. It's okay. So it's just us interviewing Josh Allen. And we asked. We're like, hey, we're from western New York. We're Buffalo area, Rochester. You know, what's your impressions of Bill's mafia? And he lights up and he goes Bill's Mafia is the best. And then he was like, actually, you can't use that. He was like, oh, wait, wait, no, you can't. You can't use that. He made a very political answer after that of, like, you know, all fans in the NFL are great, heard great things about Bill's Mafia.
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B
But because he didn't know for sure he was getting picked by the Bills, he wanted to be, but he didn't know.
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C
He literally was just, bill's Mafia is the best. Oh, you can't use that. So it was funny to see him. I don't know. He obviously had talked with the team, but.
- [14:37]
B
And then you remember that night, if maybe you don't remember, but we talk about social media. Well, that night, there was a bunch of tweets that Josh had written when he was considerably younger that got released, and there was a lot of wonderment if the Bills were going to take him or if he was going to slide down there. So that period of time for him from when we talked to him and he was the happiest guy in the world to waking up the next morning to that had to be kind of crazy for him and for the Bills.
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A
After he got drafted. I remember asking him at his introductory press conference, like, what that was like. Obviously, it's the biggest day of your life, and you're having some of the worst moments of it when you were a kid. Doesn't make it right or wrong. I'm just saying. And he said that, like, he was on the phone, like, crying to Brandon Bean, like, explaining, like, that's not who he is and all of those things. So to go from one end of the spectrum to the other is just crazy. And then again, social media talk about this wasn't really universally liked by Bill's Mafia. Like, there are the shots that, like, he wasn't necessarily the pick.
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C
Yeah.
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A
And that'll be one of my few hot takes that I've been wrong about.
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B
Yeah.
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A
I thought it was the wrong Josh. I liked Josh Rosen.
- [15:48]
B
Like, so Dan is wrong.
- [15:51]
A
Spin that bad boy around.
- [15:52]
B
By the way, Dave's coming back out. So if you have a question, get Dave's attention, and we're going to have the questions right here in the middle. I want Jenna to tell this bit. So the night he was drafted, we're in Dallas, and we end up in this very small room right after he's been picked. There's, I don't know, six or seven reporters, and Josh is there and Tremaine Edmonds, the two number one picks, and he gets picked. We interview him. It's great. And Jenna gave his traveling party some advice.
- [16:26]
C
This is insider info.
- [16:28]
B
It's a little insider info. Now, he may have already known this.
- [16:31]
C
Yes, he might have already.
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B
But I think it helped him. Tell them what you told them for Josh.
- [16:36]
C
So I went up to. They're. They're called handlers in the NFL, like the PR people that are working with the talent. And I went up, and I was like, just so you know, it's not buffalo wings. It's just wings. And I was like, and you eat those wings with blue cheese. And the woman kind of looked at me, and I was like, they're gonna ask. Just say blue cheese. And he was like, okay. So it went from there. And then the next day on wgr, they asked Josh, we gotta ask you, do you. Do you eat your wings with ranch or blue cheese? And he's like, I'm a blue cheese guy.
- [17:07]
B
Now, he might have known that, but Jenna was the one that put him on the right track right away.
- [17:14]
C
Well, I'll tell you why. Because I thought he was. I thought he was funny because there was one point where he was. We were in Dallas, the stadium. You're walking down the stairs, and there's a second level of fans. So one of the fans was like, hey, Josh, can you sign my hat? So they kind of threw it down to him, and he's like, yeah, no problem. So he went to go throw it back up, and I. We're. You know, we're just kind of standing there, and then he. It was the perfect throw, and he goes, accuracy. I was like, oh, he's kind of funny, so. Because all the knocks on him coming out of college where he's not accurate enough, he can't be that guy. So I. You could tell he had a sense of humor.
- [17:50]
B
And again, if you got a question, just raise your hand. Dave's right here. He'll get.
- [17:53]
D
We. We do ask questions.
- [17:54]
B
You go right ahead. Dave can get tuned.
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D
Unless. Does anybody. I have some written questions that you guys wrote when you walked in. Anybody want to get off, like, some starter questions?
- [18:03]
B
Oh, here we go. Look at this. Here we go.
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D
There we go. Stand on up only if you want to. Oh, at least. At least give us. Give us your name and go ahead and ask a question.
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C
Hi, my name's Adena.
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B
Leading with leadership.
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C
And we all have to wear multiple hats as leaders. What do you think of Sean McDermott, also running the defense?
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B
Great.
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C
That's a question that deserves a hat.
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B
That is Buffalo plus hat. Here we go. Dave, can you help us with that? Give her a hat. We'll get you right on the Buffalo plus team. Thank you. Great question.
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C
Yeah.
- [18:39]
B
I think Sean needs this, and I think the team has responded. Dan, you've heard him a lot. You've heard the way the players have at least initially responded to him.
- [18:47]
A
I think he's putting more on his plate. I think this is. We've talked about maybe the team is underachieved at times, and I think this is a way of him getting back to his roots. I think of what made him a successful head coach. We had a funny podcast or video that we did. We talked about relationships and that relationships are when you start, you do all the little things, right? You send cute text messages, you leave notes, all those things. But over time, all of a sudden, maybe you don't send as many cute text messages, and all of a sudden the relationship isn't as good and you're wondering, what's changed. Well, you weren't doing the little things. I think Sean McDermott getting back to being a defensive coordinator gets him back to doing all the little things that made him the head coach that took the Bills to a Super bowl contending team.
- [19:26]
B
Now, that leadership also means he's got to trust the people with him. It is so much about trust, and I think Sean's a different guy than when he first started coaching. I think it's hard to. You need to have a good team. They need to earn that trust. But there's a part of you that needs to be able to recognize it and say, these people deserve it. Don't tell them I said that, but that's the way I feel about these two. So you let them do more and more, and then all of a sudden it becomes.
- [19:56]
A
Was that a compliment?
- [19:57]
B
I think that was a compliment.
- [19:59]
A
It was like a backhanded one.
- [20:00]
B
But the reason I would say this is Sean trusts his staff and his staff trusts him. That goes both ways because they know he's an incredibly hard worker and a dedicated guy. He's not perfect. We know that. And we're critical of his decisions. He makes so many decisions in a given game or in a given week, they're not all going to be right. But I think he has the faith of his coaches that they know he's going to work as harder, harder. But it's not easy for him to turn over some of those responsibilities. And now he'll be turning over some of. Some of the head coaching part of it. He'll need some Help with his eyes in other places. And it's going to test his leadership. But I think, at least to this point, I think it's shown pretty well.
- [20:46]
C
That's the thing. I was a little concerned because I was like, you know, this is more responsibility on him and he already has, you know, the weight of the team on him. So I was curious and I think, you know, it will be told with this season. But at the same point, I feel like the trust that he has in the staff. Like Mike mentioned the fact that he is so detail oriented. Like, Shawn McDermott is the most meticulous man.
- [21:10]
A
It's golfed nine holes with him.
- [21:11]
C
I did. Yeah, we. We had the Bills golf outing and he likes Yacht Rock, which I was not expecting. But no, he's just.
- [21:19]
A
Jenna swears like a sailor.
- [21:22]
C
Here.
- [21:22]
A
That's what. That's what. That's what goes around the building.
- [21:25]
B
That's what Sean said.
- [21:26]
A
That's what Sean said.
- [21:26]
B
Swears like a sailor.
- [21:27]
C
Well, on the golf course, yes.
- [21:29]
A
No. Who doesn't? Yeah, exactly.
- [21:31]
C
Exactly. But he's just such a detail oriented guy. Guy. I think the trust that he has in his assistance and the players and him kind of getting back to his roots, like what Dan talked about, I think there's a huge opportunity for this team to take on the identity that is Sean McDermott. That tenacious, the physical, all of these things hands on in terms of.
- [21:49]
B
And you talk about his discipline. He does. I don't know if you guys heard during camp. The man loves pits for dairy for his ice cream. That's his, like one treatment. He'll get a milkshake, right?
- [22:00]
A
Chocolate malted milkshakes.
- [22:03]
B
But the rest of the time, the guy is like crazy disciplined with his eating. Whoa.
- [22:09]
C
Let's talk about the draft video. The Bills put this out there, but it was draft night a couple years ago. Oh, that's Shaney. The draft night a couple years ago. And Kim Pegula had made cookies for the entire team. And they're like, oh, Sean, are you eating a cookie? And he's like, it's Raisin Bran.
- [22:25]
B
So that was his big cheat. Food for the day was Raisin Bran. So he is a very disciplined guy and a very dedicated, but I think that leadership, and it's also leadership with Brandon Bean to give him that trust. Dave, what do you got for us?
- [22:41]
D
We do have another question. Name it.
- [22:42]
B
Question.
- [22:43]
F
Yes.
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A
Hi.
- [22:44]
F
Jonathan Niketha. I'm part of the greatest leadership Rochester class ever. Just make sure you all know that and what's really cool. And I Hope that you all recognize this is that one of the things that made our class special was, was that we had people from different generations, different perspectives, different times working, et cetera. So I know you get on mic about age, and my sons like to make fun of me and say that I lived in the late 1900s, which is true. It's very true. But there's a lot we can learn from each other. And when I look at the fact that you all work in this podcast world and then also broadcast television world, that there've got to be same players, but different rules. Who are the types of people that you all look up to in industry for inspiration, for ways of putting together thoughts and ideas, for different stories to tell. Because I know that, you know, the three of you can synergize and cover so many different things, but you also. Every year, we have to elevate and level up. So how do you do that and who do you look to for inspiration to get that done in your careers?
- [23:53]
C
I would say it's actually very interesting because I look to both of them. I think Mike and his experience and just the ability for him to really. I mean, you've been my biggest mentor. You've helped me so much. And, like, the. The piece of, like, you're always encouraging me sometimes, honestly, as a young female reporter, it was really challenging. There were moments where I was like, I don't know if I can do this. It's. It just. It felt so much harder for me in some moments. But you really advocated for me. And I just think we joke about Mike being old and talking a lot, but the man knows what he's talking about. So the way that you're able to put stuff together and just your voice with everything, I'm always inspired by. And then with you. Dan is the content king. This man loves Twitter. He's so good about reels and, like, I need to force myself to be better with that. So it's really interesting because while there's so many national people that I really like, Tom Rinaldi and his ability to tell stories is fantastic. And Susie Colbert, I always really enjoyed her work. I find that my inspiration. I'm really lucky because I get to sit, you know, between it usually on my weekdays. And I. And I know that sounds, like, very cliche, but I think that's what makes our work and what we do really special, because the amount of respect that we all have for one another.
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A
And you didn't cry.
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C
I didn't cry.
- [25:16]
A
The fact that you got through that answer without crying.
- [25:19]
C
Unbelievable.
- [25:19]
A
I thought one point early on I was like, she's gonna lose it.
- [25:22]
C
No, I had to look away from Mike.
- [25:23]
A
Long story short, like, she hired me at our first station, Elmira. Like, this is a person that I've always looked up to and we always bounce story ideas back and forth. To Mike's credit, he has changed with the times. Like, you're talking about the fact that it is more social media, the fact that it isn't just going up there and reading box scores and highlights. He now understands that his opinion matters. When people want to hear about the Bills, they want to hear Mike Catalan is in Rochester. Like, that's that. That's what it is. But now he's like, how can I get it out there? And that's when he comes to us. So, like, it is that synergy work with. For me, I like a lot of the more content, like Chris Long brothers, like, like former players that have been in the business and have played in and, you know, been in NFL locker rooms. And then they share their experiences. Like, I've been in it. But I'm only allowed in there for the hour that we're allowed per week. So it's cool to kind of listen to other people. Pat McAfee does a phenomenal job, too.
- [26:17]
C
Yeah.
- [26:17]
A
And it's a way of not being Stephen a skit, Stephen a Smith or Skip Bayless, where you have to be all hot takes, but you can have opinions and that you can also say, I agree or I disagree, but I think it's the way of delivering it in an entertaining way. I like McAfee's energy. I think the way that he delivers that is something that I like to do.
- [26:35]
C
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
- [26:37]
B
I would. I would also say what I've learned the most is I did listen to them. And because, look, if we're going to do this, it's not necessarily my world, but what I always say is I think I have something to say in a different content, in a different content world. So YouTube works pretty well for me because you can go a little bit longer, you can talk a little bit more. But in terms of saying is listening and going listen, you know, this is their age group. Our audience there is different percentage wise than our audience on the television station. But what they both understand is when we're on tv, not that we are different, but the content is expressed differently when we're on the YouTube channel or on Instagram or anything else. When it's Buffalo plus, it's about the Bills. So the perception is the people watching it are Bills fans. So we can go down that road. But I think it's always important as being the one who covered the team before they were born can say, will this work? Or what should we do? Or Jenna will have an idea or Dan will have an idea. And what's been great is our leadership of our place. And Chuck is here and Ed is here, Paul and Melody, Brian and John, they're all here. People that have done it for a long time and are really good have let us listen to the people who would know and then maybe my experience fits in better with what works, if that makes sense. It's kind of like open your ears a little bit and then they'll listen to you. So that's kind of the way I've looked at it.
- [28:14]
C
And jumping off of that. I think we cover the Bills so in depth and you get to know these players and some of their stories are just truly incredible. I mean, Dan just did a fantastic story on Shane Ray, one of the Bills defensive linemen. He was a former first round draft pick. You know, the fame and the money and the pressure got to him. He, he was out of the league for a little bit, played football in Canada, and then was trying to make his way back to the Bills roster. Sometimes it's, it's hard not to be inspired by these players and just their stories and how much it means to them to be on a football field and kind of circling back to that leadership piece really quick. I think the Bills do a fantastic job of finding guys. I don't want to say they have like a chip on their shoulder, but at the same point they fit. They, they believe in the bigger goal and their story and what they, they love is football. And not every team has that, especially in a lot of bigger markets. So I think that's just something that also sticks out to me. Like these players are just some of their stories really are. I mean, football was everything, is everything to them. And it's really interesting to see and it's really cool from our perspective, being able to share some of those stories that people might not know.
- [29:28]
B
Dave, what do you got for us?
- [29:29]
D
We got, we got a question. But before we get to the question, I just want to offer you a little camaraderie, Mike.
- [29:34]
B
Okay.
- [29:34]
D
I went to SUNY Buffalo, University of Buffalo, during the previous good years.
- [29:39]
B
Okay.
- [29:39]
D
With Jim Kelly. So I want to give you a little camaraderie as far as, you know, been there, been there for those great four years too.
- [29:46]
B
Yeah, it was something My. My first game covering the team was Thurman Thomas's first game, so. And then people go, oh, oh. And I'm like, why are you calling Thurman old? That's what I say to him. But. So it was. But yes. Camaraderie. I need it.
- [30:03]
D
Yep, Absolutely.
- [30:05]
G
I'm Josh. And so I guess my question tonight is, historically, the middle linebacker has been the defensive play caller.
- [30:13]
B
So.
- [30:14]
G
And from what I understand, McDermott's kind of open to other players outside of that position being the defensive play caller. So I was wondering if you guys had any insights on who. Who could be this year. Like, I'm thinking maybe, like, Taron Johnson or one of the safeties would be a good idea or if it's going to stay with the middle linebacker.
- [30:33]
B
That's a great question, Josh. So if you didn't know, you know, the quarterback on offense calls the plays. He has a helmet with a speaker, and they have a certain amount of time. They. Coaches can talk to them, then they relay the play to their teammates. On defense, there's one player on the field that has that helmet and that has what's a green dot right on it. And then the defensive coach can talk to him, and then he calls the plays to his teammates. For the Bills, that's been the middle linebacker. It's been Tremaine Edmonds. He played almost every snap when he was there. He got a boatload of money, went to Chicago, and Dan. Right now, they're struggling to fill that position.
- [31:10]
A
Yeah, to your point, I think early on in training camp, we kept asking Sean, are you open to somebody else being that defensive play caller? And he said yes. We have not seen anything, though, that backs that statement up. It has been. I think they wanted Terrell Bernard to kind of step up and be that guy. That was a hot take I had last year at training camp. His hamstring, he was back to practice. Looked like today. I don't know to what extent I may be. The jury's still out. I think they thought they had Dodson as a backup plan, and then AJ Klein is the break glass in case of emergency. I think they're kind of in a pickle here because I don't think they're really happy with Dodson and I. I would be surprised if Sean McDermott, all of a sudden, with three weeks left before the start of the regular season, makes somebody else call the plays. I think he's just. They're going to have to live with what they have, because I don't think he's going to change it now.
- [32:02]
C
No, I, I agree. I think you're, you're, you're. What's the saying? Like pot committed.
- [32:06]
B
Yeah.
- [32:06]
C
Like, I think at this point you, you're getting ready for the season and you're so close where it's like, I just think the Bills are, Personally, my thought process is the Bills are very frustrated, though. They wanted this to already be shored up. They wanted to make sure they had that guy who was calling the plays, who was confident in that. I think Terrell Bernard was a great option. Then the injury to him. Tyrell Dotson, like, he's gotten the opportunity. But the Bills, I think, have not liked what they've seen from him.
- [32:32]
A
And I would have loved Hyder Poyer. I would have loved to see one of those veteran guys. The defense works well there, but it has been the case.
- [32:39]
B
So this is an interesting case for if you, even if you follow the team maybe not quite as closely, you know, guys come into these positions very differently. The guy Tremaine Edmonds that we're talking about, when we mentioned Jenna and I are at the draft that day, Jermaine was a first round pick and he was a, you know, one of the chosen guys first round pick. He's real young, he's very young and he became that guy. But other guys fall in it. Jordan Boyer, I mean, he's a seventh rounder who was cut and ended up with the Bills. Like, guys come into these jobs differently. The guys to replace Tremaine Edmonds, one guy was sort of a journeyman, special teams guy. Another guy was a draft pick last year that didn't play much. Another guy was a draft pick this year, might not be in the right position. AJ Klein has been a, mostly a backup in his whole career. So when you're watching the team this year, that falls on Brandon Bean. It really does. On who he brought in. But in leadership with a team, Sean McDermott can't be sitting there blaming Brandon Bean. He's got to go out and coach up the guys that he has and make it work. And that's where good teamwork can help a team even in a tight spot.
- [33:49]
C
No, I agree. And that's going to be something that's going to be interesting to see in terms of how things play out, because that's. There are a lot of expectations on this team this year and we know the pressure is always on, especially on game days. And let's be real, Dan. Like, we, I think sometimes we get a lot of questions about, like how things are on game days because obviously for fans it's such a fun day. You know, you go to the stadium early, you might travel for the game, you might go to London, which is going to be exciting. There's the tailgating, the food, the, the drinking, all that stuff.
- [34:23]
A
And then there's Jenna mentions the food.
- [34:25]
B
Well, so, so real quick timeout here. So no food.
- [34:29]
C
I, I, I'm unapologetic.
- [34:30]
B
So we go on the road to every game and there's two of us that go on the road. So I'll go to report and do everything else and either Dan or Jenna come with me on the road. So how do they pick where they're going? So we literally hold draft on the YouTube channel where they make their selections city to city. Jenna's priority is usually weather and food.
- [34:57]
A
It's the other way around. You're lying.
- [34:59]
C
Weather and food.
- [35:00]
B
It's food and weather.
- [35:01]
A
It's food and weather.
- [35:03]
C
No, it's weather first.
- [35:04]
A
No, it's not.
- [35:05]
C
It's weather. You got to remember that you went to Miami last year, almost died. Yeah, it was so hot. And I was like, Miami? Normally that's like a top pick, but Miami in September on a 1pm start. Absolutely not. I stand by it. And food, food is also.
- [35:23]
B
So they picked for this year. So Jenna's in London.
- [35:27]
C
Yeah. Hello.
- [35:30]
A
The three week old over there wasn't really.
- [35:32]
B
Yes, that probably would have been good for the new dad to be going. So, so anyhow, that's the case. We get back to Dave over here. There we go. Hello.
- [35:41]
D
Hello. First and foremost, you're slacking on a hats.
- [35:44]
B
We need. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [35:46]
D
That should give me two or three hats here.
- [35:48]
B
There we go.
- [35:49]
C
Well, there's also another one.
- [35:51]
D
Yeah, yeah, I'll get you. Yes, you get a hat.
- [35:54]
B
You get a hat and you get a hat.
- [35:56]
D
Well, Melody will bring it. And we have a, we have another great question from Susan.
- [36:00]
B
Go ahead.
- [36:01]
C
Hi, guys.
- [36:01]
B
Hi.
- [36:02]
C
Hey, my name is Susan. As Dave said, this is not a hat question. Okay, well, you're going to get a hat. However inquiring minds want to know. And I lovingly referred to him as Go diggity. What's going on?
- [36:17]
B
Oh, that's a great question. In fact, it was next on our list.
- [36:20]
C
Yeah.
- [36:21]
B
In here. That we're talking about Diggs is Diggs. He is an incredible player. And in fact, we were just talking about on the newscast today. Well, you guys have Dan, you've seen it. What's he been like in practice when.
- [36:36]
A
He came to the Bills Obviously, he came in with this stigma that he forced his way out of Minnesota and wasn't happy and all these things. Since he's arrived in Buffalo, it's been nothing on the field, especially at practice, where people may not see that has shown that he's been anything less than a phenomenal teammate and leader. And, yeah, there was the incident in Cincinnati at the playoff game where he shows up. Josh Allen doesn't show up this off season, all of those things, but he's been back, and I'd argue better than ever so far at training camp. I think he's been the most dominant player, the best player for the Bills so far at training camp in the preseason. I don't think there's anything really there besides some miscommunication. I think Steph. I would have loved for Steph to talk after the Cincinnati game or talk at locker cleanout because everybody else had to talk for him. And that's not really what you want leaders to do. You step up, you say what you want. Otherwise, we're asking Isaiah McKenzie and all these people, hey, how's Steph? What's going on with Steph? But when he came out, he said, it's family matters. And I thought that really hit home. You got. You got siblings, you don't always get along, but you're a family and you love each other. So I don't think there's much else to it.
- [37:41]
C
I. Here's my thing. Over the off season, it felt like there was that awkward energy. We even talked about it on the podcast. We're like, you know, Diggs hasn't come out. We haven't heard from him. There's the cutaways during the game of Allen and Diggs. And Diggs is kind of, you know, making this gesture, like, you know, what's up? He kind of stormed out of the locker room. It felt like there was. Was there something there? And we talked about it because we hadn't heard from Diggs. And then as we got closer to the season, and then we finally got to talk to Stefan Diggs, and I think he. What did we say? He poured water right over the fire. Like, he completely changed the narrative. And he's like, yeah, look, family matters. We had some open discussions. They were had. And now this team is still my team. He said, I 100% want to retire a Buffalo Bill.
- [38:25]
B
Yeah.
- [38:26]
C
And it's funny with this stuff coming out a couple days ago with Stephen A. Smith saying, I got sources that say, you know, Diggs doesn't want to be in Buffalo. And Diggs went right out and tweeted 100% not true. Like, I want to be with my guys.
- [38:39]
B
Look, I don't know why it bothered me so much. I mean, I'm 60 years old and it bothered me that these two 20 some year old guys weren't getting along, but it really bothered me. And I'm like saying to these guys, like, what's going on with these guys? And they would see it too. Like there was just a difference and the energy was off and it was later in the year and then at different times. Well, whatever they did, they're reunited here because I'm watching them at practice. Dan was seeing him at practice. Jenna's seen him. That's back to being Diggs and Allen. They need him. He's been a great player. Stephen A. Smith makes a lot of money and he's done very well for himself, but he has no idea what he's talking about with the Bills. And there is no issue there. He's not getting traded. I don't think Diggs wants to go anywhere. And he made that point. But to Dan's point, Dan said he didn't talk. He didn't talk to us as reporters. And sometimes there's people that say, why do they have to talk to you guys? Or why does it matter? Because the reality is that's the way they talk to you guys. Yes, they can go on social media, but that's very different in an interview setting. They can take responsibility, they can be the bigger guy, they can apologize to their teammates, they can say whatever they want. And he didn't do that for months and that was kind of missing. So I was glad. That news conference he had at Fisher was one of the best I've ever been through.
- [40:02]
C
I agree. And I think what makes Diggs him is his energy. And like he is fiery. Like it means every rep, every practice, your footwork, all this stuff, like they practice what, four or five times a week. And there's a lot of times where I'm not going to lie, I'd be like, I'd probably be coasting through that drill. Like I, you know, and he is so meticulous about the footwork and he's coaching up the guys behind him. And I think that's stuff that you, you don't always get to see. But it meet practice reps, all that stuff means everything to him and he.
- [40:34]
B
Takes it personally and that is leadership. Because those young guys are watching him. He doesn't. It's kind of funny. He is so Ultra competitive that he always wants. Sometimes he'll catch a ball. Now, sometimes they run drills against another player. Sometimes it's in a scrimmage, sometimes it's just him running. There's no defender and he catches it. And he's still yelling about something. Like, look at that. He ran by me the other day and he was like, that was a great catch, wasn't it? Tell everybody about that. Like, there's no defender. It's just Diggs. But he is wired that way. It's kind of guy you want on the team. I gotta say, I think the guy is. And let me tell you something. We talk about the old guys, you know, who was like that. Thurman was like that. Andre Reed was like that. Kelly was like that. And those guys used to get after each other a lot, the old bickering Bills days. This is different because this bickering sometimes plays out with weird messages on Instagram.
- [41:31]
C
Yeah.
- [41:31]
B
That we have. I have to ask them to translate them for me, which, you know, I. Believe me, I bet the coaches are doing that too, asking somebody to translate an Instagram. But it really is something.
- [41:42]
C
It's cool, too. I. I genuinely was, though, concerned, like, going into the season, I'm like, is there going to be this weird awkward tension? And then now where we're at it, it doesn't even feel like it was a thing. And just the level of competition. And I really do feel like he's been phenomenal in Buffalo, there's no doubt about it. But I feel like this year it's even notched higher. Like, I have even higher expectations on him and what he can do this season. So pick him up in fantasy.
- [42:12]
B
Yeah.
- [42:13]
A
Dave, another question.
- [42:14]
D
We have another question.
- [42:16]
B
A great show, guys. Thank you so much for having us.
- [42:19]
C
Thank you.
- [42:20]
G
My name is Bob.
- [42:21]
B
I had a question about McDermott. You talk about his leadership role and his discipline.
- [42:26]
A
How do you curb the penalties?
- [42:28]
G
I know, growing up as an athlete.
- [42:30]
A
Yeah, it was wind sprints the next day.
- [42:32]
B
I don't know if that's something that happens in the NFL, but everyone says he's so disciplined, but his players don't react to that. That is a tremendous question. This is a safe space. Right. We can tell you guys something that the team. The team is so funny about certain things. There is rules when we're at practice, and some. You would understand if Jenna and I are. Dan and I are. These two are at practice. You can't. They don't want us tweeting out or saying that.
- [43:00]
A
Formations.
- [43:01]
B
Yeah.
- [43:01]
A
Like, they're so and so is here.
- [43:03]
B
This guy's here. Or they're throwing a halfback option pass. Like, we don't want to be given something away to the Jets. Like, we understand that that's part of the game. But the other day, like, they did not want us to mention that he made them run laps, which to me is kind of silly. Like, they hold certain things over us as reporters, which is access. Like, if you really. And all of us have done that in different ways at different times, have gotten the wrath of the team. We were right and they were mad. But I would tell the guys they're mad because we were right about what we were reporting. But sometimes in those cases. So back to what you said. They were running laps at practice the other day because of the penalties. Why they didn't want us telling everybody. I did see a couple of guys tweeted it out. I don't know if they're going to get their hand slapped or whatever, but they were doing that as at least a visible way of saying to them, fellas, yeah, it was embarrassing what they did the other night in Pittsburgh.
- [44:05]
A
So McDermott said that during that week of practice, because they had nine penalties in the first game, that they were pulling players out of practice when they did commit a penalty. So to some respects, I understand that, like that discipline in penalties falls on coaches and the leaders. It also falls on the players to not get a penalty. Like, it's always so funny that we always talk about play calling. That was a bad play call. We're so quick to judge Ken Dorsey or before it was Brian Dable. Maybe the players just didn't do what.
- [44:33]
B
You needed to do.
- [44:34]
A
And as a leader, like tying this back into it, you need to trust people to do their job. And if they don't do their job, yeah, it's on you, but it's also on the person that's failing to do their job.
- [44:43]
C
No, I. And, and they're grown men, so that usually helps too. But I understand the concern because watching that preseason game on Saturday, I was like, what I said, it was preposterous, the amount of 12 penalties in the first half. And it was absurd. I also see Sean McDermott's hands on approach of you're going to run laps, which is old school school. But I also think that's a Sean McDermott way to handle it. I will say talking with some of the players, they talked about how for some of these guys, it's learning a new offense, like Dalton Kincaid, some of that pre snap stuff, they're learning the offense. I think sometimes that can factor in as well. Or there's a different voice back there. It's a Kyle Allen, it's a Matt Barkley. Now, is that an excuse or a reason? Time will tell, but I definitely think that it's inexcusable the amount of penalties that they have. And frankly, I feel like Sean would go out there and just rip players.
- [45:37]
B
Off the field if he could in the preseason.
- [45:40]
A
I agree. I just think it's the easy answer to be like, oh, the coach is undisciplined. It's like, I don't necessarily put all of that on Sean McDermott. When Spencer Brown don't grab the guy or don't get false start penalties, that's on you. You're an NFL football player.
- [45:53]
B
And by the way, when we talk about leadership again, that's why you'll see Josh Allen go up in a post game and take the blame.
- [46:00]
C
Yeah.
- [46:01]
B
When a lot of times you know it wasn't him. But he's not going to do that to his wide receiver. He's not going to do that to his running back or his offensive line. Which brings me back to Jim Kelly, who once threw his offensive tackle, Howard Ballard under the bus and then Thurman started yelling at him and made fun of him on his own TV show. And they had to stand in front of the whole team with pieces of, of paper in the media and apologize to each other. People forget this happened. It used to play, would have played out in social media back then, it played out on television. But that kind of stuff has happened in the past.
- [46:32]
C
And I think too, I remember when Sean McDermott first came to Buffalo, I felt like, okay, you had Rex Ryan and then you. The pendulum swung the other way to a guy that was super disciplined, hard nose, all these things that we talked about. And I was curious, is he going to be a quote players coach? Because players want to play for coaches like that that have their best interest and they feel that way. And Sean McDermott always said, you know, come to Buffalo, you'll play your best ball. And I remember it was early on LeSean McCoy going up to coach. We were happened to be an earshot and he's like, coach, practice is too early. This was training camp. He's like, it's just too early. And then we saw that practice times get slated backwards and things like that. So. And we even heard about it during the Stefan Diggs situation of McDermott having an open door policy for his guys to come in if there is an issue, all of these things. And it does, you know, translate back into that leadership piece of being authentic. And like they rag on McDermott for being like, you know, listening to yacht rock and like, only eating Raisin Bran. But it's okay because that's who he is. He's not pretending to be something he's not.
- [47:39]
B
And the other day when that happened with Diggs, well, this is back at the beginning in the spring, Sean made a mistake. No question. He referenced it as I'm very concerned. And that really lit a match on that whole situation. Well, he went back first to Diggs and told him he was wrong, that Sean said he himself was wrong. And then eventually he told us that he misspoke and he said the wrong way. Now, I think he was frustrated and I think he probably had a reason to be frustrated, but he didn't want, want to or need to put that on his player in that way that wasn't good for the team. And I think he realized it. I think it takes a leader to be able to admit when you're wrong. And when it finally happens with me, I will admit it to you, too.
- [48:24]
C
Seven years he had it wrong, yet.
- [48:25]
A
Set himself up with a softball there.
- [48:30]
D
I think we have one more question from here, unless anybody has any. All right, I'm going to read this from Dan. In your mind. What is the biggest area of concern this season and how do they fix it?
- [48:45]
C
It's a great question.
- [48:46]
A
My biggest concern is Ken Dorsey. I've been very proponent of this offensive coordinator, Bill's offense. Coordinator. Who's the leader of the Bill's offense besides Josh? Helen I loved the Bill's previous offensive coordinator, Brian Dable. I loved him and respected him him more than certain members of my family. I'm very open and honest about saying that. You will never hear me say a bad word about Brian. TABLE this is a team that is ready to win now and is experienced and has the talent. And I was very fearful where, yes, Brian D. Had struggled and had failed at times at his other offensive coordinator jobs in Miami and New York and all these things, but he had experience and that. That to me made him a very good leader. Ken Dorsey didn't have any experience and that was. But he was in the building. So he had been around the team and that was supposed to improve that. My biggest fear is that he didn't really know what he was doing or getting into. And I thought he was in a little bit over his head. And I thought that showed last season with some of the struggles. So I don't know how you can fix it because they could have fixed it by getting a different offensive coordinator this offseason. Now they have him. And you have to hope that he learned from his mistakes last year.
- [49:52]
C
Use the car analogy.
- [49:54]
A
Oh, yeah. I said that Josh Allen and this Bill's offense is a Ferrari. And I was afraid of giving that, the keys to that car to a guy with a learner's permit. And that's what we had. I would have loved to see a veteran, a well established offensive coordinator come in and continue to take off where they left off. And instead I feel like we took a step back.
- [50:12]
B
I don't want to cut ahead of you because I was going to go next because I'm dying to go off of what Dan said. That's totally fair. Okay. My biggest concern is the offensive line for the team. So you have this Ferrari and you have lousy tires on it. That's the way I look at it. Okay, there's my analogy.
- [50:28]
A
Well done.
- [50:29]
B
And you got to have the tires. It's got to be able to run. And the truth is you have a Ferrari, but sometimes you need the four wheel drive too because there's different ways to play. I worry a little bit about the way this team is put together. Everybody wants the sizzle. The stake is the two lines. The offensive line and defensive line of wine. The sizzle is great. These are all the lines they hear. I'm gonna get them all out here together so many times. Sizzle over sports off.
- [50:55]
A
It's like, this is before we hit record. This is all the things we hear.
- [50:58]
C
And it's like, all right now let's go steak. No sizzle.
- [51:01]
B
She's used. You know what's. We've worked together so long. Jenna uses my lines. She used to give me credit for them. She'll be on the radio with somewhere and I'm like, I'll say to Jenny. I go, she just used my line. She doesn't give me any credit.
- [51:14]
C
I've just heard them so much. They're now my line.
- [51:17]
B
But I'm saying is if the offensive line is good and there is problems on this line, Josh is running for his life. Whatever. Great play call Dabel or Dorsey might call or beg. It's hard to get out of it. Creativity can help you. But this game, it's another Marv. This game is simple. Block and tackle. Right is what he would talk about. These are the simple things you do. You. You got to block the other team. And they haven't done A good enough job in it. And when I look at this team going into it, the top teams in the league, probably, if you pick the top, certainly the top four last year had four of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL. No secret there. The Bills are middle of the pack on the offensive line at best, and that's a concern. And that goes to the general manager. I mean, Brandon Bean, he drafted a kid this year who looks really good. Osiris Torrance looks like he's going to start. That's what you need to do.
- [52:12]
C
I don't have a car analogy. I just want that out the gate. I'm going to go the other side of the ball. And Josh, this kind of feeds off the question he had of middle linebacker. And that, to me is really the question mark of this defense. You had Tremaine Edmonds in there. He was a high draft pick. People wanted more for him. Ourselves, including Dan's, shaking his head. Here's my thing. The Bills defense is sorted out for the most part. We essentially know who the corner number two opposite Trey White will be. You made you address the defensive line, getting pressure on the opposing team's quarterback. But that middle linebacker spot, who calls the defense, who's there to kind of be that safety blanket? You don't have your guy yet. And the clock is ticking. The season is underway. And I think we saw in the preseason game, the fact that Tyrell Dotson was playing in the second half, fourth quarter, that to me, says he is not their guy. Terrell Bernard is a younger player. He hasn't had the experience in that position. He's also injured. And then you have a guy like A.J. klein, who is your steady veteran. But Dan said it before, he's your break glass in case of emergency. And he is a guy that is not good in coverage. He's just not able to keep up. Which that, to me, is why there's that level of concern. Because you have all this talent. You have this great defense. Sean McDermott calling the defense. But if you don't have that guy in the middle to kind of steady the ship, things could go awry and quickly. Hi. Yeah. Okay, wait. I have. I have one more question.
- [53:43]
B
Oh, wait, I got a question right in the front. Hold on.
- [53:47]
C
Okay, I have one more question. Can my dad ask a question?
- [53:50]
B
Here we go. This could be anything.
- [53:52]
C
Yeah. I'm terrified.
- [53:54]
A
Everybody buckle up.
- [53:55]
B
Excuse me, sir. Say your name, please.
- [53:57]
H
My name is Ben Calvin.
- [54:00]
C
It's not your name.
- [54:02]
H
So this is about leadership. So I want to know what you Guys, think as the leader of this program, what the plan is to go forward in the future. Where do you see this going?
- [54:13]
C
Oh, wow.
- [54:13]
H
And I also want to let you know that when we were in Jacksonville a couple years ago, we were actually in Tallahassee. The Bills would play in Jacksonville, and the. The story in Tallahassee, Florida, was more about the Bills than the Jaguars. Okay.
- [54:29]
B
Yeah.
- [54:30]
H
And then so. And then the followup is, where do I get the Buffalo plus merchandise?
- [54:36]
C
Buffaloplus store dot com.
- [54:39]
A
That's a great dad.
- [54:41]
C
That he is. What was the first question?
- [54:44]
A
Where we take.
- [54:44]
B
Where we taking?
- [54:47]
C
Okay. Okay. Yeah, I'm getting yelled at. No.
- [54:50]
A
Or you'll have to go to your room.
- [54:51]
B
Hold on. This is. Events like tonight are big for us, and we really appreciate you guys having us out, and we appreciate the people here at Three Heads for letting us barge in. We want to get the word out there. We've had people come up to us. It's been awesome. Training camps.
- [55:07]
A
Surreal.
- [55:07]
B
Listen, I've been on channel 13, as you've heard, I started when I was five years old. 35 years. Don't laugh so much at that joke. I use it all the time. Time. But I would say this. I used to mostly hear Channel 13. They do. And people do love that. But I hear Buffalo plus. Buffalo plus Buffalo plus, which has been great. And these kind of events help us get the word out. So when somebody would say to us, we love Buffalo plus, we'd always say, tell somebody else. And we've been hoping that would happen. Now we're doing that on social media. We're doing that on the television station. But we're trying to grow this and being. Trying to expose ourselves and the content that we have to as many people as possible.
- [55:49]
A
Kansas City, week five of the 21 season. I think it was the first time Mike and I were getting ready to live hits. That was Sunday night.
- [55:58]
B
Yeah. We were outside the stadium, right.
- [55:59]
A
And somebody. We had these mic flags, and the first person came up to us said, love your channel. You know, we're from Kansas City. We're Bills fans. And that was the first time that I think it really hit us, like, whoa, people are catching on to this thing. And then we started to see numbers because, again, this was. Nobody else really does this in local media. Like. Like there aren't people that have the access that we have and the takes and the experience and all this stuff that goes with it. So where it goes next, I. I think this is a lot of fun. I. I hope everybody else had A blast. Because, like, I want to do more of these, more Q&As. Like we try and ask in the comments and in our videos. Like, hey, write in some comments for us. We'll talk about them on our next video. Sometimes they get lost in the.
- [56:38]
B
In the matrix.
- [56:39]
A
So, like, it's nice to kind of have these where people can. We can also see faces. Like there are people here that. Daryl's comments on everything. So it's really cool to get to see faces and all those behind the screen names.
- [56:50]
C
I think I honestly, when I suggested the idea for this, I didn't know what it would be. I thought it would be fun. I honestly thought it would be fun. And I think we have a lot of. You're so annoying. I think it's one of those things where we have so much fun covering a team that means so much to the community and I think they're the community that we've created around. This has been totally unexpected, but such a. A bright spot. And so for me, it's like, it's. It's kind of the cherry on top. I hope things continue to grow though, because the response that we've gotten has been so cool. I mean, we've been all across the country, people coming up to us about Buffalo plus. And it's just. It. It's my. I think the biggest thing too is it's funny, some people don't even know we work at a TV station. They're like, wait, where'd you get this really nice studio? Well, we work. We. We do work at a TV station. So it's been cool to see and I feel like we're honestly just kind of just at the tip of the.
- [57:49]
A
Iceberg, just starting to figure it out.
- [57:51]
B
Yeah. And we're. We're going to. Where's more and more content. We hope you get a chance to go on there. Different types of content. You know, Dan will do some betting advice for people which he really enjoys doing.
- [58:02]
A
We was good last year pregame. I was good last year pre game.
- [58:06]
B
And post game videos. I do a video every week with a reporter from another city that the Bills will be playing. So you get that. So you know, and, and to our, to our boss who's here. Chuck Samuels was here a minute ago. He's allowed us to really grow this and as a brand for Buffalo plus and it has been really good for us. So the plan going forward is more Buffalo plus, more video and a ton more money for everybody up here. Right. Is that what the plan is? Did I hear that.
- [58:33]
C
I mean, that would be really nice.
- [58:35]
B
They've been really good to us.
- [58:37]
C
And I would never say that, but if it happens.
- [58:41]
B
Yeah, but it's been a lot of fun and I got two kids here.
- [58:46]
A
Two kids here.
- [58:47]
B
And I also wanted to point out where is he our big supporter, our sponsor who is here with us tonight. Raise your hand in the back there. There's Greg Connors from Connors and Ferris.
- [58:58]
C
Fantastic.
- [58:59]
B
Talk about leadership. Talk to that man about dealing with the Bill's leadership. Greg, come on up here for a second. We'll get you up here for a minute here. So Greg is a sponsor. He's a sponsor of training camp. Bringing it to Fisher every year.
- [59:13]
C
Yeah. That's nice.
- [59:14]
A
That's a great suit.
- [59:15]
B
That is fant. Oh, my God.
- [59:16]
A
I know. Look at it.
- [59:17]
C
We're matching.
- [59:18]
B
Showing us up. I wanted, you know, when you. I knew you were going to be able to get here tonight, I wanted to talk to you about leadership, what it's like for you to deal with the leadership of the Bills. We've talked about Bean and McDermott and you being around those guys.
- [59:31]
E
Yeah, well, Sean McDermott and I have a love hate relationship. I love Sean as a Bills fan. I absolutely love Sean as a sponsor. He's very rigid. And I didn't hear the LaShawn McCoy thing about practicing were too early because we were yelling at sponsors who can get up that early and make it to camp and have fun, let alone have a Bloody Mary. So I'm glad that LeSean heard us bickering about it because he listened to LeSean obviously more than he listened to us.
- [60:00]
B
So.
- [60:01]
E
But you know, dealing with Sean and Brandon, they are.
- [60:06]
B
They're.
- [60:06]
E
They're so competitive, you know, and. And it really refreshes me in terms of our commitment to the community and to the Bills, seeing how critical it is for them to win and to have good people around them. You know, you asked the question about where is this thing going in the future. Well, I hope it's huge. I think it's going to get huge. The reason why I think it's going to be so popular is because of the talent that we have. There is no other talent in Buffalo or Rocher like these guys.
- [60:33]
B
Well, now you know why I brought him up here.
- [60:34]
A
Going to cry now we got it.
- [60:36]
B
We got tears.
- [60:40]
E
Well, leadership, right. And it's great to have great leadership in Buffalo these days. We had a couple of rocky years where it was the Ferrari came in town, but the person driving it did have a learner's permit and they had no tires on the car.
- [60:55]
A
It was a big truck. It was a really big truck.
- [60:58]
B
It was.
- [61:00]
E
And it's fun. I mean, having the bills here during training camp. Just the. It makes us so relevant. And it's great to see Rochester in the national news for good things. And Sean and Brandon are doing it. And although the whole game against Pittsburgh last week, I didn't talk to Mike about this yet, but I lost my mind. I don't know about you guys. You're like, oh, it's training camp. It doesn't matter.
- [61:23]
A
Are you kidding me?
- [61:24]
C
It doesn't matter.
- [61:25]
E
Sorry, Dan.
- [61:26]
B
So who's that? What? Awesome. Big round of applause for Greg Connors. Greg, thanks. Thanks, buddy.
- [61:37]
A
And he got Jenna to cry. So it's a win. Win.
- [61:40]
C
Say it was gonna happen at some point tonight anyhow.
- [61:42]
B
So we got a couple minutes after we're done, we're gonna break things up here. We appreciate it. Big round of applause for Dave Mamano, our host tonight.
- [61:51]
D
And the night. The night is not over. Oh, my God. Thank you.
- [61:56]
C
The hat just.
- [61:57]
A
Here we go.
- [61:58]
D
There's the ad. The night is not over because we have a raffle. Everybody, everybody. So stick around for the raffle. And so excited, you guys. Been a great crowd. And I. I'm just. I'm so excited for you guys. I think, Greg, you were very smart, like buying a stock on the way up. I checked out your YouTube channel. Make sure that I've been watching it. I subscribe almost 25,000.
- [62:20]
B
Yeah, we're moving up 25. We'll hit 25,000.
- [62:24]
A
YouTube gives you a really cool plaque at 100 subscribers. 100,000 subscribers. That's what we got, A plaque. You get a plaque.
- [62:31]
C
You want an award?
- [62:32]
D
Come on.
- [62:33]
A
Why do you think I'm in this?
- [62:35]
D
And I like the fact that with the plan for the future, it doesn't have to just be western New York. It can be Kansas City, it can be Seattle.
- [62:42]
B
I.
- [62:42]
D
When I travel and the games are on, I do find bars.
- [62:45]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [62:46]
D
You know, we'll have the Bills game on. And I think almost like, you know, cities have little Italy's, they're going to have little buffaloes. And you guys can come right along for that, right?
- [62:55]
B
And we have viewers in every state. We have viewers in, I think, 13 countries that are on the YouTube channel. YouTube has some really good analytics and we've heard from them and we'll see a lot of them when we're going to London this October.
- [63:09]
D
Awesome. If you haven't done it yet. I'm going to ask you right now. Go on your phone, go to YouTube, go to your podcast app, Buffalo plus, like, subscribe. All that good stuff, right, guys?
- [63:18]
B
Great. All right, all right. Thank you.
- [63:20]
D
Round of applause.
- [63:21]
B
Thank you, guys.
- [63:22]
C
Appreciate it, truly.
- [63:23]
H
There's the star of the show.
- [63:25]
C
Yeah.
- [63:26]
D
Future.
- [63:27]
H
The future coach right here.
- [63:31]
A
Can you wave?
- [63:35]
D
She's signing autographs.
- [63:37]
A
The lights are bright. It's past our bedtime, too, and we didn't nap today.
- [63:42]
B
Thank you, everybody.