COOPER, COLEMAN and COMPANY help JOSH ALLEN and the BILLS BLOWOUT Titans after SLOW START

Summary

Buffalo Plus Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: COOPER, COLEMAN and COMPANY help JOSH ALLEN and the BILLS BLOWOUT Titans after SLOW START
Date: October 20, 2024
Hosts: Mike Catalana, Jenna Cottrell, Dan Fates

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Buffalo Plus team dissects the Buffalo Bills' emphatic 34-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Despite a sluggish start, the Bills dominated the final three quarters, fueled by immediate contributions from newcomer Amari Cooper and a breakout game from rookie Keon Coleman. The hosts break down the ripple effects of Cooper’s debut, key offensive and defensive performances, critical coaching adjustments, and what this means for the Bills’ trajectory in the AFC.

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Main Discussion Points & Key Insights

Amari Cooper’s Debut and Its Immediate Impact

• Quick Integration: Cooper joined the Bills midweek, practiced only briefly, then started and scored a touchdown in his debut.
  • “He came in, he drove in Tuesday night from Cleveland…gets out there on Sunday, running onto the field. And on the very first series, he drops the ball. Classic, right?” – Mike Catalana [01:10]
• Professional Approach: Cooper’s ability to quickly absorb the playbook and contribute underscores his veteran skill set.
  • “For a guy that just got here on Wednesday…he really did everything he could to try and understand that playbook.” – Dan Fates [01:59]
• Gravity Player: Cooper’s presence altered defensive attention, creating opportunities for teammates.
  • “Everybody else just got to be like, well, now I just got to do my 1/11. And I think at times when the passing game was so inept, it just felt like everybody was pressing…It just felt like everybody took a deep breath today. Even down 10 points, they were just like, it's fine.” – Dan Fates [04:22]
• Team Chemistry: Cooper’s humility and approach helped fit into the existing locker room structure.
  • “He’s the last guy to be in line. Maybe I'm reading too much into that…but it's the fact of…knowing your place. I haven't been here, you guys. This is...your team now.” – Dan Fates [04:22]

Keon Coleman's Breakout Game

• Stat Line & Role: Coleman posted his first 100-yard game (125 yards), benefitting from the attention Cooper commanded.
  • “Guys like Keon Coleman had his first 100 yard game, 125 yards…” – Jenna Cottrell [05:24]
• Game Flow: The rookie made several big catches, including a 44-yarder that set up a TD despite a would-be touchdown being called back.
  • “Keon made plays. He really did. He was aggressive. Again, had that touchdown taken back. But it is nice to see moments...where Josh is looking to throw and someone actually is open.” – Mike Catalana [05:52]
• Pressure Lifted: With Cooper drawing top coverage, Coleman and others played more naturally.
  • “It just felt like Keon, maybe the game slowed down for him just a little bit today.” – Dan Fates [06:23]

Offense in Rhythm

• Passing Game: More effective, structured, and less “pressed” than prior weeks.
• Supporting Cast: Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid added clutch receptions, further buoyed by the balanced attack.
  • “I am guilty of something…I take [Khalil Shakir] for granted.” – Mike Catalana [08:34]
  • “Dalton Kincaid had some really nice catches, especially on third down.” – Jenna Cottrell [09:14]

Coaching Adjustments: Another Signature Comeback

• Slow Start Trend: Bills fell behind 10-0 early, drawing online criticism for the coaching staff.
• Critical In-Game Adjustments: Joe Brady (OC), Sean McDermott (HC), and Bobby Babich (DC) were praised for identifying and countering the Titans’ early motion-heavy schemes, resulting in a 34-0 run to close the game.
  • “The fact that they're down 10, nothing in the first quarter and everybody on social media is fire Brady, fire McDermott…Coaching is about making adjustments…And the Bills routinely…figure it out.” – Dan Fates [10:40]
  • “You can be mad about the starts…but also be very happy that you have a coaching staff…and play caller that can rip up what they planned all week.” – Dan Fates [13:23]
• Halftime Mindset: Players taking a breath and “forgetting what happened,” as described by Dawson Knox, enables effective adjustments.

Defense: Individual Standouts & Team Effort

• Terrel Bernard: Despite injury setbacks, he played a huge part before leaving; hosts call him the “best player on the defense.”
  • “I think Ed Oliver's really good. I love all that stuff. He's the best player on the defense. He's the most impactful player on the defense.” – Mike Catalana [16:57]
• Greg Rousseau: Recorded six QB pressures, earning praise for disruptive presence.
  • “He was as consistent and as flashy as could be because every single snap he was in Mason Rudolph's face. It was very impressive.” – Dan Fates [17:48]
• Dwayne Carter: Key fourth down stop and shared Sean McDermott’s “hit the ball in the fairway” golf analogy.
  • “So even Sean uses golf analogies.” – Mike Catalana [19:39]

Special Teams: Tyler Bass’ Redemption

• Confidence Returns: After recent struggles, Bass was supported by the home crowd and rebounded with a perfect outing.
  • “Fans were so pro Tyler Bass today from warm ups… there were cheers….Sean even said he showed mental toughness today.” – Dan Fates [20:33]
  • “If he can right the ship, massive difference for this team.” – Mike Catalana [21:54]

Looking Ahead: Bills at 5-2

• “They're in a great spot...at five wins, these are the kind of games you have to have. No matter how they played, they certainly earned a great spot in the division.” – Mike Catalana [22:33]
• Hosts debate upcoming injury returns (Von Miller, Matt Milano), Seattle visit, and the offense’s positive direction.
• “They can get healthier on defense...now you've got Cooper and this offense can start to play well.” – Mike Catalana [24:07]

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Cooper’s arrival:
  “The guy had been here for hours and he scored a touchdown. He needed GPS to find the stadium.” – Jenna Cottrell [07:31]

• On everyone settling into their roles:
  “It looked like everybody just exhaled. Like, having 18 on the field, having a seven time thousand yard receiver… everybody else just got to be like, well, now I just got to do my 1/11.” – Dan Fates [04:22]

• On Shakir’s reliability:
  “I take him for granted…He is so smooth and so consistent. Credit to him for playing last week. He was not ready to play and he went down the field. Looked much better today.” – Mike Catalana [08:39]

• On coaching adjustment criticism:
  “You can be mad about the starts…But then also be very happy that you have a coaching staff and an offensive play caller that can rip up what they planned all week.” – Dan Fates [13:23]

• On Bernard's value:
  “He is a fantastic player. Now they're not sure with the ankle…I mean, he does throw his body around there all the time. They need that man on the field. He is a great football player.” – Mike Catalana [17:09]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:40 – Opening: 10 takeaways, quick summary of Bills’ blowout win
• 01:10 – Amari Cooper’s debut and first dropped pass
• 02:21 – Discussion of Cooper’s effect as a “gravity player”
• 05:24 – Keon Coleman’s breakout role and ripple effect on offense
• 08:34 – Khalil Shakir’s underappreciated value
• 09:36 – Dalton Kincaid’s clutch third-down catches
• 10:40 – Hot take: praise for in-game coaching adjustments despite slow starts
• 15:20 – Defense adjustments, demar Hamlin’s postgame comments
• 16:21 – Terrel Bernard’s status and impact
• 17:48 – Greg Rousseau’s disruptive game
• 19:39 – Dwayne Carter and Sean McDermott’s golf analogy
• 20:24 – Tyler Bass’ bounce-back performance
• 22:33 – State of the team at 5-2, outlook for Seattle matchup
• 24:44 – Josh Allen’s statistical milestone (second only to Mahomes in touchdowns through 100 starts)
• 25:45 – Shout-outs to fans and community moments

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Tone and Style

• Upbeat, conversational, with the camaraderie of seasoned beat reporters.
• Self-deprecating humor (“Credit to us!”) and playful ribbing.
• Honest, candid takes on player development, coaching, and team culture.
• Emphasis on sharing behind-the-scenes insights from locker room and field level.

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Conclusion

This episode captures both the on-field transformation brought by Amari Cooper’s addition and the underlying confidence among the Bills’ coaching staff, players, and fanbase as the team hits its stride. The conversation weaves in strategic details, individual performances, and the emotional pulse of game day, offering a comprehensive, insider’s view for Bills fans and football observers alike.

Transcript

[Mike Catalana]

The guy is loud. He just goes on and on at the podium. Oh, yeah, that's right. Got him.

[Dan Fates]

What was more impressive to me is what we were all hoping for. Everybody around him was better.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Amari Cooper was the gravity player. That number one guy that you were hoping would affect the entire offense. It's one game. It's really three quarters, but it looked really, really good because everybody fed off of it. This is the Buffalo plus podcast, brought to you by Connors and Farris.

[Jenna Cottrell]

All right, welcome Back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris, Mike Catalana, Dan Fates. I am Jenna Cottrell. Thank you so much for watching. Please be sure to, like, comment, subscribe and share. All right, our 10 takeaways from the Bills 3410 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Beautiful game day. We saw a sleepy first half and then 34 straight points from the Bills. But let's start with. We're going to mention Keon Coleman, of course, but let's first start with Amari Cooper, his debut with the Bills.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, that's what everybody wanted to see today. He came in, he drove in Tuesday night from Cleveland. Right. Then he gets out there Wednesday. He's trying to figure things out on the practice field on Thursday. And here he is on Sunday, running out there on the field, and on the very first series, he drops the ball. Classic, right? And I had everybody saying, fits right in. He's one of the Bill's wide receivers.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

The rest of the day, he did everything you would want Amari Cooper to do, including scoring a touchdown. And it's knowing your place, understanding the offense enough to be the player he is and helping your team. Because no matter how good he is, and he is very good, and he's done a ton in this league, there's part of a player, I think, that always wants to show the new guys, or he's the new guy, show the guys on the team I'm good and go out there and play like it.

[Dan Fates]

Amari Cooper was as advertised. He was a professional route runner. All of those things. For a guy that just got here on Wednesday, said that most playbooks are a hundred pages. And he goes, I'm pretty smart, I think, and he goes, but he really did everything he could to try and understand that playbook. What was more impressive to me is what we were all hoping for. Everybody around him was better.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Amari Cooper was the gravity player, that number one guy that you were hoping would affect the entire offense. It's one game. It's really Three quarters. But it looked really, really good because everybody fed off of it, I think too.

[Jenna Cottrell]

What was funny was we were talking post game to Amari Cooper and the question was asked, like, when did you know you were playing? Like, when I was driving up on the call, I knew I was playing today.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, when the trade was made, he.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Knew that he would be playing. But Dan, I agree. I mean, you saw how much this opened up the offense. And he really is that professional guy, that veteran in the room. And for him to kind of come out and he did talk about how he's had the experience doing this before. He has been traded mid season before. You can't knock how important it is to get that chemistry with a quarterback, but he's had the ability to know what it feels like to do exactly what he did today. And Mike, it showed.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, listen, the guy is loud. He just goes on and on at the podium. Oh, yeah, that's right. Got him. Yeah. I didn't really know what to expect as far as the percentage of plays that I would actually play. Obviously, I do have a impressive memory, I think. But these playbooks, they have sometimes hundreds of plays. So I knew I wouldn't be able to learn all of them. So I just tried to learn as much as possible and try to be there for the team. Being seven years in the league now, just like understanding guys of his caliber.

[Dan Fates]

They don't need a lot.

[Mike Catalana]

They go out there, give them a clear mind, let him go play. That's what he did out there a couple times, just finding zones, finding windows. He made a really good catch on that slant. But again, just the professionalism that he has, the ability that he has, just trust in what I see with him and things will turn out pretty good. So he did everything, made the four catches, had the touchdown. But I also think he's very conscious of the fact that he joined a team that is 4 and 2, that has won a lot of games and he knows he can help. But Dan, I feel like he also doesn't want to come in like I'm Amari Cooper.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, there's none of that we've talked about. He's not a diva. Very soft spoken. I've also noticed through the practices that we've seen he's last in line. He's the last guy to be in line. Maybe I'm reading too much into that, but it's the fact of, like you said, knowing your place. I haven't been here, you guys. This is. I'm joining your team now. We're going to come together as a team. But you guys all have your routines and what you do and sing to Mr. Brightside. And like, I, I'm just here to help the team win games. That's what I saw. And Jenna, I think we talk about guys pressing. It looked like everybody just exhaled. Like having 18 on the field, having a seven time thousand yard receiver, having a dependable guy. Everybody else just got to be like, well, now I just got to do my 1/11. And I think at times when the passing game was so inept, it just felt like everybody was pressing that. You got to make the play. You got to before you catch the ball. You got to be running down the field. It just felt like everybody took a deep breath today. Even down 10 points, they were just like, it's fine.

[Jenna Cottrell]

We talked earlier this week about how having Amari Cooper kind of does put everyone else in their perspective roles that we expect them to kind of be at. And I think you saw that today. And the benefit of having an Amari Cooper is that guys like Keon Coleman had his first 100 yard game, 125 yards. Should have had a touchdown, got it called back. But regardless, a really nice day from him and the ability for him to kind of get some leeway because defenses are not going to play him the same way now that Amari Cooper's out there too.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, I mean, listen, it's 34, 10, right? It's a blowout. But when they're down 10, nothing. He gets wide open. Looks like they tried to grab him. He got free. Josh finds him, what, 44 yards. They score on the next play by Cook. But Keon made plays. Yep, he really did. He, he was aggressive. He again had that touchdown taken back. But it is nice to see moments, and we've seen a few. But where Josh is looking to throw and someone actually is open, he can get him the ball.

[Dan Fates]

There was rhythm with the passing game this week. There were three step, five step drops. There was good protection for the offensive line for most of the game where Josh could sit there and go through progressions and find guys. That's what was so great. And to see Keon. To your point, to my point, to your point, to my point. The fact that he just felt more comfortable, like he felt like I don't have to be the guy. Let's let me just. When my numbers called and everybody ate, but it just felt like Keon, maybe the game slowed down for him just a little bit today. And we always talk about those moments of when does that happen? Maybe we'll look back at the end of the season and go, it was the Titans game.

[Mike Catalana]

Janet, I want to go back to Cooper before we move ahead. Why don't you go ahead?

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. So we said before the game, we being first you, then me.

[Mike Catalana]

Right.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That we expected Amari Cooper to not play a ton of snaps, but to have his moments and to also score a touchdown. Credit to us.

[Dan Fates]

That was adorable.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That was really good.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, we were in sync on that.

[Dan Fates]

That's the same throw. We talked about it last week.

[Mike Catalana]

Wait a minute, Wait a minute.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You're going to gloss this over?

[Mike Catalana]

Credit to us. The guy had been here for hours and he scored a touchdown.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He needed GPS to find the stadium.

[Dan Fates]

That was. That's the throw that Josh loves to make.

[Mike Catalana]

He's gonna disregard.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, I'm not disregarding it. I said it. You guys were adorable. You got your credits. Like, Jenna's on fire. I mean, she rode the coattails of Mike a little bit on this one, but you were right. You guys were both right. Guys are both right.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay. Yeah, I'm gonna clip that.

[Dan Fates]

So the play is that that ball out of the slot. It's the play he threw to Matt Collins last week in New York. It's the Jake Kumaro throw. It's the Diggs throw. Like, he loves that play.

[Mike Catalana]

Hold on. You just put Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs.

[Dan Fates]

Max. Because Josh throws that ball so well, and he loves that throw. There's so much confidence in that ball that he just feels. I don't know. That to me, is like the go to break glass in case of emergency. You need a touchdown in the red zone. That play Josh loves in terms of other.

[Jenna Cottrell]

There sounded like there was an accident. Did you hear that?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, but I didn't get startled like you did.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I naturally did. But in terms of other receivers, I think Khalil Shakir had a couple really nice catches.

[Mike Catalana]

I want to admit something. I am guilty of something.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You did not give Khalil Shakir enough credit.

[Mike Catalana]

No, I take him for granted.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh.

[Mike Catalana]

I really do. I'm watching him today. That screen. A few people noticed. They had nice blocking on that screen, but his move was fantastic. It's not about 40 times. It's about the angles you take, how quickly he turns with the ball. He took a quick little out that has failed with other players and turned it into a multiple yard gain. He is so smooth and so consistent. Credit to him for playing last week. He was not ready to play and he went down the field. He Looked much better today.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He did look better. Josh said after the game. He's not 100%, but Khalil Shakir is so good. And I think you saw today in some of those moments, some of those catches, some of that wiggle after the yards, after the catch of what he can just add and having again a guy like Amari Cooper, it just helps freeze up everyone. And hey, I thought Dalton Kincaid had some really nice catches, especially on third down. Some big time moments from him.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, that's what we were have been waiting to see all season. That dependable guy to make those tough catches, to make those plays when your team needs the most like we. Shakir has been that guy for the wide receiver room. But if you want to be a tight end and be a focal point of the passing offense, those are the plays you need to make. The really nice one on third down before it set up the end of the first quarter.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

That was a great play to set up the touchdown that eventually was James Cook. Cook.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yep.

[Dan Fates]

Nope.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Are you sure? That was. That was in the third going third quarter. That was the one down here and.

[Dan Fates]

Then the one over there.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I did it.

[Mike Catalana]

Jenna did it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I did it in the press box. That showed up the Ty Johnson.

[Mike Catalana]

It's kind of unprofessional to point when people can't see what you're pointing at.

[Dan Fates]

No, you can see like that corner is the one that's actually in the shot.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That is true.

[Mike Catalana]

I think I'm started. I've started a trend. Credit to me.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay, we're all done.

[Mike Catalana]

Credit.

[Jenna Cottrell]

We're done. Now it's gonna be demerits.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay. What did you make of Joe Brady's day?

[Dan Fates]

I have a hot take about the entire coaching staff. And this is the bigger picture because you talked about it. The fact that they're down 10, nothing in the first quarter and everybody on social media is fire Brady, fire McDermott. This team's unprepared. All of this stuff and I'm watching it and call it window dressing. I thought it was all the pre step motions. The Titans did, all of the play action passes. The Bills were just a step late because of all the window dressing. Everybody was going which way. They were hitting tight ends, tight ends in the flat. Coaching is about making adjustments.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

It's got to be. I don't know where you want to break it up in the pie chart of like what your coaching responsibilities are, but it's a massive portion of that chart. And the Bills routinely give up opening drive touchdowns get off to slow starts and then figure it out. And I know you're screaming at home. This, this team is unprepared to. They're not showing up at the start of games. This is unacceptable. Okay, I won't disagree with you there but the fact of the matter is that they made in game adjustments against Houston they made adjustments against New York, they made adjustments against the Cardinals they made adjustments again here tonight. 34 unanswered points. I'm not trying to take out the start but look at the whole picture of what you saw and give Joe Brady a ton of credit and give Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich in the defense credit to. I just, we focus in on just the starts and it takes away from. It's a skill to make in game adjustments.

[Mike Catalana]

I do think there are times when you're at home and the crowd is all fired up like opening game. In this game sometimes players won't say it but the thought is to put on a show a little bit and to do things. They get out of their rhythm, they're over pursuing, they aren't focused on the task at hand. And Dawson Knox was saying that the adjustments are take a breath, forget about what happened. Do what we know we can do. This team does a pretty good job of that.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I think sometimes it's important to remember because you're watching every play and it's the results and oh, this didn't go well. I can't believe this. I can't believe that we, we have to step, take a step back sometimes. I think everyone has to take a step back sometimes because you get so invested and sometimes for this team and, and many teams in the NFL like they call them bloody runs or like plays that you are trying to set up for later in the game that you know early on are not really going to give you the result you want. But that's for later in the game when you need to have the defense think it's doing this and you're going to do something else.

[Dan Fates]

Agreed.

[Jenna Cottrell]

So it, it's, it's such a result based thing but sometimes it is important to remember like and you're right, the second half adjustments for this team, this is not a one off. They've been able to do this consistently throughout the season. You would love for the team to start faster. Absolutely.

[Dan Fates]

But so would they.

[Jenna Cottrell]

But I'm saying. But two things can be true.

[Dan Fates]

Exactly. I didn't mean to cut you off there but that's exactly it. You can be mad about the starts and all those Things. But then also be very happy that you have a coaching staff and an offensive play caller that can rip up what they. What they planned all week. And apparently it didn't work because I did not expect that Titans team to come out with Mason Rudolph and look that efficient and that effective. So you're sitting there with your game plan all week planning, and you're going, the hell is this?

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, I missed Will Levis today. Yeah, I wanted to see him.

[Dan Fates]

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[Jenna Cottrell]

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[Dan Fates]

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[Mike Catalana]

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[Mike Catalana]

Him give us memes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Memes.

[Mike Catalana]

He would have done it.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And give Mason Rudolph his props.

[Dan Fates]

Effective.

[Mike Catalana]

He was effective.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Until he realized he's Mason Rudolph.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Ran out of talent.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. That is the line.

[Dan Fates]

And Sean said it afterwards. Unfortunately, they were not able to make the Titans in the first half one dimensional. They ran the ball for 77 yards. They threw the ball for another 140. Once they were able to take away the run, the offense got going, momentum started to swing. They were able to pin their ears back and just get after him.

[Mike Catalana]

Brian Callahan kicking that field goal.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Three, what, four yard line.

[Dan Fates]

Yep.

[Mike Catalana]

Dude. Or maybe it was six. Go for it there. You have the benefit of having that team pinned back in their own territory if you don't get it. Congratulations on the field goal. You only lost by 24 points.

[Dan Fates]

But in that first half, when they're doing all these motions and they're getting the linebackers to just kind of look for a second, it takes a split second and then you have the opening and Sean's on the sidelines. There's a play that went right in front of him and there was a tackle. And he's like screaming at the guys like, come on. Like, stop. Like, stick to your keys. And demar Hamlin said it after the game, like, what is the key to these second half adjustments? He goes, it's great coaching. Like, so for everybody. And I get it. And I always say I feel like I'm some Sean McDermott apologist because my mentions are filled with Sean McDermott sucks. They do have to take a step back and realize, like, minus some late, late, final minute miscues. He's been really good in his career over the last few years and at making adjustments at halftime.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He has strengths and weaknesses, and one of his strengths is undeniably making second half adjustments and getting the team prepared and ready to go back out there. Okay, let's talk Terrell Bernard, because, I mean, he came out a couple times, he had a head, and then he came back in and then there was the ankle injury. He left the game, walked off with.

[Dan Fates]

Trainers, and then walked back on the field in full uniform after he left to go in the tunnel and was ruled out. I guess he just wanted to support the guys, which is really cool. Just that man spent a lot of time in the blue tent today and that sucked. But he was making so many plays. He's all over the place. We said it last week, like, he is really damn good at football.

[Jenna Cottrell]

I said he's a cheat code.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Like, his ability to be in on big plays is unbelievable.

[Mike Catalana]

I think back to before week one last year where there were questions whether this guy could play.

[Dan Fates]

Yep.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And now I believe. And as much as I love Taron Johnson and what he does for them, I think Ed Oliver's really good. I love all that stuff. He's the best player on the defense. He's the most impactful player on the defense.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Should have picked him.

[Mike Catalana]

He is a fantastic player. Now they're not sure with the ankle. I mean, he does throw his body around there all the time. They need that man on the field. He is a great football player.

[Dan Fates]

You didn't wanna. We're just throwing credits around and nobody's gonna.

[Mike Catalana]

No, we put an end to the credits today.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

It's funny how that works.

[Mike Catalana]

You mean like four and a half years ago when he was a junior in college, you said one day he's.

[Dan Fates]

Gonna start makes plays. Instinctual.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yes.

[Mike Catalana]

Oh, no doubt about it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Coming out of college, said he modeled his game after Matt Milano finishing more.

[Dan Fates]

On have a Day. Greg Russo.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

Okay. I've been begging for him to show up and be more consistent. He was as consistent and as flashy as could be because every single snap he was in Mason Rudolph's face. It was very impressive. I think they said he had six quarterback pressures in one today, which is the most any single player's had in a game this season in the entire NFL. He was. Maybe that's what's so frustrating. And maybe for you listening and watching going, where's that Greg Russo on a night in, night out basis? Because that Greg Russo is a game record at any level.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, well, we talked about. We're like, oh, the half sack or the sack? We're like, that was his first sack since week one.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And I get why fans get upset, because it's like, you can.

[Mike Catalana]

I. You know, I was doing a little victory dance after week one because I said double digit sacks for him. Still in the game here.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Did he get a full sack?

[Dan Fates]

I think it was a half sack.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It was a half sack with smooth.

[Mike Catalana]

Give it back, I need it. I made it for Russel.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Smooch had some nice pops as well. He did, he did, yeah. I was very happy to see. And Dwayne Carter, big stop, Big stop.

[Mike Catalana]

So the third down play, Bernard blows up, blows it up. Gotta say, Callahan, that's the time you choose to go for. You just got blown back.

[Dan Fates]

Yep.

[Mike Catalana]

Okay. So Dwayne Carter makes the play on fourth down. So I asked him. There's always challenges. What's it like when that team says, we're going for it on fourth. The third and short. Fourth and short. That's the mentality down. And you know, it's basically like, we're better than you, we're stronger than you. So, I mean, it's mano e mono. And everybody knows what play's coming. I mean, you know, nowadays a couple jet sweeps, different trick plays, but for the most part, they're gonna line up and try to run it through the gap. And as a D line, like, you take it as a challenge. And I gotta throw something in on Dwayne Carter. He was great. And then he said about Sean McDermott and adjustments, he said, just focus. Just hit the ball in the fairway. So even Sean uses golf analogies.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Wow.

[Mike Catalana]

So then I asked him about it. I go, what kind of golfer are you? He goes, I'm a lefty. Oh, I think I got some specialness in me. But not yet is what he said.

[Dan Fates]

So that's what he told us. I'm a lefty. I don't have. I think I have specialness in me.

[Mike Catalana]

He did say he slices the ball a lot.

[Dan Fates]

Same.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's really funny.

[Dan Fates]

But it was Spider man meme me and Dwayne Carter.

[Mike Catalana]

And as someone who has played golf with Sean McDermott, you had the Randy Bean you play golf with Sean McDermott, hits the ball pretty well, usually puts it in the fairway.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

At least when I played with him.

[Jenna Cottrell]

So I'd say so.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

The golf analogy. I know that's kind of surprising.

[Dan Fates]

He likes comments.

[Mike Catalana]

He's a Buffalo plus guy.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Okay. Tyler Bass.

[Mike Catalana]

Nice job.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He was good today. Like confident. I felt like before he. He'd be going to kick the ball and you're like, I just don't see it. I felt like he had some sharpness.

[Dan Fates]

To his kicks from, from pregame warmups and on. I'm not trying to give him a participation trophy or try and not make sports that it is a results based business. The fans were so pro. Tyler Bass today from warm ups.

[Jenna Cottrell]

That's nice.

[Dan Fates]

Encouraging words in warm ups. All of those things. When they announced he was coming on the field to kick the 30 yard field goal, there were not seeing. The crowd erupted. But there were cheers.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Dan Fates]

There were no boos. This was a. Hey, come on. Like, let's rally this guy. Like, let's get like he's going through a hard stuff. Like he's, he's got the yips a little bit. And Sean even said he was mentally. He showed mental toughness today and I thought that was big. I thought the crowd again was surprised to see the cheers for him just jogging out on the field and I thought he kicked with confidence. I, I thought he was knew that his ball was going to end up in the fairway.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, 1,000%. It just looked so. He did. He looked so much more confident. I mentioned earlier there was some wind today, but just seeing the ball come off his foot, you're like, no, that's driving it. Exactly. No doubt.

[Mike Catalana]

I was critical last week. Got a little fired up about it. I'm like, hey, Brandon Bean, like, if you're going to make a move, you can't have the guy. I want to see Tyler Bass be the kicker on this team. I think he has talent. We have seen it before. It's no secret it has not been there.

[Dan Fates]

Correct.

[Mike Catalana]

If he can right the ship, massive difference for this team. They don't have to make a roster move. They can regain that confidence in them. Maybe it is steps like this. There was no huge kick in the game.

[Dan Fates]

They were all 30, 28 yard. Right.

[Jenna Cottrell]

There was no.

[Dan Fates]

All the extra points.

[Mike Catalana]

But you know what? Knock those through, knock those through. Build up the confidence. Would love to see him get going, have a big moment come through for this team. That's what they need.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, I mean that was nice to see, especially after how things went against the jets and just for him to have and show the confidence. Awesome. All right, this team is 5:2. They head to Seattle next. What do you make of where they are at?

[Mike Catalana]

They're in a great spot. I mean, at five wins, these are the kind of games you have to have. No matter how they played, they certainly earned a great spot in the division. They're going back out on the road. Seattle is a strange place for any team to play. Great crowds out there. Geno's playing pretty well as of we're recording this. We don't know about DK Metcalf doesn't look great for him. Yeah. Carted off the field, but you never know. That is a. You know, it's kind of an interesting team. They have moments when they look great and then they go the other way. That's going to be tough.

[Dan Fates]

But I can put up points.

[Mike Catalana]

They can, but I would say 5, 2 right now is a pretty damn good record considering that little bit of a gauntlet they went through. There's so much football left. But I also look at him and say they can get healthier on defense. They get Von Miller back. What? One more. Wait a minute.

[Dan Fates]

One more week?

[Jenna Cottrell]

One more week.

[Mike Catalana]

I should know that.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Is it one more week?

[Mike Catalana]

He got suspended before Houston.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, it was Houston.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah. He misses one more game and then he's back. Because then isn't Miami here, Home?

[Mike Catalana]

I screwed us up there.

[Dan Fates]

Yep.

[Mike Catalana]

They'll get Von Miller back and maybe Matt Milano.

[Dan Fates]

Well, at some point, the smoke coming out of our heads was like, duh.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, it was coming off the Baltimore loss.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes. So they lost Houston, the Jets, and this one. He's got one more. Yes, yes. But they'll get him back. And at some point, hopefully Milano.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And now you've got Cooper and this offense can start to play well.

[Dan Fates]

What's wrong?

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, I'm just saying, like, I don't know, Jim. That's.

[Dan Fates]

This was.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Titans lost today or Titans. Texans. Texans lost today.

[Dan Fates]

This was what we talked about after New York, where I said they're a physical offense. They can run the ball when their line plays well. And then you have Josh Allen sprinkling in his magic. Like, this is a dangerous team. They just need a wide receiver. They look like they can throw the ball. Now Josh goes over 300 yards for the first time this season. Like this is again trending in the right direction, which is what I think people were excited about.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, I think I heard that. Did we hear that? Josh, in his first hundred games had the most touchdown passes, except for one guy, Patrick Mahomes. I think he's one.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And his first 100 career starts. 101 less touchdown pass than Patrick Mahomes.

[Mike Catalana]

That's all right. He'll catch him.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Dan Fates]

For the next hundred again, in game adjustments, I'm just. My mentions are just.

[Mike Catalana]

Yeah, I get it. During the heat of it, I think fans get frustrated.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It's like I always. There's times where I want to tweet something. I'm like, let's. Let me just wait and assess. Football game. It's a long time.

[Mike Catalana]

The only thing. Yes. And the only thing I would say is I understand the frustration in the moment. But to what is it? Extrapolate that as like, he's a bad coach.

[Dan Fates]

A bad coach. They're terrible because they fall down, they give up an opening drive. Touchdown.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

And they're five and two. And I think certainly they can get better on both sides of the ball.

[Dan Fates]

Agreed.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. They haven't peaked yet.

[Mike Catalana]

Nope.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And that's a good thing.

[Dan Fates]

Shout outs as we wrap up, I want to give a couple shout outs. One, Mike Silva from California. He came to the game today.

[Mike Catalana]

Nice.

[Dan Fates]

His wife gets to go to the games at SoFi.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Oh, that's cool.

[Dan Fates]

He gets to come here. Picks the game with the greatest weather I've ever seen. Unbelievable. Caught up with him pre game. Just great guy. Also, like, supporting the channel. Really appreciate. We message back and forth. And then there was a guy during one of the TV timeouts. He was sitting in section, like 130. He had a chicken wing around his neck.

[Mike Catalana]

Nice.

[Dan Fates]

He said he's from Utah.

[Mike Catalana]

Nice.

[Dan Fates]

It was his first Bills game.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Cool.

[Dan Fates]

We didn't really communicate like much. Yeah, there's a lot of, like, appreciate you. I watched you guys. It was, like, awesome. So if you know who you are.

[Jenna Cottrell]

You know who you are.

[Mike Catalana]

You know, I.

[Dan Fates]

You're from Utah and this was your first Bills game, so appreciate it.

[Jenna Cottrell]

And Ouija.

[Mike Catalana]

Yes.

[Jenna Cottrell]

He did the, like, comment subscribe.

[Dan Fates]

He did.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It was perfect.

[Mike Catalana]

He could have been right in here with us. Yeah, he had it going.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, he did.

[Mike Catalana]

So he said, watches the channel. We saw.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah, we appreciate it.

[Mike Catalana]

That was awesome.

[Jenna Cottrell]

It's always cool. It's always cool. All right. Please be sure to, like, comment. Subscribe. Subscribe.

[Dan Fates]

Like Luigi.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Share.

[Mike Catalana]

Ouija. Luigi.

[Jenna Cottrell]

No, I said Ouija.

[Mike Catalana]

No, Dan.

[Dan Fates]

Yeah, I just called him Luigi.

[Mike Catalana]

Maybe it is. I don't know. Ouija.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Pretty sure it's Ouija.

[Mike Catalana]

I think that's what he said.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah. Okay.

[Mike Catalana]

If it's not comment.

[Jenna Cottrell]

Yeah.

[Mike Catalana]

Tell Danny's wrong.

[Jenna Cottrell]

We're going to Seattle. We'll be here this week. Actually, we won't be here on Wednesday because my Catalana is being inducted into the New York State Broadcasting hall of Fame theme. So we'll have a report on that.

[Mike Catalana]

A report. Look at that. Going on the road.

[Jenna Cottrell]

We're on the road. Okay. For Mike and Dan, I'm Jenna. Thank you so much for watching. We'll catch you next time here on the Buffalo Plus Channel, presented by Connors and Ferris.