← Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
JOSH ALLEN: Appreciating greatness, BENFORD becoming a star and the new worst team in NFL
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- [00:01]
A
But I do love watching great football and I feel lucky to watch that guy. And he was. He was something else in that game.
- [00:18]
Hey, everybody. Welcome Back to the Buffalo plus YouTube channel. I'm Mike Catalana. Thanks for being with me today. Jenna, Dan. Getting a bit of a Veterans Day off that they deserve. Getting themselves ready for a big week when the Bills play the Patriots. As always, please make sure to like, comment and subscribe. I'm coming to you from the Connors and Ferris podcast studio. And of course, this video is by Stellar Roofing Windows and Siding. Expect a stellar job every time. For the league podcast, we're going to talk some about the Bills and we're going to talk about the league top five, bottom five. And I'm taking a shot at somebody in the bottom five. I wanted to tell everybody Thursday night, that would be this Thursday, that would be the 11th of December. Jenna, Dan and myself, we will be at Hooligan's Grill, that is in Webster, New York. Great spot. Everybody loves it there. We will be there five to seven. That is our meet and greet. Seven o', clock, we do the podcast live. We're expecting a lot of people. It should be a lot of fun. Brought to you by Bud Light. We've really enjoyed these. So come on out if you're in the Rochester area, Syracuse, at least it's on the east side. You come this way, come watch us on Thursday night. And then one week from Thursday, we will be back in Buffalo at Riverworks. That is quite the place to go to. It'll be our second appearance there. That's on the 18th. Brought to you by White Claw. So, so again, that is one week from Thursday, the 18th. The Buffalo plus podcast, same thing. We'll be there from 5 o' clock on, do the podcast live from 7 to 8. So join us for that. I said it's gonna be the Bills Patriots. We got to talk a little bit about some of the things that went on on Sunday against the Bengals. And I thought about this and I thought about watching Josh Allen and obviously we've all gotten used to him doing just incredible stuff. And I really had to pause a little bit watching this because sometimes I'll be at the game, I'll see all the stuff that he does and then I'll turn something else on. And they're talking about that game, you know, a national show. And I know they talk about the Bills a lot, but I never want to take for granted what we're seeing. I mean, what Josh Allen does on the field is. Is Incredible. Not every game he'll have a few moments, but games like we saw with Tampa and Baltimore and now this one with the Bengals, I don't think anybody else in the league does that. And there are incredible players, but I don't think anybody is like this guy. And nobody's been like this player in the history of the franchise, honestly. And I saw all the great ones post OJ And OJ Was an incredible player when he played. But. But I don't think there's anything like Josh. I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't know. But the fact that he can do it and do it again and work around the limitations that are on this offense and score.
- [03:24]
39 points, well, 32 for the offense in that game is incredible. And I, I say, I don't want to take it for granted. You know, we try to say to you guys that we are not fans of the team, we cover the team. It is different. But I'm a fan of great football. I'm a fan of what the franchise means to Western New York. I'm happy for you guys when they win. Look, it's good for us when they win. It's good for us when Josh is great. The difference is when it's not, you know, we're in that same locker room trying to talk to him about when it doesn't go well. And that's not easy, but that's part of the job. That's what we do. But I do love watching great football and I feel lucky to watch that guy. And he was, he was something else in that game. So, you know, the other thing I thought about is Josh does not get enough credit for how smart he is. And he's not burrow in this way pre snap, know where I'm going, I'm making that play. And he's not Matthew Stafford on timing throws, you know what I mean? And he's, he's different smart. I think once the ball is snapped, his processing and decision making in the pocket, in the open field, when to run, when did not run, when to say I can take this to the house, which is incredible for a quarterback, is something to see. And the play he made to Shakir. I said this on the post game podcast, might have been it's top five for me of the plays he's ever made. And I know he's hurdled people and I know he's run, you know, for the fourth down play against the Chiefs and all the plays he made in the 13 second game. All that stuff. But it's a fourth down play and he's out of options. It's like watching, like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible and the clock is going down and, you know, he saves the day. There's only one way to be sure.
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Let Benji go.
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I mean, that throw to Shakir was crazy. And Jenna's next to me in the podcast doesn't stop talking anyhow.
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And we're looking straight down on that play. Like we're seeing Josh, he's throwing towards us. We see the whole thing. No one is open. I mean, Shakir as the time he throws, it wasn't really even looking back. And he throws just a seed between defenders right to Shakir, turns around in time, makes the play. I said that was on. That was unbelievable. But it's not unbelievable because we've seen him do it. So that's the one thing. Sometimes I think.
- [06:02]
Maybe we take it for granted a little bit, but it's an honor to watch great football all the time and we're lucky to do it with the Bills. So there's my two cents on that. Let's talk a little bit. I didn't want to start with the offense, but I went into that, so I'll start with the offense. I'm going to give Joe Brady credit for this. Two weeks in a row, there's been something staring you right in the face, and he did it and it worked. So I'm going to say, you know, in Pittsburgh, they ran the same play and kept running it and running it. That's smart football. It worked. That's what I told people. So you come to the next week, they can't cover tight ends. Well, it's easy to say, that's great. They stunk at covering tight ends. The Bengals did, but Kincaid wasn't 100%. He's still not. And Dawson Knox hasn't done that much, be honest, in the passing game this year, but he got the ball to him right away. Knox looked, dare I say, fast on that first catch. He did, you know, and he looked great. Kincaid made a play. I, I'm, I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Jackson Hawes getting more opportunities. Came out with the touchdown. He's already an elite blocker, but when I say this, it was working. Everybody's like, well, of course you went with the tight ends. Sometimes teams, you know, don't do the obvious. In this case, do the obvious. Got the ball to the tight ends and it really helped the, the game. And then obviously Josh Allen's Running really helped them. They didn't have a lot from the wide receivers. Let's be honest. You know, it's just not a lot.
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You know, the bar's low on Keon. Couple of plays. Good. One slant. That was good. Not much from Gabe. Brandon Cooks drew the flag. Shavers is a good blocker. Like this is what we're talking about when they score 39 points. And I know it's against the Bengals, but they know what they have and the Patriots are much better at corner.
- [07:57]
But then the than the Bengals are at anything. But.
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That was a way of using what you have and accentuating it against a team that stinks on defense. Even though they were a little better and making the right plays. James Cook wasn't needed as much and I think he's going to be needed a lot in this game. I think the Bills have an opportunity to run the ball against the Patriots. They've been banged up a little bit on the D line, so let's see. But I don't worry about James Cook. I don't worry about if he doesn't have a great game, he'll come back. And the fumbles are concerning me a little bit. I don't like the reaching for the pylon, especially on first down on those plays. I get it. You can get a score. It's not smart football. It is just not the risk of the ball coming out. Now they got away with it and finally, I don't know how they explained it on tv, but the first one, they didn't explain it very well. The reason the Bengals didn't lose a timeout was because that was reviewed by the league, which was the right call. But at the same time, you know when you don't need to reach for the pylon there, it's great, but it's not smart football because of the risk of the ball going out of the end zone. Worst rule in sports. Comment if you agree or not, that ball should not be for the defense at the 20. I think worst case that ball should be. No one recovers it. Offense moves back to the 20. How's that sound? You want to put it at the 20? I don't see why the defense gets the ball when you fumble through the back of the end zone. But this is a football rule. But that being said, then James comes right back. Same kind of thing at the goal line. Fumbles the ball a little concerning. He's had a few fumbles and let's see how he is going forward. It has not been the Case really last year, certainly, and the majority of this year, but it's come up. Let's talk a little bit about the defense. I just love when Shaq's out there. He didn't make as many plays, got beat on the Chase Brown play. Whether that was a catch or not, that's not really his strength. I just like the energy he brings to the defense. You can see the numbers. This defense maybe isn't good, but they have gotten better. They.
- [10:13]
They didn't play well. I mean, the Bengals just, they do have elite talent. And give T. Higgins credit. Give the league no credit. The man shouldn't have been in the game. He had a concussion. I mean, he went out like three times and then he makes a one handed touchdown catch. He was better than Chase and part of the reason was Benford was on Chase a lot. And Benford is playing elite football. By the way, I, you know, he's, he's got two sacks now. He's, he's one behind Greg Russo. He. Yes, I know. Corner blitz seems to be what works. And by the way, that's what you have to do as a coordinator. You got to find some way to generate pressure because this D line's not doing it. Maybe Bose is back this week. Rousseau is not doing it. AJ of course, made a play. He always seems to make some kind of a play. They're not getting a push. No Ed Oliver out there. I mean, there. No Bosa, no Ed Oliver. They had Michael Hoyt. No Michael Hoyt. So they are banged up. I just need more out of Russo. I know it's a bit. And I said it. I thought he was going to be better. He's good against the run. That's great. That's great. When you're getting other guys rushing the passer, they're not. So let's see what they can do this week. But the way Benford is playing and I'm so happy for him that making plays, scoring touchdowns, getting stats is going to put him in consideration for things like All Pro and certainly Pro bowl. Right? If you're voting, come on. The guy's playing at an elite level. Did a great job on Jamar Chase when he was on him. And he gets to, he gets to the end zone twice. Maybe they should put him on offense, go catch balls. But it's the next step in his evolution as a player. He's talking to us more. He's, he's, he's a, a thoughtful guy. He's a religious guy. He's also a great football Player, so that's good because they need playmakers. I don't know about Max yet. I. Trey is just not good enough. I'm sorry. They. They claim Darius Slay. I've said this before because I think. I think Slay would have played if he was in Buffalo. I don't think it was just for depth, but I don't think they trust Max enough to give him all the snaps. Let's see how. How that goes going forward. You know, he wasn't great on the ball in this one. Again, it's T. Higgins. I get it. But wasn't great on the ball, got turned around and I know he's still a rookie and I always only had half a year, but corner two is still a problem. So.
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Yeah, I think that's kind of what I have for you from the game. I'm looking forward to the Patriots. As you know, there's a video up with Mike Giardi, who's great. Mike knows the Bills well, knows Josh well. Covering the Patriots, doing a. Does a very good job and he gives real honest insight into what's made May good, that team good and where they are right now. So check that out. It's the what they're saying video. Dan and I talked to him, but I'm. I'm really looking forward to this game. I don't love the Bills chances of catching them in the division. I just would like to. To see the Bills make up for what they did in the first game. They didn't play well. They turned the ball over three times. They gave the Patriots.
- [13:32]
A jump start on their season, and now they've won 10 in a row. They have not slipped up. That's a sign of maturity. How good they are, we're going to see from now on. You know, they still have the Ravens, the Dolphins, who are playing better. Could the Bills win out? Yeah, they could. But it would be something just to see them play well. Put some heat on the Patriots and then let it play out and then get ready for the playoffs. So let's see how it goes. Speaking of the league, I want to talk about that. I'm going to start with my bottom five for this week. And there's some old familiar friends and there's a new one in my bottom five. Number five. I have the Jets. They're. They're bad. They're going to get a high draft pick. Congratulations. They've missed the playoffs. I think it's 15 years in a row. Hang on. The Buffalo Sabers will be joining you shortly with the Lead in North American sports, 15 in a row. Let's see if we can get it done. So the jets got it done. Congrats to them. I have them as the fifth worst team. They're bad. They have so many needs. I will say the trade of sauce is looking good for the jets because of all the issues the Colts have had since they made that deal. But regardless of that, they're five. Number four is the Raiders. They're terrible. I don't know what's going to happen with the coaches. They. I don't know what they have. I really don't know what they have. That's a bad football team. They need another overhaul. They are. I feel for their fans wherever they are, trying to follow that team. They're bad. 3. I have the commanders. They're just a bad franchise. Josh Harris is the owner. He wasn't Daniel Snyder, so everybody thought he was great. I'm a Sixers fan. He owns the Sixers, too. He's not a great owner. Not a great organization. I don't know what Dan Quinn's doing. They got players. They had Jaden Daniels on the field. Please sit the man down. He got hurt again. Your team stinks. You'll get a higher draft pick. They're a bad football team. They lost again. Poor Zach Ertz. You guys know I love Zach Ertz. Getting hit on the knee looked like a cheap shot to me. I only saw the replay of it. That's a heck of a way for his career to end. Terrible way. Zach Ertz has been a really, really good football player. Ends it with the commanders, but I have them at three. Number two is the Giants. They're bad. The quarterback can get hit. Whether Brian D. Is there or not is just not a good football team. They need a reboot. You know, they've had issues with players this year. Let's see what they have. Maybe Jackson Dart is the guy. He's gotten beaten up a little bit. I got him, too. And for this week, I'm going to put my Eagles at number one because they just piss me off. They are a bad football team right now. And the Bills, catching them at the end of the year is probably a good thing. Look, the defense is good. The defense has been put in terrible spots by the offense. Now, if you watched him on Black Friday, the defense wasn't good. The Bears ran all over him. I know. They don't have Jalen Carter playing. He might be back for that Bills game. He's a game wrecker. But the defense is fine. Cooper De Jean's elite. Quinon Mitchell is elite. They have too many good players on defense. Offense is a disaster. Jalen hurts. Turned it over. He doesn't turn it over. But. But when he does, what do they say? Turnovers come in bunches. Five. Two on one play. Are you kidding me? Four interceptions, including the one in overtime. That's not the way Hertz usually plays. Their. Their scheme is terrible. Coaching has been terrible. Jeffrey Lori, don't play the owner. He doesn't mess around. Doug Peterson won a Super bowl and got fired. I'm not saying Sirianni is getting fired because he just won the super bowl, but that team is a mess. And in 2023, right after they had gone to the super bowl, they fell apart. So they went to the Super Bowl. We're good. Beat the Bills, fell apart, came back the next year, won the Super Bowl. Now they're falling apart again. So congrats, Eagles. You're my number one. You're my worst team in the NFL this week. That's my Philly coming out. All right, top five. Number five. I'm going to put the Jags. They got a Jags fan. It works with us. He's very honest with his team. He's like, I've never seen his quarterback play better. Trevor Lawrence was really good. Brian Thomas Jr. I should have a picture of him behind me. Is a really good football player, and I don't know what was going on, but now he's playing great. They're pretty good. They're playing well. So giving them their props. I got him at 5. Broncos have won 10 in a row, so sometimes I don't know how they do it, but how are you not going to give them their flowers Here? I'm going to say Broncos at number four. They win all close games. They find a way. We'll see how it plays out. Seahawks are really good. I know it's Sam Darnold. I got him at number three because Sam Darnold in big moments, you know, but that's a. That's a. That's a really good roster. Tough, they play good defense. They got some dudes on the team. It's just a matter of what Sam Darnold does when they get in the playoffs. I'm putting the Patriots at two. They've won ten in a row. A pump them up, right? That's what they've been. I know they haven't played anybody. It is kind of comical when you read down the teams that they've beaten and they've caught teams at the right time. Like the Bengals without Burrow and all that. You know, Josh Allen has beaten Burrow, he's beaten Lamar, he's beaten Mahomes, and he's beaten Baker. That's pretty good run. And somebody says, well, they only won this many games. Yeah, okay, they played the Bengals, who had lost a bunch of games with Burrow out. They played the Ravens the first game of the year before Lamar got banged up and whatever's going on with him. And they beat the Chiefs. But when everybody said the Chiefs were back, so settle down on ripping the Bills for that. But Patriots, I'm giving it to them. You're number two. And I got the Rams back at one. They were struggling a little bit. Stafford's going to win the mvp. He should. He's been, he's been great. Their offense is really good and when their defense is playing well, they're, they're probably the most complete team in the league. So I have them number one. I was going to go about 10 minutes today and I just decided to pontificate. That Eagles game really ticked me off. So that's what you got today. Snarky Philly Mike. Anyhow, that's going to do it for me from the Connors and Ferris podcast studio. As always, please make sure to like, comment and subscribe. We thank our sponsor, Stellar. There they are again. Stellar roofing, windows and siding. You get a stellar job every time. And remember, we will be at Hooligans this week in Webster Thursday, five till eight o'. Clock. Podcast starts at seven. And then one week from Thursday we will be in Buffalo at Riverworks. So for Dan and Jenna, I'm Mike Catalano. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time on Buffalo plus sa.