JOSH ALLEN needs HELP as the BILLS play for 1st PLACE against AARON RODGERS the JETS

Summary

Buffalo Plus Podcast: “Josh Allen Needs HELP as the Bills Play for 1st Place against Aaron Rodgers & the Jets”

Date: October 11, 2024
Hosts: Mike Catalana, Jenna Cottrell, Dan Fetes
Podcast Theme: In-depth Buffalo Bills coverage, post back-to-back losses, with focus on Josh Allen’s challenges, injuries, roster construction, and upcoming matchup with the struggling New York Jets led by Aaron Rodgers.

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Episode Overview

This episode covers the Buffalo Bills’ recent back-to-back losses after a hot 3–0 start, analyzing whether it’s time to panic or simply recalibrate expectations. The panel dissects Josh Allen’s health and performance, offensive struggles, injury updates, roster construction flaws (especially at wide receiver and defensive line), and looks ahead to a vital division matchup with Aaron Rodgers' turbulent New York Jets. The discussion is candid, humorous, and peppered with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and direct listener engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. “The Process” and Bills Resilience

• The Bills have held true to Sean McDermott’s “process” mentality despite adversity.
• Noteworthy stat: After a two-game losing streak in the last four years, the Bills have won 21 of 23 subsequent games. Only losses: “Hail Murray” and an OT game to the Eagles. ([00:16])
  • Mike Catalana: "Post that two game losing streak, they have won 21 of 23 games over those four years. Their only two losses were Hail Murray and the overtime game to the Eagles. That's wild." ([00:16])

2. Recent Losses: What Happened?

• Bills started strong but have come back to earth due to higher competition and missed offensive opportunities.
  • The defense bounced back despite key injuries and suspensions — still considered likely to finish top 10 under McDermott.
  • Jenna Cottrell: “The receivers just could not separate … they really, really struggled.” ([15:54])

3. Injury Updates & Concerns

• Ed Oliver: Hamstring injury likely to keep him out.
• Khalil Shakir: Ankle injury, trending towards playing but uncertain. Considered crucial for the offense.
• James Cook: Turf toe type injury, could linger.
• Josh Allen: Dealing with various injuries (notably ankle and hand); panel dispels online rumors of a concealed concussion, gives detailed sideline protocols:
  • Dan Fetes: “Josh gets called into the blue tent… the guy wearing a red hat that happens to be an independent NFL neurologist.” ([06:04])

4. Wide Receiver Woes & Roster Construction

• Major concerns about the WR room depth and effectiveness post-Diggs.
• Khalil Shakir is described as the only WR consistently “living up to projection.”
• Keon Coleman: Shows promise but lacks consistency and struggles on the outside.
• Dalton Kincaid (TE): Singing disappointment tune (“right now he’s Kyle Pitts”), not stepping up as a focal point.
  • Dan Fetes: “Biggest disappointment, biggest surprise negatively is Dalton Kincaid. … Right now, he’s Kyle Pitts.” ([20:39])
• Roster built upon the hope that everyone plays their absolute best; now this is being exposed (“You are projecting every guy to have their best year... so far it's really been Khalil Shakir that’s lived up to that.” – ([26:20]))

5. Defensive Line: Lacking Impact

• Heavy investment, few returns. Von Miller’s absence (suspension), Ed Oliver’s injury, Greg Rousseau’s invisible stretch since Week 1. Rousseau comparison: “Gabe Davis type — lacks consistency.”
  • Dan Fetes: “I don’t know if Greg Rousseau has played the last three games. … Is he like a Gabe Davis type? And I went, wow.” ([17:30])

6. Coaching and the Bean Roster

• Criticism of both coaching and GM Brandon Beane’s roster construction, especially for failing to acquire a clear number-one WR post-Diggs.
• Calls for proper resource allocation in future drafts/trades.
  • Mike Catalana: “They have invested huge resources in the defensive line... The D line is farther away from being what you need maybe than it's been since 2018.” ([28:15])
• Sean McDermott’s job security: No three-game losing streaks since 2018. Record: 81–49. Panel pushes back on “fire McDermott” talk: Who replaces him credibly? ([46:22])

7. Offensive Scheme and Playcalling

• Listeners note decline in pre-snap motion — once a Buffalo staple that helped WRs get open.
  • Dan Fetes: “If guys can’t separate... you can free him up... Motion at the line allows corners not to get their hands right on [receivers]." ([31:39])
• Struggles to generate “layups” or easy throws.
• Wideout/TE separation and man-coverage becoming a clear problem.

8. Jets’ Mess: Rodgers, Coaching, Locker Room

• Jets fired their head coach after London, with Rodgers denying involvement (“I know nothing”).
• Jets’ locker room described as divided — Rodgers’ “his guys” vs. holdovers.
  • Mike Catalana: “If that's the feeling ... I don't think they're following him where they need to go. And then I think it can be more of a negative than a positive.” ([41:51])
• Jets' offense described as Rodgers-centric and stale; interim head coach effect likely minimal; team often rallies after a firing, but rarely for long.
• Despite Jets’ issues, they’ve been a thorn for the Bills, particularly at MetLife Stadium.

9. Key Matchup Takeaways (Bills vs. Jets)

• Both teams fighting for first in the AFC East; both reeling.
• Emphasis on the importance of Shanahan’s process, locker room leadership, and the Bills’ history of responding well to adversity.
• Bills defensive strategy: Keying on Jets’ RB Breece Hall. For the offense, Bills must get back to more motion, basics, and avoid “superhero” Allen mode.
• Three hosts all pick a close, ugly Buffalo win.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dalton Kincaid’s disappointment:
  • “If you're going to be a number one guy for any team, you are a difference maker… and Kincaid has not done that.” – Mike Catalana ([21:52])
• On the process and post-loss rebounds:
  • “Post that two-game losing streak, they have won 21 of 23 games over those four years.” – Mike Catalana ([00:16])
• On Bills’ offensive woes post-Diggs:
  • “You are projecting every guy to have their best year... so far it's really been Khalil Shakir that's lived up to that.” – Jenna Cottrell ([26:20])
• On Greg Rousseau’s inconsistency:
  • “Is Greg Rousseau just going to be a rotational defensive end on third down?” – Dan Fetes ([19:33])
• On wide receiver solutions before trade deadline:
  • "To get a number one wide receiver, you have to draft them or you have to pay a premium to trade for them." — Dan Fetes ([49:24])
• On the Jets' struggles:
  • “I think they're worn down by Aaron Rodgers.” – Dan Fetes ([41:27])
• On Josh Allen “cover-up” conspiracy:
  • "Josh gets called into the blue tent… the guy wearing a red hat that happens to be an independent NFL neurologist." – Dan Fetes ([06:04])
  • “If you were on an NFL sideline after a football game, there’s a hundred of these little red capsules [smelling salts]…” – Jenna Cottrell ([08:09])
• On Bills needing easier plays:
  • “There are no layups. And he's having to run to the sideline and try and make a superhero throw again.” – Dan Fetes ([33:35])
• On McDermott vs. Coaching "Hot Seat":
  • “Sean's 81 and 49. So if you're replacing Sean, you better be finding somebody you think is better. Because there's a long way to go down from what Sean McDermott has put up.” – Mike Catalana ([46:39])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bills’ record post-losing streaks: 00:16 & 45:57
• Injury round-up (Ed Oliver, Shakir, Allen): 02:43 – 14:16
• Josh Allen concussion protocol details: 05:37 – 13:38
• Who’s more important: Cook or Shakir? 15:07 – 16:33
• Defensive line depth/Rousseau concerns: 17:02 – 20:12
• Biggest disappointment: Kincaid/Knox/Samuel discussion: 20:39 – 24:49
• Roster construction criticism: 27:03 – 28:49
• Lack of WR separation, need for motion: 29:18 – 32:40
• Jets’ fiasco and Aaron Rodgers’ effect: 34:32 – 42:47
• Bills’ post-Diggs WR issues: 26:39 – 27:07
• Discussion on trade market for WRs: 48:41 – 49:31
• Game predictions: 50:01 – 53:21

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Hosts’ Game Predictions

• Dan: Bills win 22–19 (“Ugly, possible safety, missed kicks — confidence in Bass <50%”)
• Jenna: Bills 24–21 (“Ugly, must get back to basics. Wants to see Aaron Rodgers lose.”)
• Mike: Bills 20–17 (“London factor hurts Jets. Bills made positive steps in second half last week.”)

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Tone & Listener Engagement

The episode is fast-paced, candid, and peppered with friendly ribbing, personal travel stories, and impromptu “credit to me” shoutouts. Listeners are directly addressed through chat questions and are given behind-the-scenes media insights (e.g., sideline protocol explanations). Throughout, the tone is loyal-but-critical — realistic about the team’s flaws but unswayed by calls for panic or coaching upheaval.

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Closing Notes

• All three hosts are picking an ugly, grind-it-out Bills win on Monday night.
• The main throughline: The Bills have issues, but so do all their division rivals. ‘The process’ and McDermott’s track record are reasons for cautious optimism, but roster flaws need fixing — especially at WR and D-line.
• The Jets, despite their soap opera, remain dangerous spoilers for the Bills.

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For Bills fans and AFC East watchers, this episode delivers smart analysis, tough love, and plenty of wry humor — a must-listen before Monday’s pivotal matchup with the Jets.

Transcript

[A]

They talked a lot this week about the process.

[B]

Yeah, they really did.

[A]

Yeah, it was, hey, the process. This, you know, we had a leadership meeting trail Bernard said and we gotta, we gotta stick to the process. And know Mike, you had the, the, the stat of the tweet.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That after they've lost. They've lost two games in a row in the last four games. Four years and they've always.

[C]

And post that two game losing streak. They have won 21 of 23 games over those four years.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Their only two losses were hail Murray and the overtime game to the Eagles. That's, that's wild.

[A]

This is the Buffalo plus podcast brought to you by Connors and Ferris.

[B]

All right, hello and welcome to the Buffalo plus podcast presented by Connors and Ferris. Mike Catalana. Dan fades. I am Jenna Cottrell. Thank you so much for joining us. Please be sure to like comment, subscribe and share. We always appreciate it gentlemen. A lot to talk about. Really start the season 3 0. They've lost back to back games. They started out hot and Mike, they've come back down to earth.

[C]

Yeah, I mean the level of competition has gone up too which has been the case. That first loss was bad against Baltimore. I mean that Ravens team dominated. I thought the game, the Bills made a slight comeback and then you know, threw away any chance this past week. It was a different kind of game. I thought they got off to a bad start. They missed a couple of opportunities to score early and got behind and then they woke up a little bit and I'm not glass half full because the offense was bad. They had trouble at the end but Dan, at least I saw a little more, I shouldn't say more fight, but fight. That worked. They made plays and I was really impressed with the defense after that tough start and giving up that big play. Yeah, that's encouraging considering they're still not fully healthy. They're getting there.

[A]

Yeah. I don't think anybody wants to hear that. Sean McDermott is still coaching a pretty high level defense without multiple of their multiple guys that are out or suspended. But I still think that he has done a really good job with a bunch of backups. A rookie at safety. Yeah, they were down was it 20 to 13. Still made it a game late to tie it up. Moving past we, we've talked about at length about the, the clock management and the decision at the end of the game. But I still have faith in this defense is going to end up being a top 10 defense because that's just what Sean McDermott does. No matter who is out there, that there's still going to be a competitive team at the end on. On that unit.

[B]

Yeah, I think they've done a really good job of kind of especially this last week. Like you said, the slower start and then for them to be able to force some turnovers, which. Having Terrell Bernard back cannot be understated. What that does for this team, the fact that Taron Johnson looks like he's getting closer. Could this be the week that he returns? We said it on our show of how Taryn Johnson makes everyone around him better when he is out on the field. You could say that about Terrell Bernard. So I. Obviously it looks like things are moving in terms of that in the direction the Bills want. Ed Oliver, though he did not practice yet again on Thursday. That Dan, I. That kind of scares me. The hamstring injury for him.

[A]

Soft. Tish.

[B]

The soft tissue injury. Those. Those can linger.

[A]

Yeah. I don't expect to see Ed. I don't know if you guys do. I don't expect to see Ed this week, especially again. The injury only happened on Thursday of last week. So it was like it happened last Sunday in the game. Yeah, it flared up. You know what I was thinking? Why doesn't the NFL. Why can't you do the IR like baseball can do? The injured list?

[C]

Retro.

[A]

Retroactive.

[C]

It would make sense because in baseball, you've reported the injury.

[A]

You've reported the injury. And then usually for baseball, it's like, well, we'll see how he does over the next three days. And then all of a sudden it's okay, he's. He's not going to be back. And they say, well, it's. He goes on the injured list, but it's retroactive to. To the time of the injury.

[C]

You got to give it maybe a little bit of time. Like you should be able to have five days, six days from the injury to make a decision because if the guy gets hurt on Saturday at a walkthrough.

[A]

Yeah. Happened to Gabe Davis.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

That's what went wrong.

[C]

But it.

[A]

It's true because I got a Gabe Davis take. Yeah. About a current bill.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Okay, set up.

[B]

Dang, dang, dang. There was something about Ed Oliver I wanted to talk about. Oh, I do think if they were gonna put him on ir, though, they would have already done that.

[A]

Agreed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But that can linger.

[B]

I. Yes, I gotta shrink down. Yes, it can linger. But at the same point, I think if they thought it would be something that needed four weeks and they would have already Done that. So there's. I. I think there's that. So we'll see. He was at practice in terms of being out there, like, with the team, walking around, but he did not participate in any type of drills on the sidelines or anything like that. So when you see that. When you see that, Mike, it's like, oof.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, Thursday is really, like, Wednesday practice this week with the game being late. So. So a lot of times, if a guy doesn't practice on Wednesday, it's a veteran day. You're not really too worried, or it's.

[C]

You're still coming off the week before, so it's less concern.

[A]

So I guess it's. It's a Saturday we'll really get to see. Right. Because I think they have a practice tomorrow that is closed to the media, meaning Friday. And then we'll hear from Sean McDermott on Saturday morning for the designations.

[C]

Eric Cimo. Quo. I hope I'm saying that right. Do you have a feeling Allen is more hurt than they're saying? No, I think he's banged up. I don't think he's hurt.

[B]

Yeah, I think he's banged up because at this point in the season, he has taken hits. I feel like he plays every season dealing with some injuries. That being said, I do not think, as the wheel turns, asked, do they think they covered up a concussion? Who's.

[C]

Who is they?

[B]

There's been a lot of people online that have been saying that that is the case just to go through the protocol once again. So when Josh went down, he hit his head against the turf. The NFL upstairs will call down, hey, he needs to be evaluated for a concussion. So I was just looking at the video today I had from the Houston. From the Houston game. So Josh gets called into the blue tent. He's in the blue tent with the guy wearing a red hat that happens to be an independent NFL neurologist. So the NFL neurologist is in there with him, as well as some other trainers. Josh tries to run out of the tent, and they call him back in.

[C]

But you. You don't know what was said at that moment. It's not like he tried to run away from the guy.

[A]

She was not in the tent.

[B]

No, I was not in the tent. But you.

[C]

You saw him leave. This same thing happened with McGovern the week before, where they thought he was clear. He may have thought he was.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Cleared.

[A]

Yeah, that's what she was getting.

[B]

I was getting to that. They called him back into the tent.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Because he wasn't Official. Yeah. You interrupted me.

[C]

No, no, no. Oh, I did.

[A]

That was a bad interruption.

[B]

That was. That was wild.

[C]

Yes, But I didn't want it to be misinterpreted.

[B]

If you would have let me finish my thought, I guess what I would have said is that Alan tried to run back out in the field and then they were like, josh, no, you need to go back into the tent. So Josh went back into the tent once again. Then he was cleared by the NFL neurologist. That's what allowed him to get his helmet and go back out on the field. Now there are people saying, hey, I saw a cutaway of Josh Allen doing a smelling salt. Which Josh Allen and the Bills and every NFL team, like in many sports, they use smelling salts very, very frequently.

[C]

Are they ammonia caps?

[A]

So Josh, I went back to look because that was a lot of talk on social media, was, well, he took smelling salts, like all this stuff. He has one. He has a guy on the sidelines that he throws warm up balls on the sidelines with Mitch Trubisky and those guys before a drive, and then a guy hands him a smelling salts, he walks over to the sidelines and then he goes in every single drive hit or not every. The entire. If you were on an NFL sideline after a football game, there's a hundred of these little red capsules.

[B]

Capsules, Yeah.

[C]

I don't like this because you two who are on the sidelines during a game are adding facts. When Joe Schmo at home is seeing something and going, oh, and then they're covering up. I'm like, who is covering it up? Is the NFL covering it up?

[A]

So let's not be naive to say the NFL hasn't dropped the ball on some concussion stuff.

[C]

Right.

[A]

That. That's for sure. But we have seen, hopefully they have learned from TUA and what has taken place. And then we saw, to your point In Baltimore, Connor McGovern goes in the tent, comes back out on field, and he was. He never left the field like he was. A play happened. He was clearly shaken up. Like I. You got his bell wrong. Like, to whatever extent that is. And then the play's about to go on. They stopped the play because an independent neurologist upstairs flagged it. He goes off, there's a commercial timeout, he comes back in. And then before that play, he gets sent back out. So for everybody that thinks that, well, this. He didn't get clear. Josh didn't get clear. Right. We have seen the protocol work.

[C]

Yeah, right.

[A]

To. To that level.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I Guess. I'm sorry, go ahead. I was going to say, the question.

[A]

Being he just interrupted.

[C]

I was going to set you up.

[A]

Interrupted again.

[C]

I was going to say, the question being what is said to Josh Allen. I didn't want to make the point that Josh just talked to the doctor and then decided it's time for me to run out of the tent.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm saying is. Is someone telling him? Because obviously, Even with Connor McGovern, someone allowed him to leave the tent.

[A]

That is correct.

[C]

And then he went out. And then all of a sudden there's another person going, hang on a second. We haven't cleared this. Maybe they. Maybe that person in the tent needs to speak to the NFL representative. And that wasn't done yet. I just didn't want it to be conceived as like, Josh did a drive by in the tent and decided, I'm going to run on the field.

[B]

Yeah, no, that was not the case because I think. I think the turnover happened and Josh wanted to run back out on the field, but they said, hey, you have to come. They literally were like, you need to come back. Like, Josh, you have to go back in the tent. To which he did. I see Sandra L. King saying, Sal Capaccio was there, and he said there was no concussion. He ran out of the tent onto the turnover, and they called him back in. So Sal Capaccio was standing right next to me. Because S. Is not the only media member down on the field. He did not say that there was not a concussion. We do not know that. All we know is that Josh Allen went into the tent with an independent neurologist from the NFL. He was then cleared to go back out onto the game. That is why Josh grabbed his helmet. Josh usually does a smelling salt before he runs out on the field. He went and did exactly what we have seen him do many a time. So that is why people. I think people are saying, oh, they. They didn't follow product protocol or he's. He passed the protocol. That. That is it.

[C]

I have friends continually texting me. Continuous. Continually texting me. He had a concussion. He had a concussion. People saw clips of the video where he hit his head and then the video stops and Josh is down. But it was pretty quickly after he hit his head that his feet were moving and the doctors were.

[B]

Yeah, he kind of like did a swim with his feet. I. At first, because I was. I was.

[A]

I was on the field.

[B]

I was on the field. And at first I thought he got the wind knocked out of him.

[A]

Well, that's what Josh apparently was saying when he went to the sideline, was. He was pointing to his chest.

[B]

Yes. Because it seemed like he kind of crumpled, which, if you've ever gotten the wind knocked out of you, you feel that where you're like, oh, my gosh, I can't. I can't breathe. So there's. Oh. Eric Quizmo said, to be clear, I was asking mainly about the hand. Oh, my God.

[A]

He just went off on a five minute tangent. And he's just sitting there like, I was. I didn't, I, I didn't mean to do this.

[C]

Yes. It, it started out with. Because he has multiple things he's been banged up with, and he's on the.

[A]

Injury report with an ankle, which, which goes back to the hit he took in Baltimore where people said he got hit in the head in Baltimore. And Josh said, I. I rolled my ankle. Like, I got my ankle rolled up on. That's why I was down for a second.

[B]

So TR Saying the clip looked bad, though. I, I think that's totally a fair point.

[C]

See that clip? He does hit his head. It does look bad.

[B]

Yeah. I think two things can be true.

[A]

Not a doctor. Also not in the tent. Not an independent neurologist. Just get. Want to get those out there.

[C]

Can you imagine that? Neurologist? Dan, you'd have to.

[B]

You'd have to learn how to read. Wow.

[A]

Not wrong.

[B]

Okay. Watch the Buffalo plus video.

[A]

Not wrong. I do think. I imagine everybody's brains are different.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's fair to say.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

If another player may take that hit, they could be more susceptible to concussions.

[C]

Tua.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That may have seen it.

[A]

That may have put TUA out for his career if he took a hit like that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Josh may be. I'm not talking about. He's built different and tougher. That's not. What I'm saying, is that everybody's head injuries are different and maybe that kind of a hit. Josh, he's fine. And we. I'm not trying to be, like, naive, like, oh, the NFL cares about player safety because I think they fumble that 90% of the time. But I'm not going to be a conspiracy theorist and think that just because somebody says that he looked like he got a concussion, not going to sit there and say, well, he has a concussion. Then because somebody on Twitter is a doctor that says, this is a head injury.

[B]

Yeah, no, I get it. Let's talk about some of the other injuries, because Khalil Shakir, we were at practice this week. He did not practice on Thursday, but we Saw him out, kind of. How would you describe it? Out on the sideline, kind of jogging around, doing some cuts. I thought it was a good sign. Encouraging of like, okay, this looks like someone that's getting ready to go back.

[A]

To practice to use a Sean McDermott line. He is improving. You know, he seems to be.

[B]

Is that a Sean McDermott line?

[A]

He says improving, and then he says it's still day to day. We're taking it one day at a time. Or Sean likes to say trending in.

[C]

The right direction, you're progressing.

[A]

So that's where I think Khalil is. I. We disagree. I think he plays this week.

[C]

Oh, I hope he plays. I just think he looked. Janet, even in the game when he got hurt. It was in Baltimore, on the sidelines.

[A]

You know, he's unsure.

[C]

Unsure of it. I still think it feels that way. It. Some people believe that it was. It's a high ankle. It's an ankle sprain, and those can tend to take a little longer. He needs to be. Look, he is a valuable player to this team, but if he's not healthy and he's not confident in that and he really goes all out, then you could have a bigger issue for it. While you really want him back for this week, because we saw what it looked like without him, you. You got. You can't push it any farther than. It's not pain tolerance for him. I think it's more. Can he have protection and be able to run the routes, be effective? Yeah.

[A]

James Cook's the other one, too. That popped up after the game. I think we've seen the clip on that catch. Kind of bangs his toe hard into the turf. He pops up with. What is a turf toe? Foot injury. Yeah, that's something that can linger. We talked about in the sports office. Want to get your takes, Jenna, who's more important? If one of those guys. If you got to pick one of those guys to play. If it's James Cook or Khalil Shakir, who do you think the Bills need out there more?

[B]

Wow, that's a hard question because I think you saw what the Bills offense, weapon wise, look like without Khalil Shakir. And the receivers just could not separate. They really, really struggled against Houston to the point where my dad was watching the game. He's like, they're. They can't get open. They can't even help.

[A]

Shout out, bench.

[B]

Yeah. Nine for 30.

[C]

Dan has a take on this.

[A]

It's a correct take.

[B]

Go ahead, James Cook.

[C]

Go ahead.

[A]

No, I'm fine with Cook being out because I think the guys behind him in Ray Davis and Ty Johnson, I have more confidence in that. They can be effective more than the guys behind Khalil Shakir. As we saw, they're not effective. I'll take my chances. You can run in the jets defense a little bit. I still think that while I'd rather have James Cook out there, if I had to pick one, I don't know how this offense functions without Khalil Shakir. We saw it in a game. It wasn't good. So more important guy to have out there is. Is Khalil.

[C]

I'm with you on that. I don't know. Who's your dependable wide receiver?

[A]

Mbs.

[B]

That was a joke.

[A]

That was a joke.

[B]

Yeah, well, Curtis Samuel.

[C]

I mean, honestly, Matt Collins is.

[A]

Cool.

[B]

Interesting.

[C]

I mean, I gotta say. Yeah, he's a cool guy and everything. He should be the fifth wide receiver on this team.

[A]

He's this year's Trent Sherfield.

[B]

No, I think he's more than.

[C]

He's playing a Gabe Davis role on this team.

[A]

Yeah, I have a guy playing a Gabe Davis role.

[B]

Curtis Samuel.

[C]

Curtis Samuel's doing nothing.

[A]

You have to do something. You see, you have to do something to become a Gabe Davis role.

[B]

Is it a pass catcher or receiver?

[A]

It's somebody on defense.

[C]

Oh, and. And Keon, I mean, you know, somebody was giving Keon a heart.

[B]

I mean, on trying to think about it. It's a Gabe Davis. What you say, Greg?

[C]

Damn. Do you want to just go ahead with.

[B]

Yeah, go ahead.

[A]

I was just on the podcast with Bob Myers from Built In Buffalo and he said. He said about without Ed, who needs to step up on the defensive line? And I said, anybody? I said, anybody? And I go, I don't know if Greg Russo has played the last three games. I just haven't seen it. And he goes, is he like a Gabe Davis type? And I went, wow, I never thought of that. And that's something I will not be able to get out of my head now. Three sacks in week one has been non existent since a guy they invested money into, a guy they picked up their fifth year option for, but has lacked consistency throughout his career. In his time in Buffalo, I would.

[B]

Argue he hasn't lacked consistency.

[A]

That's what I would say about Gabe Davis. Yeah, he's been consistent.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

At being non existent.

[B]

That makes me sad because I really like Greg. But you're right. Three sacks, week one, you're like, oh, dang. Coming out of the gate. This is his breakout season.

[A]

Oh, sorry. It was Dave Meyer. Sorry. When Dave said that from the Built In Buffalo, I was like, I'm going to take that and use that in our podcast. He said, just give me a shout out. It's Dave Meyer from Built in Buffalo.

[B]

Someone Roy Collins said. Did Dan say Bob Myers?

[A]

Yep. Bob Myers is the former Golden State warriors gm.

[B]

Dave. Dave Myers.

[A]

Dave Myers. Yep. I corrected. Sorry.

[C]

Okay. In terms of the defensive line though, now you're playing without Ed Oliver. Von Miller suspended. So none of that has helped more attention to goes to who? Whoever else is there. But I am with you. Russo needs to be. You're paying him, getting him in the fifth year option. He's making him make a lot more money. And you are committing to this player when you do that, you're committing that you believe he can be a cornerstone guy. I think when you say that because he's a first round draft pick, I mean Kyrie Elam is not getting his fifth year option.

[A]

Correct.

[C]

Unless something drastically changed. Yeah, but they. They did it with Ed. They did it with Dion. They did it with or not Dion. I'm sorry, the other first round picks.

[A]

And. And I understand not having AD and not having Vaughn hurt you as a unit.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

But do you just. Is Greg Russo just going to be a rotational defensive end on third down?

[C]

Well, if that's the case, then don't.

[A]

Got to be better in the rush. And they got. He got pushed around in Baltimore and he was non existent in Houston. And it's not like Houston has a great offensive line. The jets offensive line is not good. Changing their coach is not going to solve their offensive line issues. They have a 41 year old quarterback who cannot move if Greg Russo doesn't show out. I'm really starting to have concerns if he doesn't do something on Monday night because now we're having a larger sample size that Greg Russo is turning into an AJ epanessa where you're like if he leaves, oh well, if they keep him, it'd be okay on a good price.

[B]

That is true. All right. Two things I want to get to so real quick. Colleen saying, Colleen Andrew saying, I heard that Coleman was in a non contact jersey in practice. Now Mac Hollins was wearing a non contact jersey in practice. So just so people are aware.

[A]

Shoulder.

[B]

Yes. It's not Keon Coleman. And then Ed Oglesby asked a great question. Who is the biggest surprise player either positively or negatively so far this year? Daniel.

[A]

Biggest disappointment, biggest surprise negatively is Dalton Kincaid. Yeah, I don't think there's anybody that's been more disappointing this year to a team that credit to me. I was cautious about what I thought he could be this year. And everybody said we don't need Stefan Diggs because we have a number one guy and it's going to be Duncan Cade. And if you take his stats and you, you know, put it out over the years, he'll have 100 catches in a thousand yards. He is nowhere close to that. And I was banging the drum of being cautious about number about being a tight end that catches a thousand yards. Even in today's modern pass happy NFL where tight ends have become such big pass catchers and offenses, it's rare. Over the last 10 years, there's only been 23 of them and nine of them are by a guy named Travis Kelsey.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And to be a focal point of an offense, the passing offense and to be a tight end, you need to be hall of Fame generational. Good. Gronk, Kelsey, Tony Gonzalez. It is very difficult to be the guy right now. Obviously Kincaid had a better rookie year, but he's right now he's Kyle Pitts. It's like all this hope. Yeah. Kincaid's gonna be the guy and nothing has really come of it.

[C]

If you're going to be a number one guy for any team, you are a difference maker.

[A]

Correct.

[C]

There is schemes, there's all those things, there's plays. You beat the guy, like we said, sometimes you got to beat the other player.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And Kincaid has not done that. And I do know, obviously you get attention. That's the way it happens. But the great players or the number one players, not every number one is a generational player or a great player. But boy, if you want to be considered that, which is tough to do, as Dan said at tight end, you got to just, you got to be better. You know, you see Jamar Chase, he.

[A]

Just is beats the defender, Justin Jefferson, it doesn't matter if he's covered, you still throw him the football.

[C]

And so when you look at a tight end to be that guy, that's where almost everything has to be going really well. And even then, what we saw in the first few games, everything was spread out amongst the team. They ran the ball well, defense played well. Then it wasn't as noticeable. When you've gotten down in games, somebody needs to step up. And the closest thing we had to that in the passing game was been certainly Shakir.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And was Coleman in the last game.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Who made a freaking play, caught the ball and I'm gone. And that Was huge. That's what you need in players. Yes. Dalton Kincaid has a touchdown. That was a nice play in the win but he has not been a difference maker and that's what was expected of him.

[B]

A couple of comments, Gerald Mcclinton saying credit to Dan. Credit to Dan and then also TR saying for what Dawson is being paid, he's a ghost that you could put honestly. When I thought of biggest disappointment I thought of mvs. But okay, I thought of Kincaid, I thought of Knox and I thought of Curtis Samuel. That's a lot of players on the.

[A]

Offense and I will say a lot of that's unbeaten.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean yeah, he's the one.

[A]

You gave the extension to Knox and then traded up to draft a tight end. And this two tight end. This 12 personnel hasn't really flourished at least this year into anything. Defenses have adjusted. Defenses are now playing more man coverage that everybody thought well, Josh is his own. He's got to get better at reading the zone because he's so good at beating man. He was good at beating man because he had guys that could win one on one. And say what you want about Stefan Diggs, but I remember when Diggs talked about when Kincaid got rolling, it opened things up for Diggs and when Diggs was good, Kincaid was rolling because you defenses had to give attention to more than one guy. We saw guys in Baltimore. Unbelievable. Kyle Hamilton is good enough to take out Dalton Kincaid. Kyle Hamilton is that good that he can take away your guy. Derek Stingley lined up a couple of times against Dalton Kincaid. That is how little the Houston Texans respect the rest of the Bills wide receivers to go. We'll put our best cover guy on your tight end. And Dalton's not that good right now.

[C]

Right.

[A]

To beat a top tier corner.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So that's problems.

[C]

I don't know if you saw Steve Smith, former receiver came out, he was talking about the Bills and he said Coleman's in the wrong spot. He needs to be in the slot against or against. Now Kyle Hamilton is a notch above a regular safety but mostly against linebackers, players that aren't as fast. Linebackers and. And whatever. And he's not an X. I think he's playing in the outside a lot because they don't have anybody else.

[A]

Exactly. So if you put Coleman inside, somebody else has to go outside.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And you don't. Who do you want? Who else do you want out there? Do you want Curtis Samuel outside? Do you want Shakir outside? Like there's. This is a. What we go back to in the preseason in training camp. And we said, I don't know how this is all going to work because everybody kind of does the same thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This is. Everybody ate for three weeks and everything was great and now there's problems. Well, and what is your answer, the solution to the problem?

[B]

Well, we talked about like everybody eating. Is that sustainable? That was one of the things I remember asking because I was like, things are going great right now, but you know, adversity always creeps up in the NFL. And to see really what has happened and the lack of answers and the lack of separation, all these things. Look, there's a reason why number one, receivers are paid the way they are because they are that important. And I feel like we've seen this week and even last week of how, how much a game changing player can do exactly that. And unfortunately, the Bills just do not have the roster built around players that are exceptional at what they do. And we said this going into the season, you are projecting every guy to have their best. Yeah. Year. You are projecting players to play way more and way better than they have in the past. And so far it's really been Khalil Shakir that has lived up to that.

[C]

Yeah. I said at the beginning of the year that there isn't every player, as you're saying, because they've either not been asked to play that role for many reasons or just hadn't played in the league like Keon Coleman. So when you looked at their numbers, you thought, okay, like if they all do just what they've done, it looks like it looks right now.

[A]

And I like Brandon Bean. We. He sat on your patio.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, yeah. He had the Dan is wrong mug.

[A]

Yes. He made a conscious effort to call it a transition year and to move on and. But while there's a ton of heat on Sean McDermott and I understand the late game scenario, all that and there's heat on Joe Brady and all these things when after three weeks it was. It stinks because we're going to lose our OC and now it's. Brady doesn't know what he's doing. This was a. They don't construct the roster. Sometimes so many people are on social media yelling at me that McDermott's not doing this and all the things. He doesn't draft the players, he doesn't sign players. Like this is a Brandon being constructed roster. And there are flaws with this roster that are being exposed.

[C]

Two main places, there are flaws, defensive line and wide receiver.

[B]

They've struggled with defensive line for a long Time.

[C]

The difference between the two is they have invested huge resources in the defensive line. First round picks, you know, second round picks, second round picks that flamed out. Right. And free agents like Von Miller, when you add all this up, the D line is farther away from being what you need maybe than it's been since 2018. If you start looking at what they have. Right. Because you would hope that there have been moments. But now you've got Vaughn suspended towards the end of his career. Ed is a very good player. And Russo that you're hoping for, like you're not, you know, and. And Epanessa, they're okay wide receiver. They have not invested only one first round pick and it was not even.

[B]

The only one pick.

[C]

One first round pick is when they traded for Diggs, but now Diggs is gone.

[A]

Yeah. Coleman's a second. Gabe was a third.

[B]

I mean, we came out of the draft being like, I can't believe they.

[A]

Only draft in the time it takes you to actually board a flight from.

[B]

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[A]

You could have bought a Hyundai on Amazon. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for more details. Limited availability pickup through participating Hyundai dealer and select markets.

[B]

Did one receiver.

[C]

Yeah. Where's our guy? He's still back there. See if the Bears want to trade him.

[B]

I want to get to Shane Russell. Ten dollar tip. Thank you, Shane.

[C]

Thanks, Shane.

[B]

Love you all. Haven't watched the last game tape, but it does seem like they aren't using motion as much as they did in the first three games. Maybe I'm just blinded by mediocre. Mediocre mediocrity and missing it. It's a great comment. I will say sometimes on the road with it being louder, that can come on. I, I agree. I think it needs to be employed more. But at the same point, I think.

[A]

That that's an excuse.

[B]

That's fair. That's fair.

[A]

That's just. I think it's. I think Brady. I was. We did the podcast and I said, joe, Brady has been so good at keeping things simple and has been doing what he does well and not being dictated by other things that when they ran the ball well, it was, we're gonna run it. There's nothing you can do about it. And he's been implemented all this pre snap and things like that. When I sat up next to Mike when he wasn't talking, I was trying to. At the press box of the Jags game, I was trying. That was good, right?

[C]

That was hilarious, by the way. Dan was wrong. Gabe was a fourth. That's been mentioned several times.

[B]

Oh, I thought you were laughing. That Chevy saying Cody Ford over DK Metcalf. Metcalf. I'll never forgive him.

[C]

By the way, Dan is always, always trying to pump up Gabe Davis.

[A]

I made him a third round pick.

[B]

How about that?

[A]

I remember I was trying to mark down every snap that they did pre snap motion. And it got to the point where I was like, it would be easier if I track the plays that they didn't have pre snap motion because there was so much of it. And I think they did like 80% in that game. And the Jags had no answer. And they've gotten away from that the last few weeks. I know that the Shakir injury and all these things can be a reason, but if guys can't separate and Keon's getting jammed at the line and that's not his strength yet, and maybe he will develop and get releases in his bag of tricks as he develops into a wide receiver, but you can free him up. It doesn't have to be a motion into the slot. A soft motion at the line of scrimmage just before the snap. Moving laterally allows corners not to get their hands right on it. Give this guy. It's what Cole Beasley did so well. It was soft, short motion and he won right at the line of scrimmage. I'm not asking for Keon to be Cole Beasley, but I'm asking use the formula that you have seen work in the past to help your guys now.

[C]

Yeah, because he's a. He's a stationary starter. Yeah, right. He's standing there ready. And you did see, that's the one time when they were in Miami, he got. He got really locked down by Jay Ramsey and so give him some help in that way. And, you know, sometimes when you look at what they've put out there on the field, none of them are one on one. Individual winners.

[A]

Nope.

[C]

And the hope was that that's why I think everybody's as disappointed in Kincaid. He's not a bad football player. It's just, come on, you got in that first year, you got a lot of targets. This is the year to step up. And I think, look, this offense will look better whenever Shakir is back. That will help a lot. But as much as I like Shakir, it's not Justin Jefferson coming back on the team like he's a good player. The problem is there's just not enough and then it leads to the question is, do they just do something? Do they make a move?

[B]

Well, and that's. That's the point, I think where they're at, where they're kind of looking at, like, what are they going to do? Because, look, we talked about devonte Adams. I think it was last week. I don't expect that to be the case. But do you expect that the Bills do something? Do you think Brandon Bean does something? Because also Josh is getting the. Kicked out of him.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Because no one's getting open and that's a lot of time that your offensive line has to block and then Josh is scrambling and running out. Look, I get it. Josh is. You know, Josh is a big body dude. He's taken a lot of hits in his career. But it's like, if you can minimize that and have players that can win and have a guy that, like other teams, defenses are like, oh, God, we need to know where this guy is at at all times.

[A]

For a while, it was Josh. Don't run because you'll get hurt. Josh is getting killed in the pocket.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And nobody's winning for him. And he's having to do those plays where there aren't the freebies. There are no layups.

[B]

There's no layups.

[A]

And he's having to run to the sideline and try and make a superhero throw again.

[C]

There are times he could just make the quick throw.

[A]

Absolutely.

[C]

And. And usually what that.

[A]

But are we allowed to criticize Josh Allen?

[C]

Let's go right ahead. By the way, Sandra King says everybody eats, but who's setting the table?

[A]

Supposed to be Josh.

[C]

Well, Josh and Brady and Bean. Yes. Yes. Who's buying the groceries?

[B]

That's been.

[A]

Yeah, they're currently eating off paper plates.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Whoa. I love eating off paper plates. I have to worry about dishes. I'm also not the general manager of an NFL team, so.

[C]

Yes, Scott, Jenna did say that.

[B]

Yes, I did swear. Which if you watch our channel, you know that we do frequently.

[A]

Like a sailor.

[B]

Okay, you want to talk about the Jets? Because they are. They're going through it right now.

[C]

Yeah. Isn't it something that we're complaining a lot, and rightfully so, about the issues the Bills are having and they are. But the Jets, I mean, let's just say. What did they do? They came back from London.

[B]

So they flew back that London game.

[C]

Yeah, they fly back from London. They sent old Robert Sale out there to talk on Monday. Yeah, we're going to do this. We're going to do that.

[B]

They trot him out. That's what you say when someone's not doing well. They trotted him out.

[C]

And then Tuesday, the owner steps in. Goodbye. GM's not part of it. Rogers, of course, knew nothing.

[A]

Nothing.

[C]

He's like, this is an old reference. A few of you will know. He's Sergeant Schultz. There was this old show, very old show, called Hogan's Heroes, and he would.

[A]

Say, my dad's favorite show.

[C]

Nothing. I know nothing. That's Aaron Rodgers. He knew nothing about this. He just sat back and said, oh, I just saw a tweet that said they fired Robert Sala. That's a shame. Knew nothing about it.

[A]

I saw a tweet that was, they've hired a new head coach. And it was like, Baron Bodgers. It was Aaron Rodgers with a shaved head.

[B]

That's amazing. Yeah. I mean, and then he goes on McAfee and he's like, you know, everyone has this narrative about me being involved. And, you know, I. I just. I feel for Robert Sala and all this stuff, and it's like, dude, don't act like that.

[C]

Hug. That warm embrace.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Really Told you all you needed to know.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. That's.

[C]

So then the question is, what happens this week with them now? They have a new play caller.

[B]

They have a new.

[C]

A new head coach.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I think their issues. If I was the jets and. And Aaron Rodgers would have come to me and said, I'm firing the coach. I need you to help me, Mike. I would say run the freaking ball to Breeze hall against the Bills. Run the ball. Run the ball, and then it'll open things up for you. Because the Bills have struggled stopping the run in general. I would run it this week, but.

[A]

If you run the ball, he can't throw the ball to his friends like Alan Lazard.

[C]

That's his one friend.

[A]

He's working to get his other friend.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

No family. One friend. Man of war. Thank you for the tip. Real quick, has Dan gotten over the Braves loss?

[A]

No. Oh, actually, yeah. I feel better. I feel free.

[C]

I told him the same thing with the Phillies. I. I feel free. It was a horrible team to watch. And I would say this. Dan's gonna get mad when I say this. Credit to the Mets.

[A]

Nope.

[C]

They were the better team. They certainly were better.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Look at that.

[B]

All right, let's go back to the Bills because we're actually the jets, so Robert Sala. What?

[A]

No, I just. I don't think. We were talking about it on our show, the Buffalo. Plus that we do on tv. I don't think anything Changes with play calling or anything. I don't think scheme changes. Aaron Rodgers runs his system. It is Aaron Rodgers west coast his system.

[C]

Well right now his system sucks because he sucks. I mean it was bad.

[B]

Bad.

[C]

It was terrible against Denver and if you watch that game against Minnesota it, it was horrible.

[A]

Do you know who Todd Downing was before today or Titans?

[C]

Oh yeah, he was the right was. He was there.

[A]

I thought he was the Raiders too.

[B]

I just know 21 and 22 I believe he was with the Titans and they struggled. Like I only know that because busting with the boys. Taylor Lawan was talking about how when he was he did like he got found the news out on on live on the pod and he said that he knew, he thought he knew Todd Downing knew that he was going to be fired because Taylor Lawan joked that wherever Todd down. It's a great story guys. Wherever Todd Downing was going next, like Taylor would join him on the next team and he goes oh so for a high school football team like he kind of had the inclination that his time was coming to an end there.

[A]

That's where I just don't think that Todd Downing goes into this meeting and it's like Aaron, hey.

[B]

Yeah that's true.

[A]

Hey Aaron, listen to me. You don't know what you're talking. I'll tell you what's going wrong with the offense. I'll figure this out. And I think Aaron just goes like you can talk into my headset all you want. I'm just going to do whatever the hell I want because I'm Aaron Rodgers and I'm going to call my own.

[C]

Remember when that meant something.

[B]

R E L A yeah.

[A]

Now again, if the Bills don't get any pressure on Rogers and he sits back in the pocket and throws back shoulder perfect throws to Lazard and Garrett Wilson. The Bills are in for a long night. When he throws that ball it is unguardable and they can lose this game if they don't get any pressure. But the Vikings were able to get pressure to him, knock him around. He's a 40 something year old quarterback coming off a torn Achilles. He's a statue.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And but he can still make throws.

[C]

Oh no, he yes, that is the throw he really makes.

[A]

But when people think oh like interim head coach like they're going to they. The interim head coach comes, they rally the team. They win the next week I was just looking up for betwise over the last 28 coaches that have been fired. They're 15 and 18, they're following week.

[C]

And the vast majority of those teams now, let's be honest, most of the time when they're firing a coach during the season, it's late in the year, interim coach comes in with two games left. I mean, that's more of the norm. Very rarely does that team ever make the playoffs.

[A]

Correct. The Raiders was the only one.

[C]

Yeah, that Raiders team made the playoffs.

[B]

Well, the end of your point was interesting of why a lot of coaches. Why coaches get fired because they're on.

[A]

Bad teams and they're bad rosters, teams that are playing poorly. Like, I think it's easier to fire up a team in week 17 to say, you're playing for your job. I don't know what a boost they get in week six, firing their coach to say, oh, hey guys, we should start playing better now. Like, Salah got fired. We should start working harder.

[C]

I think there are times when pulling the plug on a coach who is universally disliked by the team, it just is felt that way.

[A]

Losing the locker room.

[C]

The Vikings defensive coordinator, I'm drawing a blank. Ryan Flores, Brian Flores, I think he had a bad vibe in Miami.

[A]

Bad vibe guy.

[C]

The guy is a very, very good defensive coach. It was not working, that type of coach. And I'm only bringing him up because he was very tough on the players, tough on Tua, all those things. I do think there's times when you pull the plug on a coach that the whole place can go, Sauce Gardner's out there saying, I love this guy.

[B]

He.

[C]

He made my career for me. You know, I'm playing for him like it. I don't think everybody in that roster was sitting there going, we got to get rid of Robert Sala. You know, What I'm saying is I think you can get a boost if everybody's just worn down by the head coach, and that's not the case here.

[A]

I think they're worn down by Aaron Rogers.

[B]

Yeah, I was. What I was going to say is I'm very curious. The dynamic in that locker room right now, because you have Aaron Rodgers, who's obviously very established future hall of Famer. He has. He. His guys in that room. Then you also have the players that are not with Rogers from before. So what does that feel like? What does that look like? What does that do to a team's camaraderie when they're the have and the have not.

[C]

I would tell you this from talking to a lot of players who've been in this league for a long time. They cut through bullshit in a locker room. Those players know whatever Went on. It's no matter what is said on the Pat McAfee show, if that's the feeling, and I'm not saying it is, because we don't really know. Not in the building. But if they feel that, and it's more of this Green Bay guy. His guys. Not just Green Bay, his guys, his guys. His guys. Always his guys. If he. If that's the feeling, I don't think they're following him where they need to go. And then I think it can be more of a negative than a positive. No, but I think you're right. Worn out by the quarterback more than the head coach. And by the way, I don't think he's a great head coach either. It's not like I think he's done something great, but, man, talk about be put in a spot. Zach Wilson and this guy.

[B]

Okay, well, that brings the next point to me. Well, do you have one more point, Dan?

[A]

No, I'm good.

[B]

I was going to say, for all the drama going on with the New York jets, they have been a thorn in the bill side.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

The Bills have lost to Zach Wilson, what, three times.

[A]

How many wins, career wins does Zach Wilson have?

[B]

Most of them against Buffalo, I'd have to imagine.

[C]

Against the bills usually have 10. Give me a check.

[B]

But regardless, this has been a team that the Bills have struggled to play. You said it on our show of how Josh Allen thinks. Like, calls MetLife the House of horrors for him because of how this team has played.

[A]

There have been a lot of press conferences. I feel like We've been at MetLife where Josh is like, I've played, like.

[C]

How bad was he last year after that?

[A]

Atrocious.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

And he was really bad in that game and got picked off three times.

[C]

He has 12 wins.

[A]

So 25 of his wins are against the Bills.

[C]

Against Josh Allen. Yeah. I think one of the games Josh came out, it was a. End of the regular season, but yes, 12 wins.

[B]

Regardless, they have struggled against the Jets.

[C]

By the way, it's a little breaking news in the NFL involving the Jets. Hassan Redick is parting ways with his agency, caa.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[C]

That's who represents Josh is signing. Let me tell you something. They're not stupid people who run that. I don't know what Reddick's trying to do. He's losing a ton of money.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But it doesn't mean he's signing anytime soon or if he. He's not playing this week. But that's a real weird one. That's been Going on.

[B]

Well, I think something that's lost in Monday's game is that this is for the top spot in the afc.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, this is. These are two teams that are not looking great right now. They have been struggling. Obviously, the jets make all these changes, but there is a lot on the line on Monday night and the implications of that because it's early on, but we know the easiest way to the playoffs. Win the division.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I find it funny when people talk about, you know, it was. Remember who it was. Oh, it's Coward. And he talks about coaches late in games and he compared Andy Reid to being a life jacket. You're drowning in the ocean. And he goes, Sean McDermott is a kettlebell. That was like his analogy. Because Coward loves his analogies. And they always. People always say, like, what is Sean McDermott done? What has he won four division titles? Like four straight division. Like, I don't think that's nothing. So when, when you look at this game, and he also hasn't lost three games in a row since 2018.

[B]

And Josh was out with an elbow.

[A]

Injury and Derek Anderson was playing football games at that time. So he has. And Dawson Knox talks about it. You talk about a locker room. You talk about when you make moves for coaches. And it was something we talked about last year a lot. You make a move for a coach when they've lost the locker room. Dawson Knox said it like, hey, we never get too high. And they, they talked a lot this week about the process.

[B]

Yeah, they really did.

[A]

It was, hey, the process. This, you know, we had a leadership meeting, Trail Bernard said. And we got to, we got to stick to the process and know what we do and, and have faith in who we are. And we heard Joe Brady talk about that after the game. We have belief. We, we believe in the quarterback, we believe in the guys in this room. And I think that Sean McDermott's leadership, which is a huge part about being a head coach of being even keel, has allowed them to. Mike, you had the stat of the tweet.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That after they've lost. They've lost two games in a row in the last four games.

[C]

Yes. Four years.

[A]

And they've always.

[C]

And post that two game losing streak. They have won 21 of 23 games over those four years. Their only two losses were hail Murray and the overtime game to the Eagles. That's. That's wild.

[B]

That is wild.

[C]

First of all, to only lose two in a row. Is there a good team? Sean McDermott's career record is 81 and 49. Because I had somebody tweeted me this week and they were like, why don't the Bills do something, you know, drastic like the jets just did? I'm like, first of all, if you're following anything the jets are doing, that's what the old Bills used to do.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And secondly, Sean's 81 and 49. So if you're replacing Sean, you better be finding somebody you think is better. Because there's a long way to go down from what Sean McDermott has put up.

[B]

I think that all the time for the people that want to fire McDermott, like, okay, then who, then who, then who do you trust?

[A]

I had somebody telling me about how much better of a coach Kyle Shanahan was because McDermott is so bad. Late in games they say, never watched Kyle Shanahan.

[B]

I think, honestly though, I think some people, they watch the Bills so intently, which I understand. But then you don't see the mishaps and miscues of other teams because you're kind of watching from 10,000ft. And as opposed to being in locked in on every Bills game since Kyle.

[A]

Shanahan has become a head coach, nobody has blown more double digit fourth quarter leads than Kyle Shanahan. And if you want an offensive coach, that's fine. I understand you saying, like, I don't like having a defensive head coach. He's too conservative. And then he gets aggressive and you don't like how aggressive he gets. Like, it is always this. The grass is greener on the other side, somewhere else. And that's not always, always the case. But we, we've had these discussions, we've talked to when we're out in the road and we're hanging out with Bovet and those guys, we're like, name five coaches that you would rather have in the NFL like, that are available, that are available or that you are. You know, I don't put Ben Johnson in that. I don't put Bobby Slovak in that because they're unknown.

[C]

Yeah, well, they are unknown. So you have no idea what kind of head coach they're going to be. Might be phenomenal. Right? They may be the next McVey. They may be the next Arthur Smith. Like, you just don't know.

[B]

Yeah. And McVeigh is, I mean, he's a gem, but he's also like, just for one McVeigh, there's probably 15 other guys that you're like, dang, I can't believe they wasted Josh by doing this.

[C]

Now, that's why, from what we started talking about this Roster needs to be better. It's taken a lot of coaching to keep this together right now, you know, in whatever form. Well, you're gonna have to coach guys up because. Well, we've seen it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You.

[B]

And this brings up man of war. Thank you for the tip. He says. Do you guys think Bean is actively looking for a wide receiver one or is he not concerned yet?

[C]

I think he's actively looking for potential wide receivers. You're not really finding wide receiver one?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Nope.

[C]

I mean, unless you're like. I mean, I don't even know who would be.

[A]

I mean, would you consider Mari Cooper A1? No.

[C]

A former one?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Or A2. He's more of, like, always been, like, A1A.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Kind of player. Puts up numbers all the time. Like, he's a good football player. Mike Evans isn't getting traded.

[A]

Nope.

[C]

You know what I mean? Like, there's players like that. I don't think the Dolphins are getting ready to send, you know, Jalen Waddle somewhere.

[A]

To get a number one wide receiver, you have to draft them or you have to pay a premium to trade for them.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That's it.

[C]

Or. Right. Or you deal with the Tennessee Titans, who were stupid. When The Eagles got A.J. brown, I mean, that was. When you look back at that deal, it was like a number one pick. It was made on draft.

[A]

It felt like a spit in the face to Vrabel.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like we're going to like.

[A]

Like, screw you.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like AJ Brown at the time was 24 years old.

[B]

Insane.

[A]

Yep.

[C]

With that team, that is a rarity. That's when you got to be ready to pounce on a stupid team like the Titans were.

[A]

Do we want to do picks real quick?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're getting up on 45 minutes.

[B]

Oh, okay. You want to start?

[A]

Sure. Wait. Let's do standings.

[C]

Dan likes to say this. I am in last place. I am one game behind Dan and Jenna. I admit it. And I am wrong. I admit it. I was wrong. I had too much faith in this Buffalo Bills team. I was wrong.

[B]

Yeah. That's fine. How does that feel?

[C]

Shitty.

[A]

3 and 2, 4 and 1.

[B]

4 and 1.

[A]

Yeah. So I think this game is going to be ugly.

[B]

U, G, L, Y. I don't really.

[A]

Honestly, I think this game could go. Oh. Either team could win. I think it's a close game either way. I'm just going on. Sean McDermott doesn't lose three games in a row. I think that Joe Brady gets back to doing things simpler. I think he gets back to more preset Motion. I think they get back to running the ball. Whether James Cook is back there or not. That helps the offensive line. That's when they were playing the best, is when they were running and they were moving guys downhill. That opens up play action, things like that. They're going to have to get creative this week. I think it is going to be at times a field position game. Ugly game. I'll give you an ugly score, 22 to 19. I think there's a safety. I think there's missed kicks in this game. And if they win by 22 to 19, I think Tyler Bass hits a game winner. Wow.

[B]

What would you. What would your confidence level be in Bass as he ran out to go kick that?

[A]

Less than 50%.

[B]

Less than 50.

[A]

Like, if he hits it, I would be surprised.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I'd have my camera focused on him for the sad cutaway shot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then if it goes in, I'd be like, whoa.

[B]

He'd be like, oh, he had a.

[A]

Big one last year. Week one, they drove. They drove down the field. After being inept on offense for most of the game. They drove down the field. Bass kicked the game that put its overtime.

[B]

Yeah. He made the field goal late against the Texans.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So maybe he's building some confidence. The Bills would love to see that. Okay. In terms of my pick, I also have the Bills winning this game. I have the score being 24 to 21. I do also think that this will be an ugly game, but I think one of the things about losing is that it makes you go back to the basics and the basics of where the Bills have done well. Now Khalil Shakir being out, possibly, hopefully he'll be back, but if he's not, I am definitely concerned. As for James Cook, I feel the same way. But I think Taron Johnson does play and I think like I said earlier, he makes everyone out on the field be better. Terrell Bernard being back as well is also huge for this defense. I have it being a close game. I have it being an ugly one. But I think at the end of the day, well, the jets might come out and be the more desperate team to start. I just think there's huge issues with that roster with the development of their offense. And honestly, I think the Bills can beat this jets team. And frankly, on a personal note, I want to see Aaron Rodgers lose. So.

[C]

Wow, there we go. I do think there's also the London factor in this game. I think it takes something out of teams. We saw it last year. Bills came back and played a Horrendous game against the Giants and got very lucky to win. The jets are coming back from that. And then all the stuff that's going on in that building, I don't think any of it is a real positive for the Jets. And I think the Bills, honestly, I do think there was a positive about the way they played in the second half last week.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

When it doesn't result in a win, all anybody's focused on is McDermott's decisions and what they did at the end and all those things. They made a lot of plays in that second half. Dorian Williams, smooth Smoot, knocked the ball loose. They played tough. They forced some pressure at the end and they scored. And the play that Keon made, those things at least give me a little more hope. I don't love them against the Jets. It's never a good matchup, but the games are always like this. I think the Bills find a way. I need to hang with you too. I've got it. 20 to 17 bills.

[B]

Yeah. Chris saying we have to start faster on both sides of the ball.

[C]

Oh, no doubt.

[B]

It's a fair point.

[A]

The defense has a tendency under McDermott over the last few years of giving up opening drive touchdowns and making adjustments. A lot of times it's like the team marches down the field, they give up a touchdown. It happened in Arizona, happened in other games. And again, the Bills defense really kind of buckles down as they make those in game adjustments late. It's been something that Sean McDermott has been very successful at.

[B]

Yeah, you're right, Mike. Though I do think that jet lag. London factor, the London factor, I wish.

[A]

I would have brought up that point. That's a very good point.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Credit to you.

[B]

Credit to you.

[C]

Jet slag.

[B]

I mean, honestly, I feel like you've been workshopping that one.

[C]

I just threw it out.

[B]

But that's, that's, that's fine. That's not bad. All right, do we want to do Credit to me? Go ahead, you can start.

[A]

You start.

[B]

Credit to my fiance.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Again, he got it for paying for Amazon.

[B]

So, a little travel story. We, Mike and I traveled to Houston this past weekend. And on Friday I drove out to Buffalo to visit my cousin. So that was fun and nice. And when I came back, I didn't realize I didn't have that much gas in my tank. But I didn't really think about it and we left for our flight very, very early on Saturday morning. So I scooped Mike at about 4:30 in the morning and I looked down in my car And I'm like, oh, I only have one bar of gas and, like, 27 miles left in my tank, which is not bad. But also, we have to drive a bit. I have to drop off Mike on the way home, all this stuff. So I was panicked that I was going to run out of gas on the way home because our flight didn't arrive in Rochester until almost midnight on Monday. So my fiance. Yeah. Round of applause for him. Drove out to the airport with like, what you fill up your lawn. Lawnmower with and was putting gas in my car. To which security stopped him. Were like, sir, what are you doing?

[C]

By the way, how much of the gas actually made it in the town?

[B]

I have a picture. There was a lot.

[A]

It was 50. 50.

[B]

There was a lot on the ground, but yes. So he filled up the gas tank, and they actually went back because he was worried it was not enough gas. So shout out, Zach.

[C]

Way to go, Zach.

[B]

Credit to him. I love you, honey.

[C]

All right, I'm going to continue on the travel and say credit to me because I stopped Jenna from beating up somebody at the airport. Very quick story. Jenna grabs the car. I'm getting the bags. There was an issue with the bags, where they were going. I had two of them. I come walking outside, and this big doofus is yelling at Jenna because she didn't move the car up quickly enough.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And then he. What did he do? Knocked on the window.

[B]

Like, he, like, banged on the window and told you. Which I don't. Don't do that.

[C]

Don't do the. First of all, that's aggressive.

[B]

Yeah. And my thing is, if you ask me kindly, I will. Yeah, of course. No problem.

[C]

So give me the camera. So he said to Jenna, move forward. And she said, okay. And she moved one foot.

[B]

Nope, I moved one inch. I said, oh, you want me to move forward? And I moved up an inch. And that is not normally like me, but I was at my wit's end.

[C]

And then I. Before this happened, I open the back of her car, and she yells, what in the bleep are you doing? She thought it was the guy.

[B]

I thought it was the guy.

[A]

That's the best part of the story.

[B]

I thought it was the guy, but.

[C]

I, I. I ended up, you know, having to break it up. I thought Jenna was gonna. Jenna was gonna throw hands here.

[B]

Well, I don't normally act like that, but I was just shocked at how rude someone was.

[C]

Guy was rude.

[B]

He was so rude.

[C]

If. If you watch, first of all, you'd know her.

[B]

So, yeah, my face and was like, okay.

[C]

Did he really?

[B]

Yeah, well, yeah. Oh, I'll move up one inch. Honestly, I definitely learned something like that from you.

[C]

That's right. Like I was feeling story and she said that's something you would do.

[B]

Yeah. I go, yeah, Credit to you.

[A]

Yeah, credit to my wife.

[C]

Just my wife.

[A]

My wife. Just big picture. We have a four year old and a one year old at home. It's on Jenna now it's on me. Not my wife.

[B]

No, not my wife.

[A]

My wife, Renee again. We have a 4 year old who is 2 girls and a 14 month old and she's also 7 months pregnant.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

And our schedules are, wow, crazy.

[C]

You need to work more. Yeah.

[A]

So shout out to her at home and you know, she does more of the bedtimes during this time with working and traveling and all of those things. So I'll. I'll spend this one. My credit is to Renee.

[B]

That's sweet.

[C]

Very nice.

[B]

Is she watching?

[C]

Nope.

[B]

Because she's gonna have to clip this and send it.

[A]

Because she's gonna be like, why? I don't get why you were so late. It's like, because we had to. Credit to me and I had to give you credit. So, like, yeah, it won't be worth anything. No, but. But her friends listen. And her friends will be like, they talked about you on the podcast. And she'll be like, what did they say? And then it'll be something nice.

[B]

Yeah, but she doesn't listen. That's fair.

[A]

I did make her like, comment.

[B]

She listens to you enough.

[A]

Yeah, I did make her like, comment and subscribe.

[B]

That's fair.

[C]

Nice.

[A]

As you should too.

[B]

Yeah. Everyone, all right. We are all going bills for this. You guys will be down in New York or in New Jersey.

[C]

Yes, in Jersey. So our plan is Monday night, 6:30 to 7, all three of us will be on. Dan and I be down on the field. Jenna, be in studio. We can do a little Q A live.

[B]

Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. Walter S. Says credit to Dan for giving credit to his wife. Dan is playing chess. That was good.

[A]

Been married for a while.

[B]

I figured this game, how many years has it been?

[A]

17. So we're coming up on our seven year anniversary.

[B]

Wow, that's wild. Okay. All right. Bullseye says credit to me. I watched the whole pod. Well, Bullseye, we appreciate it.

[A]

Bullseye's OG Yeah, he's OG he's been around for a while.

[B]

Yeah, agreed. All right, cool. We'll have more on the Buffalo plus YouTube channel like Mike talked about on Monday, 6:30 to 7 to get you ready for the Bills. At Jets. For Mike Catalana and Dan Fates, I'm Jenna Cotrell. Please be sure to, like, comment, subscribe and share. We always appreciate it. That'll do it for us here on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel. We'll see you next time, guys. Ra.