← Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Two NEW Bills SUSPENDED, how much BLAME on BEANE and JOEY BOSA on being 'IMMORTALIZED' in BUFFALO
00:47:26
Jenna and Dan discuss all of that and more from a busy weekend at One Bills Drive on the latest episode of the Buffalo Plus Podcast.
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- [00:01]
A
So.
- [00:03]
B
So it's not ideal to have two guys.
- [00:06]
A
Yeah, it is not ideal to have two players suspended.
- [00:10]
C
Draft picks are like watermelons. Like, you can see. Like, does this one have the webbing? Does this one have all. How does it sound? And as someone who loves watermelon, I have tried to pick. I've. I've tried to master everything you're supposed to look for. And there is time and time again where I'm like, this is it. And then I open it up and it's melee.
- [00:40]
A
This is the Buffalo plus podcast, brought to you by Connors and Ferris. Hey, everyone, welcome Back to the Buffalo plus podcast here on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris. She's Jenna Cottrell. I'm Dan Fates. Mike Catalana, the legend, the hall of Famer, getting some time away. He's on vacation right now. Still texting us Bill's news as. As it goes along, but like, a day late. Yeah. This is a little bit of an overdue podcast. Before we get into it, please be sure to, like, comment and subscribe. We really appreciate it. Over 37,000. 37,000 of you beautiful subscribers. So we really appreciate it. Okay. I was saying how this is kind of an overdue podcast because Thursday Jenna was off. I went up to Buffalo for the Joey Bosa press conference, Demar Hamlin press conference, as well as Derek Forrest. And then Friday, Bean spoke and for lack of a better word, hit the fan. And then I was on vacation or I was off. So we wanted to get this video out for you on Monday morning and kind of get our thoughts on everything that's happened, as well as the Bills resigning. Dane Jackson, demar Hamlin as well, speaking. Because I thought he had some interesting points. Bosas, I thought points or his what? He said his press conference were really interesting to me, as well as trail Bernard changing his number. So we'll get into all of that and the implications of Brandon Bean, because I think some people are pretty upset and I think they have a fair point to be. But, Jenna, I just want to get your first reaction to hearing of these suspensions of Michael Hoyt and Larry Obanjobi when you first heard it.
- [02:21]
C
Yeah. So I got the push notification from espn. Elena Getzenberg did an article, and so I read the. The push alert, and it said, you know, both Bill's defensive line players suspended for PEDs. And I was like, that can't be right. Like, I was like, what? And I clicked on it, and I was like, wow. I mean, six games the first six games of the season for both Hoyt as well as Oban Joby. It was a surprise to me because these are guys that you brought in. Now, being said in his press conference, he did know about Hoyt, but the fact that there's now two players that will not be able to participate in the first six weeks of the season, I mean, that to me, that is a lot like you brought in these guys. You knew what you needed to do in terms of the defensive line and for them to be out now for, you know, a decent amount of the season, the regular season. I thought it was surprising first and foremost, but then also could be a huge detriment to this team and what they're trying to do. And I know you might be saying, oh, well, you know, it's the first six games of the season, this team will continue on. I get it. It is a long season. But at the same point, you knew you needed a pass rush, you knew you needed impactful players. And now two guys that you brought in will not be on the field. And that's not. That's not nothing. Dan.
- [03:38]
A
Yeah. Here's what Brandon Bean had to say because it was bizarre, strange. I mean, this is pretty much. This is a layup of a press conference that Brandon being gets to do every year, talking about the players he signed, how much he loves them, how much they're going to impact this team. You know, I always think Jeremy White of WGR does a great job of the flowchart of a player signs with your team. Awesome. It's a steal. Player doesn't sign with your team. It's too much money that that team got fleeced. But Beans explaining the signings of Hoyt and Oban Jovi, and then he has to say this.
- [04:17]
B
And while I'm on those guys, there's a couple things. Part of the delay. I'll start with Larry. Part of the delay with. With Larry was he received, you know, around this time after we agreed he got a notice that a pedestrian pending suspension. So he came into my office yesterday. We did not know it when we agreed the other night, so had a conversation. And I give him credit because he. It's early in the process. The league doesn't even know about it the way that it's done by an independent group. But he was very forthright. Larry's a. He was Pittsburgh's man of the year. Like, he's a good man. He's never. He's played eight years in the league and never had a blip. And so you know, that's obviously frustrating for him and a little bit of a setback for us and so. But we've talked it through. We're in a good spot, but that's part of the delay. We did get him here yesterday and it becomes there's some contractual things that we've had to work through. And so he hasn't officially signed yet, but he should be signing shortly. But again, so he will be out the first six games. And the second curve ball here is Hoyt we knew about. So we were aware of his. And I would not have done two guys, but we did a three year deal with Hoyt knowing his situation, same thing played. He's been in league five years. I think his was earlier. We were made aware of it. There's a thing we can get with the league that we can find out status, his status. We knew and we talked it through with his agents, so. So it's not ideal to have two guys with that, but both guys have never had any issues off the field. And you know, it's tough lesson of where do you, where do you get your, your supplements or whatever happened. And I think Larry is. You guys can ask him, you know, I think he's planning to talk to the media. Mike will be up next because he has signed. You know, my understanding from Mike is thinks, you know, he knows what happened, but where he, you know, and then Larry does not know. Still looking into it, but wanted to just expedite it and be done. Could have drug it out. So we're gonna have to. And we've talked about this since we got that news yesterday. We're gonna have to kind of treat this as if we know now that a couple of guys are, you know, injured in camp and you're gonna, you know, you put them on IR to start. So the way that would work.
- [07:19]
A
You.
- [07:19]
B
Know, those guys will be out the six games. They can, they can be out of the. They have to be out of the building four and then they can come back for two and begin play week seven. So they'll be with us in the off season program, the training camp and then when you make the 53 cut. So again, we'll be okay. It's just kind of plan for one. The other one, he literally got the letter Larry did this week. Honestly did not have to tell us because the league, when I called them, they were unaware of it. And it all added up to when they get these tests. There's more than one sample. There's one sample. And then like three weeks later is the next sample. Until all of that, until, until both have been tested, the league is not made aware of it. And so, but again, we'll embrace those guys. And if they were guys that this had happened before, we probably would have avoided them. But again, Larry's been in the league man of the year eight years and sometimes, you know, whatever. And again, he doesn't, you can ask him, but my understanding is he is not knowing, you know, what exactly occurred. So we'll see. You guys know how this works. You guys have seen this before where, you know, you get frustrated, like somebody agrees and then two days pass and then they change their mind or whatever. Well, guess what, everyone else has already agreed and signed, so the pool has been thinned out. And so by the time we learn this and what are your options to either stay with the player or a lot of other players have agreed to terms. Maybe we would have, you know, we definitely wouldn't have gone into this with two guys facing this. But at this point, you know, choosing Larry's position, since we agree with him, there's a lot of other D tackles off the market. And so that's why we, you know, and again, he was, he was straight up with. As soon as he walked in my office yesterday just to talk and, and I respect that about him.
- [09:44]
A
Yeah. So a couple of things stood out to me. One, I love the fact that Bean has to go. Yeah, it's not ideal. Like as he's explaining this, which I thought was just what any of us would do in this situation. And I know people are very upset and frustrated and comment in below your thoughts. Maybe after hearing the full explanation and there's more to it. There's salary cap implications, there's the way that, you know, pretty much they go on IR for the first six games. They, they're not allowed to be in the building now for the first four weeks, then they can rejoin the team. Similar to Vaughn suspension, the NFLPA has kind of changed that. So when a player suspended, it's not exactly like they're banished from the team. They will be able to participate in all of the off season stuff. Then when training camp ends, they'll hit ir. So all of that kind of plays into it. The Hoyt signing, obviously Bean saying, we knew about him, but we're signing him to three years. So if you're looking at it and saying you're going to take your medicine, we still like the player, we still like the future that we can have with him. I understand and I'm not trying to side with being here. But he does kind of give the explanation too, of like, well, then why did you sign Ogun Joby? And it's like, well, I wouldn't have signed him if we would have known. Pretty much the NFL. When being talked on Friday, the NFL wasn't even aware of the suspension. The B sample hasn't even been tested. Like, this is all very last minute. And you always talk about agreeing to terms and there are players that agree to terms and then when the day comes, actually sign and free agency actually open. Some players go back on their word and agree to another team. But at that point, I kind of understand being, being. You're. You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. Because you wanted him to be on your D line. You target him, you agree to terms. 48 hours goes by. We know how fast NFL free agency works. And then all of a sudden this happens. You're going to lose the guy for the one year deal that you signed him a third of the season because of a ped. And now to look around and then say, well, who else is out there? Well, is ogun Joby for 12 games plus playoffs still better than somebody you would have for 18 games plus playoffs? I don't know. That is where Bean has to make that decision. But you're kind of screwed if you do, Janet. You're kind of screwed if you don't. Because at that point, decisions are already being made and you're kind of. Bean's kind of caught with his pants down of like, what am I supposed to do?
- [12:09]
C
Yeah, at this point you're kind of backed into a corner because it feels like a bit like musical chairs for some of these guys. Because it's like there's only a limited number of supply and people are getting picked up left and right. And it's like, all right, the music stopped. And at this point, there's really not the chair you want out there. So this is something the Bills will have to take on the chin and then move forward. Like, that's some of these, some of these things. It's like, is this what Bean wanted? Obviously not. But this is the situation that they're in and this is a situation that's going to play out. So how can you best adapt in the ways that you need to, to not let this completely derail the start of your season?
- [12:47]
A
I do feel bad for the coaching staff as well, because training camp, you're trying to find continuity, you're trying to find your systems, your Schemes and all of that fit and you're going to try and integrate them and get them up to speed in your system while also knowing it's not just one game, it's six that you're then not going to have.
- [13:09]
C
Like, and it's new guys. Like, it's new play. The, the familiarity piece. Like, all that, that continuity that you do build then will have to be segmented because, oh, wait, they can't be out there.
- [13:22]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [13:23]
C
And like the Hoyt stuff for him, a three year contract. I understand that where you're like, obviously not ideal, but we're gonna have him for a significant amount of time in the building. We really like the upside. But. But for Ogun Joby, a one year contract and then like you said, the first experience, he's not out there. I understand why Bill's fans are really upset. I also think sometimes it's a little buyer beware, you know, that can happen too. And that's. Unfortunately, the Bills are now dealing with this twofold as opposed to what they originally thought.
- [13:54]
A
And in my opinion, Jenna, I don't know what you think. I'm more upset at Bean and kind of more annoyed at the move of Hoyt than Ogun Joby. Like, you knew Hoyt, so you were fully aware when you were agreeing to terms because Hoyt said he got his letter three weeks into the off season. Yeah, he was. He also spoke on Friday. I mean, so did Ogun Joby. They both took full responsibility. I'm not trying to pat them. I'm not going to try and give them credit. Like, they said the right things. Hoyt said that he had been working with a trainer for years, had trusted the trainer too much, wasn't checking the supplements, wasn't being vigilant. He has nobody to blame but himself. Called it the lowest point of his life when he got the letter. Because it's not just a knock on your play as, you know, as a player of like, hey, those numbers you put up, you know what, you know, hey, it's. He says the knock on his character, again, that sucks. But the Ogun Joby is like totally out of left field. Like, if Ogun Joby still technically didn't have any responsibility to tell the Bills now at the time of this recording on Sunday afternoon. But you knew about Hoyt. And that's where I give Bean a little bit of it sucks this way. It happened because he goes, you know, it's not ideal with two guys. You're sitting there, it's like, yeah, no shit. Like you're sitting there. But, but the fact that it was the second one that blindsided you, I don't put as much blame on Bean because you got blindsided. Like, that just sucks. So it's like the Hoyt one is the one I'm a little bit frustrated as is. Like, okay, I understand it's a three year deal. I understand you like the guy and, and all these things and none of these guys have had any issues off the field. Ogun Joby was the Pittsburgh Steelers man of the year, Walter Payton nominee. Like, yeah, these aren't bad guys. This isn't a Von Miller domestic dispute. You know, allegations about anything like that, facing a suspension. This isn't a dui. This isn't any of these things. So it to me though, if people want to be upset and been, I'd be more upset about the three year Hoyt investment than I am about the Ogun Joby because that one Bean didn't know. Ogun Joby didn't know when he was agreeing to terms. And it just comes out of left field.
- [16:06]
C
Question for you then though, if Ogun Joby didn't have the suspension, would it still be as big of a deal for you with the Hoyt stuff? When being said so it's because of. So then I don't know if that's really fair.
- [16:21]
A
The Ogun Joby makes the Hoyt thing worse. But you knew about Hoyt. It's like you're. Yeah, it's Jenna. Here we go. The dating comparison. They. They signed a guy that was open about cheating. Okay. Like he cheated on his previous relationship. It was, it was a fluke. But now with Oga Joby, you just found out about this. So I give a little bit of a pass there. It's the fact that the Ogun Joby one makes the Hoyt one twice as bad in my opinion. And that is obviously hindsight being 20 20.
- [16:56]
C
I was gonna say. Yeah, I, I hear you. I guess I just. My thing was you should probably have known with Ogun Joby. Like if you knew with.
- [17:10]
A
I got it. Ready?
- [17:11]
C
Oh, gonjobi. Okunjobi.
- [17:13]
A
Yes. Oh, gun.
- [17:14]
C
Joe B. Yeah.
- [17:16]
A
Yeah.
- [17:16]
C
Okay.
- [17:17]
A
Shout out Joe B. Joe.
- [17:19]
C
Huh?
- [17:20]
A
Shout out Joe B. It's easy. Oh, gun.
- [17:23]
C
Oh, that's like. Okay, yeah, but maybe you should have known more details before signing him. Like if you knew about, they could have backed out. Yeah. I'm just saying, why did you know about one guy and why did you not about the other? That's, that's a question I Don't know the answer to.
- [17:41]
A
Well, Hoyt said he knew going into the, into the agreements of the term Ogun Joby found out after they had agreed. So he found out in like the 20, the 48 hours on, you know, whenever free agency opened to signing.
- [17:55]
C
Okay.
- [17:56]
A
So that's why Bean was saying, like, I could have not done the deal, but then what do I have, like, they could have gotten out of the Ogun Joby deal.
- [18:02]
C
Yeah. The musical chairs of chairs. Yeah.
- [18:05]
A
Great. That's a great analogy. Phenomenal analogy of musical chairs.
- [18:09]
C
Yeah.
- [18:09]
A
Other just little, little ones. The Bills resigning, Dayton Jackson on Friday to a one year deal. Jenna, I, I like this signing. I, I, we're sitting there on Thursday, Matt Beauvais and I, and we're sitting there and we're going, they're gonna sign Jane Jackson, aren't they? And Bovet's like, what are the odds? And he's like minus 250. And I was like, at least minus 125. And then literally 24 hours later, they signed Dave Jackson. Jenna, your thoughts? Because I think this is a fine signing.
- [18:37]
C
I agree. I know some people online were pretty upset about it. Like, you know what? Dane Jackson is now. Some people on this podcast might have referred to Dane Jackson as the ugly penny.
- [18:48]
A
Nope, that was Levi Wallace.
- [18:50]
C
Oh, you're right. You're right. Okay.
- [18:51]
A
So either way, Jackson was the, he took over the penny after Levi left.
- [18:57]
C
Okay.
- [18:57]
A
He was another one of those guys that they constantly never wanted to have start, but he constantly just kept earning starts.
- [19:04]
C
Yeah. I think to me, this makes sense. We're still up in the air in terms of what they're going to do with Raul Douglas. Are they going to bring him back? Are they not? Like, what will that look like? What will that piece of the defense be? You bring back Dane Jackson, a guy who has a ton of familiarity with the system. He knows what it's like to play in Buffalo, what it's like to be on this team. So, yeah, I think this is a low risk move. That makes sense because he can be your stopgap or whatever you need him to be if that is necessary. But also he is a great depth beast that knows what he's doing in terms of what this team wants. So I think, to me it's like, yeah, okay, cool. They resigned Dane Jackson. I'm not expecting him to have 82 interceptions. This, like, I think it's, it's okay to sign guys like this. I, I don't think not every signing you're gonna be like smashed it out of the park. Sometimes you got a bunch of. Sometimes you got to move a guy.
- [19:57]
A
Over, got to get him in position.
- [19:59]
C
Sometimes it's about the small ball.
- [20:01]
A
Yeah.
- [20:01]
C
That's what the Bills are doing with this.
- [20:03]
A
Yeah, I. My thoughts on, on Dane Jackson are very similar to Demar Hamlin. The outrage as I went on my soapbox last podcast is like, I don't know what you're mad about, especially with Demar getting a 1 million or a $2 million deal for one year. Like, that is not breaking the bank. It's not inhibiting you from signing a player, drafting a player, anything like that. If demar Hamlin starts, like I said, that is more of a knock on Cole Bishop than a indictment on the coaching staff of starting tomorrow. Hamlin and Dane Jackson is the same way. They are not signing Dane Jackson to a one year deal being like cornerback. Two locked up guys. We're all set. We got Dane back now Dane again. 7th round pick, played 4 years in Buffalo and was fine. Was fine. Like he started like 26 games. Things like that, like had pinch, you know, pinch starts and things like that. They obviously wanted to upgrade the position and they did when they brought in Russell Douglas and kind of made some of those moves. So it made sense to move on from Dane, which I thought was the right decision. Like, you know what Dane Jackson's ceiling is. You also know what his floor is. But depth signings also have to happen. And Jenna, to your point, like, depth signings aren't sexy, but if you have Dane Jackson as your third or fourth corner, fine. Let him compete with Jamarcus Ingram for the third corner spot. And then you either are going to bring back Rasool or hopefully you're drafting a corner that's going to start. Like, they need to fill out this cornerback room.
- [21:30]
C
They still remember two. Kair is gone.
- [21:32]
A
Kair is gone.
- [21:33]
C
That spot is now available. I would take Dane Jackson over Kair a hundred percent.
- [21:40]
A
I don't think there's anybody that, that could possibly argue that. Yeah, so you're right, though.
- [21:45]
C
I think it is important sometimes, like free agency is all about the sexiness, the lipstick of like, who. Who's this big name? All this stuff. Yeah, you can tell I'm. I'm like, no. Humble and hungry sometimes works.
- [22:02]
A
Yeah.
- [22:02]
C
But like, seriously, in all, in all seriousness, not every signing you're gonna be like, this is amazing, but this is how you round out a roster and you've got to need depth, guys. And so it's not going to have the, the, the splash and the sizzle that you want. But there is stake there and that's what's important.
- [22:18]
A
Yeah, and we were kind of talking about to in the media room, like if you sign by signing a guy like Demar Hamlin, bringing him back and signing Dane Jackson, if you don't sign them, who are guys you are familiar with, comfortable with, knowing the system, you're going to sign another guy that is just like Dane Jackson and just like Demar Hamlin, like you're not sitting there, going to be like, this guy we're signing, he's a stud. I can't believe this other team let him go. And now you're bringing him to be your third or fourth corner. Like your third or fourth corner is going to be a guy that is third or fourth corner talent and that's Dane Jackson. Like he's a, he's a spot starter and he can play. So. And I think that's a good segue to Janet to get into Kair because he was traded on Thursday after we recorded that last podcast. Yes, Bean talked about it. It's a, they get us fifth or sixth or seventh. It's not really. Yeah, it's more draft capital and things like that. Being talked about it, saying he was going to get emotional, talking about Kair, saying it just didn't work out, that it wasn't Kair's fault in the sense of lack of effort or trying. Kair needs a new start. The Bills needed to get him off the roster. I credit Bean for the sense of not keeping, keeping him around just for the sake of keeping him around. The Bills needed to move on. Kyrie needed a fresh start. Best of luck to him. But Bean did say, like it's on him. Like that is Bean's biggest draft bust. No question. Boogie Basham's a close second, but nobody has swung and Bean hasn't swung and missed more on a fastball than Kyrie Elam.
- [24:02]
C
Yeah, I mean, I think I'm glad that he took the ego hit and was able to do that and cut his losses because I think it is not for a lack of trying. I mean, I think of how many times we would go into the Bills field house for, you know, interviews and Kair would be out there with Christian Benford and the two of them would be working, you know, after practice ended, like working on fundamentals, him on the job, jugs machine, like all of those things that you want to see from a guy, especially a first round pick, but it just never came together in the way that the Bills thought it would. And sometimes it's, oh, it's not okay to, to miss that hard. But also sometimes it is okay to say this is just not working and we need to figure out what we can do. I the, the fact that the Bills got something back. Like when people are talking earlier on in the, the off season, like, you know, Kair's gonna get traded, I was like, what is the market for him? Like, realistically, you know what I mean? I think it just, the, the noise around Western New York was that the guy was a bust, all this stuff. So the fact that the Bills were able to get and recoup a little something back, but that does not change the fact that you, that you hit the nail on the head. That was a bad draft pick. Bad by Brandon Bean. Capital B up to get him. He did not pan out in the way. Never was a bona fide starter for this team. Was dicey when he was on the field for Buffalo. So now you cut your losses, you reset and hopefully, I mean, Kair is a great guy, I hope that and wish him success in Dallas. But I'm glad that they cut the cord and decided it's time to move on for both sides.
- [25:37]
A
And they tried like they hired a different cornerback position, they fired coaches like they did everything they could to invest in Kair and it just didn't work out. And that is life in the NFL and all of those things. It's funny thinking about being, making these signings, guys getting suspended. Moving on from Kair. We've said it before, like the Heat has been. It used to be on this channel and everything we would hear is it was 100% McDermott's fault on everything, every, every draft pick. We've constantly banged the drum here on Buffalo. Plus, like. Comment subscribe. Appreciate it. The fact of, it's, it's somewhere in the middle. Like you have to also, if you're going to knock Bean for Kair, you also have to credit him for Taryn because he did that. But then do you credit McDermott for coaching up Tarrant? Like, it's all of those things. It is cohesiveness, okay, it's the draft pick, it's the coaching. It all has to blend together. Bean obviously has the blue chip and the trump card for always having drafted Josh Allen. All of those things. You can credit Dable, you can credit Josh and credit all those things that go around it. But I feel like the pendulum starting to swing a little bit of people realizing the Heat's getting ramped up on Bean. And when I say that, let me just preface this by saying there is no world that Sean McDermott or Brandon Bean are on the hot seat or getting fired anytime soon. And I can promise you that because look at Terry Pula's other team that he owns and they're really, really bad. And Terry Pegula is not good at hiring coaches or GMs in other sports. He got it right with Bean and McDermott. That being said, Jenna, I do find it funny. We always go into it. It was actually Priscilla was on part of my take recently and he was talking about how he's been alive for the most important presidential elections, every single one. And I'm sitting here going into this one going, it's pretty important draft for Brandon Bean. It may be his most important draft for Brandon Bean. It's like, yeah, it's his most important draft since the last one and the one before that. That was his most important draft and things like that. Because this is again, he's hit it out of the park with, we talked about that class of Cook, Bernard, Shakir and those guys but we're still waiting to see what happens with Cook. There still has to be a Benford deal. I'm expecting that to happen at some point this off season. But I'm looking at it going, Bean has got a ton of picks and I think he's got 10 right now. I'm in the less need camp of them picks but yeah, but just like looking at this and I'm going, Look, there aren't 10 rookies that are going to make this roster for as much as I think this roster needs to be improved. There's, there's just no world that, that, that happens. So trying to balance like being, having to make up for the Kair thing, like he has to make up for a little bit of that. He has to make up for in a sense, Daquan Jones signing like he's got to fill some of these things where he hasn't had massive success on the D line. And we keep saying he, he's got to figure it out now we're still looking at wide receivers going, some people love the Josh Palmer thing, I know the analytics community does. But you have Chargers fans being like he never separated, he's you know, 40 something catches. Okay, but you still have to continue to work at that Bean. And so that's where I look at this and I go, man, it's a pretty important draft. And then I'm going, I think we say that every April. Hey, big Draft for beat here.
- [29:11]
C
To use your analogy, Sean McDermott is cooking with the ingredients that Brandon Bean gives him.
- [29:18]
A
Yes.
- [29:19]
C
And I think that it is important to remember that every GM is going to miss on some picks. This is not an exact science. You have some hidden gems, you have some guys that you think have all the attributes, that's why you pick them and they do not pan out. I do, if we're being honest, have my concerns because it feels like in these last couple of first round, first couple picks the Bills have not gotten the value that they have needed out of some of these guys. I think of Dalton Kincaid, I think of even obviously Keon, I know he was a second day pick but he was the first pick of that second round. I mean Kair obviously not even on.
- [29:56]
A
The roster anymore and it's the Kite and it's the, the Keon when you traded back twice.
- [30:02]
C
Yes. So it's like I, Bean has a lot of picks, he has a lot of capital to move around the draft board and I expect them with what they have right now to do that and to be aggressive because we have seen Bean move up and also you're right like 10 rookies are not making this team. So for this roster to work I, I expect them to try to get aggressive with some stuff because I think for this roster where they are at, they saw the level that they could perform at with the roster last season which a lot of people we all talked about was retooled and definitely not as talented as rosters in the past. So you have that. You saw the Bills get to the AFC championship but it's like you need those impact guys and you can get them in the draft. Like sometimes I think we sit back and we're like, you know, I just. Rookies need time to develop. They do. But there's also rookies on other rosters that are immediate starters that make a huge impact.
- [30:56]
A
Yeah.
- [30:57]
C
And I want to see that out of a top round guy for the Bills because you see it on other teams and I think of the Eagles and I just think of that the way they are able to utilize their draft picks from the jump and I want to see that in this Bills team. So we shall see. But you're right, I think for so long so many people have criticized Sean McDermott and it is not a perfect process. But also I think there is some understanding of people being like, well also this, there's two pieces to the equation as well.
- [31:31]
A
Yeah.
- [31:31]
C
That's not to say that Brandon Bean is a bad GM and like you talked about, he's not getting really good gm. None of those things are true. But also, you want to see that high end hit more than what you have seen, be more impactful than what you have seen. So we'll see how that does draw out this, this offseason. And I mean, the draft is next month.
- [31:51]
A
Yes.
- [31:52]
C
Which is nuts to me.
- [31:54]
A
Bean. Bean did talk about it too. Like, you're building a team, obviously, with the suspensions. Like, it's kind of like when he traded Diggs in April and he was like, hey, like right now we're not a great team without him, but we got to build around it. That's what they're going to have to do here. I also had a dumb take. Tired. Bill's having two of their free agent signings out until week seven. Wired. It's like getting guys at the trade deadline for free.
- [32:22]
C
Oh, I like that.
- [32:23]
A
Right.
- [32:24]
C
Also, you know what?
- [32:25]
A
I was just spin it. Just like, hey, they already made moves.
- [32:28]
C
We're getting those really good at pr.
- [32:29]
A
Yeah, exactly.
- [32:31]
C
No, you know what I was thinking about for draft picks? Draft picks are like watermelons. Like, you can see, like, does this one have the webbing? Does this one have all. How does it sound? And as someone who loves watermelon, I have tried to pick. I've. I've tried to master everything you're supposed to look for. And there is time and time again where I'm like, this is it. And then I open it up and it's melee. And I hate that.
- [32:59]
A
I get the sports analogies, the golf and baseball. Jenna's like, hey, we gotta. Jen's gonna talk food. We got food analogies with Jenna.
- [33:06]
C
Yeah, hey, we got a lot of analogies. Musical chairs, bunting.
- [33:11]
A
Yes. Javar Hamlin also spoke to the media and was one of the questions I think was Catherine Fitzgerald of the Buffalo News asked him. And I thought it was a great question of, like, what do you want for this upcoming year? Like, like your goals and kind of how you see it. And I thought demar's answer was spot on as what he said he's hoping to accomplish.
- [33:32]
D
No. Last year I felt like I was, you know, getting the training wheels off, you know, of myself in a way, just coming back from, like, you know, literally dying on the field to, you know, playing again in a significant role, a starting role, playing a full season again for the first time, you know, just filling myself out. I feel like it was a year of that, and I feel like I had a lot of success on the field. So to see where I can take it from, you know, knowing that's where I was within myself to, you know, just growing into another year and being able to see what I did and develop myself into what I want to become this. This upcoming year. I'm excited for that journey. I've done it in every level, you know, high school, college, and, you know, now the pros. Being able to just get a full load underneath me and then be able to build on it.
- [34:27]
A
I loved how Demar has. I mean, he's always had the perspective, but we talked about, obviously, he had the season where he goes into cardiac arrest, dies on the field. And he talks about how last year was really kind of like, the following year, he, like, really wasn't playing. Like, I know he was comeback player of the year nominee and all these things, but he was pretty much a special teams guy. And then last year earns the starting job. Earns. I can't stress that enough. Earns the starting job. And he talks about how it's like, it was like, taking the training wheels off, and then he kind of paused. And he's like, coming back from that, you know, dying thing. Like. Like. Like most guys are like, yeah, it was. It was really tough to recover from that sprained ankle. And Demar is like, I was coming back from dying, and so, like, to get that back on. So I. I think that's great. I love that perspective. And again, I think we saw flashes. If you want to criticize Demar, that's fine. I don't think he provides a ton in the coverage game. I think he has taken bad angles in. In. In filling run gaps and things like that. The Derrick Henry long touchdown run in Baltimore is obviously the first one that comes to my mind, but the dude flies around, the dude plays hard, isn't afraid to tackle and things like that. So that was just. That was where I looked at it. And when Demar talks about that, it's like, I feel like that gets lost in last year's play of, like, he was actually, you know, two years removed kind of from the incident. Just kind of getting his feet back.
- [35:54]
C
Yeah.
- [35:54]
A
Yeah. And so it's like, man, last year was. It was more of. We didn't look at Demar as, like, oh, he's still coming back. It was like, hey, demar, we're judging him as a football player strictly. And I think there were flashes, and I think there were good moments. I think there were moments that he wants back, and he kind of talked about that, but I thought that we do get lost in the whole story. Obviously, it's. It's easy to get lost in it.
- [36:20]
C
Yeah.
- [36:21]
A
But I liked his analogy of like taking the training wheels off. Like first it was just like, hey, do I even want to get back on the bike? Then it's learning to ride again. So, again, I think you can do worse things as your third safety in the NFL than demar Hamlin.
- [36:35]
C
I agree. And I think it makes sense that his body needs time to recover also, probably mentally. I mean, it's a lot to go through. I would like to think that maybe with now being going on three years removed, he will be kind of hitting his stride and being a player that's closer to his ceiling. But again, the move, it's. It's like the Dane Jackson.
- [36:56]
A
Yep, exactly.
- [36:58]
C
I think, I think it's, it's. Is it sexy? No. But this is something a player that is. Knows the team and has played well in spots and you are looking for them to be a depth piece and that's. And we'll see. And again, like, we will see how that all unfolds. But it's not a bad guy to have back.
- [37:17]
A
Yeah. And lastly, Joey Bosa, I want to.
- [37:20]
C
Hear your thoughts on his press conference because you were there.
- [37:23]
A
Loved it. Loved it. Why are you smirking?
- [37:28]
C
No, I just, I'm not allowed to smile. I.
- [37:31]
A
You just have this, like you're gonna say, I, I, I'll take it. You didn't.
- [37:37]
C
No, I thought it was fine.
- [37:39]
A
Fine.
- [37:40]
C
I, I thought it was. No, I. Now you're putting words in my mouth. When I said fine, I didn't mean it was fine. I'm like, yeah, it was cool. Like I always. It's, you know, we started covering the team when Rex Ryan was around and it was like an anomaly for guys to be like, I love Western New York. I was excited to come here. All that stuff to hear a guy like Joey Bosa, who has done so much in his career, is a brand name, all of these things for him to be like, I'm pumped to be here. I want to be here because I want to take this team to the top. Like, it still is not lost on me that years ago Buffalo was the laughingstock of the NFL and now big name free agents want to be here.
- [38:27]
A
Couldn't agree more. That was my big takeaway. The fact that you had a player that is a five time Pro Bowler and Von was that way too. But Vaughn had already won, so it was like Von came to Buffalo as a Hall of Famer. Right?
- [38:45]
C
Yeah.
- [38:45]
A
Joey Bose is a five time Pro Bowler, very good player. Like I said, somebody's like, he hasn't had that many. You know, his career is not that good. He's played nine years. He's had double digit sacks in four of them. And the last three, he's been injured throughout the most. He said he was about 60 to 70% last year, playing like the dude gets after the quarterback when he's on the field. But to hear him say, I'm getting old and I want to win. Those guys used to go to New England, those guys would go to other teams. The Chiefs do that. Now they get the guys that are just wanting to be done and ring chasing. And I really think other teams offered more. And a guy that's from la, hey, Kevin Adams, there's palm trees in la and he wants to come to Western New York like that. To me, I left that press conference going one joy Boast, a pretty cool dude, laid back. Like, I loved his stories and his little tangents and all that stuff, but I love the fact that he's sitting here going, yeah, I'm really, you know, and it's not like the Chargers were the laughing stock of the league. Like they won, they didn't win a ton. But to sit there and say, like, I want to win, my moments are fleeting. I don't have a lot of moments left and I want them to be here. Loved all of that. And then obviously the bite that goes viral that most people are picking up on is he said, I think we can do something special here. He wanted something different. He wanted to be a part of a football town. He wanted to be a part of a winning culture. And the Bills check all those out. And he goes, it's the last year in the stadium. And Josh text me and said, if we do what we set out to do, we will be immortalized in this town. And he's like, all I could think about was like, chills, like, yeah, like, that is 100% true. And so he even kind of laughed being like, I think Beauvais asked him about the fact of how do you feel knowing that you could be the piece that sets them, you know, gets them over the top. And he kind of like laughed and was like, I'm just one guy. Like, I hope to be a starter. I don't know if we'll see him get 40 to 50 snaps a game with his injury history. He says he feels great, but there are times where you sit there and go, like, man, the Bills have needed a Guy that can close on third down. And Joey Bose is a guy that when he's on the field, can really kind of close and get to go out in third down. So that was. That was cool. And he kind of laughed, too. He's like, yeah, you know, I'm pretty good at getting after the quarterback, so I think I could help in that category. It was just. I was very more excited after hearing him talk about his perspective. That was what was the most impressive thing to me is to have a guy. We always talk about Josh's self awareness as like his best trait. I thought Joey was really aware of, like, hey, it felt like I was a rookie a few years ago. Now I'm nine years in the league. I don't got a lot of moments left. I want to come somewhere that I can win. And he kind of laughed. He's, like, had a lot of experience against the Chiefs, like, already, like, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Like, I've got. I've gotten my homes a couple times. I know what it's like.
- [41:46]
C
Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, I. I think that's really cool, and I hope that he can stay healthy, and I hope the Bills can put together a plan to help that.
- [41:55]
A
And.
- [41:57]
C
I mean, Josh is right, though. Like, if you will be immortalized in Western New York when they win their first Super Bowl.
- [42:09]
A
Yeah.
- [42:10]
C
So the ones after that, too.
- [42:13]
A
Bosa also was. Somebody asked him about. He was an extra on Game of Thrones.
- [42:19]
C
I didn't know that.
- [42:21]
A
And he said that he goes. The one thing that he. He goes, he thought it was cool. It was cold. And he's like, if you stop a frame, he's like, you might see my big nose in the corner of a shot. He's like, extras are really small. They didn't have any armor for me, so I was just kind of off to the side. Really funny. But then he told some part of the story where he was like, yeah, look back now. He goes, I got. After that, he's gotten into chess. And he goes. And I had no idea that insert chess player. I don't know. He goes, he was in the trailer with me. And he goes, apparently he's like the world's greatest chess player. And he goes, People kept coming up and kissing his feet and worshiping this guy. And Bose is like, I'm just sitting there like, who's this guy? His daughter's annoying as hell. It was just like the perfect, like, candid, like, being so candid to be like, I didn't know who the guy Was. But his daughter was annoying as hell. His little daughter. It was just, like, so funny of, like, why? It's just. It was just one of those moments where it's like, you get that candidness that I always loved and appreciate in those press conferences.
- [43:22]
C
Yeah. Because I feel like sometimes when people are in front of a mic, which is totally understandable. But. Yeah, no, I. I think he's another character. And I'm curious, like, how. How this group will. Every team is different. Every team, you know, builds their chemistry one way or another. I'm curious how this team will all come together. Not in a bad way, just like, every year is different. And who will be the leaders that emerge? Will it be Joey Bosa? Will it be someone else like Mac Hollins? We know last year took on a role that no one was expecting. Is there another guy that's going to kind of assert himself like that? So we'll have to wait and see.
- [43:57]
A
Last note, trail. Bernard changed his number to number eight, which will be weird to see a linebacker wear number eight.
- [44:04]
C
So weird. I had to, like, read the Bills posted about it. I'm like, what?
- [44:09]
A
And I think what sucks, too, for Bernard is to change your number this late. I believe you have to buy all of your old jerseys. So, like, no, obviously. But, like, it's the fact of, like, you have to buy all the 43 Bernard jerseys.
- [44:25]
C
Yeah.
- [44:26]
A
Like, because the NFL is not. Like, they have those stockpiled. It's not like they're just going to be, like, throwing them out, losing money for the sake of the change.
- [44:32]
C
So, yeah. Interesting to be weird. Changes number, you know, like.
- [44:39]
A
Yeah, but corners can wear single digits.
- [44:42]
C
I agree. I'm just saying in general.
- [44:44]
A
And also, Bernard's not the biggest guy to begin with, and I feel like he's gonna look smaller with just one number on his jersey.
- [44:52]
C
I agree. It's kind of weird.
- [44:54]
A
Let us know what you think about.
- [44:55]
C
Yeah, about everything.
- [44:57]
A
About your middle linebacker wearing number eight.
- [44:59]
C
All right, so what you think about our analogies?
- [45:01]
A
Yes.
- [45:02]
C
We recorded this on Sunday at noon.
- [45:05]
A
Yeah.
- [45:06]
C
Oh, if anything happens.
- [45:09]
A
Yes. All right. I think we. I think we got it all. This was a good recap. Sorry again for the delay. We did want to get one out also. Shout out. I should have done this in the beginning because I feel like sometimes people tail off at the end, so credit if you made it this far. Shout out to Bryant. I met him at the St Patrick's Day Festival yesterday in Rochester. Walked in the parade, and he came up to me and said he's a big Buffalo plus fan, watches everything we do. Big fan. So that was really cool. So shout out Bryant. And he goes, it's like, Kobe. And I was like, nice to meet you, Kobe. And then he goes, it's Bryant. And I was like, that's right, it's Brian. I was like, I'm terrible at this shit.
- [45:47]
C
That is such a dance.
- [45:49]
A
Yeah, it is so funny. Again, we've talked about this before, but, like, it's crazy that people like listening to us to the extent that they do. So when people come up to us, it's not like Catalana has been getting it for 40 years. Like, he understands. He knows how to, like, oh, yeah, do all the schmoozing. It's a lot of times it's like we're at airports and they're like, oh, my gosh, you're Mike Carolina. And then I just kind of like, get a water, Mike. You know, water. They come back to, like, big fans. And I was like, oh, we love it.
- [46:20]
C
Oh, my God.
- [46:20]
A
Yeah, we try and get your name and get them in the pod. So appreciate it as always, Brian.
- [46:24]
C
Brian.
- [46:25]
A
All right, that'll do it for us. Please be sure to, like, comment and subscribe to the video. Also, the reason I've been looking off camera is because the monitor to actually see Jenna is a little bit kiltered to the camera. It's not like I'm being held hostage looking off to the side. Just wanted if people.
- [46:40]
C
No one thought that, but thanks for putting that in their head.
- [46:43]
A
You got it. I appreciate, as always, we'll have more content again coming up throughout the weeks. We still have Chris Tripasso. All the content that we still have from the NFL combine we will get to. So again, appreciate it as always. We'll catch you here next time on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris. In the time it takes you to actually board a flight from Group 8.
- [47:15]
C
Now boarding Premier Altitude Elite Club members.
- [47:17]
A
You could have bought a Hyundai on Amazon. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-31-44603 for more details. Limited availability pickup through participating Hyundai dealer in select markets.