Why is VON Miller 'angry' and how the Bills AGE is NOW a 'GOOD' thing

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Buffalo Plus — "Why is Von Miller 'angry' and how the Bills AGE is NOW a 'GOOD' thing"

Date: July 2, 2024
Hosts: Mike Catalana & Dan Fetes (Jenna Cottrell on vacation)
Main Theme:
A deep dive into Von Miller’s recent comments about his lost 2023 season and a thoughtful examination of the Buffalo Bills’ roster age—a transition from being one of the oldest teams in the NFL to a younger, more promising squad.

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Episode Overview

Mike and Dan, with Jenna away for the Fourth of July, tackle two significant Bills topics:

1. Von Miller’s recent interview—the controversy around his post-injury narrative, his motivation, and his future with the Bills.
2. Roster Age Analysis—how Brandon Beane’s offseason moves have transformed the Bills into a younger, more balanced team, potentially setting up for long-term success.

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1. Von Miller's "Angry" Comments

Background and Reaction ([02:52]-[13:11])

• The Interview: Von Miller spoke to SI.com—mostly about sneakers, fashion, and glasses. At the end, he was asked about his goals for 2024, and pivoted to his struggles in 2023, saying he maybe shouldn't have played at all due to injury, expressing frustration at how fans and critics judged his play.

Key Discussion Points

• Revisionist History:

  • Mike: "Vaughn was the one that told us 'I'll be back week one,' ... He was saying he wanted to play so bad and the Bills had to protect him from himself." ([03:11])
  • Both hosts express skepticism that Von is now saying he shouldn’t have played, when he publicly pushed for an early return all along.

• Media/Fan Reaction:

  • Dan: "...It's mind boggling to me...Is tone deaf the right word? ...People weren’t necessarily mad at you because of rushing back...they're mad because you didn't perform on the field.” ([08:12])
  • Mike: "On the field, forget everything else—he was not impactful to the point that they sat him down...to sit there and say he shouldn't have played, that was never even considered." ([09:15])

• Von’s Motivation:

  • Dan quoting Von: "'I feel like people are judging me on that, so it's making me a little bit angry, to be honest. It's making me tap into that Von I haven’t been in a while...'" ([06:38])
  • Both note that while using criticism as motivation is common in sports, this feels overly self-involved and disconnected from how the team and fans experienced his year.

• Expectations for 2024:

  • Mike: “I think his role this year will be pass rusher, limited number of snaps. I don’t think they’re counting on him for...anything more.” ([13:11])
  • Dan is less sure, wondering “who’s starting over him?” but agrees last year, even backups outplayed Von.

Notable Quotes

• “It’s just not reading the room ... you didn’t perform.” — Dan Fetes ([08:12])
• “He goes from, ‘What are your goals for the year?’—‘Actually, I shouldn’t have played last year. By the way, Josh Allen’s an amazing person and we’re going to win the Super Bowl.’” — Mike Catalana ([12:06])

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2. Roster Age: From Liability to Strength

PFF List as a Discussion Catalyst ([15:34]-[24:29])

• Pro Football Focus (PFF) '25 and Under' List:
  • The hosts note that only Greg Rousseau represented the Bills among PFF’s top 25 players under age 25, with Dan surprised—he guessed James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, Terrel Bernard, and Christian Benford before Rousseau ([16:21]).

Who Comprises the Bills' Youth Core? ([18:26])

• Notable under-25 contributors:

  • Terrel Bernard
  • AJ Epenesa
  • Dalton Kincaid
  • Khalil Shakir
  • James Cook
  • Osiris Torrence
  • Christian Benford
  • Dorian Williams
  • Kair Elam
  • Keon Coleman (rookie)
  • Greg Rousseau

  Mike: "That’s a pretty good group... these are guys you're feeling like are going into their prime." ([18:37])

• Age Balance:

  • Only three projected starters over 30: Dion Dawkins (30), DaQuan Jones (32), Von Miller (35, if starting).
  • Veteran role players and special teamers round out the 30+ group, a sharp drop from last season when Hyde, Poyer, Diggs, Morse, Floyd, etc., made the Bills one of the league’s oldest teams ([17:43], [17:50]).

• League Context:

  • 49ers: 18 players age 30+, six more than any other team.
  • Packers: only one player over 30 on their 90-man roster.
  • Bills: currently at nine over-30 players—most not impact starters ([23:01]).

"Goldilocks Zone" for Team Age

• Dan: “It’s kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Little Bears…You want to have enough youth, a core in their prime, and sprinkle in just enough veteran guys…” ([19:19])
• Both hosts agree the blend now feels right: plenty of in-their-prime contributors, a youth pipeline, and the right vet presence.

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3. The "Transition Year" Framed as Opportunity ([23:24]-[24:29])

• Strategic Pivot, Not Just Cap Decisions:

  • Dan: "Those were football decisions…they wanted to get younger was a point of emphasis." ([24:14])
  • Mike: “They had to…that is a lot of age to delete from your roster. Quality players, guys that’ll be missed…but that does drop the number down pretty fast.” ([23:24])

• Prime Windows and Future Growth:

  • “This is a transition...now the transition is these guys are all going into their prime. How many of them will excel?” — Mike Catalana ([24:29])
  • Emphasis on the roster foundation for sustained competitiveness, not a full rebuild.

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4. Quick Hitters and Notable Moments

• Jordan Love vs. Josh Allen?! ([25:20])

  • Mike Tannenbaum (ESPN) caused a stir by saying, if starting a team today, he’d take Patrick Mahomes and then Jordan Love before Josh Allen.
  • The hosts both strongly disagree: “I think I’d take Josh Allen first…I think you got another decade of Josh Allen.” — Mike Catalana ([27:01])

• Personal Anecdotes: ([27:07]-[28:44])

  • Dan is selling his house; a listener recognized his home at an open house—a bit of Buffalo Plus community fun.
  • Both hosts joke about the chaos of keeping a house spotless with kids.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------| | 02:52 | Introduction to Von Miller SI.com interview | | 04:34 | Media and fan criticism of Von—fair or not? | | 06:38 | Von's motivation and response to critics | | 10:08 | Von’s off-topic answers and messaging issues | | 13:11 | Projected role for Von Miller in 2024 | | 15:34 | PFF ‘Top 25 under 25’ and Bills youth core | | 17:43 | Over-30 players on the current roster | | 18:26 | Review of young impact Bills players | | 19:19 | “Goldilocks” age zone for a contender | | 23:24 | The great age pivot—context and comparison | | 24:14 | Why youth movement was a necessity | | 25:20 | Mike Tannenbaum’s Jordan Love hot take | | 27:07 | House-selling, fan encounters—lighter ending |

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Conclusion

This Buffalo Plus episode offers one of the frankest public appraisals of Von Miller’s value, mindset, and place on the Bills. The hosts push back on revisionist history, emphasize honesty and accountability—while also laying out why age is now not just less of a problem, but a source of cautious optimism as the team enters a new phase. The show underscores the franchise’s plan: moving on from an aging core, building around in-their-prime stars like Josh Allen and a promising young group, while still relying on veterans in the right roles.

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Memorable Quote:
"People weren’t necessarily mad at you because of rushing back…they’re mad because you didn’t perform on the field, which is any player…you put yourself in the crossfires.”
— Dan Fetes ([08:12])

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For more: Buffalo Plus on YouTube

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Transcript

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[B]

Hey, I think we got this thing figured out.

[C]

We have perfected the way to not interrupt Jenna.

[D]

Right.

[C]

This is the Buffalo plus podcast brought to you by Connors and Ferris. Hey, everyone, and welcome Back to the Buffalo plus podcast here on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris, Mike Catalana. I'm Dan Fates and Jenna Cottrell is on vacation. Mia.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

She's with the family all together. Big week for her. So we're very happy she's getting her time.

[C]

This is her Super Bowl. It is the 4th of July is for the Cottrell family is a massive deal in 1776.

[B]

They thought it was a big deal. The Cottrells think right now it's a bigger deal. Fourth of July for them.

[C]

Yeah. So for this podcast, it's just going to be the two of us. We're going to talk about Von Miller, some of his comments that he made to si.com and then I have notes.

[B]

I got notes. I did research.

[C]

We got notes because we're going to talk about age and it's. I'm going to limit the amount of jokes.

[D]

Yes.

[C]

That. That we can make.

[B]

So here's the thing.

[C]

We're looking.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Comment.

[D]

Subscribe. Subscribe.

[B]

Yeah, Appreciate it.

[C]

As always.

[B]

That's it.

[D]

We.

[B]

We would give Jenna a hard time for not delaying for that. And then you didn't delay for the like. Comment, subscribe.

[C]

Jenna is watching or listening to this right now and she's going. They didn't say it. They didn't say it right. They didn't say it quick enough.

[B]

So, yeah, she will watch.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

She'll check up on us.

[C]

But you got notes.

[B]

I got notes because I saw a list and we'll get to it about. And there's been a lot of talk about the Bill's roster. Obviously turnover.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

Leading into like, say last year they had one of the older rosters in the NFL.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

That's changed. It's one thing about getting younger it's being younger and being good.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

And Pro Football Focus had done a list about, you know, the, the separation of ages. A lot of the players, and this is what we'll get into are in that mid range.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

26, 27, 28. It's how many quality players do you have? 25 and under.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And how many players do you have in your roster? 30 and above is interesting and I think it tells a lot about where this team is right now. So we'll go over that too.

[C]

Yeah. First I wanted to talk about, and it was something we ran in the newscast, the sportscast, things like that back here in Rochester. Just the fact of Von Miller making some comments and it stood out to me for a few reasons. One, he's doing this article, he does an interview and it's, it's pretty much a transcript about sneakers and his fashion and, and glasses and his new line of, you know, eyewear and all of these things. And the last question, it's just a transcript. I don't know if it was. Could have been done just over the phone, things like that. It's just a Q and A. The last question is what are your biggest individual and team goals for the upcoming season? And Von kind of, I think he went off and it's very confusing to me where Vaughn took the question. He talked about my biggest individual goals are coming back to playing my style of football. And then it gets into. It's crazy how you get injured and you come back and you really shouldn't have even been playing and people judge you by the product on the field. I could have easily sat out all of last season, but I couldn't do my teammates like that. I felt like being later in my career. I didn't want to sacrifice any of my years, but at the same time I should not have have been out there. That to me is wild. 1. Vaughn was one of the. He was the one that told us I'll be back week one, that he was going to have a nine month recovery from his acl. He was the one saying that I want to play so bad and I want to be out there with my teammates and that the Bills had to protect him from himself. And he was very clear about those things. All of a sudden now you shouldn't have been playing.

[B]

There's a lot to unpack there. First of all, a lot of players, you know, get that sort of everybody's against me kind of mode. I don't know where he was seeing the criticism, but it could have been from Almost any source. Fans were critical of him. Media was critical of him. I'm talking about him as play on.

[C]

The field, as a player.

[B]

He did not perform anywhere close to what we've seen from Von Miller. He came back, and I remember us many times talking here about give the guy the benefit of the doubt here multiple times.

[C]

And then when he kept talking about how quick he was going to recover, we're like, hey, he's 34 years old, coming off a second ACL, like, hang on here.

[B]

And I remember because the first game was the one in London. It's like, okay, so he's going to be back there and he's going to play. In the beginning, people are like, I'm not seeing anything out of Vaughn. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, give the guy a break. We're not even at a year.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And then it got to that point, then it went past that point, and then they sat him for a game.

[C]

Late in the year.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. He didn't play. I mean, basically a healthy scratch.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

So the expectations were for him to at least contribute. I mean, we're not talking about him being Von Miller. We're talking about him being one of the, I don't know, six best pass rushers on the team for a game.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And the team decided not to play him. And. And I know he was coming off an injury, and I know he's 34, but it's pretty revisionist history to be like, maybe I shouldn't have even played. Because that never was the way he spoke that coming into it.

[C]

It wasn't like the media or us put words in his mouth of like, oh, he's going to recover fast. We all thought when he went on PUP that to start the year was like, that's probably the smart move.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, it makes sense. Protect the guy, all these things. He was the one saying that he wants to get out there. Like, I went back and searched my Twitter, like, how many times did Vaughn say, I'll be back, I want to play, I'm close, all these things. And now a year later, you're saying, I shouldn't have been out there. He went on to say, too, this isn't me paraphrasing the interview. I'm reading the transcript of what the question was. He said. I feel like people are judging me on that. So it's making me a little bit angry, to be honest. It's making me tap into that Vaughn that I haven't been in a while. I just want to get back to playing my style of football. Getting back to talking, making sacks, dancing and making plays with my teammates. That's been my whole mindset that this offseason.

[B]

All right, so let's. Let's welcome in the elephant in the room. I mean he was criticized by people by his play. There's also a lot of people that weren't happy to even have him on the field after. After the allegations, the arrest, though the charges ended up not going through. I still don't understand Texas law, but there were people who felt differently about Vaughn at that point. And I do think that played into it. But in this case, specifically talking about football. Yes. And you can always find a critic. I mean any. The greatest. You know, Pat Mahomes has people ripping them online like Josh Allen we know does.

[D]

Correct.

[B]

Like the best of the best do. But you could have found critics at any level. Media fans, rational fans, irrational fans, hot take. He wasn't performing and then the team basically sat him down and I guess he said at the end he was a little better. He maybe got close to making a few plays. But we are talking about for basically two thirds of a season he was not impactful at all in the defense. So yeah, if he wants to use it as motivation, have at it. But you. You have to expect that there's criticism.

[C]

They all find dumb ways to motivate yourself. It's. You know, nobody believed in us when you're the Patriots or Mahomes and all these things. It just is mind boggling to me to. To have. Is tone deaf the right word. It just not reading the room that people weren't necessarily mad at you because of rushing back or anything like that. Like they're mad because you didn't perform on the field, which is any player you put yourself in the crossfires by. Vaughn loves the media. It's his 14th NFL season. He'll remind us that many times. But the fact is is that you didn't perform. And now you went up there every Wednesday and talked about how he's. How he feels better and how he feels great.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And now after the fact, the revisionist history with hindsight, you're saying I shouldn't have even been out there.

[B]

Yeah. And look when I say a little bit of blinders that a player has his reputation in Buffalo changed now again, he's not suspended. There was no formal arrest.

[C]

All those things the contract changed in people's eyes. Like everything changed off. The injury, the performance afterwards and the.

[B]

Off the field issues, it just added to it. Now listen, the Real world, if Von was kicking butt and playing like Von Miller, many people would just dismiss the other part. Go make plays. So let's. That's the reality. But on the field, forget everything else on the field. He was not impactful to the point that they sat him down and didn't even play him as Von Miller. So, so listen, that's the coaches, that's the team saying you aren't one of the players to be active in a game. And maybe he was a little better at the end, but to sit there and just kind of say like he shouldn't have played, that was never even considered. I think it was. It felt like it was closer to week one than it was for him to not play.

[C]

And again, what also just blows my mind. And again, it's you. Maybe you have something built up as the off season. And we know how much Vaughn loves the media and things of that. The first question is, is about his collaboration with GlassesUSA.com and how it's been going on for two to three years. The second question is, is how important are glasses to your personal style and what sneakers are you wearing off the field this season? And then Von goes to just say, hey, by the way, I shouldn't have even played last year.

[B]

Yeah, I guess I don't know what the tone was in the way the interview was done. It was just his one chance to actually talk football was the last question. And he went down that road. You know, he does tend to, like, maybe you and I can sometimes. He does tend to start to ramble a little bit where he'll just keep going.

[C]

It's just, it was.

[B]

And I think that's what. Where he went. He started talking about like, yeah, his goals. And then he was like. Because his numbers were non existent last year.

[C]

Didn't have any.

[B]

He didn't have any.

[C]

Didn't have a sack.

[B]

Right. So he didn't have that to play off of. And that's going to be his mindset. I don't really want to. I don't want to hear that with us. I mean, I don't know who he was talking to, but I don't want to hear. I mean, because that's, that's just not accurate. I don't think. I don't think there was ever a point where the team was like, he's not healthy. We're going to sit him out. He's going to go on IR for four weeks or whatever it is.

[C]

So he was never on the injury report. Nothing for tweaking his knee for anything. Yeah, he, he does finish. I will finish the question. There's one last paragraph said the biggest team goal is bringing those first super bowl to Buffalo. Which Von loves to say. Everyone feels like they deserve it and they work hard, but Buffalo fans, West New York, they deserve it, man. They do such amazing job for the community. Josh Allen is an amazing player in person. He's the most amazing person that I've ever been around in my life. These guys deserve it and I'm going to do everything in my power to give it to them.

[B]

And that's very Vaughn. That's on Brand. He, he says those kind of things every time we talk to him.

[C]

Like, he goes from, hey, so like, what are your goals for the year? Actually, I shouldn't have played last year, by the way. Josh Allen's an amazing person and we're.

[B]

Going to win the Super Bowl.

[C]

I'm in my 14th year and the city of Buffalo deserves Super Bowl. Listen, it was just a weird. Again, this is the. I think Mike Florio calls it the, the me time of the off season. This was a very me thing about Von Miller to. Again, I don't know, we've joked around about, hey, you know, Spencer Brown had a, you know, had a back injury and Gabe Davis had an ankle injury. Vaughn's like talking himself that, like giving himself the.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That he was injured when everybody knew he was injured. It wasn't like we're sitting there going, man, what's bothering Vaughn? Yeah, we knew that he had been recovering from an acl. We saw what happened with Trey White in the acl. Like, this isn't like the first time we've seen a player have to overcome all this. But it was the off the field issues. It was the way that he spoke in the media that he was going to return to this form and that he's in a great mental head space and that there's no problems. All of that encompassed into this weird, weird interview with me.

[B]

Listen, I think he's on this roster in large part because of the contract and I think they needed to keep him there. I think his role this year will be pass rusher, limited number of snaps. I don't think they're counting on him for. I think he's a. I think he's pass rusher only. Am I wrong? Do you think that or do you think he's going to. Is he still a starting player on this team?

[D]

Yes. Wow.

[B]

He's going to have to show a.

[C]

Lot more who's starting over him.

[B]

I don't know.

[C]

You have A.J. epanessa. I mean they're going to rotate but we talked about this before.

[B]

Von's not well, last year AJ Epanessa was a better player than him by far. And you got Greg Russo on the other side.

[C]

Puna Ford was a better player than he just.

[B]

He didn't. He didn't do anything. I think he's here because of the contract for the contract was different. I think he would have been gone.

[D]

Yeah. I don't know.

[C]

This was just one of those things. And again, obviously pro football talk and everybody kind of grabs the headline of Von Miller is upset because of the way that he people perceived him and his play and that he shouldn't have set out last year.

[B]

A lot of you commented on here during last year. Why is Vaughn out there? Is he doing anything that was non stop and you weren't wrong?

[D]

No.

[B]

I mean we'd be at the games, you'd be on the field. It's like he was not impactful. And I understand he's 34 coming off.

[C]

A knee 14th NFL season.

[B]

Yes. But to pretend like that it wasn't talked about beforehand and if it meant he needed three or four more weeks, I think they would have just done it. He would have sat more and then come back. Then maybe he did. Maybe it was too soon for him to come back.

[C]

Not in the building.

[B]

Not in the building. We don't know. I do know.

[C]

We know what Vaughn told us.

[B]

I do know from people in the building. Listen, I do think the guy works his butt off when he's getting healthy.

[C]

No, dis.

[B]

Not about that. But you can do that at his age and still not be back with the knee. That tells you because you know it's a difficult thing to come back from.

[C]

Especially at his age, which is a perfect segue.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

We're not going to talk about our ages.

[B]

No, no need to. I think we're good.

[C]

We're good.

[B]

I think we're good.

[C]

What?

[D]

You.

[C]

You were the one that brought up this topic. I'm just kind of curious of what stood out to you or what piqued your interest about PFF's article.

[B]

Well, it just was. I think it was top 25 players, 25 and under in the NFL. And I'm looking on there. I'm looking for a bill.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And the one Bill's player.

[C]

Pause the video right now. Comment in below.

[D]

Right.

[C]

Who you think PFF would have as the Bills player under 25 in the top 25. Are you back? Did you okay?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Wonder if they guessed, I was 0 for 4.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I guessed James Cook.

[D]

Right.

[C]

Dalton Kincaid.

[D]

Yep.

[C]

Terrell Bernard.

[B]

Yeah, it was Greg.

[C]

And Christian Benford.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I guess all four of those.

[B]

It was Greg Rousseau, which. And again, it's Pro Football Focus. So they are numbers driven.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

And Rousseau's numbers must have matched up for them. And I think he's in there. I mean, I will say this. When I did this, when I looked over the roster, and let me tell you, I'm not counting the rookies right now. Cause they're obviously the young players, but they've never been on a field and played. I mean, it's. You know, we have like Keon. We know. But like, he hasn't played. So in terms of. They obviously are under 25.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Though I'm looking at it saying, who are the players that are there? So when you start to look at that list, I'm encouraged at the list.

[C]

I think the moves that they made really got me excited about, like you said, moving in the right direction.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

With the youth, with the younger players. Because you looked at last year, they were one of the oldest teams in.

[B]

The league among the guys that are gone in their 30s. So that was the other part. Like, how's your roster? Over 30? Well, let's start with this. Over 30 starters. I will say starters.

[C]

Yes, yes, yes.

[B]

Dion.

[D]

Yep.

[B]

Daquan.

[D]

Yep.

[B]

And Von, if Vaughn is the starter.

[C]

Correct. Vaughn's the oldest player on the team, so he's 35.

[B]

Daquan's 32. And Dion. Then there's other guys on the roster. It's like. Like special teamers like Reed, Sam Martin, Mack Hollins, Austin Johnson, D Line, Lyle, Collins, like that they brought in. So they have other guys. But the number last year, Poyer, Hyde, Diggs, Morris, Floyd, all those guys. And then Daquan was too. And Von was too. But those guys are all gone. So they've. They've shifted. I mean, they really have.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And by the way, in case you were wondering, Trey's 29. I think he'll turn 30 this year. Trey White. So he wasn't on that list of.

[C]

And Tremaine Edmonds is still 22.

[B]

He is. He's a kid. Here's the guys 25 and under again, not counting the rookies. And I go in order by age, but I think this is a pretty good list.

[C]

I agree.

[B]

I think this is something to be encouraged about because these are guys you're feeling like are going into their prime.

[D]

Yep.

[B]

Terrell Bernard, AJ Epanessa. Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, James Cook, Osiris Torrance, Christian Benford, Dorian Williams. Then you have Kair Elam, who's young, obviously, he's 23. And I wrote down here Keon, because He's the number one pick. He's 21 years old, but I think that's a pretty good group.

[C]

I was thinking about it. It's kind of like Goldilocks.

[B]

Oh, and Greg Rousseau. Yeah, yeah, I already mentioned.

[C]

Yeah, Goldilocks and Three Little Bears.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Like you. You want to have enough youth, Right. That you're excited about the future. You want to have your core of players that are in their prime, and then you want to sprinkle in just enough veteran guys to be that. And yes, maybe that's where you're right, Mike. Maybe that is where Von Miller is right now. Maybe he is just that role player, veteran. He's not the Pro Bowler. He's not the Von Miller from the first nine games before he tore his acl where he was the closer that the Bills paid him and hoped he would be, which he was. But now it's like. That's like Deion, I think, is still playing at a very, very high level.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I'd argue Daquan is as well now, again, the end. He's definitely got more football behind him than he does in front of him. But still playing at a high level. It's the fact of having all of them is because, like other guys, obviously you have Josh at 27.

[B]

28. I think maybe he's 28 now.

[C]

You know, I was thinking of a guy like, I was wondering how old Taron Johnson was.

[B]

I would guess Taryn Johnson's probably 28.

[C]

27.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

The same birthday as my mom.

[B]

Look at that.

[C]

So he's going to turn 28.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, listen, in fairness to Von Miller, at his age and what he's really good at, I want him to have limited snaps.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

That's who he needs to be. So I don't know if in this roster they really. But honestly, they paid AJ Upanessa. They brought him back. I think he can. I think they have a lot of confidence in him. I'm not saying Von's not going to be on the field. I'm saying is if Vaughn's going to be effective for you.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You want him out there on third down. When it's third and eight, the team's throwing the ball. So that's the thing is. But when you look at that list of players 25 and under, I mean, Again, think about a year ago when we were talking about Bernard.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And he didn't know. And then now Epanessa, who really excelled and they brought him back. Kincaid had a very good rookie year. A lot of high hopes for Shakir. James Cook's an interesting one because I think a lot of people, you like them.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You're just looking for that other part. I thought Osiris Torrance had a phenomenal year.

[C]

It's funny to think that's 25.

[B]

Yeah. And Dorian Williams is a guy who. I think they really have high hopes for that if he can learn, you know, learn the defense. And then you got, you know, Elam, which would be. We've talked about it. What a huge plus it would be if Elam was. Became a guy in the regular rotation at corner.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

When you thought he was out.

[C]

So I looked up, when we started talking about ages, I looked up an article that talks about how the packers were the youngest team in the NFL last year. All these things. And obviously you can see the trajectory that they're on is trending in the right direction. And then they kind of talk about the ages of some of these teams and leading into this year. Obviously you don't know exactly how the roster is going to shake out. There will still be plenty of moves made. But the 49ers right now have 18 guys who are at least 30. That is six more than any team right now.

[D]

Wow.

[B]

I didn't realize that. I mean I know they, they had had veteran players.

[C]

So the league minimum league median. Sorry. Is eight leaguewide. This is last year, I think, heading into this year. So this article came out May of May 20th of 2024. It said the league wide there are 252 players who are 30 plus. That's an average of 7.8 players per team. The packers have one player over 30.

[D]

Wow. Wow.

[C]

Their 90 man roster includes 20 rookies, things like that. But just where the Bills kind of shake out in that. Right now they're at nine.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And like I said, nine. But like when I said like backups and special teams guys as the other guys. And Dion's only 30.

[C]

Dion's 30.

[B]

So in that case. But yeah, I, it's funny when you, when you see that on a roster and you start to say we thought this was a transition year. That is, that is a lot of age to delete from your roster.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Quality players, guys that will be missed in different ways. But you did get. I mean that, that does drop the number down pretty fast.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And Again, I think you want to have that youth going in the right direction. You want to have guys in their prime.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Josh Allen, Taron Johnson, those guys. But then you have. Again, I think you are encouraged by what Shakir has shown and can be in the future. And you have a, you know, hopefully a number one guy in the future in Keon Coleman and building the rest of the team. So, yeah, I think this year, I think that was a big part. Whether Bean wants to call it a transition here, they had to get younger.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Those were the moves that we said. You can say it's salary cap. I'll disagree. They were football decisions, as we've talked about on this channel before. That they were. Wanted to get younger was a point of emphasis with this roster this offseason 1.

[B]

And need like they. They had to too. Yeah, it wasn't, you know, by, you know, like I said, Diggs was 30. Like in terms of that was age, contract, every other thing that goes in it. But yeah, I think they. I think they've done that. Now the transition is these guys are all going into their prime. How many of them will excel? There's a lot of teams when they're looking at free agents, sometimes they will look at that guy going into that second contract if he's not going to reassign with his team and they're not going to tag him. That's when they look to try to grab a free agent. Sometimes. These guys, these guys are all in a. In a pretty good spot for this team. By the way, I wanted to ask you about one other quick thing. Did I see Mike Tannenbaum on ESPN say Jordan Love if he was starting a team, number one is Mahomes.

[D]

Yep.

[B]

And the next guy would be Jordan Love over. Over Josh Allen.

[D]

Yep.

[C]

And he played nine good games.

[B]

And I like Jordan Love. I think he's got a chance to be good. And by the way, he's not that young. What's he been in the league four years? I mean, he's young, but he's not. It's not like he's. It's not like. You said C.J. stroud.

[D]

Correct.

[B]

Because he had played and that.

[C]

That was what I was thinking about the age. Like Houston's a prime example. We talked about it before that they kind of overachieved last year at where they were. Now they can bring in some pieces to kind of not just teach them how to win, Mike, but they want to add that level of winning big games.

[D]

Yeah, like.

[C]

Like that's why you bring in some of these, you spend the money. Now if you're a cj, like, that's the other thing. CJ Stroud is not up for an extension for at least another two years.

[B]

Yeah, he's not even. They can't even do it.

[C]

They cannot do it. Like, it's not in the CBA. So, like, Fred's like, oh, wonder when C.J. stroud's gonna get his money. He literally can't hold out. Like, it's not like he can sit out and be like, well, I was this good. I'm not playing extra. Like, he's got two more years left before they can even start talking to him.

[B]

Yeah, that helps them a lot in terms of this. But, yeah, I see that. And I get it. Like, Mike Tana. I get it. It's. It gets attention. If you say Josh Allen, it's like, oh, okay, it's Mahomes and Allen. So you say Jordan Love.

[C]

Do you think they sit there and they're like, what name would really get. Really make this go viral?

[B]

I don't know if they think like that. I think they think more like. Yeah, I could just say this, but I really do like this guy and I want to look like I'm ahead of the curve and I'm going to take him.

[D]

Yeah. You know? Yeah.

[B]

Hey, good luck with that. I mean, he's a good player, but I think. I think I'd take Josh Allen first.

[D]

I agree.

[B]

I think you got another decade of Josh Allen.

[C]

Anything else?

[B]

No, I think we're pretty good.

[C]

I'm selling a house. Buying a house.

[B]

It's nerve wracking, isn't it?

[C]

Quick aside, if there's somebody out there and you know who you are that came to my open house and said, I think this is Dan Fates's house, I follow him. I love Buffalo. Plus, I appreciate it.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I appreciate it.

[B]

They did. I. I think that was the word.

[C]

So. So if you're somebody that tore the house and you thought by seeing a calendar that had Fates on it, and you thought, hey, that might be Dan Fates's house. It was. It was. And I appreciate the kind words.

[B]

Yes. So now buy the house.

[C]

You know what's so fun about buying a house they don't talk about is that when you're selling it and you're showing all these things, you can't be in your house at all.

[B]

No, no. You're out.

[C]

And also with two kids under the age of four, they love keeping the house clean. Like, they are so good at it.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Like they don't want to move anything around.

[B]

Yes. Oh, my God.

[C]

And our realtor is.

[D]

We keep.

[C]

We are keeping this clean.

[B]

Let's go. Stay clean. Get everybody in there.

[D]

Focus.

[C]

Clean house, full heart, can't lose.

[B]

Best foot forward. That's it.

[C]

So next week, I'm on vacation. You'll be here with Jenna.

[B]

I'll be here.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And then you're on vacation.

[B]

Yeah. Then I'm off for a little while, too. So we'll mix it up and. And before you know it, we're all here.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

We're, like, under. We're, like four weeks away.

[B]

It's camp.

[C]

Camp's in three weeks. 23rd.

[B]

Yeah, a little. Little over three weeks.

[C]

Over three weeks.

[B]

Well, when this is out. Yeah, three weeks. Wow.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

Again, comment in with some topics that we can discuss as we head into obviously, period me. Phase me of this off season as we're just trying to. We're getting closer. Phase me. If said Mike Florio. Appreciate it as always. Be sure to, like, comment and subscribe to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel. Share with your friends wherever you listen to your audio podcast. We appreciate it as always. We will catch you next time. Here from Mike Catalana. I'm Dan Fates, and the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel, presented by Connors and Ferris.