← Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
Why JOSH ALLEN is 'JOHN WICK' and a preview of the Buffalo BILLS at EAGLES
00:36:27
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- [00:01]
A
As I put it, Josh looking like Josh.
- [00:03]
B
Yes.
- [00:03]
A
Running off the sidelines screaming, fired up. That was the Josh I think we've all come to know and love. And then he gets to the sidelines, takes his helmet off. It's behind the bench, so we're not allowed to film there. And he says, I feel like I'm. Let's try that again. Ready? I feel like I'm.
- [00:32]
B
Foreign.
- [00:36]
A
This is the Buffalo plus podcast, brought to you by Connors and Ferris.
- [00:40]
B
Hey, everybody. Welcome Back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel. Mike Catalano along with Dan Fates. Please make sure to, like, comment and subscribe. Jenna, AKA the host, AKA our princess, getting a little family time off leading into the holiday.
- [00:55]
A
So much room for activities.
- [00:56]
B
We got a lot of room even with her wingspan, that you can tell.
- [01:00]
A
We have a lot of great podcast studio.
- [01:02]
B
Just keeps getting better, better and better and better. It's fun to be in here. It's fun to be talking football as the Bills get set to play the Eagles this week. Before we talk about the matchup, let's start talking about the Bills. We've been talking about Josh Allen. We always talk about Josh Allen, but it's been, what's wrong with Josh now? It's kind of what's right with Josh now. This guy has been a, you know, star quarterback. He's become a commercial spokesperson. He's become a personality. Now he's a movie character.
- [01:29]
A
Yeah, we saw the clip. If you haven't already, it's all over social media. It was picked up by NFL films. After the 81 yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir, Josh comes over the sidelines. Jenna had a phenomenal clip of, as I put it, Josh looking like Josh.
- [01:46]
B
Yes.
- [01:47]
A
Running off the sidelines, screaming, fired up. That was the Josh I think we've all come to know and love. And then he gets to the sidelines, takes his helmet off. It's behind the bench, so we're not allowed to film there. And he says, I feel like I'm. Let's try that again. Ready? I feel like I'm.
- [02:14]
B
He failed. Like Hayes.
- [02:19]
A
Where's the. Where's the bleep button? We lost the bleed button.
- [02:27]
B
Is it gone?
- [02:33]
A
Okay. No. Nope. That's it. Anyway.
- [02:36]
C
Say it. Yeah, right now. Say it. What do you say? Say it.
- [02:39]
A
I feel like I'm back.
- [02:41]
C
That doesn't sound like him. What did he say? Say it. It's explicit. I feel like I'm back.
- [02:50]
A
Josh says, I feel like I'm bleeping back.
- [02:53]
B
Right.
- [02:54]
A
And he was. We talked to him on Wednesday about it because that clip kind of caught steam.
- [02:58]
B
Yeah.
- [02:59]
A
And Josh kind of played it cool. Said, you know, I was watching John Wick and that's what John Wick says, and that was kind of where it was. Now, I don't buy it. I think that that, that touchdown, that game, that performance, Josh did find himself.
- [03:15]
B
Right.
- [03:15]
A
Because Stefan Diggs talked about it and all these guys that something switched with him. And Josh also brought up the fact of how he was been this low positive guy. Right. We've talked about that a lot. And on Wednesday he had this to say about if he's continuing to do that. Low positive.
- [03:38]
D
Yeah, I'm just trying to. Just trying to be myself out there and whatever it calls for me and, you know, whatever emotions I'm feeling, I. I feel like I play with my emotions on my sleeve and maybe I've been masking that the last few games or throughout this season, but need to. Need to let my guys know how much I care about this game and how much I care about them. So if that calls for emotion, that's what it calls for.
- [04:01]
A
So, yeah, that is the Josh that I think we've all wanted to see. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and, and we saw that. I think the team feeds off that.
- [04:08]
B
He.
- [04:08]
A
He talked about that after the game of just, that's who I need to be and if that's what this team needs, I'll do it. And I think that that got back to it. I think Joe Brady all week, rubbing him up, saying he's the baddest and the best quarterback in the league paid off.
- [04:22]
B
You know what else pays off is 81 yard touchdown passes.
- [04:25]
A
That helps too.
- [04:26]
B
And two other touchdown scores. Right. It's success that leads to the overall positive. I think McDermott talked about is like, basically you got to earn the right to have the fun and. Right. You have the fun when it's going well. Can you start with that mindset? But we know of a guy who seems to have noticed this in his quarterback and he seems to be, you know, Stefan seems to be buying into it.
- [04:50]
A
And Steph said this week that Josh came up to him and said, hey, like, for lack of a better word, if I need a kick in the ass, give me a kick in the ass. Like something's not clicking with this offense for despite whatever EPA tells you and anything else that goes on, something was wrong with this offense and we dived into it enough. But the fact that Josh has the awareness and the leadership of Stefan Diggs, he really likes being in Buffalo. Just let you know, he's not.
- [05:18]
B
He's not asked to be traded.
- [05:19]
A
No, no, he hasn't. That relationship, you know, he kind of told him, like, hey, like, help me out here. If I. If I need something and this team needs something. And I think that's part of what we're hearing about these conversations. And I credit this team and this leadership.
- [05:32]
B
Right.
- [05:33]
A
For going through the tough times. And as Jenna said, getting hit with the bag of. Until you finally figure out what smells.
- [05:39]
B
As Jenna told her dad yet.
- [05:41]
A
No, I don't think Ben knows mine.
- [05:43]
B
Okay.
- [05:43]
A
But we. But I think it needs it. And I thought Steph did a really good job of understanding what Josh needs.
- [05:49]
B
Right.
- [05:50]
A
And I, I think it was the kick in the pants of like, hey, like, you wake up, we feed off you, and again, all this talk and we'll get into the running game, which will make me sick. But this team goes as far as Josh. This team goes as Josh Allen goes. We talk about a balanced offense. This is an offense that is built around Josh Allen.
- [06:08]
B
Right?
- [06:08]
A
Period. This offense goes as Josh Allen goes. I don't care how well James Cook runs the ball, and he's been running the ball. Well, I can.
- [06:18]
B
He can't say it. You were.
- [06:22]
A
I was wrong. It was stuck in my throat a little bit. But that. That's where we need to be. So it was great to see. I. I think to see that. That Josh Allen return. And we talked about it on Wednesday with. With the media day guys picked up on that. And what I wanted to see, Mike, was they always talk about, hey, 24 hour rule, turn the page. You know, Sean talks about that and Josh kind of the same thing, but what can I believe? Carry over is energy.
- [06:49]
B
Yeah.
- [06:49]
A
Because you talk about. Okay, well, hey, like every week we turn the page and move on. But you want to keep bringing the things that worked. And all last week we heard of we got to bring energy. Joe Brady seemed to. Brought help to bring that energy. But you can't fire coordinators every week to supply energy.
- [07:05]
B
Yeah, you.
- [07:06]
A
You get. Josh has to do it. Stefan has to do it. The defense has to do it.
- [07:10]
B
I said it last week about Brady after the game. Great start. And I, I tweeted at halftime that you can't really judge Joe Brady.
- [07:20]
A
I.
- [07:20]
B
Against this jets defense. They're really good. And then they proceed to go out in the second half and really light it up. But I will say this, as good as it was, and it was really good, it is still only one game and the tape is out there now. So again, McDermott referring to the offense, he really said it's not always the plays. It's the way. It's about energy for there too. And it is about being focused. And you. They. It's easy to say, they just always refer to execution. But you can have a great play call. And if guys don't execute it and they don't bring that energy all week, which is preparing to be really good, then I think you lose something. What concerns me about this team is them. Even for Josh, is them him still trying to find this.
- [08:07]
A
Yep.
- [08:08]
B
This late into the season, your quarterback should be a given. Now that being said, if he finds it now and he maintains this and this energy, they're not going to win every game. Right. Or whatever they end up doing. You got to maintain it. You got. He. He had in the past had been good in the down times of a game, fighting back and bringing the team back. My hope is that for whatever reason he got where he is. He doesn't need this thing. But at least when he goes to Diggs and says that, by the way, how do you think he feels about Diggs, Tyler telling everybody that you think he's cool with that?
- [08:43]
A
I don't know. That's a good question.
- [08:44]
B
I was thinking is like Josh wouldn't say that. Maybe he did ask Diggs in that way. But he has the trust. He has the trust in. I thought they hated each other.
- [08:53]
A
I know, right? I thought Diggs, you know, didn't want anything to do with him after last season.
- [08:57]
B
Well, also, I'm reading and hearing in New York City, the guys were talking about Josh getting traded to the Giants. Wow, that was news. What a time that was on the Internet. Yeah, it really was.
- [09:07]
A
Must have been true.
- [09:08]
B
Yeah, had to be true. So that hasn't happened. Diggs hasn't been traded. And I haven't heard from Diggs's brother in a while.
- [09:14]
A
Yeah, it's nice.
- [09:15]
B
So all that is positive.
- [09:16]
A
This is kind of like said the vibe and I get it. Sean was asked after the game, when did everything go wrong?
- [09:23]
B
Right.
- [09:23]
A
Like, what was it that caused this loss of energy and this cohesion that you guys have had? And Sean kind of, I give him credit, had some levity in the situations that if I knew when it went away, I should have bought a lottery ticket. Like, you know, like I. If I could go back and make the change when I did, I should have done it. But the past is kind of in the past and we've said it Before. Joe Brady isn't going to fix anything. But it was a vibe check that needed Ken Dorsy to be fired, to instill some energy. Again, you cannot fire a coordinator every week to bring energy. The team has to do it, the execution has to do it, the play calling and all those things to it. Hopefully that continues to move on.
- [10:04]
B
It's not a knock on Ken Dorsey specifically about play calls, but it really is sort of a vibe knock on him. Right.
- [10:15]
A
He's. He's caught some strays.
- [10:17]
B
I was going to say that, but I didn't want to sound like the, you know, the old guy throwing out the phrase. I was going to say he's going to catch strays the rest of the.
- [10:23]
A
Year if things go well, if the vibes continue.
- [10:26]
B
Yeah, this.
- [10:27]
A
You see this in other sports. The Phillies did it two years ago.
- [10:31]
B
Right.
- [10:31]
A
Joe Girardi, again, he was a worse manager than what Ken Dorsey was as an offensive coordinator. And you see that happen a lot of times in hockey. Coaches, especially in hockey, they don't have that much of a control. I mean, the guy's got to make the plays out on the ice, but a lot of times it just shakes up a locker room.
- [10:50]
B
Yeah.
- [10:50]
A
I think Dorsey's departure shook up that locker room.
- [10:53]
B
Well, it also should have. It shook up Josh because it was his guy and he helped. Getting fired. Don't argue with me on this. If you're the quarterback of a team and the OC gets fired, it's partially to whatever level you want to give it to. On the quarterback.
- [11:08]
A
Correct. It's, we can't bench you, Josh, but we can fire your friend.
- [11:12]
B
Yeah. You know who's helped Josh out in the last few weeks is Dalton Kincaid. I mean, we expect it now, right?
- [11:21]
A
Yeah.
- [11:21]
B
He's the number two target on the team. No question. And now you go into games like, oh, Kincaid caught a ball, caught a couple. He's part of the offense. Oh, no, he's a major part of the offense.
- [11:32]
A
Now, what do we ask? What do we ask of him?
- [11:34]
B
Five for 75.
- [11:35]
A
70. That's all one of them. And I think it's really interesting this week, Stefan Diggs talked about Dalton Kincaid earning the respect of Diggs, and he's actually the biggest compliment he could give him. He's got a handshake now for me.
- [11:52]
C
Like, you know, especially with young guys, like, I'm not the nicest. You know what I'm saying? Just because I know how to rule it. Like, when I was younger, they weren't the nicest. To me. But I understood why. And when I think about it now, it's just like as a young player, they. You want them to earn their respect. I don't care how nice they are. And Dawn King K is the sweetest soul. I'm saying he's a good, he's a good ass guy. So like at the end of the day, nobody cares about that. I want you to earn your keep. I want to see what you are as a player. And like you can ask him yourself if you, if y' all had interview him. He just got a handshake like last week. I'm saying, like, I feel like the handshake is important. He didn't. He got a usual. Just regular running the mill dap up because like for me, I feel like you gotta earn a handshake, you gotta make some plays. And I, and I like his game. I told you I like this game at camp. And he's shown that. Put the money on Black, I guess. Or put the money on Dalton, I'm saying I guess on the betting world road. I forgot how to say it, but I trust him and I like him. So he got his little handshake. We'll see how it goes. I might have to revoke it depending on how he plays the next couple weeks.
- [12:49]
A
Yeah. So hey, he said he could revoke it, right? He said but for the most, for the time being, it was just a simple handshake. But now he gets, now he gets stepped up and moving forward again. I think he's become a crucial part of this offense. He's the number two guy. He's past Gabe and he's, I think, proving what he, what they were hoping for by trading up and getting somebody like this to control the middle of the field. Everybody always talks about his, his knack, his instincts, his. Josh called him elusively fast today. Those kind of things all play into it. But again, continuing to broaden his repertoire, broaden his, his route tree and to get him to be a couple more explosive plays. But he's been great with yak.
- [13:36]
B
Josh really went elusively fast.
- [13:38]
A
Elusively fast.
- [13:39]
B
Is he a coach on the field too?
- [13:41]
A
That's a. It's a white guy line.
- [13:44]
B
Josh. It really. Come on, you guys know it is.
- [13:46]
A
Yeah. Josh is like, hey, I'm fast. I'm elusively fast, too.
- [13:49]
B
Deceptively quick.
- [13:50]
A
Yeah.
- [13:51]
B
Zachary coach on the field.
- [13:53]
A
Yep.
- [13:53]
B
First one in, last one out. I mean, seriously, by the way, I was marking down. So Diggs likes Allen and Kincaid, so he has two teammates that we know. He likes.
- [14:02]
A
Correct. That he's. That he's outspoken about.
- [14:04]
B
Wow.
- [14:05]
A
He likes Jimbo too. He likes James Cook.
- [14:08]
B
Oh, okay.
- [14:08]
A
But he also has told James Cook that he's not going to score. Red zone touchdown.
- [14:12]
B
Right.
- [14:12]
A
Remember he said he's like, you got to score from 30 too far out.
- [14:15]
B
Yeah, yeah. Or he's got to take like a pass to the end zone because somebody else would take his carries.
- [14:20]
A
Yes. That was the one game. I can't remember what it was earlier in the year. It was when things were going really well, but Diggs put James Cook in the game on a 1 yard on the 1 yard line and he didn't score. And then coach took him out and Diggs was there, the first one to greet him on the sidelines like, dude, I tried. Yeah, I was the one that put you in. And I think Murray ran in the next one, but yeah, Kincaid again, massive part of this offense. I think he's already fifth all time in, in rookie, rookie receptions for a tight end.
- [14:48]
B
Yeah.
- [14:49]
A
And he's got six games left.
- [14:50]
B
Well, the Bills as a franchise do not have very big numbers from the tight end position.
- [14:54]
A
We still don't know when Dawson Knox is returning. I know some people are probably going, what about Dawson Knox?
- [14:59]
B
The window is. Wally Pipped has not been opened yet for him to return. So look, the hope is they'd be back. You could use another player.
- [15:07]
A
How many people in our audience do you think, how many viewers subscribers know the Wally Pip?
- [15:13]
B
It's a low, low number. Wally Pip was replaced by Lou Gehrig.
- [15:20]
A
And then he played a couple games in a row.
- [15:22]
B
Yeah, thousands.
- [15:23]
A
And then Belichick did that. Belichick made that comment to Welker. Yeah, that was the one when it resurfaced. Edelman ran a punt back in the preseason and he went and he went up to Edel. He went up to Welker and was like, you know who Wally Pip is? And he's like, nope. And he's like, got replaced by Lou Gehrig. Never saw the field again.
- [15:40]
B
Yeah, well, then they got rid of Welker. Belichick wasn't kidding. Oh, that was back when. That was back when he was a good coach.
- [15:47]
A
Yeah.
- [15:47]
B
Well, it's been a while. All right, so let's get into this game. Eagles and the Bills. It's the start of a stretch. Well, really for. I mean, both teams. Eagles just played the Chiefs. Bills are going to play the Eagles, then they're going to play the Chiefs, then the Cowboys. The Eagles are going to. Then Play the Niners and the Cowboys. All these teams matching up. When you look at all those teams together, they're all pretty even. And right now the Bills are still a notch below.
- [16:16]
A
Correct.
- [16:16]
B
They can get back up there, but they're a notch below. What do you think it's going to be like for them? Going into the link on Sunday, I.
- [16:26]
A
Was going to ask you what it's like because you're the.
- [16:29]
B
You might have been to a game or two in Phil.
- [16:30]
A
You may have been to a game or two in Phil.
- [16:32]
B
Right. So for those of you who don't know, you hear me all the time talk about it. It's why I love sports, is going to Eagles games. Phil. I went to games as a very young kid with my dad at Franklin Field, which is a University of Pennsylvania. This was for just a short period of time, but totally built the Vet. So he built the vet.
- [16:51]
A
In the 70s, you were going to get.
- [16:54]
B
Yeah, I was little. I was a baby. It's like people here who would say, I went to games at the warm up, the old rock pile. Rock pile. So I went there. I didn't know what's going on. I remember, I swear, I remember walking in the first time and thought it was the greatest place ever. And I said to you, I still loving and walking into a new stadium at the same time. Then the vet was the vet crazy place. It was considered nice, but I went there. You know, we have had season tickets for the Eagles since 1971.
- [17:24]
A
My family, I always love when we talk personal stuff.
- [17:28]
B
Yeah.
- [17:28]
A
Whether it's my kids or Jenna's food and all this stuff. Like, it is funny when people are like, you guys are all Bills fans. It's like, nope, no. Yes. Kind of is how it works. But again, your knowledge and your first experience with football is Philadelphia.
- [17:44]
B
Also.
- [17:44]
A
Renee, my wife, goes, oh, you know, you're going back to Philly. All these things this weekend. Mike's gonna, you know, we're gonna go get Philly, cheesesteaks, all these things. And Renee goes, where's Mike from in Philly? I go, he's not from Philly.
- [17:55]
B
I'm from Jersey.
- [17:56]
A
Yeah.
- [17:56]
B
And I tell. Yeah.
- [17:57]
A
Blue Renee's mind.
- [17:58]
B
I mean, there are people who always save from Philly, you know, and they're from outside. I say Jersey. South Jersey. And I'm from the sticks of South Jersey. Vineland, Bridgeton area.
- [18:09]
A
Not the Jersey Shore.
- [18:11]
B
No. We're like right in the middle of the state. So I've been going to games in Philly. I had been to so many Eagles games. I had a whole series of disappointments before I came up to cover the Bills and had a whole series of disappointments with the Bills. So my love of sports really started with going to Eagles games and I follow the Eagles. I cover the Bills. This week, I think is massive for the Bills. For the Bills it's important for the Eagles, every win is they got the Lions chasing them. They're really good. But this is massive for the Bills.
- [18:43]
A
Two different reasons. Because we're talking about it. This is a non conference game.
- [18:48]
B
Right.
- [18:49]
A
Okay. For the Eagles it's not as important in that. In that sense it's important and for everybody's going well, it's a non conference game for the Bills. Bills need wins.
- [18:58]
B
They need definite.
- [18:59]
A
That's the difference in this game where the Bills. Because Philly then plays the Eagles. And the Cowboys. Massive.
- [19:06]
B
Niners and the Cowboys.
- [19:07]
A
Niners and Cowboys. Sorry. Like that's huge for them.
- [19:10]
B
It is. But they need wins too because they're only a game ahead of the Lions. But there's a difference between a win for possibly the number one seed and a win to make the playoffs.
- [19:18]
A
Massive.
- [19:19]
B
Yeah. For the Bills. So the matchups, I mean, look, it's. It's a tough one.
- [19:23]
A
So what's the link like?
- [19:25]
B
The Link is cool. It's built the same time as some of these other newer stadiums like Tennessee. Well, I guess Tennessee was maybe a little bit right around the time and Foxborough and all. It's good. The Vet was a pit. It was awful. But it was intimidating with the terrible field and everything. The links are really nice stadium. They win at the link like this.
- [19:47]
A
Team, they score a lot of points too.
- [19:48]
B
They score points and they win. And when you look at Jalen hurts, his numbers hit. Since he's taken over in the last two years, he's only lost one game at Lincoln Financial if you count the playoffs. Overall, he's 25 and 3. One of the losses being in the super bowl where he had a phenomenal game.
- [20:06]
A
And what's he been the last two seasons?
- [20:08]
B
In the last two seasons he was 14 and one last year as a starter because the two losses were not with two. Other losses were with Gardner Minshew.
- [20:20]
A
Yes.
- [20:21]
B
And this year he's 9 and 1. So he's 23 and 3, plus two playoff wins and a Super bowl loss.
- [20:27]
A
So the losses are to the jets and the Commanders.
- [20:31]
B
Commanders. Commanders at home and the jets this year at the Jets. So like I keep thinking that they may have a bit of a Letdown. The Eagles will.
- [20:40]
A
We talked about that on the drive home.
- [20:42]
B
Yeah. I said to you, like, that is what the setup is. And then they had this emotional win. But this team is built on both lines of scrimmage. I mean, Jason Kelsey might retire at the end of the year. He's still the best center in the NFL. Yep. He's still a great. They are really good on the offensive line. Lane Johnson's as good as it gets it right tackle. They are loaded there. They have A.J. brown and Devonte Smith. I mean, I would love to see what Josh Allen would do with this. No disrespect to the current members of the Bills. That Eagles roster on the offensive side is loaded.
- [21:16]
A
You're not the only one that feels that way. Sean McDermott does as well.
- [21:21]
E
Yeah. I mean, you talk about a, a good football team. This is a good football team in all three phases. And I think Howie Roseman does a great job of every year putting a Super bowl caliber team on the field. And that's hard to do every year, but he's done that. And then you watch what they do offensively. They can run the football. They got a heck of an offensive line, heck of an offensive line coach. And they can throw the football. The weapons that they have to throw the football. Probably, probably one of the, one of the best moves in recent NFL history to go get A.J. brown on the way they did and how that's helped their offense in addition to the other weapons they already had.
- [22:08]
B
He's talking about the Eagles, but it's a little bit of like, man, would be nice to have that here.
- [22:16]
A
He's jealous of those lines of scrimmage. Yes, he's jealous of those, that offensive line in that defensive line. Because I think, look, The Eagles have 30 touchdowns this year. Fifteen rushing.
- [22:32]
B
Yes.
- [22:33]
A
Fifteen passing. Like that is how balanced of an offense that Fredonia.
- [22:37]
B
Matt.
- [22:37]
A
Yeah, I was going to take my shoe off. That is. I think that's what Sean McDermott wishes his team could be.
- [22:45]
B
But they are still explosive offensively in the past game. They still take chances. Yeah. Well, if you saw their game against Kansas City, they couldn't block. That was such an aberration for the way they play. They were bad on both lines of scrimmage. Yeah. The D line was getting run on the O line, couldn't block. Then they started to figure out it came back with the run game or the quick passing game, usually to the backs. So it's a tough matchup. What worries me for the Bills in this game is if Taron Johnson's not clear because.
- [23:16]
A
And Dane.
- [23:18]
B
Yes, and Dane. But you know, that slot, like the Eagles are missing Avante Maddox and they have missed him all year. You know, they've brought in guys, Bradley, Bradley Roby and then, you know, to play in that. Kevin Byard at safety. They brought him in. It's hard. Most teams barely have one guy that's really good in the slot.
- [23:40]
A
Yeah.
- [23:41]
B
It's hard to have backups there. So if Taron Johnson isn't cleared and can't go, that's tough. That's a tough one.
- [23:47]
A
It's also concussion like that. That is a whole. Another monster. And that's a whole separate podcast to get. Get into in its own. But. But it's effective. Like, this isn't something you can. This isn't a. A.
- [23:59]
B
Thank you.
- [24:00]
A
This isn't a rolled ankle. Shoot it up. You're going to go out there and play like, this is. This is tough. And both of those guys were massive collisions.
- [24:08]
B
Yeah.
- [24:08]
A
So, like, this wasn't like, oh, he. He finished the rest of the game and then ended up in coach protocol. Like, Dane was wobbly to his feet and Taryn went right to the locker room and didn't come back.
- [24:16]
B
So now Terrell Bernard came back. He did have the extra day.
- [24:20]
A
Yep.
- [24:20]
B
So I guess. Wait a minute. Did he have an X ray? No, they were coming off Monday night. No, it was going into the Monday night game.
- [24:29]
A
Yes.
- [24:30]
B
So he had the extra day when he came back in that one week. That would be big.
- [24:34]
A
I want to point something out, and it's something that we've talked about and I've talked to a friend of mine who played Division one football at, at Syracuse because they talk about balance of an offense and you'll hear Sean McDermott talk about it a lot, and we saw what Joe Brady was able to do with that. But smart guys like Dan Orlovsky and other guys that I really trust and respect, if you're on TV talking football, you know more football than me and you probably know more than most people in local media.
- [24:58]
B
Not always.
- [24:59]
A
Yeah, well, okay.
- [24:59]
B
Stephen A. Smith's on tv.
- [25:01]
A
That's true. He doesn't know more than that. But, like, if you've played at any level of professional football, you are, you know more about the game.
- [25:08]
B
Yeah.
- [25:09]
A
Okay. And Orlovsky has been screaming for the Bills to go under center more.
- [25:13]
B
Right.
- [25:14]
A
And I looked into it and I was talking to my friend. And the point is, too, is that the Bills offense, they started the game with 18 plays out of the shotgun, they are very shotgun heavy. While Josh Allen can say that he's comfortable in both the shotgun and under center, he's definitely more comfortable out of the shotgun. Part of that is because coaching, you don't teach going under center anymore. RPO has become such a massive part of the game in college and in high school that quarterbacks just don't grow up going under center and learning a three step drop, a five step drop and a seven step drop. And my friend from Syracuse talked about the fact of when you're in shotgun, you're very limited not only to just the running game. It's definitely more pass heavy, but you can only do really a three step drop is the main drop that you do or a five type drop. When you do that, you are limiting and becoming more predictable. And Rasul Douglas's interception of Zach Wilson is a prime example. Zach Wilson was just doing three step drops. One, two, three balls coming out. And Rasool Douglas just stared at Zach Wilson and said, I'm going to take a gamble on this. And that's how this works. And when I look at the Bills and how heavy they are in the shotgun.
- [26:23]
B
Yeah.
- [26:24]
A
And Sean talks about wanting to be balanced. You can be balanced between running and passing, but then within that passing game you need to have balance.
- [26:32]
B
Yeah.
- [26:32]
A
And that balance is also going under center some because you have play action. You have a three step drop, a five step drop, seven step drop. Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now. Under center, he has the second highest quarterback rating at 126.3. He is second in yards per attempt at 12.1. Where an offense that has struggled to have big plays and when I look at it before and you said, everybody said how predictable the Bill's offense was with Ken Dorsey, it was a lot of shotgun, it was a lot of three step drops and the ball's getting out. I'm calling on Ken Dorsey or whoa. I'm calling on Joe Brady, in the words of Dan Orlovsky, to continue to put Josh Allen under center. The Ty Johnson touchdown on fourth down was under center. It prevents so many more things. It makes defenses be so much more honest. And I know this is a little bit more X's and O's and inside the, you know, inside baseball for this knowledge. But just understand that when you go under center, I know it's not as comfortable, but you open up so much more and you keep defenses guessing. And I think that's part of what you talk about, a balanced offense. You can be balanced in the passing game and running game. You need to be balanced inside both of those as well.
- [27:42]
B
Yeah. And effective motion, too. Motion that does something for the quarterback.
- [27:45]
A
With intent.
- [27:46]
B
With intent that all of a sudden it gives him a clue as to what he is seeing. Josh then knows it before the snap, then makes a quick decision. We've seen a difference. And look, I'm telling you, this Eagles defense can be had. Their D line is lethal.
- [28:00]
A
Yeah.
- [28:01]
B
And Jaylen Carter is an unblockable force in the middle. They have Josh Sweat. They have Fletcher Cox, Hassan Redick. Like they get after it. What can affect this defense is quick, decisive passing. And the middle of the field has been effective for teams. And Darius Slay is not what he used to be. And they. They have had. They have struggled in the secondary at times, but it usually comes from quarterbacks who can get the ball out and make quick decisions and not let that D line impact you as much as. As they have in other games.
- [28:39]
A
Quick decisions in buying time.
- [28:41]
B
Yeah.
- [28:42]
A
We saw Patrick Mahomes. I thought he's.
- [28:44]
B
But he bought time.
- [28:45]
A
He's annoyingly elusive.
- [28:47]
B
Yeah. But he bought time in that game and still did. Not that the secondary actually played pretty well in that game. He only threw for 100. What did he throw for 150 yards in the whole game? He did not really throw the ball.
- [29:02]
A
A couple drops.
- [29:03]
B
Had a couple. Well, including the one big one at the end. But Kelsey. And by the way, keep that in mind, Bills fans like Kelsey doesn't. Because you're gonna see him in a couple weeks. Kelsey. That Kelsey doesn't.
- [29:17]
A
It's a matter of if Swift's in the house.
- [29:20]
B
Yeah. She's an Eagles fan anyhow.
- [29:21]
A
That's right.
- [29:22]
B
She is. I'm saying is this Eagles defense can give up some big plays.
- [29:27]
A
Can give up points in the passing game.
- [29:29]
B
In the passing game. Yes. They gave up in the running game. I don't think that's the norm for them. They've been really good against the run. Pacheco runs hard. He did it to him in the super bowl, too.
- [29:40]
A
Yep.
- [29:40]
B
But I would say you have that. Then on the other. You know, on the other side is. I will tell you this. A.J. brown and Jalen Hurts are best friends. They were getting into it a little bit on the sidelines. I kind of get the feeling it was AJ Brown's fault based on what they were saying. So it was an interception on that play. He did very little when that happens with the Eagles.
- [30:02]
A
Yeah. What he went for 125 and five straight games.
- [30:05]
B
They're, I think six straight. They're going back to A.J. i mean, Devonte Smith is an outstanding receiver. They're going back to AJ in this game. So you're going to see a lot of him. He can run the slants, he runs every route. That's a tough. That is a tough. It's a tough matchup for everybody. That's a tough matchup for the Bills. Yeah, it certainly is. So, again, we'll see. Sean McDermott, we thought he was going back home. He's not. He said his home is Buffalo.
- [30:31]
A
That is correct.
- [30:31]
B
Which should be the case. It is Buffalo.
- [30:33]
A
Now his parents live in Buffalo or his parents live in Philly.
- [30:35]
B
Philly. Right. Because he was in Carolina for a while. I mean, he grew up in Philly and he did that.
- [30:40]
A
I'm actually pretty high on both of these offenses being able to move the ball.
- [30:44]
B
Yeah.
- [30:44]
A
I'm a little bit worrisome about the defenses especially. And this is from somebody who I feel like I've been vindicated by saying, even with all these injuries, I figured Shawn McDermott, holding this defense together with tinfoil and bubblegum, would still put together a top 10 defense. That's just the way that he is and he has. But losing Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson and Taylor rap for the, for the utility of doing things. I guess I'm very concerned about what this Eagles team could do. We were talking before whether it's a letdown spot. I still think that the Eagles will be able to move the ball pretty effectively because of the, the advantage they have on the offensive line and as well as the injuries the Bills have in the secondary.
- [31:24]
B
Yeah, I, I think it is something, you know, this Eagles team this year has not been blowing people out. Games have been close, they've been behind in games. They've come back and they find a way. They really are that team. Last year they were running away from teams. This year, almost every game has been close or relatively close. So I kind of expect that kind of game. Look, I think the Eagles are the better team in this, but the Bills are maybe found something.
- [31:49]
A
Yeah.
- [31:49]
B
And if they really did, I would say this. Whether they win the game or not, you gotta show some that progress. It's gotta be going forward because you got two more offensively. 100%.
- [32:01]
A
100. I have them losing a close game.
- [32:05]
B
Yeah.
- [32:06]
A
It's just kind of the way the, the vibe that I feel. And again, I, I think, I think this game's a one possession game. I think, I think it's within three points. But again, I think they need to put up another offensive stack. Those good offensive performances feel like the Bill's offense that we've become accustomed to. You hate to say a moral victory like there are no. There's no moral victory. But again, to improve the offense where.
- [32:30]
B
It is moving forward, I don't think of it that way more. I think of it more like you need progress from this offense. It was stagnant or bad for a while and it was good last week. It needs to be good again to build on it for the next week. It's not like we feel good about ourselves. You should play well.
- [32:48]
A
Yes.
- [32:48]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [32:49]
A
Moral victory is the wrong word. I'm saying we have now switched from the Broncos game, the Giants game, the Patriots game and the jets game where I said it's okay to be conservative. Field goals and punts. We're going to win you games.
- [33:03]
B
Yeah.
- [33:03]
A
This you're now going into a stretch of. I'd even throw the Chargers game in there.
- [33:09]
B
Oh, yeah. It's on the road in la. Yeah.
- [33:11]
A
Put up some bleeping points like. Like you're going up against some really good offenses that I think are going to put pressure on this Bill's defense and they're going to be games. We've said it before. There are going to be games where, Josh, we used to say go out and score 30, like put up 30 points. I think this is a game where you're going to need to score 30 points to win against the Eagles.
- [33:31]
B
All right. I'm going to let my Philly come out here a little bit, even though it's from South Jersey.
- [33:35]
A
Eagles.
- [33:35]
B
You don't like Nick Sirianni, you're going to hate him by the end of the game. If you're a Bills fan, you are. But I'm going to tell you this about that guy. He is aggressive. His team follows him. He goes for it all the time. His team barely looks to the sidelines on fourth down and they are going to run the brother brotherly shove and it's going to work. I'm sorry. It works every time. 60% of the time. It works every time. It works every time. It does. Don't worry about them making it illegal when it's third and short or fourth and short. They're running it. They're getting it. They do it all the time. They will be aggressive, nonstop. He does. He goes for it in his own 29 yard line in the first quarter of the game against Dallas, 4th and 1. They have that much confidence in it. Until the league bans it, they don't care. They're going to run it and it works.
- [34:25]
A
What did McDaniel call it? It's 1st and 9.
- [34:27]
B
Yeah.
- [34:28]
A
Because if it's 4th and 1, it's automatic.
- [34:30]
B
Yeah. And teams have tried everything to stop it, and they haven't been able to. So I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be fun. I again, the Bills really need it for us here in the pod. It would be really good for the Bills to go down there and pull out a win.
- [34:44]
A
Yeah.
- [34:44]
B
And they could be catching the Eagles at the right time, but we will see how it plays out. Yeah. Jenna didn't show today. Yeah.
- [34:53]
A
She'll watch this and we'll be getting text messages at this part.
- [34:56]
B
Yeah, she'll be like, oh, good.
- [34:59]
A
Yeah, everything looks great.
- [35:00]
B
Well, I filled in as the host for today. I do okay.
- [35:03]
A
Yeah, not bad.
- [35:04]
B
Okay, not bad.
- [35:05]
A
I gotta figure out the soundboard.
- [35:06]
B
Yeah. Seriously.
- [35:11]
A
Definitely not the one I'm looking for.
- [35:13]
B
You're still trying. Oh, this could be ugly. You have any idea what you're finding? Nope. Oh, that's not it.
- [35:24]
A
All right, we'll figure that out. I think they took the button out. There were comments that I was hitting the button too much. Everybody took it out on me.
- [35:31]
B
Wow. You're going to be the Ken Dorsey of the buttons.
- [35:37]
A
I'm going to lose control.
- [35:39]
B
All right, that's going to do it for us.
- [35:40]
A
Uncoordinated on the board.
- [35:41]
B
Please make sure to, like, comment and subscribe. We want your prediction.
- [35:45]
A
Yep.
- [35:46]
B
We want your prediction. Somebody's gonna say, I have the Eagles by seven, you have the Eagles by one, and Jenna has the Bills by three. By three points with the win. So the host may be correct. We will see. All right.
- [36:00]
A
Happy Thanksgiving.
- [36:00]
B
Yes. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Put your score what you think from the game coming up. Put it in the comments. We would appreciate it. Please make sure to, like, comment, subscribe, and we'll see you in the next time on Buffalo Plus.
- [36:21]
A
This is the Buffalo plus podcast brought to you by Connors and Ferris.