Latest / Go Long Podcast / Substack Live! Previewing Bills-Texans with Jay Skurski…

Transcript

Substack Live! Previewing Bills-Texans with Jay Skurski… · Go Long Podcast

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: What's on Substack Live?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome from One Bill's Drive.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Tyler Dunne here with Jay Skursky.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: We are sequestered in a walkway here.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's really windy outside.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: It is.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: So we figured,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: people can hear us like we're in a cave versus hearing us outside and just
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: the wind whipping around.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: Also, the wind should be Like,
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: less than half the miles per hour in the new stadium versus the old ones.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: So they figured that out, positioning of Highmark, right?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: The wind confusion.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, they're confusing the wind.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I like it.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: I like it.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: I still want to see that in November when it's 30 miles an hour blowing off the lake, you know?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see how confused the wind gets.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: But at least it's positioned the
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: right way.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's one that no longer exists.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we see that.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that nuts to see?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: No stadium.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: We'll see you next time.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it's an interesting game for a couple of different reasons.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Primarily, when you think about the Bills, the great unknown is the defense, right?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Jim Leonard installing this new 3-4,
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of new players,
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of new pieces,
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: didn't really show anything during the preseason in terms of what it's going
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: to look like.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: But for me,
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm much more interested in the Bills offense in this game because this was a game
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: that last year...
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: The Texans kicked Josh Allen's ass.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't really like to use that language,
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: but I think it's the right language to use in this situation.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: That was a dominant performance by Houston.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: And when you consider...
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: The beating that Allen took, right?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought offensive line was weak.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: I thought Joe Brady's play calling in that game,
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: he needed to do more to protect his star quarterback.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: I thought the punishment that Allen took in that game was How do they reverse that?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: This is the team,
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: the Texans,
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: in a stadium, Reliance Stadium, where Josh Allen has had a hell of a time.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: He's 0-4 there.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: You go back to his rookie year, he hurts his elbow.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: He loses in the playoffs.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: He loses last year in
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really interested to see, okay, what does this Bills offense look like?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: How is it different?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: How do they better protect Josh Allen in this game against this elite defense,
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: probably the best defense in the NFL?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And just what's different with Joe Brady running the show?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Do they open it up more?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: We all talk so much about the game plans last year and the endless screen passes
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: to Khalil Shakir.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Does DJ Moore's presence transform this offense?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Does it look radically different in week one?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's a lot to answer on that side of the ball.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: So while I would understand like in almost any other opener,
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'd really be focusing on the defense.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: But for this game, I'm really interested in the offense.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'm right there with you, Jay.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: I think back to chatting with Joe Brady back in April about his big picture mindset
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: for the Buffalo Bills.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: They've got to play us.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: We're not going to be just hyper calculated on every specific.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: Against Houston.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, they probably thought they were in the perfect play.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're going to send out our five receivers.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, we know where you're coming here.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: We know what that guy's doing.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: The Texans just sit there and basically say, we don't give a damn.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're going to run our defense.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: We're not going to blitz.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: We're going to run two or three coverages.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: And that's it.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: And we just feel like one-on-one,
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: our defensive linemen are going to kick your offensive linemen's ass.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: And on the back end,
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: our corners and safeties are going to be able to blanket and cover all
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: of your receivers.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that's where it's interesting.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like, yeah, they got to play you.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's kind of how they approached it up there, getting into the right place.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_02: But it didn't matter because they couldn't block Roy Anderson Jr.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: They couldn't block Daniel Hunter.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: The Texans are, they're a savage Fonz fan.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: They are, they could play in any decade, in any era of football.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: The personnel has changed.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think that would give Joe Brady a little hope.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: Spencer Brown was clearly compromised in that game.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: Deion Dawkins wasn't himself.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_02: And now at receiver, you've got a DJ Moore.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: You need somebody, I think, to get separation at receiver if you're a Buffalo.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I tell you what,
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: being around that Texas defense,
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't say it's disrespect,
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: but whether it's the Bills,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: the Chiefs, anybody they face, they're not scared of anybody.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: They're confident that they're just going to shut you down man to man.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't think that they're going to be scared about a DJ Moore and
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_02: a new Keon Coleman, a healthy Dawson Kincaid.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that's what it comes down to.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: These receivers, these tight ends winning one-on-one.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Getting open.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: Very few people do it against Houston.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think the Bills are going to run their stuff instead of going the Cleveland-Miles Garrett.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: Remember that game?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: They almost went out of their way to not let Miles Garrett get that sack record.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: I would still rather see the Bills be the Bills than completely trash what they do
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: in the name of trying to play a safe.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean,
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: with all that said about that game last year and,
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: you mentioned Spencer Brown going out and the beating that Allen took,
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: they were in a position to win the game.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: It was close, right?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I know they got a return touchdown from Ray Davis in that game.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: So offensively, it was certainly not the Bills' best performance.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: But listen, I think this is a great opener for Josh Allen, right?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because we know that, I don't want to say he carries a grudge, but he remembers that game.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is one of the few stadiums around the league that he hasn't won it.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure that that's somewhere in the back of his mind.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: And you mentioned Kincaid.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to make light of that.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're a better offense when he's on the field.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'd have to go back and look.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: I believe he missed that game.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so you talk about him being healthy.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: So much has been made about DJ Moore and what he can provide as this new number one target, but
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: What's it mean for Kincaid and Shakir?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Does it make life easier for them?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Can they get anything out of Josh Palmer, you know, who looks like he's healthy this year?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know, James Cook is going to be James Cook.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: I firmly believe even though he led the NFL.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you're talking about the opportunity here for the Bills to start in Houston.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: If they can get a win there, they come home and play five days later.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know the atmosphere here on a Thursday night for the first,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: regular season game in New Highmark Stadium right over there is going
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: to be absolutely electric.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: Just give me a quick look here.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Are those some
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: stacked live?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: There it is.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: There's New Highmark.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's still windy.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: Let's keep talking in here.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so you have the opportunity if they can get off to a hot start,
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: let's say they win both of those games.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: They've watched the Patriots lose in pretty crushing fashion in the first game of the season.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And then they'll sit And if they can do it, they're going to have exercise some demons, right?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: That, you know, the Texans being probably the biggest one of them right now.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you know what I'm really looking forward to seeing also is what
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: the hell does this defense look like?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: Because I thought he was pretty honest with us at his press conference today
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: where he said videos get shared.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: Jeff Hathaway with the Dolphins was reminiscing about his Packer days when
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the Eagles coach told him,
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: yeah, we knew a lot of your stuff just from watching fans videos on Twitter.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think Jim Leonard and the Bills were very careful not to show too much,
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: even in those St. John Fisher practices, definitely not in the preseason games.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: He said, you still got to kind of run some stuff, right?
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: You got to try.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: You got to literally practice.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: So they, But and then he went back again and said, we've got some stuff that nobody has seen.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that's where it's interesting.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: Who lines up where?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like who's weaponized?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: What's he doing before the snap?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's going to look completely different than what we've seen
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: from Sean McDermott most of the last half decade.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a quarterback in C.J.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: Stroud.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: Last season, I'll have a story on C.J.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: Stroud, Friday a.m. at Go Long.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_02: Talked to a lot of sources there in the Texans building and guys like Warren Moon.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: Kurt Warner tried to break down his game where he struggled.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: He'd get skidded against the blitz.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: He completely lost confidence in his offensive line.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: They were hurt.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: They were terrible.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: It never got better for C.J.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: Stroud.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: So if you can somehow, and Braden Smith, their offseason signing, he's injured.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_02: He's out for at least the first month of the season.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: So if you can sense the pressure of C.J.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_02: Stroud, you saw what happened the first half of that New England playoff game.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: Four interceptions in that first half.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: They haven't paid him.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: He's got a lot to prove.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: But nobody in the NFL is facing the pressure of C.J.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: Stroud this year.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: You, I think, tweeted it out when we were listening to Jim Leonard today.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: The quote was, you know, we've got to throw a punch too, right?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so I do wonder, you know, what is that punch?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: What does the coach look like?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: What you're talking about there, an aggressive blitzing mentality to go after this guy?
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: It was interesting to hear some of the Bills coaches,
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Leonard and Pete Carmichael, talked about facing Houston last year.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: This is not an unfamiliar opponent for this coaching staff,
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: even if they weren't all in Buffalo last year.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I'm right there with you.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: I have said throughout the offseason that I think this defense deserves a little bit
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: of a grace period, right?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: It is new.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: And not all of these players,
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: let's be honest, are perfect fits for what Jim Leonard wants this defense to be.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: They've been drafted year after year for Sean McDermott's 4-3.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: And you're not going to turn that over entirely in a year.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: But if Leonard is the coach that a lot of people think he is,
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: he'll find ways to make it work, right?
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: And he'll find ways to utilize tasks like Greg Russo and Dion Walker and Oliver.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you can kind of go down the list up front.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Terrell Bernard, a captain.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Terrell Bernard.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah,
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: I know we're kind of veering off on a couple of different tangents here,
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: but Cole Bishop is a guy that I'm super interested in watching.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Can his career progression go from,
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: you know, up and down rookie season, solidified himself as a starter last year.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Can he become a pro bowler?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Can he steal small pro votes this year?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think that would be huge for this Bill's defense if they can do that.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, CJ Stroud is coming off not a good performance in his last game, right?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: That playoff performance against New England was ugly.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's disgusting.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's disgusting.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think if the Bills are being honest,
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: and then Jim Leonard isn't going to come out and say this,
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: but this is a And again,
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: that the defense has to go out and asserts right against the quarterback
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: who might understandably be having some confidence issues at this point.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: So go show that.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because we know and again,
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: I keep coming back to this quick turnaround five days The Detroit Lions are coming
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: in and we know the offensive weapons that they have.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: So while I do subscribe to the idea and I've written it and said it,
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: throughout the offseason that we've got to give this defense,
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: let's say six weeks right before the bye.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Those first six weeks, like there's going to be some growing pains.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: But hey,
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: if they can help this team get off to a quick start and really show some things
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: against Houston and then the bigger test,
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: which would be against Detroit,
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think you'd feel really good about where things are on this team.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, what does it look like, Jay?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: Because this is a defense under Sean McDermott.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: For better or worse,
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: whatever your philosophy is, they wanted to keep everything in front of them, right?
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: Let's keep it in front.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: Let's force teams to go 12 to 15 plays to score because chances are,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Along the way, you're going to screw up.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: You're going to have a bad breaking penalty.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: You might fumble it.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: You might turn it over.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: He's playing the odds where, I don't know, that takes you so far, in my opinion.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: That gets you wins over the Dolphins and the Jets and the average teams in a regular season.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: You get into January, it's a different kind of football.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: So I think a Jim Leonard defense I would like to see is one that,
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: yeah, you've got guys pinball in all directions.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: You don't know who's going where, when they're going to be there.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: You're going to give off plays, but damn it, you're going to make plays.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: You're going to create, he said it today, they want to get the ball back to Josh Allen.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: They're going to take some chances.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: I would be okay seeing them give up some big plays if they're making those big plays
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: that have been lacking at the key moments year to year, January to January.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: So what's the, you know, what's the most impactful way of doing that?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a defense, to your point earlier, it's probably pressure, right?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so make CJ Stroud uncomfortable in the pocket,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: make him make,
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: get the ball out sooner than he would want to,
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: or maybe make him hold it on to I'll see you next time.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: He's healthy now, and can he be that for this defense?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: They need it.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: They desperately need it.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: As you mentioned, he's a captain.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: You can go down the list of guys that are on this defense.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: You think of Ed Oliver and the injuries that he went through last season,
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: and he looked great when he was on the field,
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: but unfortunately for him, wasn't he able to be out there that much?
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Can Greg Rousseau, I talked earlier about Cole Bishop and that career ascension.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: It feels like we've been waiting on that for a while with Greg Rousseau.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Does Bradley Chung coming in,
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: being a captain,
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Veteran presence,
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: great locker room guy,
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: but can he help Greg Rousseau maybe unlock another level of his game?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: A lot, you know,
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: a lot riding on, I would say, yeah, they've made this change to the coaching staff.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, understand the reasons for it.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: It all makes sense.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: The sign of a good coach, right,
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: is to elevate the performance of players, right, and to coax more out of them.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of guys on that list for Jim Leonard to kind of work with
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: and let's see what he's able to do with them.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Well, well said, Jay Skirsky.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, you have a piece up at the Buffalo News right now and in newsstands.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_02: Go to the newsstands.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: Get the print copy.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: Get your fingerprints dirty with some ink.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's what I want to see more of in America.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: You sat down with Brandon Bean.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: What did you learn?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean,
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: the cover story to our NFL preview section,
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: 16 pages,
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of work went into it myself, Catherine and Lance over at the Buffalo News.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: But the cover story is that this is all on Brandon Bean right now.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: It is his show.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: As far as they change at the top of a football organization as there was
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: with Sean McDermott back in January,
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: oftentimes you find that it's the GM and the head coach who are out.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: In this situation, it's the opposite.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Not only did Brandon Bean survive, He's thriving.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: He got a promotion.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: He is the president of football operations.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: The entire football department now runs through Brandon Bean.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: So that means he oversees the hiring of Joe Grady, right?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: And if that doesn't work out, Brandon Bean is the guy.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: That would be making that decision.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so there is a lot at stake for Brandon Bean.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: There is a lot, I think, more pressure even than there was before.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: And he would tell you that he feels the same amount of pressure.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: I don't buy that.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: This is Brandon Bean's team, right?
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: This is his hand-picked quarterback.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to go all the way back to drafting Josh Allen,
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: it's his hand-picked roster in terms of draft picks and free agency.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's his hand-picked head coach after leading a national search to find who's going
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: to get to coach Josh Allen next.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe one of the most appealing jobs that there could be in an NFL offseason.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think that one thing I want to say about Brandon Bean that I give him a lot
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: of credit for is that he has not strengthened that responsibility whatsoever.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: He's not running from it.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: You had the quote maybe of the entire offseason when you sat with him where he said,
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: if this doesn't work.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: We know that the moving vans are going to be outside my house too, right?
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so a lot of,
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: to be quite honest with you, Tyler,
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of this story was built around that idea,
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: how you know, okay, like you're the guy now, right?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: For better or worse, all of this told me.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: And listen, Brandon Bean took, I think, a lot of criticism this offseason.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think there were a lot of people when the announcement was made that,
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: quite frankly,
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: shared the sentiment that the wrong guy was let go,
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: that Sean McDermott actually did as much as he could have last year with
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: a deficient roster in some ways.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you believe that or not,
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think whatever happened between those two, I'm sure that there were disagreements.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: You spent nine years together in a job.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: There are going to be some of those disagreements, but That's in the past now.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon Bean, he's still here.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And he's the guy that has made all of these decisions.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: And now let's see if it works.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: So Brandon Bean and I, we've known each other a long time.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: We've stood nose to nose, disagreeing about things.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: We share a lot in common.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think we have a pretty good relationship.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that comes through in what was a pretty honest conversation.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: Now that is a hell of a tease.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to read it.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: I have not seen it yet, full disclosure.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: So definitely will be checking that out.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: I hope you do as well.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: And thanks for the love on that story a few months ago, man.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_02: The offseason was fun.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: It was back in late January, early February.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's what he said, you know.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: F the outside.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's about getting it right.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: And he wouldn't have been able to sleep at night thinking he hired the wrong person.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: He thinks he hired the person to get this team to a Super Bowl.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a great point, Jay.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like Brandon Bean and Joe Brady, they're not running and hiding from the expectations.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: They're not going to say Super Bowl or bus, but.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: They get it, right?
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Anything less than a trick to the Super Bowl for many fans will feel like a failure,
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_02: you know, and fair or not, fair or not.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's, I mean, I'm interested in a position that Joe Brady is waltzing into.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: I know Jim Moniz, my co-host there, Real Football, he thinks they get two years.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: To get to that game.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if Terry Pergoula has a timeline in his head,
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: but I feel like they are embracing the reality,
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: embracing getting into this new stadium and everybody in that stadium know
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: when we get to a damn Super Bowl after getting so close.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's the bar, right?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: And Brandon Bean had a hand in setting that bar, right?
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: He built this culture and this winning organization that it's been for nine years.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: That's why Terry was staying in those seats.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: Those numbers he was repeating.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: He's trying to say, look, something is working here.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I get not wanting to nuke the building.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: Something's working here, whether you disagree.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: I get not wanting to just fire everybody, completely start over.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: And this is thinking about the team through that Josh Hamm person.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's why he's sitting in all those interviews.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: And one of Brandon Bean's quotes in this piece with me is that he wants
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: to see Josh Allen and Terry Pagula lift that trophy.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's why he comes to work every day.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's his sole focus.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: It is, you just mentioned it, Tyler.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's the organizational goal.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: It is the only goal for the organization.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: And falling short of it,
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: if this team makes the playoffs and has another meager showing and is out in
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: the wildcard round or outclassed in the divisional round,
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: people are going to say,
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: well, why did we move on from Sean McDermott if we can't even get any further?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason you make that move is because you believe you had hit
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: the proverbial playoff stealing to borrow Terry Pergoulas' line.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: And okay, well, if you did that, justify it.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Understand there's reasoning, there's logic behind that statement, but you got to go farther.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's what's up to Joe Brady and to Brandon Bean.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: Take this team to a Super Bowl.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's where the bar is.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: And it begins this weekend down in Houston.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: Make sure you read everything at the Buffalo News at Golong.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: Always great having Jay on the show.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: We'll catch you next time.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks.