Latest / Alex Brasky: Unfiltered / Why the Bills CUT BAIT on C.J. Gardner-Johnson, What Comes Next?

Transcript

Why the Bills CUT BAIT on C.J. Gardner-Johnson, What Comes Next? · Alex Brasky: Unfiltered

• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everybody, and welcome back by Popular Demand.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is Alex Brasky Unfiltered, your first stop for raw, honest takes on the Buffalo Bills and more.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Please like, share, rate, and subscribe to the podcast, and also leave a comment on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's get started on the pod.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Here this evening, the Bills coming off their win over the depleted Baltimore Ravens, looking ahead to a tough matchup with a very aggressive Minnesota Vikings defense.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: But first, let's get to the big news in Bill's country.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that is, of course, CJ Gardner Johnson cut by the Bills after he was suspended for week eight against the Ravens for spitting at Raiders player Brock Bowers in week six before the Bills by.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And this could be the end of the road for Gardner Johnson.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's now been let go by so many teams over the past few years.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: The latest, of course, being the Bills.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the Bills would like for you to believe that this was all due to football reasons.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: There were clear signs of CJ Gardner Johnson really not measuring up in that regard.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: He had missed nine tackles on the season, allowed a 73.3% completion percentage, was called for three penalties on the season.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So certainly not up to snuff in terms of his performance.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: But if you believe that this just came down to his effort on the field, you are sadly mistaken and incredibly naive.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: This was a mixture of both the problems in the locker room, the problems stemming or excuse me, spreading onto the field, and then of course his performance in the back end of the Bills defense as well.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take a look back at what the Bills CJ Gardner Johnson saga had to deliver since the Bills signed him as a free agent this offseason.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: There was the live stream incident in the locker room where Joe Brady had to kind of shut things down when Gardner Johnson went live in the middle of the Bills locker room, breaking some privacy concerns and so on and so forth.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then later on, before the season even started, delivered some fierce bulletin board material to the Bills' week one opponent, the Houston Texans, who had previously cut bait on Gardner Johnson the year before, after just a few games.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: So really inflaming things with his comments about the Texans before the season.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then after the Patriots lost, the Bills' only loss of the season, it was made even worse by Gardner Johnson's comments on wide receiver Efton Chisholm calling him a practice squad player when in fact he had never been on a practice squad when Gardner Johnson had been on a practice squad as recent as last season.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So really just a complete embarrassment was CJ Gardner Johnson leading up to the spitting incident, which got him ejected from the game against the Raiders and then subsequently suspended against the Ravens.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I said it all throughout the offseason that this was only a matter of time before this was going to happen.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And what do you know?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Gardner Johnson proves me right.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then you look at Joe Brady, kind of flip-flopped in terms of Gardner Johnson's future with the Bills.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Initially, he said he was a member of the Bills, and there's a reason why we brought him in here, this, that, and the other thing.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: But what do you know?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Just a week later, the Bills, or a couple weeks later, I guess, letting go of Gardner Johnson in really a sizable news item for Bills fans and across the league.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is a player that's become incredibly embattled.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned all the teams that have cut bait on him over the years.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Six teams in eight years for CJ Gardner Johnson, five teams in the last four years, three in the last year and a half.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, as I mentioned before, this could really be the end of the road for CJ Gardner Johnson.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: The juice just was not worth the squeeze for the Bills, and they move on from the controversial figure in their secondary.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now the question is what's next for the Bills and the safety position.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it seems obvious Damar Hamlin will in fact be the Bills starter moving forward.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Bills secondary performed as well as it has all season against the Ravens.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you have to kind of take things with a grain of salt.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: It coming against a second and third string quarterback for the majority of the game.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: The first string, Lamar Jackson, obviously, with a hurt thumb, played only one snap.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Second string, Tyler Huntley for the Ravens played 10 snaps.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third string quarterback, whose name escapes me, Joe Fignano, played the rest of the game, finished 10 of 21, 91 yards, and interception for rookie cornerback Davis and Igbenosin, who we'll discuss a little bit later.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: So Damar Hamlin fitting in nicely to this defense against the Ravens, and I don't think they're going to mess with that.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Jim Leonard, the Bills defensive coordinator, excuse me, very complimentary of Hamlin in his post-game comments.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So Hamlin's going to fit in alongside Cole Bishop in the back end as a starter.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: And Bishop really thrived in this game against the Ravens, a forced fumble, looking like his old self of last season, his breakout campaign.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the hope is here that getting a more solid player, somebody that is more reliable and not as high variance as Cay CJ Gardner Johnson, putting Damar Hamlin back there will help Cole Bishop return to his old ways and become more of the difference maker that we saw him be a season ago.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: So not only did Cole Bishop perform well, the Bills recovered a couple of fumbles.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: The one coming from Bishop recovered by Caleb Elarms or Dorian Williams recovered a fumble later in the game, but Takori Couch performed extremely well for the Bills in this game, filling in for an injured D.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Alford out with an ankle injury.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Couch takes over, and like I said, an exceptional performance from him.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think we could see Takori Couch also inserted into the starting lineup moving forward.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some changes there with Hamlin, the clear-cut favorite to be the starter moving forward, with CJ Gardner Johnson on his way out the door.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then with Alford's status continuing to be up in the air and his performance kind of lacking this season, maybe the Bills make the change full time to Takore Couch, who showed a lot of good signs this summer during training camp and backed that up with a solid performance against the Baltimore Ravens.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be interesting to see how Cole Bishop can work alongside Hamlin and potentially turn to that elite level borderline caliber that he was a season ago.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what you'll see from the Bills secondary.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hamlin inserted for CJ Gardner Johnson, who has now been cut by the team.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that is his sixth team that he's been cut by in eight years.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: So let's move on.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to some positives now from the Ravens game, along with what we already discussed about the Bills secondary, but we'll add to that a little bit with Davison Igbenosen's interception.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's really taken a stranglehold on that starting cornerback job opposite Christian Benford.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maxwell Harrison just completely left in the dust.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Another swing and a miss from Brandon Bean in the first round.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And not to mention the swing and the swing and a miss that he had on CJ Gardner Johnson in free agency.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now over$3 million in dead cap created.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just more and more dead cap being added on to Brandon Bean's track record.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to be his legacy, unless the Bills can pull one out in the near future and win that Super Bowl that everyone covets.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Then I think everyone will forget about the dead cap.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: But if things continue along this track, Bean is really going to be held with his feet to the fire about all this dead cap that he continues to pile up with CJ Gardner Johnson, the latest being cut.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: But back to Davison Igbonosen and Maxwell Harrison in that dynamic.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Harrison has just not lived up to expectations.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's now been relegated to special teams duty as he was against the Baltimore Ravens.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: But really positive signs from David Davison Igbonosin.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: We've mentioned them previously on the podcast.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: He comes up with that first career interception in this game, off the tip pass from Geno Stone, another player who I think influenced the Bills' decision to cut bait on CJ Gardner Johnson.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: He showed some positive signs in this game against the Ravens and could be a key depth piece behind Damar Hamlin moving forward.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: But Igbonosen is the clear cut, most positive takeaway that I've had for the Bills secondary this season.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Some struggles from Christian Benford.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned the up and down play from Cole Bishop, CJ Gardner Johnson being absolutely dreadful.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Igbonosin has not been perfect by any means, but I think you were to expect some rookie growing pains.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And as he's gotten more time on task, I think he's developing some level of consistency, and he's really locked down that role, like I mentioned, opposite Christian Benford.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't see how you can ever go back to Maxwell Harrison now.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh just did not perform as expected to start this season.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And now with Igbonosen having overtaken him, I think you might see Harrison dangled as a potential trade candidate before the trade deadline.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really good to see that Jim Leonard, I've been very critical.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: He's had a rough season despite the positive performance against the Ravens, his first year as defensive coordinator.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: He's not afraid to make changes.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: He's very conviction about these decisions that he makes.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: He replaces Maxwell Harrison with Davison Igbenosen and now obviously gave his blessing to move on from CJ Gardner Johnson in the back end.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: So willing to maybe not admit mistakes, but admit faults of the defense and not afraid to move on for play from players who are underperforming.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a very positive sign for Jim Leonard.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can't afford to wait around in a time where you have the Super Bowl window with Josh Allen at quarterback.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: You need to make these changes quickly.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what Jim Leonard seems to be able to do at the helm of this Bills defense.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of the Bills defense, also benefited from another phenomenal performance from Greg Rousseau in this game.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not to say that the Ravens' offensive line is one of the best in football.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: They were missing a guard in this game, but Rousseau comes away with a sack, a tackle for loss, two passes defensed, three quarterback hits, and three tackles in this game.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So Greg Rousseau continuing his phenomenal season for this Bills defensive line.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the pass rush had slowed in recent weeks.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: So it was really nice to see it get back on track in this game.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Also, you had Landon Jackson, the second-year pass rusher with a sack.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned Cole Bishop, the forced fumble that came as a result of a sack.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then TJ Parker, the rookie pass rusher, also with a sack in this game.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And Parker, I think, has quietly had a pretty decent impact this season.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: One and a half sacks on the year, uh forced fumble, six tackles.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: He hasn't been jumping off the page week in and week out, but I don't think any of us expected him to.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe as the season goes, he continues to gain some more consistent production, as we saw from him in this game.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I tweeted before the game how I want to see more from Bradley Chubb.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: He just has not really lived up to the expectations I think many had for him entering this season.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: We'll pull up the season stats on Chubb.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't have a single tackle in this game.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: He did have one quarterback hit and on the season for Bradley Chubb.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Five tackles, one and a half sacks.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: So not even as productive as TJ Parker in his rookie season.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we all expected a heck of a lot more from Bradley Chubb.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I think he really needs to get things going if this Bill's defense is going to be as dominant as we've seen, especially the pass rush to start the season.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: And another takeaway from the defense, another positive takeaway, Jim Leonard going up to the booth in this game.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: He started the season on the field calling the defense, wanted to kind of mix things up with the players and get a feel for things down there, but he's since moved up to the booth against the Ravens.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the best performance of the season from the defense, he's not going to go back to being on the field and already confirmed that during his press conference this week.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Bills blitzing increased in this game.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Their aggressiveness on defense, that was a significant takeaway, and it led to production.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: You had the four sacks in this game, a few turnovers as well.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: You had the force fumble from Bishop.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: You also had Williams recovering the fumble, the IGB interceptions.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: So this is what this defense needs to do in order to be adequate enough for it to win a Super Bowl.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Get pressure, get takeaways at the back end.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna give up drives, you're gonna give up long plays.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: It just doesn't have the personnel to be a lockdown unit.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can get these takeaways and these big plays in the pass rush, that's going to allow you to withstand some surges from opposing offenses and Ben but don't break, as they say.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: I know those are kind of Voldemort type language.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, he who shall not be named.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to name the Ben but don't break defense that we saw under Sean McDermott previously.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that's what it has to be under Jim Leonard.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: It just has to be good enough during these games to come up with a couple of big plays to turn the tide in big moments and allow its offense to really run away with these contests, as we've seen the Bills' offense do throughout the season.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of the offense, it was a great sign to see DJ Moore healthy in this game.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And there's no secret why the Bills' passing game looked as good as it did in the second half, I should say, as it has in recent weeks.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: The difference that DJ Moore makes is apparent.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: He finishes this game with four receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown, was targeted seven times.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: He comes up with a phenomenal 49-yard reception deep down the field, leaping and pulling it away from Ravens defensive back Marlon Humphrey.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's what DJ Moore can do.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: You can just throw it up to him and he goes and gets it.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And he also gets open down the field.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: We saw him do that with regularity in this game.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: But first and foremost, his health, he did limp a bit off the field toward the end of the game, was reinserted by Joe Brady, which we'll talk about a little bit later.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: But if he can remain healthy, if he can keep that SC joint, which it's been revealed now, initially reported as an AC joint sprain, but he's clarified that it was indeed an SC joint sprain.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think a little bit more significant of an injury is that SC joint sprain.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: If he can keep that healthy and stay in the lineup, this Bill's passing game can start to gain some momentum into that week 12 through 16 gauntlet that is coming up.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And another player who gained some momentum in this game, Dalton Kincaid, he started a little bit.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, actually, he started red hot, a bunch of receptions early, dropped the touchdown, and I think he had another drop mixed in there, but then he comes back with the touchdown later in the game, finishes as the team leader in yards receiving with 86 yards on six targets, four receptions, and that touchdown, a long reception of 40 yards in this game for Dalton Kincaid.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought he might be limited in this game.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: He was in that red knot contact jersey throughout the week.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: He's dealt with obviously the knee issues in the past and was dealing with that reported chest injury leading into this game, but he disappeared a little bit in the middle portions of the game, but early on and late, Kincaid involved pretty heavily.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think he played his normal complement of snaps above 50%, just under 60.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't as much as we saw from him early in the year.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that was a little bit unsustainable when you're running four tight ends out there on a consistent basis, which we'll touch on that decision a little bit later as well.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: But great signs from the Bills, top two pass catchers, DJ Moore, Dalton Kincaid, and also Khalil Shakir making a difference with five receptions for 64 yards.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: His run after the catchability starting to resurface these past few weeks at a slow start to the season, but Shakir starting to get more and more and more involved in this offense.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then you look at the running game with James Cook, 21 carries, 80 yards, and a touchdown.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't average the high yards per carry rate that he has throughout the season, only 3.8 yards per carry.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Didn't have a rush of over 20 yards in this game, but he also came up with two receptions for 21 yards.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: So James Cook continuing to be productive, and it was a scary sight at the end of this game.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: He avoided that very worrisome injury, getting bent up, scorpioned in a way, uh, and leading to a head and neck evaluation, but seems to have avoided any element there.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll have to see the first injury report of the week if he's limited at all coming off that game.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Another player who was put back into the game uh ahead by 19 after dealing with that injury.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll we'll we'll talk about that a little bit later.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: But last note on the offense, the offensive line was without Spencer Brown in this game, and Tyon Grable played very, very well.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Two hurries allowed, zero quarterback hits, zero sacks, a 97.4 pass block efficiency.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Bill didn't run his way a whole lot, but it was really good to see him hold up and pass protection.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think you might see Spencer Brown held out a few more weeks.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: This week against the Vikings, they blitz so much.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: And with that back injury that he's dealing with, I don't know if you want to put a compromised player out there.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, he may have sat out this last week against the Ravens in preparation for this big matchup against the Vikings pass rush, but we'll have to see how the Bills plan to play it.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: They do have two pretty easy matchups against the Jets and Dolphins coming up.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it might behoove them to get Brown back to full health after that Jets or Dolphins game, whichever is the second of those matchups leading into that week 12 through 16 stretch.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: You need Brown, your best offensive lineman, fully healthy for that stretch, beyond into the playoffs.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: You need him at full health.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, it might be the wise choice to keep him out, but I wouldn't guarantee that.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have to see.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Brown uh is as tough as they come, so we'll see how the Bills play that one.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: But lastly, special teams, a very positive day for the special teams.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Tyler Bass, 16 of 16 on his field goals this season, remains absolutely phenomenal.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Apology form has been submitted to Tyler Bass from me.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: I was worried about him at the start of the season.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: The thing with kickers, it could all change at the drop of a hat, but we can only go on what we've seen from Bass this season, and he has been exceptional, as has been rookie punter Tommy Doman Jr., another 50-yard punt in this game.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: The hang time really impressive throughout as well.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: So Bass and Doman Jr.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: leading this special teams unit to really big things this season.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's take a moment.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Please like, share, rate, and subscribe to the podcast.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Minimize whatever engine you're watching or listening.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And please go to Apple, go to YouTube, like, share, rate this individual episode and the channel overall.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: I would really appreciate it.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: And if you could send me a DM or a post on Twitter letting me know that you did so, or you can comment uh in the comments as well.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: I would appreciate a comment also, and I'll be sure to give you a shout out and really show my appreciation and maybe keep you in mind for some prizes down the road on the show as well.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: But let's move on.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some underlying concerns for the Bills in this game, and that's really my most significant takeaway from this win over the Ravens.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, all those positives that I listed, but this was a team that lost Lamar Jackson on the first play from scrimmage.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: All the pop and circumstance, all the hype surrounding this contest dissipated almost immediately, and it led to what should have been an easy day for the Bills, but it was anything but in that first half.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: The Bills go to the break leading 16-7.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: The game was very much in doubt before they get that field goal, before time expires in the first half.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll talk about Joe Brady's management of the clock leading into that field goal, as well as a few other miscues by the Bills down the road, as we've we've mentioned previously.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: But the first underlying concerns, concern that I have is the offense.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: The offense was up and down in this game, and it started with the turnovers continuing.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: You had DJ Moore fumble a ball away in this game, and then Josh Allen in interception, but it really wasn't his fault.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Jackson Hawes dropping a pass, got batted up into the air, and the Ravens defender comes, swoops under it, and intercepts it.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: So the lack of ball security continuing to be a concern for the Bills this season.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you look at the Bills.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Turnover differential.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: They're going up a Minnesota Vikings team that has a strong turnover differential.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Bills minus two in turnover differential this year.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: And turnover is not the end all be all, but certainly influence winning more so than a lot of other stats.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: So turnovers, that's a big concern for this offense and the up and down day that they experienced.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: A great second half, but that first half really not their finest day for this Bill's offense.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then the passing game, as a whole, just a slow start.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Josh Allen missed a wide open Keon Coleman on a deep ball.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the struggles really started with the tight ends.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned Jackson Haw's drop.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Also had a penalty for holding his fifth of the season.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: He's becoming an unplayable player.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: He had such a good season in his rookie year, but he has not followed that up whatsoever.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: He lost a bit of weight this offseason, was expected to become more of a factor in the passing game, but he can't even catch the ball and committing penalties at a high rate.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if you're Joe Brady, how you can continue to play him.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: You got to rethink how much you're putting him out there in critical spots.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then Dawson Knox, a critical drop on a pass, headed toward the sideline.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: And Kincaid, I mentioned the drop on the touchdown as well.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: So the Bills are rostering four tight ends along with Kalecki Latu and the ones that I mentioned previously.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going to roster four tight ends, you better damn well get some production.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you can't have them throwing up all over themselves and shitting the bed throughout a key matchup.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: So you need more from your tight ends.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: You need more level of consistency from this passing game.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: The mechanical issues for Josh Allen continue to crop up here and there.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: The deep ball to Coleman among them.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then you had Joshua Palmer go out in this game.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Another deep ball missed opportunity.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was more so due to Palmer pulling up lame because of his hamstring injury.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: He was declared out and might be out for the foreseeable future.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Could lead to rookie Skylar Bell working his way back in the lineup.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: But this passing game has to be better and has to match what we've seen from it early in the year for this team to win a Super Bowl.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then Joe Brady's game management, another underlying concern.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned the clock management at the end of the half.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: 20 seconds remaining.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Bills call their final timeout and could have potentially missed a chance at that field goal to go up, what was it, nine?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, nine at the break.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're Joe Brady, run a play, save your timeout, call it so you're not running a fire drill potentially going out there and missing a chance at that field goal to put you ahead by two possessions.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: That could have been very, very costly if the Ravens uh did a better job capitalizing on the potential miscue.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then you look at his play calling, he himself said he needs to be better, particularly on the option call near the goal line, where they, I think, fake the ball up the middle, and then Josh Allen goes to the outside and it tackled for a loss.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then they can't go for it on fourth down, leads to another Tyler Bass field goal.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: Stop getting cute.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Sean McDermott mentioned it last season.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: Joe Brady far too often gets cute near the goal line and on in short yardage.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Use the QB sneak.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: Should have ran two there.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, they try the option and it blows up in their face.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, the two-point struggles continuing in terms of his play calling.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: They need to come up with something there.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: You have all week to kind of pre-plan that.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: You have to come up with something better.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Reach out to an experienced coach, dial up some new plays, and find a way to convert on these two points because it's eventually going to come back to bite you, like a lot of these struggles are for the Bills and a lot of these underlying concerns.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then I mentioned Brady re-entering injured players down the stretch.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: DJ Moore had entered the game injured, left the game injured, goes back into the game late.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: James Cook almost broke his neck, it looked like goes back into the game immediately after he exits the blue medical tent.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: Dalton Kincaid was questionable coming into this game.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: Catches a near meaningless touchdown with the game all but decided in the late stages.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you're playing with fire here if you're Joe Brady.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: And frankly, just being reckless.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Do the right thing, rest your injured players, and win the war of attrition that is an NFL season.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: You haven't sustained any truly significant injuries quite yet.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: And protect your players from themselves, keep them on the sideline.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: I know they want to go back out there, but you have to protect them from themselves in those situations.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, I can't believe it took us this long to mention this.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: The undisciplined play continues for the Bills.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: I get it, what he's trying to say.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to be worried about committing penalties while you're out there trying to be aggressive.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I think leading the league in the least amount of penalties, which doesn't really make a sense in and of itself, but that'd be a pretty good thing.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: Penalties impact winning as well, whether they're being committed on the other side or you're committing them.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: So 10 for 87 yards in this game by the Bills.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: They have the seventh most penalties in the NFL after week eight.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: They have to be better no matter what the hell Joe Brady wants you to believe.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of underlying concerns.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: And my biggest worry here is that these wins are turning into fool's gold.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's building up this false sense of security for the Bills who continue to pull wins out of their ass, to be honest with you.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Not that they did this one.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: They win the game going away, but they get away with some early struggles because the Ravens are playing a third string quarterback, and it just reminds you of the struggles that they had they've gotten away with early in the season.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: The late interception that wasn't against the Texans.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: That could have cost the Bills again the game.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: It comes down to the wire against the Los Angeles Chargers.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: You lose the game against the New England Patriots.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: You kind of let the Lions come back on you.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: So uh the Raiders obviously made it a game down the stretch.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of underlying situations that are just waiting to come to the forefront, and the Bills have to hope that they keep those under wraps and don't allow those to impact things down the stretch of this season.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: All right, before we get out of here, a quick look ahead to this Vikings game.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Bills could face Carson Wentz.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Kyler Murray hasn't been great this season.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's dealing with an injury that could lead the Vikings to go with Carson Wentz in this game.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Vikings offense hasn't been good this season.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: They're the eighth worst in EPA per play at minus 0.14.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: They're not allowing a lot of pressure in terms of opposing pass rushes.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: 23rd in quarterback pressure rate, 32.8% on the season.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: The running game is really middle of the road.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not worried about the offense.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm worried about how this Bill's offense handles this Vikings defense and the blitzing.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: 71% blitz rate on part of the Vikings defense, the highest in the NFL by 30%.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: They have a plus seven turnover ratio, the second in the NFL with 12 takeaways on the year, eight interceptions, four fumbles.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a team that gets after you.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: Brian Flores, an experienced head coach in this league, and probably the best defensive coordinator in the NFL.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: So Josh Allen's going to be under duress.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Your offensive line has to be at its best.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: You might have to leave extra blockers in, whether it be Ty Johnson in the backfield or chipping with some tight ends.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: And you might have to see Jackson Hawes in this game just because of that.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: So really between a rock and a hard place with his poor performance, but with his skill set, might be important this game against the Vikings.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: And following the Vikings games, I mentioned the two straight easy matchups with the Jets and Dolphins, then the gauntlet in weeks 12 through 16, as we've discussed before.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: But that's going to do it.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: The theme of this show, a lot of positive signs from the win over the Ravens, but still things to be concerned about moving forward.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just worried that they're going to rear their ugly head in that week 12 through 16 stretch.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: If they can get out of that stretch 3-2, I think that would be very much ideal.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: So CJ Gardner Johnson cut.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: The Bills beat the Ravens.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: They look ahead to the Minnesota Vikings.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to do it for tonight's show.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow along throughout the rest of the season for breaking news, weekly podcast, and much, much more coverage coming on the Alex Brasky Unfiltered Podcast and Substack page where I'll be posting my takeaways and more Bills coverage moving forward.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: Please give a like, share, rate, and subscription to the podcast on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms, and subscribe to the Substack page.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: Also, rate the podcast and leave a comment or question as well.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Have a great night, everyone.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: And above all else, stay trained.