October 16, 2025 • 38 mins
On this week's episode of Bills by the Numbers presented by FanDuel, Chris Brown and Steve Tasker take a look at the top to-do items as the Bills head into the bye week and if the issues can be fixed by Week 8. They discuss if the Bills need to dip into the trade market in adjusting the roster. Steve is quizzed on Bills vs. the NFC South history in The Numbers Game. Finally, the two give their answer to this week's One Burning Question - have the Bills experienced contention fatigue?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Bills by the Numbers, where we let the
stats tell you where the Bills are at. We're presented
by FanDuel made every moment more coming up. What is
at the top of the to do list for the
Bills on the bye week? And can all that needs
fixing be fixed in time for Week eight? Do the
Bills dip into the trade market mid season for the
third year in a row, and we'll have our one
(00:24):
burning question.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Who said we had the weekend off?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
We're here for you during this bye week for the Bills. God,
we provide such a public service here. Glad to have
you with us on Bills by the Numbers. He's Wall
of Famers Steve Tasker on Bills played by playman Chris Brown,
and after a set of back to back lasses, Buffalo
has now had at least one of those occurrences in
every season under coach McDermott. The Bills now set about
(01:01):
righting some of the wrongs that have cropped up over
the last few weeks to get back to winning football. Steve,
what sits at the top of the priority list for you?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
The first thing is obvious, it's try and get guys healthy.
You spend the first month of the season, trying to
find out who you are, what you're good at, and
all that. I don't think the Bills know that yet.
They've had the roster churn on the defensive side, in
particular of guys in and out of the lineup. At
Oliver Is played in two games. Daikwan Jones is now out,
(01:32):
was out for this last game. Max Harriston, you have
no idea what his status is. Dorian Strong looked like
he was going to emerge as a helper. He's disappeared
on the ir this last game. At one point he
had Jordan Poyer on the field, which it was for
Jordan Poyer to be on the field. It was a
break glass in case of emergency situation for a month.
(01:55):
For a hot minute, it looked like you were going
to use Christian Benford for a minute. Uh, you had
Connor McGovern go down.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
In this game.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
You had dayk one was out, Josh Palmer went down,
Dalton Kincaid was out. So the list goes on on.
Try and get healthy so you can find out who
you are, and try and stay healthy so you can
get better. There have been some positive signs. Dion Walker
(02:24):
flashed in the second half of this game, it looked
like the reps are starting to show up, and he's
starting to be more consistent for longer stretches. He still
has some spots where you can't find him even at
six seven three and fifty pounds, but there are times
when he is in the middle of it and he's
making a play, and that is happening more and more
(02:44):
as we go on. I thought Dorian Strong and Jordan Hancock,
the two rookie defensive backs, I think we're going to
see a little bit of them in the second half
of this season after this bye week, as they get.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Helped John gets off IR. Yeah, we don't really know status.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Hoyt and Ogunjobi will be back in the building. They'll
be able to contribute. That gives them some depth on
that side. You know, you got Damar Hamlin's on IR,
TJ Sanders is on IR. I mean, you've the list
goes on and on. When we yeah, when we started
this season, we really, i mean almost universally this roster
(03:23):
was like, Wow, it's better than it was last year
when they went to the ANC Championship. The only thing
that really could derail us. Gosh, you know, if something
happens to Josh or if the injury bug gets us, well,
here we are. It has happened. They're four and two
in spite of it. So their roster was deep enough
before they started getting injured. But this two weeks, sitting
(03:46):
four and two, going into this and having two weeks
to get ready and refresh, that's the number one priority.
Get the guys you've got as healthy as you can get,
and then evaluate where you really need to make a move.
But you won't have much time after the next week.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, I will say my priority list is maybe a
little more granular than yours is because I think tackling
has to get addressed and repped. And look, this is
the coaching staff that reps the fundamentals to high Heaven.
They practice tackling every single week, whether it's with those
giant rolling donuts, the low bags that they tackle onto
(04:22):
a padded matt, whatever it is, it's got to get
repped and it's got to get emphasized because the mistackle
rate is just too high and the extra yards after
misstackles are killing this defense. The most recent example the
Bejon Robinson eighty one yard touchdown run after two misstackles
wanted to line a scrimmage and then one deep in
(04:44):
the secondary down The sideline tackling has got to get
addressed fixed and be more consistent on the defensive side
of the ball. The other thing is better starts to
games like these last couple of weeks. They just cannot
get on track early, and I think it's largely urgency
(05:08):
energy fight. For some reason, this team does not look
amped up for games at the beginning. There are times
over the last several years where we have seen this
team charged up at the beginning of a football game,
and for some reason, it has been absent the last
three weeks. And Steve can speak to this far better
(05:30):
than I can. You have to bring a certain measure
of emotional constitution to every game you play in the NFL.
If you want to give yourself a chance to win.
It's not just physical, it's emotional as well. And I
think the emotional element has been lacking for this team
the last three times they've stepped on the football field
(05:51):
at the beginning of the game. It's put them in
early holes and then they've been forced to try to
climb out of them, and two out of three times
they have been unsuccessful. In their last three games, so
better stars to games ties in with the lack of urgency,
emotional energy. We're just not seeing it from this football
team at the start of games. And I think it's
(06:13):
made it's made winning games that much harder each and
every week. You want to stake yourself to a ten
fourteen point deficit, even if you're the high octane offense Bills,
good luck coming back from that every week and winning
more than you lose.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, it's a team that, even in the early four
game winning streak, at times seemed like they were playing
with their food. They were disinterested, you know, they just
it was you know, you go back and look at
the second half of that Jet game and it was
a snooze fest. Now, certainly they had a big lead
and all of that, and the Jets were foundering, but
they were just disinterested. And I think that carries over
(06:52):
they feel, and maybe it's and it might be a
carryover from, you know, from division title fatigue. They win
it every year and it hasn't it hasn't been close.
In the first month of the season, looked like it
was going to be another laugher of a division race.
Not so much anymore, so perhaps that's enough to get
(07:14):
them to put some emotional content into their preparation and
their game time. But you're right, Brownie, you in this league.
I played in the NFL, then I covered it for
two decades, and I watched a lot of games from
the booth, very engaged in every game when one team
stops to take a breath because they've got a double
(07:36):
digit lead in the second half, when they stop to
raise up and just take just turn it off for
just a minute because of the stress, because the injury,
because they're deep into the season, because they need a rest.
The moment one team does that and the other team
does not, the scoreboard shows it almost immediately. Almost immediately,
(07:56):
you could have the eighty five Bears of the Legion
of Doom or the two thousand Ravens as a defense.
The minute they let up and take a breath, the
Cleveland Browns go bang bang bang touchdown, Bang bang bang touchdown.
It happens that fast. I have seen it literally one
hundred times. And if you start a game like that,
(08:19):
it's really hard to turn it on later. Now, certainly
when you got to lead athletes and all that, and
there's some guys on the Bills squad who can do that,
but not fifty three of them. And that has shown
over the last couple of weeks, and it showed in
the games they were winning too. Let's face it, let's
be honest. It was showing in the games they won
and they got.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Away with it.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
It showed in the Saints game, it showed in the
Jet game. So yeah, when you get against a team
that with a pulse like the Falcons and the Patriots,
it shows.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
They didn't match the energy of either of those teams
at the beginning, the middle, or the end. What in
your mind is fixable in a week's time, technically two
weeks time, but they're not playing right here in the
bye week, What in your mind is fixable in a
couple of weeks time that can improve as soon as
they're back on the field in Week eight at Carolina.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Well, I think the starting lineups need to be a
little shaken up, either to send a message or to
reward hard work or reward effort. You know, if there's
somebody out there who's not playing or not playing well enough,
they need to sit down. I don't know if there's
(09:37):
I don't know if you can single a guy out,
and I don't know what they've been at. I don't
know who the coaching staff would be happy with and
who they're not happy with. But certainly getting guys healthy
and plugging them back in will help. But I also
think there's there's space in the way they're working this
team and feeling this team to improve it, maybe with
(09:57):
some youth and maybe with some energy younger guys at
certain spots. You can take your pick of where that
might be, but I think there's plenty of room for that,
and I think they should. I don't think there's anything wrong.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, you look at the way.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
This defense played in the first half against the Atlanta Falcons.
You can change out a lot of guys.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Three hundred and thirty five yards in one half. Yep.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
That's unacceptable.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yep, And there has to be accountability for it, and
some people may have to pay the price for it,
same as the playing time.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
I'm not saying you look at the stat sheet and
look at the first half.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
And you evaluate the film.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Now you look, you look at the film and you
see you say what you know, you.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Lay it out.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
That's how it's got to work. And I'm sure that's
how it is gonna work.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Oh yeah, I don't have any doubt about that. I
think you can. I think the player driven leadership on
this team can rally the troops and bring more emotional
energy and urgency to a game at the start. I
believe that can be fixed like that, especially with the
(11:05):
veteran leadership you have on this team to demand it
of the players. That's one I want to believe this
team can improve their tackling. But to Steve's point, you
may have to switch people out to get it to happen.
Maybe some people have to lose their time on the
field to wake them up and get them to realize
(11:29):
my best isn't good enough right now, and that's why
I'm on the sidelines watching with the coaches. And maybe
that's the price some guys have to pay to get
better results on the field. We've heard for a long
time how that player driven leadership has been instrumental in
this team's year over year success. Seemed last season like
the new young core of leadership had capably taken over
for the old guard that had aged out, But the
(11:52):
failure to apply the fundamentals to their play and the
mental errors have been far more extensive than we're used
to seeing from this club. Touched on it there, but
how much do the leaders in the locker room, Steve
you need to step forward so it's not the coaches
all the time harping on what the standard needs to be.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Absolutely that veteran leaders the best it has come. It
works best when it comes from the best players like Josh,
like Ed Oliver, Greg Russaud, Christian Benford, Tredavious White, even.
You need to get it from your best players, and
you gotta do it a couple of ways. You got
(12:28):
to say how it needs to be. You gotta tell
them point blank what's got to change. If anything, you
gotta tell them. Then you gotta go out and you
gotta you the best players have to put full put
forth the full effort of making that happen. Practice hard,
prepare hard, go the extra mile.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Do that.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
The best players have to do that, so the lesser
players know that's the bar they have to clear, so
they up their game. Then you gotta communicate. Then the
best players have to communicate where they're not doing it, Hey,
you're not you're still not getting it right. Let's go
and you got to hold them accountable for that. That's
(13:09):
what it's gotta be. You gotta say how it's gonna be,
show them how it's gonna be, and tell them when
they're not doing it, and hold them accountable when you
do that.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
That's how.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
That's how player driven leadership.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And I think it goes beyond just pushing guys during
the practice week and making sure guys are up for
the start of the game. I think the player driven
leadership has to be checking in on guys between series,
second quarter, third quarter. I watched Pooka Nakua in the
third quarter on the sideline for the Rams, circle up
(13:45):
the entire offense and basically tell them, hey, we love
dancing in the end zone at the end of a
scoring drive, but we got to earn the right to dance.
And that starts with first and ten at the are
of the drive and second and twelve when we're behind
the sticks and we need all eleven of us pulling
(14:06):
on the rope. Like he was inspiring and he talked
to them for like a minute, and that was in
between series in the third quarter. So I don't think
the leaders on this team can just assume that the
message is received. I think it has to be repeated
and reiterated beginning of the game, middle of the game,
(14:27):
end of the game, to make sure that some of
this youth understands that it's not a some of the
time thing. It's an all the time thing. If you
want to be a twelve, thirteen, fourteen win football team,
it's as simple as that. To your point earlier, you
can't take your foot off the gas every not in
(14:50):
this league. The margins are too narrow.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
You don't ever do that. As you can't ever do
that as a player. Coaching staffs do that for you
when it's time. Josh sits down the fourth quarter against
the Jets, or the fourth, third and last half of
the third and the fourth quarter, that you sit him down,
you put Ray Davis in as a running back, and
(15:13):
you go downhill. And that's what you're gonna do for
three downs while he's in the game. You got all
three year backup off. That's what happens. That's the only
way you take the gas. You foot off the gas.
You're out of the game. You're out of the game.
You sit down to your rest and you're sitting there
and you're pushing the guys that are in that's right,
and you're cheering for him. So yeah, you never disengage.
So that's how that's how it works. And I I've
(15:37):
seen a lot of good There's been a lot of
good stuff that this team has done. And with Josh,
this offensive line and James Cook getting off for the
start he has gotten off to this year, there's a
lot of good things going on. And it's not like
they don't have it.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
In the tank.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
We've seen it too often to believe that. It's not
like this talent. This roster is talentless or lost, has
lost its way, but they gotta do better.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yeah. As much as the players bear the brunt of
this responsibility to get things rolling again, the coaches know
full well they bear some responsibility to be the facilitators.
Putting their players in position to succeed is critical, especially
with a roster that I think we can all agree
does not have elite physical talent across the board. This
(16:27):
team has been successful because of the sum of their parts,
but much how much more do the few elite players
they do have need to be on the field to
try to make a difference and keep games from looking
like such a heavy lift?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, no question, it falls on your best players. The
James Cooks and the Josh Allens and the Dalton Kincaids
of the world, and the offensive line, and defensively, it's
on those guys up front, the guys who you know
cash checks, like the Rousseau's and the Ed Olivers of
the world. It falls on those guys to do as
much as they can do. But let's be honest, is
(17:03):
a team game, and you need guys out there to
help the star players and those star players and then
this we've seen it.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
These guys.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
It's not like Ed Oliver and Greg Russo are picking
up all the sacks or Josh is doing all these
guys need some help. Everybody else on the roster has
got to do more as well. You've got to be
there when the great players, especially on the offensive side,
when Josh needs somebody be available. You know you've got
(17:33):
to and you've got to do everything you can to
get on the field and stay on the field and
help in any way you can. Even if it's a
wide out and it's a run play, you got to
get on somebody. I think the real symptom that we
can all agree on that lets you know that mentally
(17:54):
they're just a little bit casual is the penalties. That
is the total symptom of being of having it out
of gear.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Right thirty in the last three games.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
You've got penalties. They're just take it out of gear mentally,
and that's when those start to creep in. That is
the biggest and most telling symptom of why you and
I are having this conversation.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And that's why your leadership has to police that as well.
Your player driven leadership has to police that, like, dude,
you're killing us. You are killing us right now. We
can't have that. You're killing us, like that message has
to be sent. It seems obvious, but maybe to a
young player it isn't.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
I get Greg Russo to winding up off's that first
play of the game, let's go out, let's get it,
and you're amped up and stuff. When he makes that
mistake and gets called for an off size after and
brings a fumble back, there's no way any other guy
on that line should not have learned the lesson from
Greg Russeau's mistake at Oliver? Is he not watching Greg
(18:59):
Russos lose a big play by lining up off sides
and then a quarter and a half later, a quarter later,
he does it and causes us Joey Bosa to lose
a sack.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
And the defense. Do you have a second and sixteen situation.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
That is a that is doubling down on mistake. Yeah,
and that's that's the death.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Now, right. But you know the coaches are going to
be combing through everything over the next week plus to
try to find some of what has been ailing the team.
And then I think, secondarily, I would expect them to
examine where they can enhance the talents on this roster,
(19:41):
even beyond the elite talents who can perform for you
in just about any situation. I'm thinking of somebody like
a Keon Coleman, a guy who had enormous success in
the slot in college. Do you experiment there and say, hey,
let's try to unlock him and put him here in
the slot and let's work him there, especially if you
(20:03):
don't have Kincaid coming out in week eight, Like, let's
experiment with a big target in the slot. Since we
don't have Kincaid, let's use him there. See if we
can unlock him. We'll put somebody else outside. Maybe it's
Shavers that lines up outside instead the bigger receiver. So
I think there's gonna be some some time spent in
the lab to see with the talent that we have,
(20:24):
and maybe not the highest end talent because we know
what they can do, but let's find some of those
role players at the second and third levels and put
them in a position to a maximize their strengths and
even enhance some of their weaknesses that maybe they can't
do well because it's not part of the strength category
(20:44):
for them. I really expect the coaches to drill down
on a lot of those things and find some answers
because that will level up the offense, or level up
the defense, or level up special teams across the board.
Because when you can get your second and third tier
performers to level up their game because you're putting them
in a better position to help you, it raises all boats,
(21:09):
like you know, high tide raises all boats. I think
the coaching staff, just knowing how they operate in the
bye week, they're going to find some things to utilize
some of that second and third tier talent on the
roster to make the whole product better going forward. It's
a big reason why Sean McDermott is eight to no
after the bye as Bill's head coach each of the
(21:30):
last two seasons, GM Brandon Bean has made a veteran
player addition before the trade deadline. Two years ago, it
was cornerback Rasuwell Douglass. Last year it was wide receiver
Amari Cooper. First part of the question, Steve, do you
think Brandon Bean pulls the trigger? Second part of the question,
do you think he has to pull the trigger?
Speaker 3 (21:51):
First Part's the real question, YEP. I don't think he'll hesitate.
I think it comes down to this. We've been talking
about it. How healthy are they going to be coming
out of this by and before the deadline and are
they going to be able to find out how good
they can be now? Certainly going four to oh and
not never playing your best football says something about where
(22:11):
they are. They feel like they probably have to feel
like they've got the juice to do it if they
can stay healthy. Secondly, if some of these guys coming
back aren't gonna get there in time, like Max Harriston, TJ. Sanders,
Dorian Strong, name the one you want, Milano. If those
(22:32):
guys aren't gonna be able to get back and help you,
do you have enough juice to get there? That's the question.
And then again, can you got to fit it under
the cabinet. It can be one for one and do
you want to part with the assets for what is
a maybe help? If you get a guy that you think, wow,
I can't believe we got the guy. If it's that
(22:53):
kind of trade, yeah, give them, give them a whatever
draft pick, right. If it's a guy that's like, I
don't know, he might help us, and you know, yeah,
it's got to be an absolute slam dunk. I think
to make the move because they've shown early in this
season that when they're healthy and when they're clicking, when
(23:14):
they got things going on, they've got the juice to
beat about anybody.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, I think a shakeup on the roster needs to
be made. To your point earlier, it doesn't necessarily have
to be a trade. It could be somebody losing their
starting job to somebody on the bench. Sometimes that can
be enough to spark a wake up call, because Steve's right,
this team needs to shake up. Sometimes when you've been
(23:39):
as successful as the Bills have been over the last
six seasons, players can get complacent. Let's just be honest.
It can happen. They don't sweat the details. They lack
the urgency, they lack the hunger, and it shows up
on the field. You could see how much hungrier the
Atlanta Falcons were in that game than the Buffalo Bills
on Monday Night in Week six. Some personnel changes could
be made to wake the team up, get them squarely
(24:01):
focused on the details. You know, or it could be
your job. You could be next that can wake a
team up out of a complacent slumber if you will.
I think for being though, there are two things at
play here. His ability to add to the roster is
limited by cap space. In all likelihood, if he's going
(24:22):
to make a trade of any significance, it's probably going
to have to be a player with dollars going out
to get another player with dollars coming in. And that
could complicate things because a lot of teams willing to
trade at this time of the year are teams that
are either at the bottom of their division, they're going nowhere,
(24:44):
and what do they want? They want draft capital. They
don't want your veteran player with a high price tag
because you've got to push dollars out to fit the
guy you're bringing in under the cap. So that might
complicate things in order for being to get a deal done.
I suppose you could always send draft capital out, bring
(25:04):
that player in, and then cut somebody to save money.
That's another option. So it's not like he's not without
options to make something happen, but you could quickly come
up with positions where they need help. It was nice
to hear this week from coach McDermott that Max Harston
his practice window could be open next week. That at
least leaves you hope that the corner position is getting
(25:27):
some help there because they're thin right now with Dorian
Strong and Harston on IRR, you know, and Benford a
little hobbled coming out of the Atlanta game with an
achilles injury. So we'll have to see where all of
that goes. But I think to your point, player health
right now on the roster is going to predicate whether
(25:48):
or not Brandon Bean feels he needs to pull the
trigger somewhere, whether it's corner linebacker where they have injuries,
you know, or somewhere else, right.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
And that's a hard trade to swing, and it's some
times there's just never a team or not a team
that fits they need a player that they need a
player where they've got a weakness, where you've got a
player where you've got a strength, and you can trade
both sides, right, you can get a player from them
and their strength, and they can take a player from
you and your strength, and you both get stronger at
(26:18):
your weaker point. It's hard. It's a hard puzzle to find,
plus the and you add in the cat the financial
aspects of it, and it's really hard puzzle to make fit.
But don't think that they're not working on it. I
because I think I think they are. And every time
(26:39):
the general public finds out about a player who's available
or whatever, and particularly a player at a certain position,
they're like, go get them, Go get them, go get them.
And believe me, before we heard about it as a
public piece of news, Brandon Bean's already talked to the guy.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well that's the way it worked. Just think about it
last year or even two years ago, the Raseul Douglas trade.
I remember when Brandon spoke to the media about it.
He said, we had been working on this for three
or four weeks. Yeah, Like it's a process. Yeah, And
there's a lot of conversations, there's a lot of back
and forth. There's offers and counteroffers and more counteroffers. So
(27:15):
those things don't just happen haphazardly or in a vacuum.
They take a lot of work, a lot of negotiating
before they're finally consummated.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
As a side note, one of the reasons it works
here in Buffalo and most teams who have a really
good cohesive front office, the reason it works is because
the head coach is also aware of what the GM
is doing and he has some input and coach and
we have this guy or this guy. We're talking to
this guy and the head coaches say, I'll take either one,
(27:44):
but I prefer that one, and we like this way
because we're doing this and this guy's better at it.
There's conversation, conversation about which guy he would like to
do it, and he if he has experience with him.
The coaching staff is fully informed about the possibilities and
they probably Then there's another layer of this, to the
pro personnel. Each coach will have a pro personnel guy
(28:07):
he likes better than he say, Hey, what do you
think about it? He says, But I think that I
think he's right. I think this is that you know
what I mean? So it's a it's a group think
and they as with the Rasul Douglas and even the
Amari Cooper thing, they get it right. The Amari Coopy
it didn't work out. Mariy Cooper didn't work out because
of you know, he got injured and all that, but
the guy helped and the Bills wouldn't have beat the
(28:27):
Chiefs last year without Amary. That's the kind of thing
you get.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
He pulls it. He was pulling attention away from.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
He also caught on the first third down and caught
one with a busted hand down the sideline. Then he
made that catch over the head in the back. I mean,
Amari Cooper helped this team. And of course Rasoul Douglas
was an absolute home run. He came in and got
a turnal first games. So yeah, that kind of group
think leads to good situations like that if you can
(28:54):
fit it under the economics and you can get the
other team to say, yeah, we're we're done with this guy.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Let's spin it over to the numbers game, where Steve
will be quizzed on Bills versus NFC South history. The
Bills have two games against the NFC House South already
in the Books beat the Saints lost to the Falcons,
and they have Carolina on deck, so this seemed very timely.
Tampa's a little bit later in the season. Question Number
one in the Sean McDermott era, what is their best
(29:23):
record in a season in which they faced the NFC South.
It's happened two times. This is the third go round
this year. They're one and one right now? Is that
counts the season? Now? We're not counting that one? Oh,
so there's only half ones. You would not expect one
and one to be the best record against the NFC
South over time to Tampa Bay that year.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
I think they beat Atlanta that year they got crushed by.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
The Saints seven year, So I just need what you
think the record would be. I think one three and
one is correct, and that was in twenty twenty one.
Nice job is one for one. Question two, the Bill's
best turnover margin against the NFC South under McDermott in
a season is a plus five. What year of McDermott's
(30:11):
tenure did that happen twenty seventeen, twenty twenty one, or
twenty twenty five against the NFC South. I'll say twenty seventeen.
It was twenty seventeen. That Falcons game. That Falcons game
was a big one. There's three takeaways there for Davious
(30:32):
with that fifty two yard fumble return, Micah Hyde with
a pick. Yeah, and don't forget they come home to
play Tampa and Trey forces the fumble at the end
of the game and they kicked the game winning field
goal twenty seven to twenty four. I think that slot
receiver was Humphreys. I want to say we punched it
out there. So yeah, they were getting takeaways in the
(30:52):
twenty seven en psyclopedia. I don't know they can't remember
what h Question three, what current Bills player I haven't
known this. I know that's yet. What current Bill's player
has the most tackles since twenty seventeen against NFC South opponents?
And I will acknowledge this is a little bit of
(31:13):
a trick question. So you need to do some thinking
here about the Bill's current roster and the Bills player
that would have the most tackles against the NFC South
Trey White. It's not Trey White. It's an excellent guest. Oh,
it's an excellent guest because that would have been my guest.
(31:33):
It is not Poyer. I'm gonna help you. It's a
new arrival to the team. Who's Shack Thompson. There you go,
Shaq Thompson, who's spent a good portion of his time
in the NFC. That's why I said it was kind
of a trick question. Question four got a pretty good
you're doing well, you're doing well, a chance to go
three for four right out of the shoot? Which current
Bills player has a defensive touchdown against an NFC South
(31:58):
opponent and the Sean McDermott era Trey White. You are right,
Trey White. I kind of gave it to your earlier.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Earlier I would have gotten that, though I know it.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Bubble return for a touchdown against Atlanta in twenty seven
Steve Batton seven in the Numbers game. Very well done.
Bill's fans. Get in on the action with FanDuel, America's
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(32:28):
with FanDuel Official Sportsbook, partner of the Buffalo Bills. Time
Now for our one learning question. Buffalo has won five
consecutive division titles, Steve, They've played at least two playoff
games each of the last five years and have played
a first play schedule the last five years as well.
(32:51):
It is Is it at all possible that the Bills
as a team have experienced contention fatigue? Absolutely. We've talked
a lot about the emotional This is an appropriate question
for you because your team, year after year in the
nineties went back and went back and went back and
(33:12):
went back, and that can wear when you play.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
When you play in a lot of big games at
the end of the season, important games like we did
back in the day, these regular season games, you just
feel like, just get me to the ones that matter.
I think there's a little bit of that going on.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
We saw Kansas City kind of experience that last year,
eleven one score victories. They found a way to pull
a lot of those out. Yes, but it looked hard
for them and they looked disinterested.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah, and they made it to the Super Bowl last year.
I mean, they turned it on when it mattered, and
there's a little bit something to that. Maybe this team
can do that, but you really need to win these
games you can't count on going on the road in
the playoffs because by that time, no matter who you're playing,
whether it's the Chiefs, the Ravens, the Chargers, the Colts,
(34:04):
all these teams are it doesn't matter who you're playing,
they're going to be playing well and you've got to
be ready for that. So yes, I think that is
an absolute real thing for this club. I think it's
a battle they have to fight to get emotionally up
for these games.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
I think it's one of the reasons we have seen
the last three weeks they have not come into games
with energy juice.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
You know, you're playing you're playing out of conference, out
of division games, teams you don't normally see. They're two
and two coming in. The Bills have been playing teams
that I mean, the Patriots are the only team that
had won a game before they played the Bills. I mean,
they're playing all these teams that can't win a game.
It's just like it's it's rough.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
So I do think there is some contention. I call
it contention fatigue. You're you're an AFC contender again and
you have to play a first play schedule again, But
the regular season seems almost secondary when you go to
the postseason every year, right like, this isn't a big game,
And I think they've got to they've got to squash
(35:10):
that and squash that fast, because right now you're sitting
here on the bye week looking up at the New
England Patriots, the first place in your division.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
A quick story of my old coach, Marv Levy, who
was one hundred years old this year, he told our
team a story for this exact situation. You know, you're
into these games where these teams that are struggling, and
you're the team that's gonna you know, at the end,
you're going to be a division title or you're going
to be a wild card, even if you stumble and fall.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
He said.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Listen, he goes back in the day, they asked one
of the great pitchers in them in baseball about his
pitching style. It was Sandy Kofax, and they said, well,
what you know, when do you really you know, when
is it really important to pitch well? And and he said,
really bear down. When do you worry the most about
a batter? He goes, I worry when the pitcher comes up.
(35:58):
He goes, the pitcher they can't hit? Is why are
you worried about the pitching because because the pitcher is
the one I'm supposed to get out the picture, the
guy who can't hit is the one they're depending on
me to get them out. That's when I've got to
do my job. And when you face a team that
is struggling, it's just trying to rebuild and find.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Find Carolina Panthers. Like the Carolina.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
Panthers, that's the team you're supposed to beat. That's when
you're you know, there's a question whether hey, you the
Chiefs coming in here, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming in here,
the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles coming here. You can
hey those teams, Hey, that's a that's a tot. I
get it. You lose a close one of those guys.
That's a tough game. You're supposed to beat that team.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
Make it happen.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
So that was the story Marv told us as we were,
you know, kind of in this you know, contention fatigue
where he saw it and you have to address it.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Yea. So hopefully that happens as well coming out of
the bye. Our closing figure deals with James Cook's success
running the football thus far this season. Among backs with
more than fifty carries this season, Cook ranks sixth in
the highest number of box defenders faced at seven point
five six. Cook stands fourth in the NFL in total
(37:17):
yards after contact with three hundred and six. He ranks
second in the NFL and expected yards per attempt at
nine point nine two, and only one player in the
league ranks higher than Cook's EPA per attempt. It's Carolinas
Rico Dowdle with a figure of twelve point three. With
(37:41):
the Bills face after the bye in Week eight. That'll
do it for this episode. Be sure to subscribe on
whatever podcast platform you use, or watch us on the
Bills YouTube channel, because when you need to know about
the Bills, you need to jeck Bill by the numbers
receive tapster on Chris Brown. Thanks for listening. We'll patch
you next time. Everybody stop stop sp
Welcome to Bills by the Numbers, where we let the
stats tell you where the Bills are at. We're presented
by FanDuel made every moment more coming up. What is
at the top of the to do list for the
Bills on the bye week? And can all that needs
fixing be fixed in time for Week eight? Do the
Bills dip into the trade market mid season for the
third year in a row, and we'll have our one
(00:24):
burning question.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Who said we had the weekend off?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
We're here for you during this bye week for the Bills. God,
we provide such a public service here. Glad to have
you with us on Bills by the Numbers. He's Wall
of Famers Steve Tasker on Bills played by playman Chris Brown,
and after a set of back to back lasses, Buffalo
has now had at least one of those occurrences in
every season under coach McDermott. The Bills now set about
(01:01):
righting some of the wrongs that have cropped up over
the last few weeks to get back to winning football. Steve,
what sits at the top of the priority list for you?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
The first thing is obvious, it's try and get guys healthy.
You spend the first month of the season, trying to
find out who you are, what you're good at, and
all that. I don't think the Bills know that yet.
They've had the roster churn on the defensive side, in
particular of guys in and out of the lineup. At
Oliver Is played in two games. Daikwan Jones is now out,
(01:32):
was out for this last game. Max Harriston, you have
no idea what his status is. Dorian Strong looked like
he was going to emerge as a helper. He's disappeared
on the ir this last game. At one point he
had Jordan Poyer on the field, which it was for
Jordan Poyer to be on the field. It was a
break glass in case of emergency situation for a month.
(01:55):
For a hot minute, it looked like you were going
to use Christian Benford for a minute. Uh, you had
Connor McGovern go down.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
In this game.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
You had dayk one was out, Josh Palmer went down,
Dalton Kincaid was out. So the list goes on on.
Try and get healthy so you can find out who
you are, and try and stay healthy so you can
get better. There have been some positive signs. Dion Walker
(02:24):
flashed in the second half of this game, it looked
like the reps are starting to show up, and he's
starting to be more consistent for longer stretches. He still
has some spots where you can't find him even at
six seven three and fifty pounds, but there are times
when he is in the middle of it and he's
making a play, and that is happening more and more
(02:44):
as we go on. I thought Dorian Strong and Jordan Hancock,
the two rookie defensive backs, I think we're going to
see a little bit of them in the second half
of this season after this bye week, as they get.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Helped John gets off IR. Yeah, we don't really know status.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Hoyt and Ogunjobi will be back in the building. They'll
be able to contribute. That gives them some depth on
that side. You know, you got Damar Hamlin's on IR,
TJ Sanders is on IR. I mean, you've the list
goes on and on. When we yeah, when we started
this season, we really, i mean almost universally this roster
(03:23):
was like, Wow, it's better than it was last year
when they went to the ANC Championship. The only thing
that really could derail us. Gosh, you know, if something
happens to Josh or if the injury bug gets us, well,
here we are. It has happened. They're four and two
in spite of it. So their roster was deep enough
before they started getting injured. But this two weeks, sitting
(03:46):
four and two, going into this and having two weeks
to get ready and refresh, that's the number one priority.
Get the guys you've got as healthy as you can get,
and then evaluate where you really need to make a move.
But you won't have much time after the next week.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, I will say my priority list is maybe a
little more granular than yours is because I think tackling
has to get addressed and repped. And look, this is
the coaching staff that reps the fundamentals to high Heaven.
They practice tackling every single week, whether it's with those
giant rolling donuts, the low bags that they tackle onto
(04:22):
a padded matt, whatever it is, it's got to get
repped and it's got to get emphasized because the mistackle
rate is just too high and the extra yards after
misstackles are killing this defense. The most recent example the
Bejon Robinson eighty one yard touchdown run after two misstackles
wanted to line a scrimmage and then one deep in
(04:44):
the secondary down The sideline tackling has got to get
addressed fixed and be more consistent on the defensive side
of the ball. The other thing is better starts to
games like these last couple of weeks. They just cannot
get on track early, and I think it's largely urgency
(05:08):
energy fight. For some reason, this team does not look
amped up for games at the beginning. There are times
over the last several years where we have seen this
team charged up at the beginning of a football game,
and for some reason, it has been absent the last
three weeks. And Steve can speak to this far better
(05:30):
than I can. You have to bring a certain measure
of emotional constitution to every game you play in the NFL.
If you want to give yourself a chance to win.
It's not just physical, it's emotional as well. And I
think the emotional element has been lacking for this team
the last three times they've stepped on the football field
(05:51):
at the beginning of the game. It's put them in
early holes and then they've been forced to try to
climb out of them, and two out of three times
they have been unsuccessful. In their last three games, so
better stars to games ties in with the lack of urgency,
emotional energy. We're just not seeing it from this football
team at the start of games. And I think it's
(06:13):
made it's made winning games that much harder each and
every week. You want to stake yourself to a ten
fourteen point deficit, even if you're the high octane offense Bills,
good luck coming back from that every week and winning
more than you lose.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, it's a team that, even in the early four
game winning streak, at times seemed like they were playing
with their food. They were disinterested, you know, they just
it was you know, you go back and look at
the second half of that Jet game and it was
a snooze fest. Now, certainly they had a big lead
and all of that, and the Jets were foundering, but
they were just disinterested. And I think that carries over
(06:52):
they feel, and maybe it's and it might be a
carryover from, you know, from division title fatigue. They win
it every year and it hasn't it hasn't been close.
In the first month of the season, looked like it
was going to be another laugher of a division race.
Not so much anymore, so perhaps that's enough to get
(07:14):
them to put some emotional content into their preparation and
their game time. But you're right, Brownie, you in this league.
I played in the NFL, then I covered it for
two decades, and I watched a lot of games from
the booth, very engaged in every game when one team
stops to take a breath because they've got a double
(07:36):
digit lead in the second half, when they stop to
raise up and just take just turn it off for
just a minute because of the stress, because the injury,
because they're deep into the season, because they need a rest.
The moment one team does that and the other team
does not, the scoreboard shows it almost immediately. Almost immediately,
(07:56):
you could have the eighty five Bears of the Legion
of Doom or the two thousand Ravens as a defense.
The minute they let up and take a breath, the
Cleveland Browns go bang bang bang touchdown, Bang bang bang touchdown.
It happens that fast. I have seen it literally one
hundred times. And if you start a game like that,
(08:19):
it's really hard to turn it on later. Now, certainly
when you got to lead athletes and all that, and
there's some guys on the Bills squad who can do that,
but not fifty three of them. And that has shown
over the last couple of weeks, and it showed in
the games they were winning too. Let's face it, let's
be honest. It was showing in the games they won
and they got.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Away with it.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
It showed in the Saints game, it showed in the
Jet game. So yeah, when you get against a team
that with a pulse like the Falcons and the Patriots,
it shows.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
They didn't match the energy of either of those teams
at the beginning, the middle, or the end. What in
your mind is fixable in a week's time, technically two
weeks time, but they're not playing right here in the
bye week, What in your mind is fixable in a
couple of weeks time that can improve as soon as
they're back on the field in Week eight at Carolina.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Well, I think the starting lineups need to be a
little shaken up, either to send a message or to
reward hard work or reward effort. You know, if there's
somebody out there who's not playing or not playing well enough,
they need to sit down. I don't know if there's
(09:37):
I don't know if you can single a guy out,
and I don't know what they've been at. I don't
know who the coaching staff would be happy with and
who they're not happy with. But certainly getting guys healthy
and plugging them back in will help. But I also
think there's there's space in the way they're working this
team and feeling this team to improve it, maybe with
(09:57):
some youth and maybe with some energy younger guys at
certain spots. You can take your pick of where that
might be, but I think there's plenty of room for that,
and I think they should. I don't think there's anything wrong.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, you look at the way.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
This defense played in the first half against the Atlanta Falcons.
You can change out a lot of guys.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Three hundred and thirty five yards in one half. Yep.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
That's unacceptable.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yep, And there has to be accountability for it, and
some people may have to pay the price for it,
same as the playing time.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
I'm not saying you look at the stat sheet and
look at the first half.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
And you evaluate the film.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Now you look, you look at the film and you
see you say what you know, you.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Lay it out.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
That's how it's got to work. And I'm sure that's
how it is gonna work.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Oh yeah, I don't have any doubt about that. I
think you can. I think the player driven leadership on
this team can rally the troops and bring more emotional
energy and urgency to a game at the start. I
believe that can be fixed like that, especially with the
(11:05):
veteran leadership you have on this team to demand it
of the players. That's one I want to believe this
team can improve their tackling. But to Steve's point, you
may have to switch people out to get it to happen.
Maybe some people have to lose their time on the
field to wake them up and get them to realize
(11:29):
my best isn't good enough right now, and that's why
I'm on the sidelines watching with the coaches. And maybe
that's the price some guys have to pay to get
better results on the field. We've heard for a long
time how that player driven leadership has been instrumental in
this team's year over year success. Seemed last season like
the new young core of leadership had capably taken over
for the old guard that had aged out, But the
(11:52):
failure to apply the fundamentals to their play and the
mental errors have been far more extensive than we're used
to seeing from this club. Touched on it there, but
how much do the leaders in the locker room, Steve
you need to step forward so it's not the coaches
all the time harping on what the standard needs to be.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Absolutely that veteran leaders the best it has come. It
works best when it comes from the best players like Josh,
like Ed Oliver, Greg Russaud, Christian Benford, Tredavious White, even.
You need to get it from your best players, and
you gotta do it a couple of ways. You got
(12:28):
to say how it needs to be. You gotta tell
them point blank what's got to change. If anything, you
gotta tell them. Then you gotta go out and you
gotta you the best players have to put full put
forth the full effort of making that happen. Practice hard,
prepare hard, go the extra mile.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Do that.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
The best players have to do that, so the lesser
players know that's the bar they have to clear, so
they up their game. Then you gotta communicate. Then the
best players have to communicate where they're not doing it, Hey,
you're not you're still not getting it right. Let's go
and you got to hold them accountable for that. That's
(13:09):
what it's gotta be. You gotta say how it's gonna be,
show them how it's gonna be, and tell them when
they're not doing it, and hold them accountable when you
do that.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
That's how.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
That's how player driven leadership.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And I think it goes beyond just pushing guys during
the practice week and making sure guys are up for
the start of the game. I think the player driven
leadership has to be checking in on guys between series,
second quarter, third quarter. I watched Pooka Nakua in the
third quarter on the sideline for the Rams, circle up
(13:45):
the entire offense and basically tell them, hey, we love
dancing in the end zone at the end of a
scoring drive, but we got to earn the right to dance.
And that starts with first and ten at the are
of the drive and second and twelve when we're behind
the sticks and we need all eleven of us pulling
(14:06):
on the rope. Like he was inspiring and he talked
to them for like a minute, and that was in
between series in the third quarter. So I don't think
the leaders on this team can just assume that the
message is received. I think it has to be repeated
and reiterated beginning of the game, middle of the game,
(14:27):
end of the game, to make sure that some of
this youth understands that it's not a some of the
time thing. It's an all the time thing. If you
want to be a twelve, thirteen, fourteen win football team,
it's as simple as that. To your point earlier, you
can't take your foot off the gas every not in
(14:50):
this league. The margins are too narrow.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
You don't ever do that. As you can't ever do
that as a player. Coaching staffs do that for you
when it's time. Josh sits down the fourth quarter against
the Jets, or the fourth, third and last half of
the third and the fourth quarter, that you sit him down,
you put Ray Davis in as a running back, and
(15:13):
you go downhill. And that's what you're gonna do for
three downs while he's in the game. You got all
three year backup off. That's what happens. That's the only
way you take the gas. You foot off the gas.
You're out of the game. You're out of the game.
You sit down to your rest and you're sitting there
and you're pushing the guys that are in that's right,
and you're cheering for him. So yeah, you never disengage.
So that's how that's how it works. And I I've
(15:37):
seen a lot of good There's been a lot of
good stuff that this team has done. And with Josh,
this offensive line and James Cook getting off for the
start he has gotten off to this year, there's a
lot of good things going on. And it's not like
they don't have it.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
In the tank.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
We've seen it too often to believe that. It's not
like this talent. This roster is talentless or lost, has
lost its way, but they gotta do better.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Yeah. As much as the players bear the brunt of
this responsibility to get things rolling again, the coaches know
full well they bear some responsibility to be the facilitators.
Putting their players in position to succeed is critical, especially
with a roster that I think we can all agree
does not have elite physical talent across the board. This
(16:27):
team has been successful because of the sum of their parts,
but much how much more do the few elite players
they do have need to be on the field to
try to make a difference and keep games from looking
like such a heavy lift?
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, no question, it falls on your best players. The
James Cooks and the Josh Allens and the Dalton Kincaids
of the world, and the offensive line, and defensively, it's
on those guys up front, the guys who you know
cash checks, like the Rousseau's and the Ed Olivers of
the world. It falls on those guys to do as
much as they can do. But let's be honest, is
(17:03):
a team game, and you need guys out there to
help the star players and those star players and then
this we've seen it.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
These guys.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
It's not like Ed Oliver and Greg Russo are picking
up all the sacks or Josh is doing all these
guys need some help. Everybody else on the roster has
got to do more as well. You've got to be
there when the great players, especially on the offensive side,
when Josh needs somebody be available. You know you've got
(17:33):
to and you've got to do everything you can to
get on the field and stay on the field and
help in any way you can. Even if it's a
wide out and it's a run play, you got to
get on somebody. I think the real symptom that we
can all agree on that lets you know that mentally
(17:54):
they're just a little bit casual is the penalties. That
is the total symptom of being of having it out
of gear.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Right thirty in the last three games.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
You've got penalties. They're just take it out of gear mentally,
and that's when those start to creep in. That is
the biggest and most telling symptom of why you and
I are having this conversation.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
And that's why your leadership has to police that as well.
Your player driven leadership has to police that, like, dude,
you're killing us. You are killing us right now. We
can't have that. You're killing us, like that message has
to be sent. It seems obvious, but maybe to a
young player it isn't.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
I get Greg Russo to winding up off's that first
play of the game, let's go out, let's get it,
and you're amped up and stuff. When he makes that
mistake and gets called for an off size after and
brings a fumble back, there's no way any other guy
on that line should not have learned the lesson from
Greg Russeau's mistake at Oliver? Is he not watching Greg
(18:59):
Russos lose a big play by lining up off sides
and then a quarter and a half later, a quarter later,
he does it and causes us Joey Bosa to lose
a sack.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
And the defense. Do you have a second and sixteen situation.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
That is a that is doubling down on mistake. Yeah,
and that's that's the death.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Now, right. But you know the coaches are going to
be combing through everything over the next week plus to
try to find some of what has been ailing the team.
And then I think, secondarily, I would expect them to
examine where they can enhance the talents on this roster,
(19:41):
even beyond the elite talents who can perform for you
in just about any situation. I'm thinking of somebody like
a Keon Coleman, a guy who had enormous success in
the slot in college. Do you experiment there and say, hey,
let's try to unlock him and put him here in
the slot and let's work him there, especially if you
(20:03):
don't have Kincaid coming out in week eight, Like, let's
experiment with a big target in the slot. Since we
don't have Kincaid, let's use him there. See if we
can unlock him. We'll put somebody else outside. Maybe it's
Shavers that lines up outside instead the bigger receiver. So
I think there's gonna be some some time spent in
the lab to see with the talent that we have,
(20:24):
and maybe not the highest end talent because we know
what they can do, but let's find some of those
role players at the second and third levels and put
them in a position to a maximize their strengths and
even enhance some of their weaknesses that maybe they can't
do well because it's not part of the strength category
(20:44):
for them. I really expect the coaches to drill down
on a lot of those things and find some answers
because that will level up the offense, or level up
the defense, or level up special teams across the board.
Because when you can get your second and third tier
performers to level up their game because you're putting them
in a better position to help you, it raises all boats,
(21:09):
like you know, high tide raises all boats. I think
the coaching staff, just knowing how they operate in the
bye week, they're going to find some things to utilize
some of that second and third tier talent on the
roster to make the whole product better going forward. It's
a big reason why Sean McDermott is eight to no
after the bye as Bill's head coach each of the
(21:30):
last two seasons, GM Brandon Bean has made a veteran
player addition before the trade deadline. Two years ago, it
was cornerback Rasuwell Douglass. Last year it was wide receiver
Amari Cooper. First part of the question, Steve, do you
think Brandon Bean pulls the trigger? Second part of the question,
do you think he has to pull the trigger?
Speaker 3 (21:51):
First Part's the real question, YEP. I don't think he'll hesitate.
I think it comes down to this. We've been talking
about it. How healthy are they going to be coming
out of this by and before the deadline and are
they going to be able to find out how good
they can be now? Certainly going four to oh and
not never playing your best football says something about where
(22:11):
they are. They feel like they probably have to feel
like they've got the juice to do it if they
can stay healthy. Secondly, if some of these guys coming
back aren't gonna get there in time, like Max Harriston, TJ. Sanders,
Dorian Strong, name the one you want, Milano. If those
(22:32):
guys aren't gonna be able to get back and help you,
do you have enough juice to get there? That's the question.
And then again, can you got to fit it under
the cabinet. It can be one for one and do
you want to part with the assets for what is
a maybe help? If you get a guy that you think, wow,
I can't believe we got the guy. If it's that
(22:53):
kind of trade, yeah, give them, give them a whatever
draft pick, right. If it's a guy that's like, I
don't know, he might help us, and you know, yeah,
it's got to be an absolute slam dunk. I think
to make the move because they've shown early in this
season that when they're healthy and when they're clicking, when
(23:14):
they got things going on, they've got the juice to
beat about anybody.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Yeah, I think a shakeup on the roster needs to
be made. To your point earlier, it doesn't necessarily have
to be a trade. It could be somebody losing their
starting job to somebody on the bench. Sometimes that can
be enough to spark a wake up call, because Steve's right,
this team needs to shake up. Sometimes when you've been
(23:39):
as successful as the Bills have been over the last
six seasons, players can get complacent. Let's just be honest.
It can happen. They don't sweat the details. They lack
the urgency, they lack the hunger, and it shows up
on the field. You could see how much hungrier the
Atlanta Falcons were in that game than the Buffalo Bills
on Monday Night in Week six. Some personnel changes could
be made to wake the team up, get them squarely
(24:01):
focused on the details. You know, or it could be
your job. You could be next that can wake a
team up out of a complacent slumber if you will.
I think for being though, there are two things at
play here. His ability to add to the roster is
limited by cap space. In all likelihood, if he's going
(24:22):
to make a trade of any significance, it's probably going
to have to be a player with dollars going out
to get another player with dollars coming in. And that
could complicate things because a lot of teams willing to
trade at this time of the year are teams that
are either at the bottom of their division, they're going nowhere,
(24:44):
and what do they want? They want draft capital. They
don't want your veteran player with a high price tag
because you've got to push dollars out to fit the
guy you're bringing in under the cap. So that might
complicate things in order for being to get a deal done.
I suppose you could always send draft capital out, bring
(25:04):
that player in, and then cut somebody to save money.
That's another option. So it's not like he's not without
options to make something happen, but you could quickly come
up with positions where they need help. It was nice
to hear this week from coach McDermott that Max Harston
his practice window could be open next week. That at
least leaves you hope that the corner position is getting
(25:27):
some help there because they're thin right now with Dorian
Strong and Harston on IRR, you know, and Benford a
little hobbled coming out of the Atlanta game with an
achilles injury. So we'll have to see where all of
that goes. But I think to your point, player health
right now on the roster is going to predicate whether
(25:48):
or not Brandon Bean feels he needs to pull the
trigger somewhere, whether it's corner linebacker where they have injuries,
you know, or somewhere else, right.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
And that's a hard trade to swing, and it's some
times there's just never a team or not a team
that fits they need a player that they need a
player where they've got a weakness, where you've got a
player where you've got a strength, and you can trade
both sides, right, you can get a player from them
and their strength, and they can take a player from
you and your strength, and you both get stronger at
(26:18):
your weaker point. It's hard. It's a hard puzzle to find,
plus the and you add in the cat the financial
aspects of it, and it's really hard puzzle to make fit.
But don't think that they're not working on it. I
because I think I think they are. And every time
(26:39):
the general public finds out about a player who's available
or whatever, and particularly a player at a certain position,
they're like, go get them, Go get them, go get them.
And believe me, before we heard about it as a
public piece of news, Brandon Bean's already talked to the guy.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Well that's the way it worked. Just think about it
last year or even two years ago, the Raseul Douglas trade.
I remember when Brandon spoke to the media about it.
He said, we had been working on this for three
or four weeks. Yeah, Like it's a process. Yeah, And
there's a lot of conversations, there's a lot of back
and forth. There's offers and counteroffers and more counteroffers. So
(27:15):
those things don't just happen haphazardly or in a vacuum.
They take a lot of work, a lot of negotiating
before they're finally consummated.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
As a side note, one of the reasons it works
here in Buffalo and most teams who have a really
good cohesive front office, the reason it works is because
the head coach is also aware of what the GM
is doing and he has some input and coach and
we have this guy or this guy. We're talking to
this guy and the head coaches say, I'll take either one,
(27:44):
but I prefer that one, and we like this way
because we're doing this and this guy's better at it.
There's conversation, conversation about which guy he would like to
do it, and he if he has experience with him.
The coaching staff is fully informed about the possibilities and
they probably Then there's another layer of this, to the
pro personnel. Each coach will have a pro personnel guy
(28:07):
he likes better than he say, Hey, what do you
think about it? He says, But I think that I
think he's right. I think this is that you know
what I mean? So it's a it's a group think
and they as with the Rasul Douglas and even the
Amari Cooper thing, they get it right. The Amari Coopy
it didn't work out. Mariy Cooper didn't work out because
of you know, he got injured and all that, but
the guy helped and the Bills wouldn't have beat the
(28:27):
Chiefs last year without Amary. That's the kind of thing
you get.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
He pulls it. He was pulling attention away from.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
He also caught on the first third down and caught
one with a busted hand down the sideline. Then he
made that catch over the head in the back. I mean,
Amari Cooper helped this team. And of course Rasoul Douglas
was an absolute home run. He came in and got
a turnal first games. So yeah, that kind of group
think leads to good situations like that if you can
(28:54):
fit it under the economics and you can get the
other team to say, yeah, we're we're done with this guy.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Let's spin it over to the numbers game, where Steve
will be quizzed on Bills versus NFC South history. The
Bills have two games against the NFC House South already
in the Books beat the Saints lost to the Falcons,
and they have Carolina on deck, so this seemed very timely.
Tampa's a little bit later in the season. Question Number
one in the Sean McDermott era, what is their best
(29:23):
record in a season in which they faced the NFC South.
It's happened two times. This is the third go round
this year. They're one and one right now? Is that
counts the season? Now? We're not counting that one? Oh,
so there's only half ones. You would not expect one
and one to be the best record against the NFC
South over time to Tampa Bay that year.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
I think they beat Atlanta that year they got crushed by.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
The Saints seven year, So I just need what you
think the record would be. I think one three and
one is correct, and that was in twenty twenty one.
Nice job is one for one. Question two, the Bill's
best turnover margin against the NFC South under McDermott in
a season is a plus five. What year of McDermott's
(30:11):
tenure did that happen twenty seventeen, twenty twenty one, or
twenty twenty five against the NFC South. I'll say twenty seventeen.
It was twenty seventeen. That Falcons game. That Falcons game
was a big one. There's three takeaways there for Davious
(30:32):
with that fifty two yard fumble return, Micah Hyde with
a pick. Yeah, and don't forget they come home to
play Tampa and Trey forces the fumble at the end
of the game and they kicked the game winning field
goal twenty seven to twenty four. I think that slot
receiver was Humphreys. I want to say we punched it
out there. So yeah, they were getting takeaways in the
(30:52):
twenty seven en psyclopedia. I don't know they can't remember
what h Question three, what current Bills player I haven't
known this. I know that's yet. What current Bill's player
has the most tackles since twenty seventeen against NFC South opponents?
And I will acknowledge this is a little bit of
(31:13):
a trick question. So you need to do some thinking
here about the Bill's current roster and the Bills player
that would have the most tackles against the NFC South
Trey White. It's not Trey White. It's an excellent guest. Oh,
it's an excellent guest because that would have been my guest.
(31:33):
It is not Poyer. I'm gonna help you. It's a
new arrival to the team. Who's Shack Thompson. There you go,
Shaq Thompson, who's spent a good portion of his time
in the NFC. That's why I said it was kind
of a trick question. Question four got a pretty good
you're doing well, you're doing well, a chance to go
three for four right out of the shoot? Which current
Bills player has a defensive touchdown against an NFC South
(31:58):
opponent and the Sean McDermott era Trey White. You are right,
Trey White. I kind of gave it to your earlier.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Earlier I would have gotten that, though I know it.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Bubble return for a touchdown against Atlanta in twenty seven
Steve Batton seven in the Numbers game. Very well done.
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(32:28):
with FanDuel Official Sportsbook, partner of the Buffalo Bills. Time
Now for our one learning question. Buffalo has won five
consecutive division titles, Steve, They've played at least two playoff
games each of the last five years and have played
a first play schedule the last five years as well.
(32:51):
It is Is it at all possible that the Bills
as a team have experienced contention fatigue? Absolutely. We've talked
a lot about the emotional This is an appropriate question
for you because your team, year after year in the
nineties went back and went back and went back and
(33:12):
went back, and that can wear when you play.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
When you play in a lot of big games at
the end of the season, important games like we did
back in the day, these regular season games, you just
feel like, just get me to the ones that matter.
I think there's a little bit of that going on.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
We saw Kansas City kind of experience that last year,
eleven one score victories. They found a way to pull
a lot of those out. Yes, but it looked hard
for them and they looked disinterested.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Yeah, and they made it to the Super Bowl last year.
I mean, they turned it on when it mattered, and
there's a little bit something to that. Maybe this team
can do that, but you really need to win these
games you can't count on going on the road in
the playoffs because by that time, no matter who you're playing,
whether it's the Chiefs, the Ravens, the Chargers, the Colts,
(34:04):
all these teams are it doesn't matter who you're playing,
they're going to be playing well and you've got to
be ready for that. So yes, I think that is
an absolute real thing for this club. I think it's
a battle they have to fight to get emotionally up
for these games.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
I think it's one of the reasons we have seen
the last three weeks they have not come into games
with energy juice.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
You know, you're playing you're playing out of conference, out
of division games, teams you don't normally see. They're two
and two coming in. The Bills have been playing teams
that I mean, the Patriots are the only team that
had won a game before they played the Bills. I mean,
they're playing all these teams that can't win a game.
It's just like it's it's rough.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
So I do think there is some contention. I call
it contention fatigue. You're you're an AFC contender again and
you have to play a first play schedule again, But
the regular season seems almost secondary when you go to
the postseason every year, right like, this isn't a big game,
And I think they've got to they've got to squash
(35:10):
that and squash that fast, because right now you're sitting
here on the bye week looking up at the New
England Patriots, the first place in your division.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
A quick story of my old coach, Marv Levy, who
was one hundred years old this year, he told our
team a story for this exact situation. You know, you're
into these games where these teams that are struggling, and
you're the team that's gonna you know, at the end,
you're going to be a division title or you're going
to be a wild card, even if you stumble and fall.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
He said.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Listen, he goes back in the day, they asked one
of the great pitchers in them in baseball about his
pitching style. It was Sandy Kofax, and they said, well,
what you know, when do you really you know, when
is it really important to pitch well? And and he said,
really bear down. When do you worry the most about
a batter? He goes, I worry when the pitcher comes up.
(35:58):
He goes, the pitcher they can't hit? Is why are
you worried about the pitching because because the pitcher is
the one I'm supposed to get out the picture, the
guy who can't hit is the one they're depending on
me to get them out. That's when I've got to
do my job. And when you face a team that
is struggling, it's just trying to rebuild and find.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Find Carolina Panthers. Like the Carolina.
Speaker 3 (36:22):
Panthers, that's the team you're supposed to beat. That's when
you're you know, there's a question whether hey, you the
Chiefs coming in here, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming in here,
the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles coming here. You can
hey those teams, Hey, that's a that's a tot. I
get it. You lose a close one of those guys.
That's a tough game. You're supposed to beat that team.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
Make it happen.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
So that was the story Marv told us as we were,
you know, kind of in this you know, contention fatigue
where he saw it and you have to address it.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Yea. So hopefully that happens as well coming out of
the bye. Our closing figure deals with James Cook's success
running the football thus far this season. Among backs with
more than fifty carries this season, Cook ranks sixth in
the highest number of box defenders faced at seven point
five six. Cook stands fourth in the NFL in total
(37:17):
yards after contact with three hundred and six. He ranks
second in the NFL and expected yards per attempt at
nine point nine two, and only one player in the
league ranks higher than Cook's EPA per attempt. It's Carolinas
Rico Dowdle with a figure of twelve point three. With
(37:41):
the Bills face after the bye in Week eight. That'll
do it for this episode. Be sure to subscribe on
whatever podcast platform you use, or watch us on the
Bills YouTube channel, because when you need to know about
the Bills, you need to jeck Bill by the numbers
receive tapster on Chris Brown. Thanks for listening. We'll patch
you next time. Everybody stop stop sp
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