One Bills LiveOBL 5/6: Josh Palmer Ready To Explode, Biggest Difference With The Bills WR Group
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All right, how is everyone on this Tuesday? Chris Brown, Steve Tasker with you, and uh Phase two is rolling along for the off season program.
They were outside today.
They were outside on the grass field. Think that that's the first time that has happened, So maybe maybe that's designed the weather.
I'll say this too, Like a month ago, was it a month ago? Yeah? A month ago, the practice field was like dead. There was like, yeah, the grass was dead because they tarp it up and then they keep the snow off the tarp. They plow the tarp off and because of that and the weather and the temperature change and the tarps, and there's a big chunk of the practice field that was was completely gone.
It was like just dirt.
It was.
Yeah, So I had to get resotted and so.
They re sotted it over the last I fished a week ago. Man looks nice, it is, Chris, let me say, but it's not.
Yeah, I know, but that's not it. Like people are like, ah, how hard coulda beat to grow grass?
We'll have two hundred and fifty three hundred pounds men tearing it up with their cleats, running around and you get a.
Better appreciation for the task at hand. Right, it's not like taking care of your lawn at home.
Yeah, they got think about what one dog can do to your lawn and now multiply that by one hundred fifty.
Well here's the thing too. I mean, you know, I used to be a player, so I can. Dude, they're not just letting dogs run out there. It's guys that they're paying millions of bucks and they don't want it. They don't want the thing uneven. It's got to be pristine. We're gonna do if a certain somebody like cracks their ankle out there because the field's dude, they are not taking it. Used to be not so much since my they were rented mules. Now they're prize cows. I mean they they like make sure that everything's right for these guys because they don't want to get because they know they're.
Gonna get your investment.
Yeah, they know they're gonna get hurt at some point. Just let's not be the ones that do it right. So the field is awesome, man, congrat our. Well, I don't want to let out a count of the back of how far down the totem pole Brownie and I are. But our our offices are right next to the grounds crew. We know the guys like we're right next to the lawnmowers and our offices. So you know, they did a great job. Man, awesome, looks great out it looks awesome.
As we said, Phase two of the off season program continues.
They were outside today.
Elijah Moore got his first day of work in after signing his contract yesterday, so we had him in studio yesterday and uh, now we're going to welcome in his former high school teammate and teammate again, it's Joshua Parmer. Oh, have a seat, I could shake your hand. Thank you for the pleasantries. I appreciate it.
Josh How you doing man? Do you look you look good? You're feeling good?
Yeah, get yourself settled there.
I'm talking about the grass fields. You know about two weeks ago, three weeks ago, was cruddy out there. They resaw he oh it looks nice now, yeah, it feels nice. Congratulations, welcome, thank you, thank you.
I'm glad to be on the show. It's nothing that I have now. This one is like a whole yeah, the whole thing.
Yeah.
Yeah, we want to we want to kind of square this away right from the jump, you know, being new to Buffalo and everything, because we've.
Heard Joshua is preferred. Is that? Are we right on that?
Or yeah, you can call me Joshua.
Yeah, okay, because.
It's your name, we'll call you whatever you want to call you. I mean, we've all been called worse things in our own names, but we just want to make sure we got it right because I know a lot of people for years have gone with just josh So I just want to make sure we get it the way you want it because it's your name, so you get first DIBs, you know.
And it was kind of cool.
We're talking to Elijah yesterday and he kind of reminded us that, you know, your high school teammates and everything, and how cool is that to kind of be reunited with like a former high school teammate at the highest level of football.
Well, the first time was with Sante Okay Samuel, Sante Samuel, and then now.
I was in high school.
Yeah, oh my god. We didn't lose many games and we won States twice.
Yeah, but that's got to be like a cool reunion. You walk in the locker room, you're like oh my god. Last time I played with you we were teenagers. Is that weird or is it cool?
Where does it's?
It's cool and it's it makes I think it helps us her more comfortable. Yeah, in a new place or in the new environment. But we've we've been with each other, so at least we know each other, you know. But I'm learning all the guys and getting to know all the guys and everyone's pretty cool and funny and uh, slowly memorizing all the names just because it's a little, it's a lot, but I know Elijah, so yeah, I.
Promise, I promise you. The weather is does get nice and it's it's beautiful.
Those guy's for Brampton, Ontario. But he knows about long wind takes a minute.
I've been feeling it. I've been feeling glimpses of the sun coming out.
And this is fake spring number five.
Yeah, fake spring.
Yeah, you think it's you think you're done. I think you're done, and then you get a crummy day. He's still thrown in there every now and then you know how it is.
Yeah, keeps on your ton we.
Spent how are the conversations and nearly going with the bills, when when did it takes shape and give you your thoughts about the process and now today when you were actually on.
The field before joining the Bill, I didn't know I was joining to the I didn't know I was joining the Bills until I signed, really well, until the news broke that I was signing with the Buildings.
Yeah, I had no idea.
I know you've already comment I did that.
It almost feels like a homecoming of sorts being a Brampton, Ontario native. I know you eventually went to play high school in South Florida, but your formative years or just an hour and a half from here, what kind of feeling does that give you being this close to home as a professional.
It's it's nice.
The thing was, even though I was in California, I never really felt far from home because I made California my home, and then my parents also came and visited me a lot. I had a lot of family that always came. There's probably like maybe two weeks that I didn't see.
Family at a game.
Yeah, so it wasn't like I was I didn't have my family around. But now it just makes it a lot easier for them to travel.
They don't have to get there.
They're probably happier, Yeah, they are because they're commute. Is a lot easier to get to games now.
Right, right, So it's a lot easier for them. So that makes it nice.
That's awesome.
Give us some idea of what it's been like in this early going. I know you're getting used to it. I know guys are inting out. It's voluntary, so some guys are here all the time, some guys are out. How you found it, you know, the locker room, the vibe, everything.
I enjoy it. I enjoy it.
It's a good vibe. All the guys are close with each other. I'm seeing that and noticing that. You know, Monday through Thursday we're working and we're meeting, working out, and now we just started get on the field. So I like the schedule, and it gives me time to also see my family because they're so close. So it's just getting used to everything and I'll get settled in with my own personal stuff later.
But yeah, I'm enjoying it.
I know Coach Brady is probably shared with you already. This whole mantra of everybody eats. You know, you've you come from a place where just a few years ago, there was a pretty obvious pecking order at the wide receiver position. It was Keenan Allen, you know, and then everybody else after that. And we understand why we respect Keenan Allen's game. Here it doesn't play that way like it truly is everybody eat. Josh is throwing of the guy that's open. Is that a philosophical shift for you mentally knowing you know, you have coaches tell you all the time, hey, you got to run the route because you might get the ball, like here the way they it's democratic, Like it's truly democratic here, you could very well get the ball on every single play. How does that shift your mindset if at all?
It doesn't shift my mindset as a receiver because I run every route to win, right, So yeah, I run every route to win. So if it comes, if it doesn't come to me, great, If it comes to me even better because I know I'm running my oute to get somebody else open. And if this whole mantras everybody eats, then if I run a great route to pull the coverage, then I know my counterparts are also running great routes to get the ball. So if it's the case, everybody eats. Even when you don't get the ball, you still eat because you're doing something to effect the whole the team.
However, you enjoyed. How did you find your time? I know you probably had some really good times on the West Coast with California and your family. Was there a lot. You finally got acclimated, had a head coaching change. How did you find that? I mean, give us a little synopsis about how you felt about your pro career so far. You've had really productive seasons.
I've just been getting better every year. I feel like my first three year there were Keenan and Mike and my receiver coach out there. I was able to find my game and figure out what works and doesn't work. And I had the time to do that and be patient with that because I was still with Keenan and Mike. Then I got into my second, second, and third year and then everything started to take shape. Last year was what it was, and then now I'm here just ready to explode and show to myself that I've been working towards this position and being in this position.
How more of a refiner receiver I am.
I know that you hooped it up a little bit when you were growing up, you know, in Ontario, and I know you traveled in some of the same circles as r J. Parrot who plays for the Raptors. Now, did you grow up watching Tracy McGrady with the Raptors a little bit?
Like do you remember that because he's a minority owner of the Bills.
Now, Yeah, I remember a time when he was there. Yeah, I was. I was a Hooper back then.
I played a lot of basketball, played three sports, soccer, basketball and football.
I grew up playing with a.
Lot of those guys that are in the NBA now. Yeah, so I played with RJ on.
So RJ is probably gonna be hitting you up for tickets.
A number of different teams. Yeah, because he's.
Come to a couple of games I know, has him and his I think him and his teammates have made it down once or twice, okay, for some of those prime time games before their season really ramps up, like early in the season.
Yeah, he's gonna be he knows you, I know. So he's gonna he's gonna If you want speed time.
It'll be great. It'll be great to see him there.
Yeah, give us an idea of what your schedule is like, what are you looking for the rest of this offseason? I know, you got to get your personal life all kind of of a ligne, get ready for the regular season. What were the conversations like about what they're expecting in the next month or two.
Just getting bigger, faster, stronger, the details because it's a new playworok.
From me, so learning the words, just getting.
The details of learning the language just because I mean everybody runs somewhat the same plays. So it's just figuring out, Okay, what do we call this play, and what do we call this route? And what you're aligning on this play? So I think those are the biggest things that I want to get to this this off season program.
You we were talking to Elijah about this yesterday because as you probably already well know. You know, Coach Brady likes you to know every role within the scope of the offense at the receiver position. Do you have you kind of gravitated already to being a conceptual learner rather than an individual You know, I'm gonna learn what X does on this play, like you look at the whole thing conceptually, right, That's the best way to absorb a system like this right.
Yeah, for sure, because I did that a lot with my with the Chargers there with Keenan and Mike, like I knew everything and I wanted to know everything because the more you know and the more you can do right. And because I pride myself a lot. I'm playing every position on the field. So even when I train, I train in the slot, I trained in the boundary, I trained uh out wide because it's different. It's a whole different game in those three different spots. So I I like to pride myself on knowing how to do all that.
What has has it been, Like, I know, you've Josh is in and out for these voluntary stuff. You're going from Justin Herbert's who's a heck of a quarterback himself, over to Josh, who won the MVP last year. You're on a team that, like the Chargers, they kind of have aspirations. They're getting better and better. This team has expectations as well. What's been the biggest difference between you know, the culture that you've the brief time you've been here in Buffalo and the way you were with the new head coach in la Is and how that had to change as well. The culture and how important is it and how that affects your day to day.
The culture here is great.
I feel like both places I've had i've been to that have I've had good cultures. It's hard to compare right now because I've was with one team for four years and I won't even with this team for two weeks.
So it's hard. It's hard to it's hard to say what is what?
But no, I feel like I'm fitting in and I'm finding my lane and I'm getting to know everybody, and I think over time, I'm going to see the culture really really reveal itself, and especially during the season. And you know when when crap, it's the fan, you know, that's when the true culture will come out because it's everything's good when when it's going yeah yeah, So when things go bad to seeing how the culture?
What?
What have your given? What has your give and take been like with Josh? Because we know that quarterbacks and receivers, yes, they have to get on the same page. There has to be chemistry that takes reps. There haven't been a ton of reps yet because you're still not even really allowed to practice, as we know, But what is his kind of feedback because I'm curious when a new receiver comes in, what that onboarding process is like between quarterback and receiver.
What have his initial conversations with.
You been, Like just being patient?
Yeah, and over time we're gonna eventually get on the same page, but we can't expect to be on the same page first routes right there, Like because I'm getting used to the cadence. The cadence is different. I was. I was with one guy.
For four years.
Yeah, so his tempo will be different. How early he gets the ball out might be different, the way he throws his gobal might be different.
So it's just learning.
Okay, I know the ball's gonna come here, or I know the ball's gonna come here on this route, and I know he's expecting me to stop here on this route. So it's just finding those things that I think won't be easy during OTA's but we could start and get ahead. So then when Camp Stars seasons comes and we're because he's.
Got to know your body language just the same way exactly. Hey, when I see Joshua would do this, I know he he's coming out. He's like, that's the stem here a cup Like bang gotta get it out.
Yeah, like he's learning you just as much as you're learning.
How about the coaching staff, how have you found Uh, you know, you got to you gotta get to know those guys as well as anybody as well.
I enjoyed their presence a lot. Coach Brady is very uh energetic, energetic. Yeah, my receiver, coach Coach Henry is a little more mellow.
So I think it's a it's a good balance.
It's a good balance to have, and they're able to explain what they want thoroughly, which makes it a lot easier as a player because at the end of the day, they're teachers and we're students, so we have to listen and figure out what they want from us and going on and repping it.
Yeah, well listen, Josh, We thank you for popping in here and spending some time with us, giving the fans a chance to get to know you a little bit. And we look forward to the to the Palmer clan being here at home games. Like yes, I mean it sounds like they travel, well, this is gonna be a piece of cake compared to l A. They're going to be coming in cars. They even need an airplane to get that's gonna be awesome. How many do you think the Palmer group is going to be on game days?
Are we talking twenty twenty five? More?
Like?
What are we looking at?
I couldn't tell you. Maybe that's that's the question for my dad. I let him handle all that. I let him handle.
Well, yeah, that's not yours to handle.
I'm just curious, like, Joshua, don't get in the ticket business.
Yeah, don't let them handle that. You worry about playing football.
Uh. That's Joshua Palmer joining us here on One Bill's Live. We'll take a break and let him get back to his business and we'll get back to you when we return here on One Bill's Live, presented by a Lot of Health. It's Buffalo Bills Radio. All right back here on One Bill's Live, Chris Brown, Steve tasking with you. A good conversation there with Joshua Palmer. If you missed it, be sure to check us out on the re rack on the Bill's YouTube channel. After this show is in the books and you can get it from start to finish in case you are joining us a little bit late here today. Want to go around the NFL, and there's a bit of a Bill's note here. Bill's free agent wide receiver Amari Cooper's name has come up as a wide out the Cowboys have discussed bringing back. Nothing is imminent at this point according to reports, but the connection there, having played for the Cowboys before is what is peaking the interest here. So ESPN is reporting that there is a mutual interest between Dallas and Cooper.
As you know, well maybe you don't know the.
History, but the Cowboys traded for Cooper in twenty eighteen with a first round pick going the other way to the Raiders, and then the former Raider remained in Dallas for another three seasons, had a couple of one thousand yard campaigns, and then Ceedee Lamb began to emerge as the team's number one wide receiver and they dealt him to the Browns in twenty twenty two along with some late round picks, and then, as we know, the Bills traded for him mid season last year.
So we'll see where it goes.
I'm not anticipating Amari Cooper coming back here, especially since Elijah Moore just got issued number eighteen yesterday, right, so I don't foresee that. So he is going to have to find a landing spot somewhere else. And obviously Dallas is familiar to him, having been there and spend three seasons with that club, So it wouldn't surprise me if something gets worked out between those two sides. Cowboys still looking for some receiver help, wouldn't.
Be shocking, no question. If he wants to play, somebody's gonna want him to play. I mean, he is ten years into his career and he's still got some gas in the tank. We saw it last year and flashes that he helped the Bills down the stretch and he wasn't like this go to a guy because the Bills were everybody was eating, you know. But obviously the guy can has still got some good football left in him. And yeah, and Dallas knows as well as anybody worth.
Free agent safety Justin Simmons reportedly wants to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles that according to NFL Networks Brian Baldinger, the thirty one year old safety likely sees an opportunity to play in Philadelphia after the veteran departure of C. J. Gardner Johnson. Simmons, who is a two time Pro Bowl safety mainly for his exploits in Denver, played with the Atlanta Falcons last season because I think he was just kind of outright released kind of late in the game last year, and he latched on with Atlanta played there in twenty twenty four. Now looking for maybe more of a winning situation and wants to sign with the defending Super Bowl champs. But we'll see if that happens. They have to want him. It's nice that he wants Philly, but they have to want him. So we'll see where it goes, and we'll see what his price tag is. I mean, he's a proven veteran player, but I can't imagine Philly's got a lot lot to work with in the bank and under the cap. Speaking of safeties, veteran safety Geno Stone agreed to take a pay cut to stay on the Cincinnati Bengals roster. Stone was set to make almost six and a half million this season, but took about a million.
And a half pay cut.
They promised to guarantee a million and a half of the new newly agreed amount for helping them out. Seventh round pick back in twenty twenty played his first four years with Baltimore and then signed a two year deal with the Bengals last year in free agency. My question is they're getting this guy to take a pay cut. Are they trying to clear some cap space to get the long term deal done with Trey Hendrickson?
Maybe if that's what that's what I thought of what I saw. Yeah, and it makes some sense. But I'll say this, if they're signing Trey Hendrickson to a long term deal giving him the money he's purported to be asking for, which is up up high twenties thirty, right, yeah, that may be the most top heavy row to an all of football in history.
Well, if that deal gets done, it will be because it's going to be Burrow, Chase Higgins, and Hendrickson and then everybody else is making League of minimum pretty much.
Well yeah, I mean that's yeah, it's going to be a hierarchy, no question, and that if you want to do it that way, that's fine. But that's that's something.
Yeah, And i mean, look, he's only helping him out a million and a half dollars. Is that what they needed to push the Hendrickson deal over the finish line? Probably not. They probably need to do a little more. Oh yeah, I mean I'm just.
Wondering maybe they've done a lot of that work already.
Is this the final straw you know that had to be taken care of to clear enough cats?
Maybe get it done.
It also, maybe just be the margin of error too, I mean one point five is was faced. It's less than a percentage of the salary cap.
I mean maybe they needed it for their rookie pool.
Right you pool, or they might need it just for working capital, just to make sure they got the money right, so you got to sign undrafted rookie free agents. I mean that's both ends of the spectrum there. I mean rookie, undrafted rookie free agency, Trey Hendrickson couldn't be further apart. But I think it's probably just getting their books aligned so that they can either just move forward.
ESPN spoke with a number of college coaches who remained anonymous for their honest take on why Shadua Sanders fell all the way to the fifth round in the twenty twenty five NFL Draft when Cleveland finally selected him by trading up for him. A defensive coordinator who faced Sanders as a college coach that he wasn't surprised by the hesitancy that teams had in passing on him, saying, quote, I thought he'd fall, but not like this.
A Big twelve coach said, I was shocked.
You never know what the interview process is and how that went. I thought besides cam Ward, he was the second best quarterback. Others noted that if teams weren't drafting Sanders as a clear cut starter based on ability that couldn't be bypassed, they had to assess how he would fit into a quarterback room that they had an established starter. I thought this was the most telling quote Steve quote. The NFL teams probably figure once it gets to this point, is it even worth dealing with anymore? But there's no way around that. A Big twelve coach said, if you're not drafting the guy to be your starter, really doesn't matter where you pick the guy. One group of five college coach added, if you're Tampa and you have Baker Mayfield, do you want the noise associated with Shador Sanders being your backup quarterback. There's a lot of teams that don't want that kind of noise distracting the rest of the club. Like, you're trying to win football games and you got people clamoring for putting Sanders in the game if you have two bad weeks.
I'll say this too. I have heard a number of quarterbacks, former really great quarterbacks say that, you know they've watched some of this go on with how quarterback rooms are going. For instance, I'll give you when when Tim Tebow got drafted by the Broncos, they had I don't know who it was they had. Then t Bow was in and out with him and there was a lot of attention given to or in any situation where there's a lot of attention given to the backup quarterback, starting quarterbacks don't need that. If you're trying to get a starting quarterback ready to play, your backup quarterback better be there helping him, not doing media interviews and given the starting quarterback something to answer the media about. The last thing a starting or a great quarterback needs or wants is a celebrity trying to help him get ready for the for the game.
And I think Shador Sanders' celebrity was a turnoff for some NFL clubs like we just I don't want to deal with that drama. Like I like him as a prospect, probably not to start right away, but maybe in a few years and him just being in the building is going to be polarizing.
I don't want to have to deal with that.
You've got a guy that's incubating, getting ready to be your starter. It needs to be done quietly. I don't want to. You know, it really does, I mean, you got, it's happened. It doesn't happen very much because of this, but it has happened in the past, right and it you know, I remember Roger Staubach getting into a fist fight with Luke Longley, you know, Chuck long Chuck No, no, no, the kid that came in on Thanksgiving Day back in nineteen seventies and won the Thanksgiving Day game for the Cowboys when Starbach had to come out and it was and they ended up getting to a fist fight. Things like that happened, mean you get. You know, it's rough. It's rough. So it rarely happens because starting quarterbacks have a say and they don't want to deal with it. And if the quarterback doesn't want to deal with it, the coaching staff doesn't want to deal with a starting quarterback who's unhappy. So yeah, I can see this stuff about should or Sanders getting out and plus you know, bringing him in if he's not going to be the guy, a top flight, top draft pick, and it becomes a problem, then becomes a problem, becomes a presence and a voice, and somebody doing interviews off the side while everybody else is trying to get ready for the game. And if and I'm not saying it would happen, but it could happen, and it's more likely to happen that he says something to the media and now everybody in their locker room's got it. Now they've got to go around and talk to everybody in the locker room, say, hey, what'd you say about what Shoulder said? What do you think? What do you think? What do you think? Happens in New York constantly, and it's hard to get around that when you're trying to get ready for a game. And you got this this story because if some guy said something that was a little bit out of whack, and now the media's got to go around find out what everybody in the locker room thinks about it, it's a huge distraction and it's just something nobody needs. That's kind of what it looked like. Yeah, Clint Longley, Clint Longley, I apologize you were.
Clinton were referencing the seven foot two center for the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls while Australian basketball player Luke Longley Clint Longley.
I'm glad you knew what I was talking.
I had to look it up because I couldn't remember the guys. I knew it wasn't Luke.
It was forty plus years ago, so it cut me some slotes.
No, that's I'm not faulting at all. That's I just knew it wasn't.
And it was. Clint Longley came in on a Thanksgiving Day game because Dallas always plays on Thanksgiving, even back then, and he threw like three touchdowns or something. He just blew it up. So then he became this thing. Yeah, and he started to act like this thing, and Word had it back and Roger beat the stew out of him. Yeah. So Roger was a Navy guy, so he didn't have he wasn't one to be.
Hard and fast results and no excuses.
And it was you know, so that's a learning thing for a lot of teams. So it does happen. So I all, this is interesting, and it does. It does point to some uh you know, a league wide hesitancy for bringing in a celebrity backup quarterback or a late round draft pick, a guy who's not going to be the guy who's going to be in front of the media anyway, because he's the number one pick of your draft. You don't want that. I get it. I get it. That doesn't mean it's right to be a dude.
I know it isn't.
It says something to me that a team, especially around the draft, the number one priority is making your team better. And to see that as such a detractor, even if the talent of the player might make your team better, is that's that's saying something.
I go on and on about it. And because I'm I, I was on an all time team. Man, it's just a great bunch of we to this day we all text, we're buddies and we keep look out for each other. So it was, you know, it's a special group. So I I come at it from that angle. So you can you can throw away what I say or not. But it's the ultimate team sport. It is like no other team sport, no other hoops, hockey name it. I can't speak to lacrosse, but it is unlike any other team sport.
Right, And I don't think teams are concerned about controlling their locker room with Shador in the building there. They want to control the outside forces like the media and the public narrative and all of that. And that's harder to do yes with the person with that kind of personality.
And you don't want to exhaust your players during the week by having to deal with stuff that has nothing to do with the games. It's exhausting, it's tedious, and it poisoned. I don't say poison because that makes it seem like, you know, it's drags every it's a drag. It's just a drag, and nobody can Nobody can have fun while this drag's going on, you know what I mean saying you have this thing hanging over you. Nobody can have fun and joke around. Get get, have buddies, have a few pops, let's go out and have some No, it's like, oh no, I got it. You know.
Yep.
It's a it's a sport that demands that you be all in, whether you like it or not. You're gonna get beat up, and you've got to bring some emotional content to it. You got to be undistracted. You got to be willing on every level. And that's the kind of thing that SAPs that a way, and it's it's a it's a tangible, real thing.
So that is around the NFL presented by a lot of health. Topic of discussion for you today concerns the Bills receiver room. We've had three of the receivers on this roster here in studio over the last two days, so we thought it only appropriate to ask you what will be the biggest difference with the Bills wide receiving group this season compared to last season. Obviously, every year is different, the makeup of this group is different. How do you think it will change what the wide receiver group is this season in comparison to last season? Eight oh three oh five point fifty one eight eight eight five fifty two, five fifty Those are the numbers to join us, and we do have open lines for you. Don't have time to give us a call, no problem, you can hit us up on the tweet sheet.
At one Bill's Live.
But let's go to the phones, and waiting there for us is Butch on the east side.
What's up, Butch?
My brother's good to talk to you.
Guys.
I love them as g love the WG on to all the fans you listen and watch, I definitely love you. I'm gonna get right into it as a couple of games and then say something too briefly. I'm gonna touch on that last subject edition is talking about the Cleveland Brown situation. My thing is I can courver both of what you guys are saying. It's just that, unfortunately, the media is going to be the media. The media is gonna start stories, and stories is going to affect the person who's really trying to play the game that they grew up to like to play. Unfortunately, in his kid's situation, his father's who he was, who was raised the way he was raised, and he is where he is, and he's gonna follow and regardless at Cleveland, whether it's Buffalo, etcetera, etcetera. I'm gonna put that on the shelf. Secondly, I want to touch base on something you guys talked about yesterday. You had a lot of guests, so I kind of hung up. I'm going to talk about the Jordan Palmer situation real fast. Josh Allen was drafted out of Westconsin I mean out of out of Wyoming. As we already know, he was wraw. Nobody really wanted, but Brandon being in media, a couple of people people want anybody wanted. Even later on in the draft, Brandon took a swing. Josh was raw. Even though Brian David was the first type office of coordinator here at that time. George Palmer got with Josh Allen after his rookie year, in his second year and really developed this kid the seed, the game, to believeing in talents, et cetera. When he came back to Buffalo, he was a whole different creature. So I'm gonna give Jordan Palmer a lot of credit of what Josh Allen is doing now because Josh has got his compass. Go put that on the show. Let's get this wide receiver room. I was just telling my guy who was just answered the phone. I got my good friend that this is the best wide receiver room in Brandon Bean's regime, and without without the big name. When you're talking about the big name now, it's so much talent that this this this training camp, you might see a Curtis, see him get cut. I'm just gonna be honest with you. Uh, he has a lot of the practice squad, the receivers just for me to practice squad is could be starting to other teams. You got the kid, the undrafted free out of Mississippi State, undrafted undrafted free free agent out the bailor you got the receiver we drafted from Maryland to seventh Brown. You already got. You got more, You got uh, you got a couple, You got so many guys along with Kincaid, along with along with not It's so much talent and it's only one football. And the thing about it is, I don't want to hear no more from the fans, no one else regarding wide receivers this season, because this is the most talented. This is the most strongest wide receiver receiving room that we've had here. I'm gonna go back since and I'm gonna be I might be exaggerating, but I'm gonna go back with Seve and Bed and lost In and Read and he had all those other guys here, we haven't had a strong wide receivering room. I'm talking about all the way across the board. We are're gonna be competing one another. So don't be surprised when the fifty three is made that you see some veteran players got cut and he was like, Wow, didn't we just sign this guy? Or wasn't he on the team last year? Don't be surprised. But I love you guys, man each one, to each one, I love you guys, my brothers, and thanks so much for taking football.
Interesting take.
Butch, I find it hard to believe that Samuel is going to be pushed off this roster only because right now, as his contract is constructed, he would cost more to move off the roster than to be on the roster. I realized that that hit may not take place right away because we're past you in first, but he would be He's a little over nine and a half million to be on the roster, twelve million if you move him off. That's the dead cap hit. I just don't think that money works. The Bills just got out from under stomaching the thirty one million dollar cap hit they got from trading Stefan Diggs. I can't see them taking on a twelve million dollar hit to not have Curtis Samuel play for them. So wherever he falls in the pecking order, hopefully he's somewhere in the top five or six, and you don't have to cross that bridge because there isn't a good financial answer to that situation.
If you deem him not worthy of a roster spot.
Yeah, the only way Curtis Samuel doesn't get on this team really is if he's hurt right, which may be a real possibility. I don't know. He struggled with it all last year. I mean, he never got right.
It was a couple of different injuries.
Yeah, he may be. He may be, you know, too fragile to save. But that's the reason this team doesn't give out three year contracts to guys they don't have faith in. And he is a good player. He's got good wheels, he's fast even by NFL standards, and a bunch of different Yeah, and he's versatile. So yes, I get it. It's easy for Bill's fans say, ah, he's and kind of sour on him, particularly when he got shiny new pieces like Josh Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore on the roster. You think, okay, now we you know, I'm kind of done with this guy that didn't really help us last year. Don't think like that. He's he's got it going on. He's a good player. And I think when you're talking about this wide receiver cr I in some ways I agree with Butcher, not about the nineties guys. I mean, he had one of the fastest guys in the league and Don Beebe, and he had two Hall of Famers on the field, So kind of hard to put these guys in that category. But I get it. I get the point. It is a good room, very good room.
Because even the early two thousand bills that had bled so with molds and peerless price.
Yeah, Josh Reied was your three. I mean that I don't true.
Yeah, but that that three probably isn't as good as the collection of maybe the top three here they're one and two. We're probably more productive because you're talking about two guys that each had over eighty catches in two thousand and two when they were throwing it all over the yard. So from a production standpoint, it was very There was a very strict pecking order there. There isn't now. But I think Butch's point is well taken. In terms of front to back, everybody in this top five or six is a good to very good player.
Some are still on the ascent.
Some you know what they are So it's a little bit tough too, because it's different offensive philosophy here at this point in history, with this particular team, they don't have a pecking order.
Yeah, everybody that makes.
It hard to assess how good they are or not are in comparison to those guys in O two or in the nineties.
Let's go to Tom on the West Side next. What's up Tom?
Hey, guys, go alhad we all survived single demiele.
Uh?
First, I gotta say I think Judy somebody got her Maxwell harriston Jersey for Mother's Day, Happy Yesterday around on defense? Yeah, but but I called the offensive room last year and out of the six I got five, right, So I'm gonna tell you it's gonna be Shakir Coleman, Palmer Moore, and Curtis Samuel. That's five. Now the sixth is gonna be the dark horse. We don't know who that's gonna be yet. But the reason I'm calling is because in the day we turned Gwn Parker, who was a tight end into a tackle. So is it possible that we could take one of our extra tackles that we got that We're always saying we're overloaded and turn them into a tight end. Yeah, maybe maybe that rugby player, or maybe maybe Anderson. Yeah, and talk about it.
Yeah, I don't think that Glenn Parker was never a tight end. I don't know who you're talking.
Might be confusing him with Jason Peter.
Might be j Jason Peters was a tight end who became a tackle and probably one of the best tackles in the last quarter century. But I think if they transitioned some of these tackles, they will move to guard.
You know.
Maybe it's the international pathway player Travis Clayton, who was a seventh rounder last year, spent the whole year on ir Maybe he comes back and they say, you know what, let's slide him into because he has the athleticism and the bend to do that being a former rugby player, whereas Chase Lunt, their sixth round pick, who's six 's eight, may not be able to bend as well and is better off on the edge, you know, where we can take advantage of his length and something like that. And look, coach Kromer Across trains a lot of those linemen anyway, all just about every one of them gets reps at two positions, whether it's center and guard or guard and tackle, So I think that's more likely than a move to tight end per se, and the way they utilize Alec Anderson, it's like a blocking tight end anyway, is the sixth offensive lineman.
Yeah, Jackson Hawes might be the answer to Alec Anderson because he's a true tight end, because he's a true tight end and a little bit more nifty in the pass routes and it's just better able to do that. So it might be more of tight end acting like a swing offensive lineman than an offensive lineman acting like a third tight end. Yeah, well, we'll see. And as for your pecking order, maybe, he said Shakir Coleman, Samuel more More, and Palmer.
So that leaves Leviska, Shenault's, the wild cards, and a bunch of young players all vying for what amounts to one spot, which is going to make for a pretty heavy competition. Uh, going into training camp. We have to take a break here, but more of your phone calls when we come back. What will be the biggest difference with the Bills wide receiving group this season compared to last. Alex and Charlotte can lead us off when we return here on one Bill's Live presented by a Lot of Health.
It's Buffalo Bills Radio.
Your more high school girls flag football coaches of the week. In Section six Buffalo Region, it's Leo sindre On from Depew. Depew jumped out to a eight nothing start, eight no start overall and a four oh start in.
League play this season with two big wins last week.
In Section five Rochester, Avon's Justin Dupin Geyser takes home this week's honor. This is Avon's first official season of girls flag football, highlighted by their recent thirteen to twelve win over previously undefeated Canisteo Greenwood.
How about that.
I love this flag football stuff. Man, everybody's playing.
It's spreading like wild.
It's great. It's a great way to introduce people to the game. I know this too. In the village I live in, I was talking to some people because I got I had grand kids that are playing flag football now. Yeah, little guys, and it's co ed at that level, you know, cause they're just running around having fun. It's a blast. And I was talking to guys there and said, yeah, because of the flag football, the numbers of the tackle football that's a little higher than that have bumped. They've increased now.
So it's almost like a feeder program.
Yeah, some way. It gives people an introduction to it, gets the kids acclimated to it, and you know, and they just keep on with it. And so it's good. It's been good for our sport as well as the flag football sport in and of itself. So it's it's been a huge plus. And it, like you said, it's like wild.
It's great an Olympic sport.
Yeah, I mean it's too bad that. I mean, American football is never going to be an Olympic sport because we're the only country that plays it. And so that's is what it is. But flag football, let's go tee it up.
What will be the biggest difference with the Bills wide receiver group this season compared to last season? You let us know at eight o three, five fifty and we go back to the phones, and as promised to Alex in Charlotte, what's up Alex?
Hey, guys, thanks for taking my call.
If you're doing well today.
Hey, so I've been listening for the last few weeks on the replays, hadn't been able to call in I wanted to say, you know, you guys have asked a lot of thoughts on the draft. I thought the draft was amazing. I'm glad we went heavy defense. If you watched the team last year, I third down, we couldn't get anyone off the field. It was it was awesome to see being put that time and effort. I also heard a lot of people saying that they wanted a wide receiver. Personally, I thought it was a bad draft for it. And Steve you said over and over again, this is a hard roster to make, and I did not see a rookie wide receiver in this class who was going to come in and make this roster easily. If they would have, would have just been because they were a high pick and we didn't want to cut them. But to answer your question of the day, I love this wide receiver room. I think we're very diverse. I think we're lending ourselves to positionless offense. You're gonna have guys lined up all over the field who have overlapping skill sets. You're not going to know what routes they're running, where they're going to end up. And these guys can also separate. I know Curtis Samuel was hurt last year, but he's a separator. Palmer's a separator. I think Keon's going to make a jump, and I think Elijah Moore is going to be a very sneaky signing. I see him making the roster and I see him being a big part of what we do this year. So overall, I'm a real fan of this roster being put together. We say in being we trust for a reason, and he's shown it to us again. Thank you guys for your time.
Yeah, sure thing. I mean Moore is a separator too.
And for those that don't know Moore's skill set very well, they're going to look at him, you know, at five eight, one hundred and eighty pounds and assume he's a slot only and he is not. He lined up outside quite a bit for the Browns, less so for the Jets, you know, and made plays out there. So I think, knowing that Joe Brady as a coordinator demands that the receivers learn all the positions within the scope of the offense, you have to recruit diverse talents to the roster. You can't just go get a guy that can only play X. I mean even Keon Coleman lined up in the slot a good deal in college at Florida State. So you need versatile skill sets to have the wide ranging ability to line people up across the front. And I think we've said this before, Steve, but it's a philosophical shift here. They don't want I don't think they want a true number one wide receiver. If they could have a player grow into that and be that kind of a talent, I don't think they'd say no to it. But the point I'm trying to make is I think they genuinely believe if they are good to very good across the board in their receiving corps, they are a harder team to defend because you can't key on any one person and feel like you have dramatically impeded the Bills passing game.
Yeah, certainly, nobody's gonna turn their knows up at Let's just let's just take ourselves down this rabbit hole for just two seconds. So say Keon comes out and he's a monster this year, right, takes a big step forward, stays healthy on the field, blossoms into everything. It's because here's what happens, is you get to that point because you grow into it all of a sudden. Keon's always open and Josh throws him the ball. It's all good when it works, no problem. But if you flip that around and think, okay, what a defense to see. They're gonna see Keon and guys right now when they drop it's different mindset defensively, when they drop back and they say, Okay, here's these guys who we got to defend all of them. Yeah, and let's just double team Keon instead of saying, let's double team Keon, go man under, drop a guy out, whatever, because they're gonna go him first. That's in some ways that plays into the hands of the defense, even though Keon would be this great, big monster that to have a plan for that, that's right. And otherwise, the way the Bills did it last year was that if they got in, if this team wanted to play man the Bills had too many guys on their roster that were man beaters, then the other team had corners that could cover him up well enough. They might have had one or two corners, but they didn't have three or four. And if you know, and if they did, they certainly didn't have a linebacker they could stay with James Cook, right, so they or a tight end. So they just went so deep and particularly when they think, well, he's never gonna throw it to the tight end here, He's never gonna throw it to the They don't throw it to the backs as much as we like, and we're just gonna man up with a backer and you know, drop it for Detroit. Right, We'll drop a defensive tackle out and cover that tight end because he didn't throw it to That kind of stuff happens. So it presents a very different array of problems when you've got a team that will throw it to anybody. Now, having said that, Brandon Bean's still going to go out and try and find five guys like Jamar Chase, you know what I mean. Yes, you're give me five of those guys do the right, but they don't grow on trees. But you are getting a bunch of guys who, you know, Joshua Palmer was under used in the Chargers office because he had Mike Evans, Mike Keen, Mike Williams, and Keenan Allen in front of it. You know, guys like that. Curtis Samuel was in Washington, which was a cesspool culture wise, for for a minute, for a long time, he comes out. He you know, it's like him spreading his wings. So guys like that, Elijah Moore caught balls from like nineteen thousand guys. I mean plaid for the Jets and played for the Jets and the Browns. I don't I hate to laugh like that. But so you get guys who are undervalued on the market, and it come in here and in your building, particularly here Anduffalo where you've got a development team that comes in alongside these players and says, okay, wait, wait, wait, you need to give when to give you this to help you flourish. Do this, help, let us help you here, let us give you this and this, and you know what, this is a better way for you to try this. And all of a sudden, you got a room full of wide receivers playing their best football for your team. That's the recipe and that has That's what happened last year, and that's how it came to Fruition last year and they had a record breaking year.
Yep.
So you tell us what will be the biggest difference with the Bill's wide receiver group this season compared to last. We have to take a break here, but we are wide open for your phone calls in the entire second hour of the show. We'll lead off with Mark and Orchard Park and Steve on Asel when we return here on One Bill's Live presented by Colida of Health, It's Buffalo Bill's Radio.
This One Bill's Live presented by Kalida Health.
What will be the biggest difference with the Bills wide receiver group this season compared to last? That is the question posed to you here on a Tuesday edition of One Bill's Live. Chris Bran Steve Tasker with you. Phone lines wide open for the second hour of the show, as we had Joshua Palmer an hour number one. So our guest duties are taken care of and accounted for. So it's all about you and us the rest of the way here and as promised, we go to Mark in Orchard Park next.
What's up? Mark?
Hey?
How are you this guy today? I totally agree with Chris what you said about you know, Joe Brady and you know, hey, you look at this guy. He took over, you know, last year, and he didn't have a you know, a lot of good tools in the box, but you know, his game plans were very good and look what it produced.
Now.
I think we got a better receiver course than last year. And going with that, if you know these guys can play to what they think their potential is, I think it's going to be game on man. To me, this reminds me of Tom Brady with a Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, robkin robkin Kowski, and you know you had Randy Moss and there. Yeah he was the big name, but all those other guys really nobody, you know, nobody know about him, but he made him good.
Yeah, yeah, all right, thanks Mark, I would agree. I mean this, this group before the season starts, does seem to have more.
Of a.
More of a resume than the one last year because last year, they know they took a step back, supposed to. He stirred a lot of al We didn't know about mac Hollins. We didn't know he was going to emerge and play like he played last year. And let's not forget too, they didn't have Amari Cooper when the season began last year. And then you know, got a guy hurt. He got two guys hurt in Samuel and Coleman. And about the six week mark and Kakaid was hurt. So they were like, man, we got to get some guys. So they traded for Cooper to help bolster and give him some numbers and some quality.
Guys, and he was hurt.
So, yeah, this room does give you more confidence. But let's be honest. The reason where a lot of people who have called today have more confidence in this room is because of what that crew did last year. I mean this with Josh, with this offensive line, with Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, the running game, the type this offense did so well last year with a group of guys we didn't know anything about that. You think, wow, these guys are Yeah, they weren't even better. That's kind of where we're at I think today. And I'm not saying that's wrong, but last year's success with a group we didn't even know at the time is kind of being transposed on.
The success of this does not guarantee future results.
Every year, there is a chemistry experiment that has to go on between quarterback and receiving corps, and I think Josh over the years has demonstrated an ability to acclimate to, you know, the different body language and tendencies of his receiving cores pretty well. The receivers have to come through two obviously, so that's an exercise that usually gets ironed out through the course of the spring and in training camp in the preseason. So hopefully that takes place as it has in previous years.
I would say that the one quality.
That has been improved is collective speed in the receiving corps because you've got more on this squad now. He ran a four to three to two at his Old Miss Pro Day in twenty twenty one. He's still only a twenty five year old player. There is speed and separation ability there. I know Joshua Palmer did not run a blazing forty time at the Combine a few years ago. I believe he plays faster than he runs in a straight line because his route running is so good.
So there's another separator.
And one of our previous callers felt the same way, and Curtis Samuel when he's healthy runs in the four threes.
So if he's healthy at the start.
Of the season, maybe he makes a greater impact as well in terms of putting more speed on the field. Let's go to Steve on a sale next.
What's up, Steve Hey, Steve Hey.
About the receivers. I mean, I agree with everybody.
I think this is a better group.
We don't have to rely on a rookie this year, hopefully Samuel is healthy. And you got two guys come from teams that didn't win or getting the playoffs, and I think they'll do better. But this weekend, the NFL network played the top ten games of the year last year, and I caught it at about game five in the Bills were in the top three.
And when you watch the.
Games back to back, it really became obvious that Josh Allen is the best player in the NFL. And the other thing is Josh Allen didn't need better receivers. We needed a defense that could get the other team off the field. So I feel pretty good about drafting defense. So much so I even think next year we should draft defense. And because I remember like they did the Rams game, I mean, I think the Bills run on the field on offense like ten or twelve minutes, and the commentators kept saying about the Bills defense, this is the most open you'll.
Ever see receivers in the NFL.
Yeah, so there was a combination, Yeah, thanks Steve, There was a combination issues on the defensive side of the ball, and they kind of compounded on top of one another because when you can't get consistent pressure on the quarterback rushing just four, which is one of the core principles that this defensive scheme is founded upon, you can't drop into coverage. That thereby makes your coverage unit weaker against the pass because now you have to commit more players to your rush to get pressure on the quarterback.
That also requires your defensive coordinator.
To call the defense differently in many cases, making more man coverage calls, and he had a group that was not strong in the area of man coverage. So now, in an effort to get more pressure on the pass or you're committing more bodies, you're thereby weakening your back end from a coverage standpoint, and that is part of the reason why you saw guys running wide open in that Rams game, because they were killing them with the naked bootleg rollouts by Stafford, which is a staple of that offense. So you could argue they should have been more prepared for that. But still, in all, coverage was a major issue last year, and I think that's why you saw the investment made both on the front end in the in terms of defensive lineman and on the back end with two true cornerbacks who can play man coverage as well as zone, along with a hybrid type player in Hancock who's going to double as a safety slash nickel corner piece for this team. So yeah, going heavy on defense in the draft I thought was a very wise move well, irrespective of the receiving corp.
The Bills for the last five years and now coming into this one too, have played a first place schedule every year. One of the things that you get with the first place schedule is other first place teams with good quarterbacks. Good quarterbacks, if you don't pressure them, they carve you up. So the Bills were forced to at some point they got to get the ball out and he's got to be out. The ball has to come out, and to do that, you gotta and to do that, the Bills had to send the extra pressure Brown he's talking about, and that happened to them on more matchups than it would if they had had a fourth play schedule. When they were playing teams that had bad quarterback play. The Bills were playing Matt Stafford and.
Jared goff Lamar Jackson.
Yeah, they played the Crew Mahomes, So that's your defense is up against it, and it presents a different set of problems with other teams who win games with just a guy. You can go back and look at the games that the Bills struggled in or that the teams that they really lumped up, and it's it's pretty easy to see. You know they you know, Arizona Cardinals out of the gate when you don't know who what that team is, you know stuff. They scored four touchdowns on the Bills. The Bills know exactly who Miami is and they beat him by twenty one. Jacksonville struggled. They have this young quarterback that they couldn't get it together, beat him by They beat him by thirty seven the Ravens game. In the Texans game, you got two playoff quarterbacks there and they struggled defensively, gave up. But I only give up twenty three to the Texans, but they couldn't score. So you get this schedule thing, and that has something to do with how you have to play your defense. If you get a quarterback that can't move or like a Matt Stafford, they couldn't get to that guy, he's gonna carve him up and he's gonna do it from the pocket. And with those receivers they've got. You know, the Bills did not match up with them well and they you know, they ended up hanging forty two points on this team. That sticks with the coaching staff and it also it also communicates to their whole team and their whole organization. Dude, we got to fix some stuff.
They were back to back weeks. They gave up over forty points on defense. I mean, even if you're playing some of the best offenses in football.
It's a lot of points.
Rams scored four hard to win that one. Rams scored forty four and beat the Bills or Detroit scored forty two and lost to the Bills. Yeah, that Bills are tough out, even with a defense that's struggling to match up. But that's it, I mean, Brownie said it. In the balance between pass rush and coverage, the Bills had to give you one or the other. They couldn't give you both.
Let's go to Bill in Connecticut next. What's up Bill?
Hy guys?
Thanks for having me on. Sure I have something I want to put on the shelves. And then talk about the receiver room. I was hoping that we'd hear a little bit about the Micah Hide Charity softball game, and then I heard Steve say that the weekend weather was the worst in the history of weekend weather. But maybe you'll comment on that, But that's going on the shelf. With regard to the receiver room, I have two wishes. One is for good health, because I think there's plenty of talents, so if they can stay healthy, that'd be great. The second is that nobody trying to catch a ball gets an unnecessary roughness call from a defensive back in Miami. So I'll let you guys react to that.
Yeah, I know that they for the Micah High softball game, which happened over the weekend and certainly goes to good causes through Micah Hyde's Foundation. They did move the game up to earlier in the day because of the rain that was in the forecast, so they did have to move the start time, but it went off as it always does. A lot of people in attendance despite the crummy weather, So yeah, it.
Was as successful as it always is.
So good to see those guys in town and supporting MICA's charity as always.
Yeah, and yeah, the wide receiver room. You know, if they stay healthy, they're a tough group. But that's the same with every NFL team. And now you're you're referring to Jordan Poyer and his hit on Keon. I didn't have a problem with the hit when it happened. I can't remember exactly the details. I don't know whether I didn't I didn't, it doesn't I don't remember it being late. It was over the middle, it was down a sideline down the scene.
There was one over the middle where poor got I'm talking about the one in Miami, right, it was over the he broke here, caught the ball, Poyer hit him, and it was called a defenseless receiver, so it was fifteen yards on top of it. And then you're talking about the one here at the end of the game when Poyer hit Coleman and.
Broke back his wrist. Okay, yeah, well there were two. Well yeah, and here here's our crew. We're going to see it here. This is the one here in Buffalo.
It's right at the end of the game.
Yeah, and he did a fly he got a flag and.
It was I think it was fourth down too. So we got a first down out of that and led to the game winning field goal.
And I didn't think it was an unclean hit, but it was right. He caught his arm right across his chest.
Now the one on, well, it was helmet to helmet contact.
Yeah, I sat, he went high. Yeah, yeah, you're always going to get flagged for that.
But I don't know.
I'm from a different era. Okay, Yeah, I didn't think it was dirty at all. He certainly it was a penalty. But man, that's not a dirty play. Uh, he's trying to knock it up and knock it off the ball out, So yeah, I have Okay.
Let's uh, let's go to Tarv on a cell next. What's up Tarvy?
Hey, guys, Uh, I really enjoy listening to you guys. You really, uh make the day.
Great for me.
I appreciate that. And uh, I I'm just calling about the receiver room.
Mostly.
I really think that Kean.
Coleman's gotta step up this year. I agree with Steve his earlier comments.
And you know, he's got a.
Ton of talent, great athlete, you know, great basketball player in Michigan State, the whole deal. And I think, you know, it's it's it's a non issue as far as not having an elite receiver because of Josh. Josh is that good. He makes everybody you know so much better and and he'll he'll spread the ball around like last year. And I think Elijah Moore has some speed for sure, and you know I think that I don't. I don't think that will be a problem this year. I do think, you know, on the defensive side of things, I think you know, we've had this time every year in the playoffs where teams take advantage of our dvs and and the scheme. I think the scheme needs to be tweaked. I don't know what your feelings are on that, and I really don't know, you know, I'm not an expert on that or anything. So I need I need you guys, didn't put on that. Now I'll hang up and listen. But again, thank you so much for everything you do for the area.
Guys.
Yeah, yeah, no problem to are you're happy to be happy to do it? Yeah?
I mean every defensive scheme undergoes tweaks and changes from year to year. You cannot stay the same in this league. Ever, I think a lot of the core principles remain the same in coach mcdermot's defensive scheme, but they do morph in change based on what they feel is coming in the league from an offensive standpoint, so they're prepared for that and have adjust within their scheme. And I also think based on the talent that they acquire, they will tweak the scheme to play to those players' strengths. Last year, you know, I think Rasewell Douglas, I mean not to be not to just pick on one guy, but I don't think man coverage is the strength of his game, and when they had to play more in band coverage, he was at a decided disadvantage in matchups last year, and I think it's part of the reason why he's not back this year, because I think the defensive staff wants to have the confidence that if they have to make a man coverage call, they're not crossing their fingers and toes hoping it works. They need guys that can execute that way, and I think they feel better equipped to do that with the likes of Max Harriston and Tredavious White back in the fold, and even Dan Jackson I think is a better man coverage players not his specialty.
But he's a younger player.
He's more athletic than maybe Rasul Douglas is, who's a little high cut and not as good change of direction. So I think they feel better equipped to do that. I think because of that, you will see some tweaks.
And changes, nothing major, but it'll be different, right And for your first point, yeah, I think there is some higher expectations for Keon. People are expecting some bigger things on him, to see a tangible step forward in his numbers, in his contributions, the timeliness of how they use him, a more wide ranging route tree than what they us him. They used him on a lot of fade routes. I mean the Seattle game was a point case in point where they finally started getting down the red zone throwing it to him, and he had one that got knocked away. In the next one he caught that kind of thing. So yeah, I think there's some added expectations on Keon, And you're right. One of the reasons they don't need a number one receivers because they got the right guy playing quarterback. He's he's a monster, and that covers a lot of things and allows you to run an offense like nobody else can, and they do so they they do present their own problems. Now defensively, Yeah, I'm not excusing. You're right. Every year in the playoffs, you know, the Bills come kind of come up short because, like you said in the very beginning of your statement, teams take advantage of the Bills, dbs or whatever. Yeah, you don't meet bad teams in the playoffs. You're gonna if you're not gonna go to the super Bowl, somebody's gonna do something that you can't. You don't have an answer for. That's the way of it. And I'm not excusing anything, because sooner or later, the Bill's got to get it done. You gotta get it done under any circumstances. You got to find a way around a really good team. They do that on a case, well, they do it at least once every playoffs. They win playoff games every year, but they got to win that last one, right, They got to keep winning their last game, and they haven't been able to do that. So it's always gonna be a reason that derails it. And it's always gonna be you got to give your fans or whatever either blame you for it or give the other team credit for it, whichever you want to do. It amounts to the same thing. Wins, one team loses. The Bills have to find a way to be the team that wins that last game every year. They haven't been able to do it yet. But I'm you know, it's not that they're it's not that they're falling down against an inferior opponent. You got to rise up. You got to beat those good teams in those in those spots, because that's who's going to be there.
Let's go to Lyndy in Texas. What's up Lindy.
Hey, guys, first time caller went. Thank you very much for taking my call. Chris Brown. I love your analysis. You've changed my mind and how I think about football, and mister tasker, I have to thank you for the best memories with my brother. You were our favorite player when you took the when you took the field, we'd hide five and say it's task.
For time.
Was popcorn and beer on the floor, two guys dancing around. So when I remember my brother in the best of times.
That what I That's awesome.
Thanks great for the bottom of my heart.
I was going to say you and your brother were probably eight years old, but the bear let you out of the bag, So yeah, you dated yourself in the beer ahead, Thanksndy, go ahead.
We were actually older, you know, we were older. But the whole family, all nine kids, crazy football fans. I want to I want to talk about the wide receiver question that you guys pose. And last year, you know, from the very outset, there was all this talk about we need an outside guy, we need a speed guy, we have to stretch the corners, and it seems like it was a distraction. And then we went out and got Amari Cooper who definitely contributed to the team, and you know, the results speak for themselves, you know, with the amount of touchdowns we got both running and passing. I just think that after last year, we have proven we don't need a number one or a number two, and I think all of the elements are there in place. I think we are not going to have that kind of distraction. We are going to be more focused with more execution, and I think that from the get go, right out the gate, we're going to be having a really really strong, strong performance from her offense. So you take all that distraction out, it's just gonna be good things for the Buffalo Bills. So thank you for taking my call. Do good, be good, God bless and go Bills.
Yeah. Amen to that, Lindy, Thanks for making me a nice sign off the Yeah.
Look, I understand why people are bullish on this receiving corps over last years.
I mean, Mac Collins was, and I'm not.
And look, I was more than happy with what MATC Collins provided this team last year. But I think most people when he got here would have considered him a journeyman type player just based on what his previous career looked like. And he had like a career year here in a Bill's uniform and led the team in receiving touchdowns with five and served in other roles as well, both on special teams and blocking in the run game. For a very rear run game for the Bills, They'll need to find somebody to fill those roles, not to say that they can't. And then at the same time, I think you have players now in this group that will help this passing game a little bit Differently. We saw a lot of plays Steve last year in the passing game at or near the line.
Of scrimmage, particularly early in the season.
Elijah Moore can unquestionably help in that area in terms of being an available option early in the down to let you get the ball out and then does offer yards after catching elusiveness. And then Palmer, I think, is a guy that has to help you in the intermediate to deep game and so it's not all on Coleman all the time to be that for this offense. I think they've multilayered the different things they need from their receiving group more and Shakir are kind of multi layered in the same way. I think Coleman and Palmer are multi layered in the same way, even though their skill sets are probably a little different. So it's interesting to see them kind of double down in some areas of where they need the passing game to flourish.
Right, And I'll say this too, he's Lindy's kind of right too. I kind of do expect him once again to get out to a fast start. I don't know what the early part of their schedule is going to look like. I mean, they may end up with Philly Kansas City and find out about it, right, Yeah, you might might end up, you know, with a gauntlet there. Just in the first month of the season. But I agree with him. This team is virtually always at least three and one out of the gate. They were I think their worst was, like maybe I think it was one and three in twenty nineteen or maybe eighteen when Josh's rookie year.
Yeah, they were six and eighteen.
Right, So I think that's the last time they were not three and one out of the gate. In the first month last year they were three and zero. So yeah, I would expect him to come out fast, particularly if they can get through the preseason healthy. Last year, Curtis Samuel was dragging a turf toe for two months and then he got hurt of shoulder. Then he got heard again. So if you can stay away from stuff like that, yeah, this is going to be a team that's going to come out and explode on people offensively. That's and he's right. Twenty twenty four last year proved Josh is the difference maker. Not the wide receiver room.
Break time for us here, but more of your phone calls when we come back, Mark and West Seneca, Chuck and Hamburg will lead us off when we return. What will be the biggest difference with the Bills wide receiver group this season compared to last You tell us at eight O three to zero five point fifty one eight and eight five fifty two five fifty here on One Bill's Live.
Stay with us all right back here on One Bill's Live on Tuesday, Chris.
Brown Steve Tasker with you. What about this year's wide receiving cord do you think will be most different in comparison to last year's. You let us know at EIGHTO three zero five fifty eight five fifty two five fifty. Right back to the phones and to Mark in West Seneca. What's up Mark?
Hey, Chris Ay, Steve, I it's good.
Hey.
First, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorite callers who called in. Yes, it was nice to hear Judy come over from the dark side.
It was very jovial yesterday she yes, she was uh yeah, she had a good weekend.
Yeah, it sounded awesome. So I love Judy when she calls. But anyway, the thing about the wide receivers that I really like what what Brandon Bean has done so far is I liked how he's brought an experience but youthful guys. At the same time, I think overall we have a youthful room now, and I think that'll be a plus for the team in general. Sure, when I look at how Brandon being works, and when we've heard him say this a million times, I want to be taking a can every year. I want to stay relevant every year. And I know we're a far away from saying this draft was successful. On paper, it is very successful, But if we end up having a draft where we get four or five defensive players that are more than serviceable, but actual guys that are part of our defense, when you look at that brownie, you concuse me of this all the time looking too far ahead. I mean, we haven't even played this season, and I'm looking towards the season after. If he has positioned himself that if he deems it, now's the time he could take one of those big kicks at the can in a draft and move up the board to get an elite talent at wide receiver if he deems there's one there and not really hurt the team and able to give up assets in the draft at the time that he can say he can live without to get that guy elite.
What if the elite talent is a guard, not so interesting?
I I you know, I would. There's a lot that goes into that question.
Steven Well, I mean you're saying, he jump up. There's only one thing you jump up if there's an elite corner, an.
Elite corner, I go get an elite elite wide receiver. The reason I bring up wide receiver it's such a hot topic around town all the time, year after year. And that's my point that maybe he says, now's the time to do that very thing. But you know, but even if it was a corner, if it's one of the you know, skill positions where if you get an elite guy, it's somebody that you really want for the you know, the cap reasons and everything that goes into that, then that's the time to do it. That's great, But he's not doing it, and he's not giving up any asset. Steady beams really really necessary to fill out the team. That's my point.
All right, Yeah, I get it.
Yeah, it's nice to be in a position to kick the camp, to have a shot at the brass ring the super Bowl every year every year. Obviously, that's it's kind of I think, Bills, I think that's what you want because it's not You're not losing the super Bowl because you didn't get the right guy in the draft this last year. You know what I mean. You're getting to the super Bowl because you draft, you have a philosophy that works and gets you shot at it every year. That fourth down s Let's face it, the Bills didn't get put out of the playoffs last year because of a guy they picked in the draft. You know in April. They got put out of the super Bowl this year because they got shafted on two straight spots on third and fourth down. That's what ended the season. That's which you got to remember. And that's this philosophy that they've been using is what gets them there every year to get on the doorsteps so they have a chance to overcome a bad spot and to overcome a drop to pass, or overcome a bad kick, or to overcome you know, a touch they're giving up a touchdown, you know that they can overcome. They get a chance to get in there and have a shot at it. That's I think what you want. And the reason I say that is because they're in my opinion, there's never a time and a guy on the board worth what you're saying, because there I said it before the draft, and I'll say it again. There's a handful of teams. The Bills are one of them that could have not drafted a single guy and they're still gonna be in it at the end. That's how that good teams are like that. They've got enough good players, leadership, and a process that gets them there every year. You don't want to go outside that process just because there's a shiny toy on the shelf. You got to do your thing and do it well. And in those moments when you get to that last game of the year, when you're on the road in Kansas City, or when you're here against Kansas City, or when you're here against Cincinnati in the playoffs, or in Baltimore or here against Baltimore, pick your team. You can overcome it this year. When that next bad thing that happens to a Buffalo team that puts them out of the playoffs happens, you can overcome it this time. That's this philosophy that Brandon Bean and Sean McDermot have get you there, gives you that chance every single year. That's where you want to be. And I'll say it again, there has five or six teams that didn't need this draft. If we got some guys to contribute, awesome, that's great. We're going to the playoffs with it without them.
Let's go to Chuck in Hamburg next. What do you got first, Chuck, Chris.
I believe that this year, the biggest difference may be if one of the new guys can get separation over the other. Than that, I think Josh is just going to find though the open guy and move down the field. And Steve. If the Bills couldn't take the game out of the refs hands by not producing the first down without any doubt, you can't whine about it later.
I agree with that, Chuck. It's fair, Yeah, it's fair. The point isn't that I'm whinding about them missing the call. I'm whining about the fact that you got to find a way. You know, you got to make your own Braain, you got to make your own breaks. And if it's not the first down or third down, is a drop passing the end zone to win the game, or it's a miskick to extend the game, it's it's always something that loses your season because you're that good. You're always that good. This team, I mean, they set an NFL record because you can't beat him by more than one possession. And you can go back to thee the game they really they really got their heads caved in last year by Baltimore thirty five. You go back and look at the second half of that game. There's about three or four things that happened that got it to a twenty five point deficit. The trade should have been, it should have been a possession game.
Because the momentum shifted. It was twenty one to ten.
And Bill scored.
Yeah, the Bill scored.
Ty Johnson runs it in from three yards out, bounces it outside, race to the pylon, touchdown. And then they get the ball back after a three and out. Right, the defense kind of tightens up.
It's three and out.
They move the ball back, they're at midfield, they call the trick play, it blows up in their face, turnover. They go down and score, and now instead of an eleven point game, you know, they're down eighteen points and the game goes the wrong way quickly.
So so, but shifts like that can happen in the NFL.
That's right, And my point isn't about whining about, you know, losing the game because they didn't because they got a bad spot. And my point point is, when you lose a game, it's always something right, it's always something cause you lose a game, and a lot of times you don't feel like you lost that. And I'll say this, and this is my point. I guess I'll say it like this. You never feel when the Bills lose a game in this era, when the Josh Allen, Sean McDermott Brandon Bean era. In this era, you never feel like the Bills lose a game where they were the worst team, where they couldn't have they shouldn't have, should have would have won it, or couldn't have won it. I mean, let's think back to the years of the drought. You had like nine things go after before you feel like you could have won that game. These games, it's like nine things have to go wrong to lose games. You never feel like you're not good enough. That's the hallmark of this Sean McDermott team. You never feel like you're not good enough. You always feel like it was a missed opportunity. And there's a huge difference in there.
Let's go to Gary on a sale next. What's up Gary, Hey, guys, I y'all do them good good.
I think it's clearly they're getting guys that can get separation quick.
So hees faster options.
A lot of times last year had a little separation, but they had enough guys the separation. Now, think about what three four guys that can that can beat him off the line. He can use are quick throws. He gives a quick answers. That's what I like about it.
Yeah, And I think Elijah Moore falls into that category obviously, along with Samuel and Shakir, and then you know Palmer, presumably on the outside with Coleman. Palmer is a guy that gets more separation down the field. We heard Brandon Bean reference it in the press conference after Palmer had signed, essentially saying, I'm watching his film last year and that guy could have had five touchdowns where he's wide open on double moves and they don't get him the ball.
He's averaging fifteen yards of carry I mean a catch.
Yeah, I mean that's where his separation is.
Yeah.
So and Coleman is similar in that fashion.
And you're right, and I'll say, say think about this what it does to and you always think about this and we've talked about it. What's it do to these teams defense? Is when you throw these guys out there and they got quick separators, and you think about this, like said, like Miami runs their offense where two A drops back and he's got to get rid. You go boom balls out, boom balls out, boom balls out. Well, you got to do some things defensively to combat that. If the Bills come out and have that in their arsenal, the defense has to do some things and kind of sell out in some ways to stop an offense like that, particularly when you're proficient at it. The Bills have the ability to do that. They jump those routes and force it to it to you know, pop the ball and hold that. Well, they don't have an answer because because quite frankly, Tua when he goes to he can't wait to throw the football because his arm's not strong enough to get it down the field without releasing it really really early, you know what I mean, He's got to put those moon balls up otherwise he can't get it there. Bills don't have that problem. So if you get them, if you've got teams selling out trying to stop that quick release stuff, all of a sudden, Josh gives a little pump fake and all the yeah and the lids off the defense because Josh can release it and wait for the past route to develop. So it does. Having quick separators, like Gary said, does change things for a defense, and it gives you one more thing that really puts pressure on them in the back end.
Break time for us.
Here, we'll get some final thoughts on the tweet sheet in terms of what you believe will be the biggest difference with the Bill's wide receiver group this season compared to last. Here on One Bill's Live presented by Colida Health, It's Buffalo Bills Radio. What will be the biggest difference with the Bill's wide receiver group this season compared to last. Let's go to the tweet sheet brought to you by Corgan Moving Systems, Official equipment moving Company and the Buffalo Bills, where Andrew says, I would say that the wide receiver room will be faster, not to mention how high most of these wide receivers can jump. Allow Allen to put the ball up higher for more explosive plays definitely will be a problem for most defenses to handle. David says, if Keon takes a step forward. NFL defenses watch out, this group is balanced. Jack says, hopefully a lot more speed and separation downfield. It's no question Shakira is awesome and gets separation short, but he and Coleman are in speedsters. Hopefully Palmer More and a healthy Samuel can use four to fourish speed and route ability to get open down the field and scare defenses to back them off. And Jordan says, I really feel it's Elijah Moore. Look at who he's played with. Guy needs a good QB, a good system, and a fresh start, still has tremendous potential. And then finally, Greg says, youth speed, skill, route running in twenty twenty five versus power, run blocking, and size in twenty twenty four. I'm expecting more mismatches and run after catchability. This year could be more explosive over the top also question mark.
Yeah, obviously, if one of these guys outgrows his received role at this point where we're not even playing football yet and from this end of the season, one of these guys, all you know, it kind of look like they're gonna use them like they did last year. But let's face it, if you get you know, like Elijah Moore, Keon Coleman or Joshua Palmer, any of these guys grows up and all of a sudden and blows up, it's because they're killing defenses. So if that happens, yeah, hey man, give the guy more targets. That's fine. That's how it happens usually, but it's okay if it doesn't. They're all good enough to contribute to an offense that can score a lot of points. And we'll see.
Yeah, and one of our tweeters is right, they are more layered as a unit with doubling up at certain roles and positions. That's it for us today, Steve, and I'll see tomorrow.
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