- 4 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Sal, how was Indy? What was the best part?
00:04Hanging out with colleagues. I like that always. I always like to catch up with people that, you know, I
00:09see them throughout the year a lot, but then we don't see each other for several weeks, and then sometimes
00:14it's in a different, you know, setting mostly.
00:16So that's the best part for me always, which is kind of just hanging out. It's not just, oh, going
00:20out and, you know, having a steak dinner. It's, you know, catching up with people, conversation, you know, catching up
00:24with people's lives.
00:24You know, I have friends that, you know, we've been doing this now for long enough. I've watched their kids
00:28grow. They watched my son grow and, you know, getting married and things like that.
00:32And, you know, that's the coolest part for me. I'm just a relationship guy. I like to build those relationships
00:37and like to kind of catch up with people, both on a personal and professional level.
00:41How would you say the group? I don't need you to speak for anyone, and I haven't really asked you
00:47this.
00:48So, I mean, I'm asking you as well, but also asking you to sort of get a, you know, just
00:53a feel for how everyone is feeling about the Bills right now.
00:58We talked to Sam Paniatovic at 3.30 today and started talking about teams that might be like over, was
01:05it overvalued?
01:06I think getting too much credit, and I asked him about the Bills for that, you know, new coaching staff,
01:11a lot of holes on the roster.
01:13Like, I just wonder, is everyone that covers the team mostly thinking Josh Allen's their quarterback and they'll win 12
01:19games?
01:20Or are people maybe a little shook?
01:23And same for you.
01:25I think most people on the Bills beat who do, you know, different kinds of things, of course, doesn't have
01:34to be exactly like a beat reporter,
01:35that I speak to are more in the first category, the former, which is they have Josh Allen, they'll be
01:42fine.
01:42They'll figure it out.
01:43Somebody will play left guard.
01:44Yeah, exactly.
01:46I do think there's a big sense of just intrigue and wonderment, though, by all of us, of, well, what's
01:52it really look like, though, on defense?
01:54You know, can they actually kind of do this in one year kind of thing with the defense?
02:01And, you know, that might take a little while, but they don't have a little while, right?
02:05I also think, and I am one that says this, and I think this is a cool thing to think
02:11about over the next couple of months specifically, which is I think there's pressure that Brandon Bean feels internal pressure
02:19on himself to make sure that they give Joe Brady everything in the world to try and win a Super
02:24Bowl, right?
02:25Because you don't make the move of – it just goes back to the year one conversation, right?
02:30I don't think anybody – I know Joe Brady said year one.
02:34I'm telling you.
02:34Like, nobody thinks, oh, okay, well, they're not trying to temper expectations.
02:38The expectation for this team is still to win a Super Bowl.
02:41That's the goal.
02:42That's the standard.
02:42That's what they want to do because they haven't done that yet.
02:44And I think because of the way everything went down, there's even more pressure, if you want to call it
02:49that.
02:49I'm Brandon Bean to say, I'm going to show you that we can do this, and we're going to have
02:53this first-year coach, and we moved on.
02:55And therefore, I think he gets more aggressive this year than maybe people thought he would be previously.
02:59Yeah, I have thought that – I've tried to say that all along here, and specifically about receiver, because of
03:06the spectacle that, in part, he was responsible for making the position into in the past offseason and then, of
03:15course, throughout the entire season.
03:17And so, in a way, I sort of feel like that could maybe work in their favor.
03:22Like, if Bean wants to prove that I deserve my promotion – I mean, not exactly.
03:27That's a sloppy way to put it.
03:28But you know what I mean.
03:29Like, if he's feeling this heat and wants to validate Brady and not have it be like a tread water
03:35year, but, like, we're actually going to be better than we've been.
03:39And here's how.
03:40Then I think maybe there is a more aggressive, don't worry about trading a one, or whatever it takes, right,
03:47to get the right guy so that they can all, you know, look like, look how smart we were.
03:54We did this, and it worked.
03:56Yeah, and even Bean has mentioned many times – he said it again this week – that sometimes I have
04:02to have somebody tell me no around me.
04:03Because he said one of his, you know, maybe faults is being too aggressive or, you know, he didn't say
04:10reckless, but, you know, to not get too reckless, not get reckless and do something.
04:14But I do think this year might be a time.
04:16Look, I mean, guys, there's a different way of doing things now where the structure is different.
04:21There's a vertical structure, if you want to call it that, which is Bean is the general manager and president
04:26of football operations.
04:27Joe Brady's going to report to him.
04:28Like, Brandon B's basically calling the shots now, I guess, is the best way to put it.
04:31But it's not, well, okay, Sean McDermott doesn't want to do this, so I'm not going to do this.
04:37Or Sean McDermott or another coach wants me to draft Keon Coleman, so I'm going to draft Keon Coleman.
04:41That's kind of – yeah, he's going to collaborate with Joe Brady, of course.
04:44Like, it's not like you're just going to do what I say.
04:46That's not the kind of thing.
04:47But I do think, to me, it feels like he might be more empowered to make these moves if he
04:53feels like he should make these moves
04:55and say, like, I just know what the right course is here, and I'm going to go out and do
04:59that.
04:59And I just think that lends to him being maybe more of his personality of aggressiveness.
05:05Yeah, that was an interesting soundbite the other day when Bean was talking about that.
05:09I wondered, like, well, what actually happened in these instances you're describing?
05:12Like, people tried to talk you out of an idea.
05:15Were they successful?
05:16Like, what almost happened?
05:17I'd love to know just, like, one example of what could have happened or anything.
05:21I always want to know that stuff.
05:22So, a little bit of a different question on the trip.
05:26Like, what did you learn this week there, either from Bean or Brady or someone else?
05:34You mean, do you want, like, about the bills or?
05:37The draft, the plans, anything like that.
05:41Yeah, what the plans are.
05:42Yeah, I think that, um, I think I learned from listening to Brady and Bean that, you know,
05:49gone are maybe the kind of archetypes they want on defense, necessarily, right?
05:53We talked about this the other day, which is, like, I think anything goes on defense right now.
05:58They're going to try to find guys, and I know that this is a little cliche, like,
06:01just find me football players.
06:03Well, but look at the guys they've drafted or have gone sign.
06:06You know, you have these long, you know, the A.J. Epinesa, Greg Rousseau.
06:10Like, I'm thinking of edge rushers specifically, right?
06:12Something like that.
06:13Even maybe a corner.
06:14Like, certain kinds of guys that they want.
06:16Certain kind of traits that they want.
06:17I think gone is, I think you're looking at, hey, can this guy play football?
06:21Like, can he go and tackle the quarterback?
06:23Can he play in space?
06:25I don't think you're looking as much at some of the measurements and things like that that matter.
06:30Sure, you know, you're going to still count those things and say, okay, he's a freak athlete.
06:34You know, you want that guy.
06:34I'm looking at this.
06:35You guys see the Ohio State linebacker today.
06:38We're 43 and a half vertical, right?
06:39And he, like, set a record.
06:41He's the first guy to ever jump that much for a player weighing over 240 pounds.
06:45Imagine that, right?
06:4643 and a half vertical, 240 pounds plus.
06:48So, you know, there are going to be freak athletes, and that's going to jump out off the page.
06:52But I think I learned by listening to them that, like, there's no one thing that they're kind of looking
06:58at.
06:58And I'm not saying it was always like that.
06:59But I think anything kind of goes this draft and this free agency, which makes it really intriguing.
07:05Sonny Stiles is the player who broke the mold today.
07:09Right.
07:10Yesterday was short-armed edge rusher day, I felt like, at the combine.
07:16I was not in here working, but Twitter was all about Reuben Bain's arm length and Cassius Howell's arm length.
07:25Two players.
07:26I mean, Bain is thought to be a very high pick.
07:28I'm not sure about Howell.
07:30You know, maybe edge of the first round or maybe better than that a little bit.
07:33Bill's range, Chris Trapasso said.
07:35Right.
07:36And so I wonder about the short arms.
07:38He also, I think, clocked, like, an incredibly fast speed around the edge.
07:43So, like, you know, I don't know, Sal.
07:46Like, the measurables, we're going to take that out for a spin again, I think, this year with some of
07:51these edge guys.
07:52Interesting you say that because, so I had a chat with Brandon Kristol.
07:57Brandon covers the Broncos he has for a long time out in Denver.
07:59Really, really good media guy, and I've known him for years.
08:01So, we caught up and we talked about Jim Leonard.
08:04And one thing he brought up to me that I didn't think about a lot is he said, if you
08:07look across what Denver has,
08:09one of the reasons, he said, you look at, like, some of the guys they have.
08:12I mean, Benito, right, is one.
08:14And Alex Singleton.
08:14And these guys that they have, and Allen on that side of the ball.
08:19These aren't necessarily these freak athletes.
08:21They're not.
08:22He said, but you know what they have?
08:23They have a ball get-off trait.
08:25BGO, ball get-off.
08:26He said, they really rely on these guys.
08:28Look at the numbers.
08:29Like, they get off the ball.
08:30And I'm like, okay, this is really interesting because I think that's where you start to look now.
08:33It's not necessarily, like, the trait.
08:35What's the measurement?
08:37It's more of the, okay, is this guy getting off the ball real fast?
08:40Does he have that instinct, bam, to get going?
08:41And he said, that's been a difference with the Broncos the last few years.
08:44So, as you're talking about short arms, does that matter as much if you can get around the edge a
08:48little quicker, right?
08:49If you can beat your guy to a spot a little bit quicker.
08:51So, I do think that, and then remember we talked about Javon Solomon, right?
08:54Javon Solomon's not, Javon Solomon's legs are tree trunks, but he's not a long dude, right?
08:59He's kind of a, he actually has, like, the same measurables as Jerry Hughes.
09:03And I remember that when he came out.
09:04I said, boy, he's really similar to Jerry Hughes.
09:06Jerry Hughes isn't Greg Rousseau.
09:07He's not A.J.
09:09Lawson, right?
09:10He has these long arms.
09:12So, I wonder, like, about those guys.
09:14Like, that's what you need to look at, maybe.
09:15Some of the ball get-off and the timing of how they want to be twitchy and aggressive.
09:20With Sal Capaccio, Mike Schopen, the Bulldog, here on a nice Friday afternoon.
09:24Sabres and Panthers coming up tonight pregame at 6.
09:29Chris Trapasso yesterday talking about Bain and Howell and arm length.
09:33That was really interesting.
09:34Anybody who wants to sort of dive deeper into what that can mean, can check that out from our show
09:39yesterday on the Odyssey app.
09:41Tight ends today.
09:42Never, ever, ever, right?
09:44Can I just ignore the tight ends for the Bills' purposes here, Sal?
09:48Unless they release Knox, I think my answer would be absolutely yes.
09:51If they were to end up releasing Knox, then I think they would be squarely in the market for a
09:55replacement.
09:56Okay.
09:57Yeah, I would agree with that.
09:59I wonder how high they would want to go with that, though.
10:01But you're right, Bulldog.
10:02They probably could find another one.
10:03They found Jackson Hawes, you know, in the middle rounds.
10:05And he is a blocking tight end we know who can catch.
10:08But would you want to look at more of a pass-catching tight end to be a little bit more
10:11of a Dalton Kincaid mode?
10:12And, you know, Kaliki Latu is still on the roster.
10:15And he's kind of that guy, although it's really more of a, you know, we'll use him if we need
10:19to because of injuries.
10:21But I agree.
10:22If they do move on from Dawson Knox, which is possible,
10:24then they'll probably be in the tight end market.
10:28But I wonder how aggressive they would want to be.
10:30Knowing they do have Dalton Kincaid, you do wonder about the injury history.
10:33But we also know that they're going to pick up the 50-year option on Dalton Kincaid.
10:36They're kind of all in on him in the next two years.
10:38I would release Knox.
10:40When we talked about this last, I think you guys maybe felt different.
10:44Bulldog did, right?
10:45You would not do that.
10:47Right.
10:47We talked to Mike Giannitti earlier, Sal, and he'd get into the cap numbers a little bit.
10:52And as you know, I mean, they're massive when it comes to Knox.
10:55So there would be some real savings there.
10:57And the Bills are going to have to find some way to, you know, to those kind of numbers to
11:02save money.
11:03Yeah, and trying to break it down, you know, in a way that, okay, first of all,
11:08the first thing I think is going to happen here is they're probably going to ask Dawson Knox,
11:11like, hey, are you open to a pay cut?
11:12I think you do that with a lot of guys in these situations.
11:13But you see, Brandon Bean kind of joked with us when he said, hey,
11:17I wish every guy would take a pay cut to the minimum.
11:19But he also said, but guys deserve respect, too.
11:21You don't want to, you know, disrespect guys and have them go, come on, are you kidding me?
11:25I'm not doing that.
11:26You know, you want to work with them.
11:27You want to have honest conversations.
11:28So that's number one.
11:29Let's just say that doesn't work out.
11:30They can't get that done.
11:31You could extend them to, you know, for another year because he's, you know,
11:34he's a free agent after one more year.
11:37You say, let's add another year to your deal.
11:38Let's spread some money out so we don't have to worry about it.
11:40The thing that I keep going back to, though, is let's say you do move on.
11:44Okay, he's still going to count $7 million of dead cap.
11:46Yeah, you do save nine.
11:47I get it.
11:47And that's a massive number.
11:48You're right, Mike.
11:49You count $7 million for him not on the roster.
11:52If you do draft somebody, okay, you could go that route.
11:55But are you going to go replace him in free agency with a $4 or $5 million player,
11:58which isn't a lot?
11:59Well, you're already now eating back into that $9 million.
12:02Now, I do know the wash would still be savings.
12:04But honestly, at that point, like what's – how much of a savings truly is it
12:09versus doing something else with Dawson Knox?
12:11You know what I mean?
12:12Yeah.
12:12Yeah, and I think just as big maybe with him is what it tells you about the Bills' plans
12:20in terms of what their offense is going to look like.
12:22Knox is a big piece there.
12:25And it's – as we've talked about many times, I mean, this is a favorite point of mine.
12:30Shakir is fine.
12:31Kincaid is maybe even better than that.
12:34But there's only so much you can do with them given the roles that they play
12:39because – not that Kincaid would have to play with his hand down all the time now.
12:43You'd do some of that, though.
12:44Right.
12:45Because Knox is there and they're running the ball.
12:48You know, they're setting records in the run game.
12:50So that is what it is.
12:52Speaking of what Bean was saying in Indianapolis, there's a clip we had of him today.
12:57I'm not sure he said it today.
12:59But talking about positionless players, which is a point we've heard you make many times.
13:03The problem is the Bills didn't really do that.
13:06I mean, Shakir –
13:06There's a point about Shakir specifically.
13:08And yeah, right.
13:09He's in the slot, right?
13:10Yeah.
13:11So if you're dreaming about a more wide-open offense, Knox can go.
13:16And I'm going to take my chances protecting Allen with other people.
13:19And, you know, even if it's Jackson Hawes playing sort of a 25-catch-a-season kind of role.
13:26And I expand Kincaid this way.
13:29And I might even free Shakir up to do other things.
13:31I might even salvage Coleman by playing him in the slot, which is where some analysts thought he belonged the
13:37whole time.
13:38Yeah.
13:39And, you know, the receiver group is super interesting because, A, we talk about it all the time.
13:43We know they need more talent there, especially at the top end of the depth chart.
13:46But, I mean, you think about it.
13:48Here are the names right now.
13:49Here are the guys under contract for the Buffalo Bills as of right now.
13:52Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel, Tyrell Shavers, Nicole Hardman, Stephen Gossinell, and Jalen Virgil.
13:59But, other than Khalil Shakir, I mean, you could make an argument to move off of any of these guys
14:04and, you know, okay, just give me somebody new, honestly.
14:07And even, you know, Shakir isn't all you can all pro, but he's a good player.
14:10He helps you.
14:11They need Khalil Shakir.
14:12So, you know, I don't want to put him in the stratosphere of the top guys in the league, but
14:15he's an important player.
14:17But, if you told me today they wouldn't have Keon Coleman on the roster, I'd go, okay, just tell me
14:20how you're going to replace him.
14:21Josh Palmer?
14:22Same with Palmer.
14:22Curtis Samuel?
14:23Right.
14:23Yeah.
14:24100%, right?
14:24So, I just think everything is on the table at wide receiver.
14:27I really do.
14:28And to your point, Mike, about positionless and, you know, Shakir and where he can fit, I don't think anybody's
14:33sitting here thinking, I know I'm not, that Khalil Shakir is going to be this outside threat.
14:37Like, if you see Khalil Shakir lining up in the outside, you know, you're defending the Buffalo Bills.
14:41I don't know.
14:42That doesn't scream, okay, you know, we better put our number one corner on him.
14:45I think he's good enough to do anything on the football field.
14:47He's a good football player.
14:48But maybe what they're telling us is, if they want to use him there, maybe they're opening up something in
14:53the slot, whether that's Coleman or drafting somebody.
14:55Omar Cooper Jr.
14:57That's right.
14:58Or signing a free agent.
14:59Maybe they are more open to adding a slot receiver than maybe they have been.
15:05Is that the reason they didn't draft Ladd McConkie, right?
15:08You know what I mean?
15:08Like, well, we have Khalil Shakir.
15:10He's in the slot.
15:11Well, maybe it's like, let's stop thinking like that.
15:13Maybe we still need a guy like that, and we can move Khalil Shakir outside, and he doesn't have to
15:16play the slot all the time.
15:17Exactly.
15:18Yeah, I mean, that's exactly how I felt about McConkie in that draft when Coleman was picked.
15:23It's like, they already have that, which, you know, it's not ideal.
15:27Unless you have CeeDee Lamb or somebody like that playing that position, or St. Brown.
15:32Then, okay, well, I don't even think about drafting somebody else to do the same thing.
15:38But Shakir is not and was not that.
15:41I think we all agree.
15:4341 rules proposals.
15:45I mean, I can't even imagine.
15:46I don't agree.
15:48Let's ask Sal about this, too.
15:49You mentioned what Sam said about New England.
15:53Overvalued, yeah.
15:54Overvalued.
15:55He was basically like, Sal, everybody is going to bet the Patriots next year and the Bears.
16:00And with all due respect to Sam, he lives in Boston and is from Chicago, and he's always complaining about
16:08his friends, the people he's around, who just tout those teams.
16:13The Bears drove him crazy this year because he's on text threads where everybody's like, they're amazing, and Sam never
16:19did think they were amazing.
16:20I don't think the Patriots are going to get that kind of respect next year.
16:23I don't.
16:23I mean, I think the takeaway from their season is going to be the schedule.
16:27And, okay, they're pretty good, but they were super lucky.
16:30I don't see the world rushing out to bet them, you know, to win the division like it's nothing.
16:35Maybe that's overstating it.
16:36I don't disagree, but, I mean, they do have, like, close to $40 million in cap space, and it could
16:41be more, and who knows when it's all said and done here.
16:42And I think that that is still TBD based on how they use that.
16:47If they go out and get, you know, if they trade for A.J. Brown, I mean, that helps them.
16:50Obviously, they need to have more.
16:51It's kind of funny.
16:52They kind of look at the same thing with the Bills.
16:54They need a receiver.
16:55They need an edge rusher, right?
16:56Like, they're kind of in the marketplace for the same thing the Bills are in a lot of ways here.
17:00So, I agree with you, Mike, but they do have some money to spend that the Bills don't, and that
17:04could allow people to go, ooh, now they're really adding.
17:06To help Drake May, to help that defense.
17:10Yeah, right.
17:10If they trade for A.J. Brown and the Bills, what, you know, sign a mid-tier, like a Josh
17:15Palmer again, and maybe draft a guy on Saturday or maybe even on Friday, you know, you might give the
17:24nod to New England.
17:25You know, they got A.J. Brown and you didn't.
17:29Concepcion is the guy I want.
17:30Me too.
17:31I didn't know until today he was born in Rochester.
17:34Really?
17:35Yep.
17:35He was born in Rochester.
17:37His dad is a Bills fan.
17:39He moved to Carolina when he was younger.
17:42He grew up in Charlotte.
17:44And he spoke to the media today, and that came out, and he said, shout out to the 585 is
17:49what he said, actually.
17:50So, that's pretty cool, actually.
17:51I did not know that.
17:52And I went back and looked, you know, just kind of revisit him.
17:55You know, he was the Paul Horning Award winner.
17:57Now, Paul Horning Award is basically the most versatile player in college football.
18:00That's Travis Hunter the last two years who won that award.
18:03He won it this year.
18:04Saquon Barkley won it.
18:05Jabril Peppers on defense doesn't have to be an offensive player.
18:08You look at his numbers, and why is he versatile?
18:10He's not just a really fantastic wide receiver.
18:13He's a return man.
18:14Well, guys, the Bills don't really have a return man on their roster right now.
18:18I guess you could say McCole Hardman, right?
18:19But maybe you want him at wide receiver.
18:21Like, it would be great to add a guy for the Bills who could do the receiver thing and still
18:26be a threat as a return man.
18:28If you Google Casey Concepcion Wiki, which I just did because I wanted to see the Rochester thing, you get
18:34an actress from the Philippines.
18:37There's an actress from the Philippines by that name.
18:39And you are spelling it Casey like Kansas City, not like Casey and the Sunshine Band, right?
18:43Or is that – maybe that is Casey.
18:45They're both the same Casey.
18:46Casey Kasem.
18:47You're not like Casey Kasem, right?
18:47Has this Filipino actress ever been married to Lucinda Williams?
18:50I mean, I've made one mistake, one horrific mistake already today.
18:53You have to find Kevin Concepcion.
18:56That's the guy we want.
18:57That's Kevin, I believe.
18:58That's right.
18:58That's his name.
18:59Born in Rochester.
19:00I know.
19:01All right.
19:02Yeah, we've got to break the Casey curse.
19:04His dad, the Bills fan, and he's named Casey.
19:06Well, he's named Kevin.
19:07Oh, yeah.
19:08We've got to break the Casey curse.
19:09This is how we do it.
19:10This is the guy.
19:12Sal, I say that waiting on, you know, the Scott Barrett's and Matt Harmon's of the world to point me
19:17in a different direction because their yards per route run wasn't very good or something.
19:20Reserve the right to pivot.
19:22Thank you, Sal.
19:23Have a great weekend.
19:24All right, you two guys.
19:25That's all.
Comments