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00:00Sal was out in Cooperstown, Oneonta, that area for Little League Baseball that week.
00:06Got home, right to the stadium, preseason opener, quick breath of fresh air,
00:11and then now Cleveland for a joint practice and then a preseason game on Saturday with the Browns.
00:17How do you like Cleveland, Sal?
00:20I love it. It's a great city.
00:22Been there several times now, but we've actually gone there a couple times
00:27just to go as a family to kind of hang out down by the river,
00:30and they've done a great job by the waterfront there and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
00:35and the baseball field, the football stadium, everything's right there.
00:39I've seen the Yankees play there a couple times.
00:41So it's been really nice, and I think they've done a really great job with that district down there.
00:46Pretty easy to get around, and there's lots to do, especially for a sports fan.
00:49Have you been to see the Cavaliers?
00:51I have not. I have not.
00:53Yeah, I think baseball and football, but I have not done basketball there yet.
00:57Also right down there next to the stadium.
01:00I went to see Game 3 of the finals with Golden State, my one ever NBA game in Cleveland,
01:09and I feel like I cannot do another one because it was just so good.
01:12So we'll have fun there.
01:14We talked about this practice tomorrow when we spoke yesterday,
01:19and I don't know, I'll put it a different way, but not that different.
01:21I feel like the Bills might be walking into a little bit of a hornet's nest with the Browns.
01:26You know, you have a new coach.
01:29There's something about a team, Sal, where they're – I mean, it's been decades of this for Cleveland,
01:35where the next coach in does the things we talk about all the time when they're new,
01:40like try to establish new standards and everything like that.
01:44And I doubt this Todd Munkin wants physical altercations.
01:49This is a group effort with the Bills, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if it got pretty feisty.
01:56No, me neither. Me neither.
01:58And as I said yesterday, I've been a part of these a few times with the Bills.
02:04Carolina, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland coming to Buffalo.
02:08And I don't remember any time where it's gotten really out of hand.
02:11There's always been a couple skirmishes here or there, but then you look around the league and it happens.
02:15There's kind of no way to predict it.
02:17You have to have, you know, two coaches and organizations that send the message and set the tone
02:22and try to do whatever they can to make sure that doesn't happen, but you also never know.
02:26Maybe the message is let's go be as physical as possible, and you're trying to win jobs and compete,
02:30all those kinds of things.
02:32And we know that, you know, the Browns are a team that has not done a lot of winning,
02:36and people are trying to, you know, fight for jobs and show that they can be part of that, you
02:42know,
02:42turning it around, so to speak.
02:44The Bills are also in that same boat with players on their team who are trying to win jobs for
02:48a new coach, by the way,
02:49a new defensive coordinator, by the way, who said yesterday at the practice, Jim Leonard said physicality.
02:56That's the number one thing he's looking for.
02:58So there's no doubt about that, but you just hope that people treat it right
03:02and they get accomplished what they, you know, go there to get accomplished.
03:06Maybe to try to expound upon that, what are the Bills' top few priorities for this tomorrow?
03:13Either side of the ball, I mean, talking about defense there,
03:16but if indeed the two head coaches sit down tonight, or have they already,
03:22and try to, you know, coordinate, well, what do we both need to work on?
03:26What helps us? What might Brady mention?
03:32Probably going against different defense that they've gone,
03:35and I have to go and look exactly what kind of defense they run specifically,
03:38but, you know, you want to make sure you're getting some different looks.
03:41Whenever you're in training camp for three weeks, you're going against the same offense and same defense.
03:45So from both sides of the ball, right, you want to make sure that, okay,
03:48can we put ourselves in a position where, you know, run against a different kind of look,
03:54a scout team, so to speak, even if it's a, so let's say you say to the Cleveland Browns,
03:59okay, you know, we're going to, you run a similar defense to us,
04:02but maybe there's a period where our offense can go against, you know,
04:07a scout team type of defense with a different kind of look.
04:09You can do that with different kinds of players.
04:11That can happen.
04:12You might want to get some periods of red zone work in that you haven't gotten in enough in
04:16throughout your training camp so far.
04:18Two-minute drill.
04:19That's a really big one.
04:20You always want to do two-minute.
04:21You'll see a lot of that probably a couple of those periods tomorrow.
04:24Make sure everybody's buttoned up on that, especially if you're the Browns
04:27and you want to see your quarterbacks run that two-minute period
04:30because you don't have Josh Allen.
04:31You're going through a competition.
04:33You want to put your quarterback through the Browns in a position,
04:36in a situation where you can evaluate them a little bit better.
04:39However, special teams, that's a big one.
04:42You know, both these teams want to make sure that they're buttoned up there
04:44because there's not a lot of time in preseason games that necessarily work on that.
04:49You can't predict that, how much you're going to get that.
04:51Heck, the Bills won a preseason game, didn't punt last week, right?
04:54So you want to get that kind of work in.
04:57You want to see your guys.
04:58I remember last year, Mike, one of the big things we saw last year was the gunner drill.
05:02I mean, they just went for 15 minutes on guys just basically going to cover punts
05:06and people beating them up physically down the field.
05:08And there was a lot of hooting and hollering when guys would beat.
05:11You know, Tyrell Shavers was a big one.
05:13Tyrell Shavers did a great job.
05:15He got loose on one.
05:16And Bills players were going crazy because he made a play.
05:19Like, those are the kinds of things you want to see.
05:21Well, I know how ridiculous this sounds.
05:23I'm used to it.
05:23But if you want to punt in a preseason game, just do it.
05:26Like, just who needs it to be fourth down?
05:30But, yeah, I know, I know.
05:31You don't have to tell me.
05:32The two-minute thing, that's one where, as you know, of course, like, you can't necessarily
05:38control that in a preseason game, whether you're going to get that.
05:41So, I mean, you could pretend, but you'd have to be pretending.
05:45Like, here, you can set that up.
05:47So, that seems like a good suggestion.
05:51Yeah, and I think for the Bills, field goals, Tyler Bass, like, that's something you want
05:56to do tomorrow, and I'm sure both teams will work on that in some capacity.
06:00You know, you always wonder, I don't know if there'll be a live rush, not a live rush.
06:03You know, you want to be careful here.
06:04You don't want to get anybody injured.
06:06The specialists and the quarterbacks will most likely have, you know, different colored
06:09jerseys, so you're not running into them.
06:11You're not, you know, touching them.
06:12That's a big one that I like.
06:14I love the one-on-one stuff at these joint practices.
06:18You see, when the Bills have practice, you go out to St. John Fisher, you'll see a period
06:23where the receivers are going against defensive backs, and it's one-on-ones, and it's great,
06:27and you want to see those guys, but a lot of times, it's Christian Benford against D.J.
06:30Moore.
06:30Christian Benford against D.J.
06:31Moore, you're lining him up three times.
06:33Now, you're going against different guys, different techniques.
06:35Same thing with the offensive line.
06:37You know, you're going to get Deion Dawkins against Jared Verse.
06:40That's the cool stuff that I like to watch is, you know, these guys are very
06:44prideful, and they don't want to get beat in those situations, and you want to see those
06:48guys really kind of get after it and see, you know, your guy against their guy one-on-one
06:54and who wins.
06:55That'd be Denzel Ward now for D.J.
06:57Moore if they're going top versus top in this practice in Cleveland.
07:02All right.
07:02Well, tomorrow will be interesting, and we'll see how intense it is and what we learn from
07:07it.
07:07Sal Capaccio on the Western Hotline.
07:10I'm Mike Shope, and Bulldog is off through Friday.
07:13Sal, Jaden Higgins going down for Houston, probably their wide receiver, too, out for
07:20the year.
07:21That's what every day of these practices, be it a training camp or joint practice or
07:25anything, is what you're trying to avoid.
07:27Yeah.
07:28I wonder what you think, if you've thought about it, about that loss for the Texans.
07:33That's the Bills' week one opponent.
07:34I mean, there's probably time, if they wanted, to go get somebody low on someone else's depth
07:40chart.
07:40People have mentioned Keyshawn Booty in New England.
07:42There's a Texans-Patriots connection there.
07:45I don't know, but Houston, it could have been Tank Dell, it seemed, but now they're talking
07:49about it probably won't be for the opener.
07:52And Higgins, they might be scrambling already for week one.
07:57Yeah, I think you're referencing, I don't think Tank Dell, right now, it looks like he
08:01might not be ready, right?
08:02He might not play in the opener.
08:03Yeah, that's what it seems like.
08:06So, it's a loss, no doubt.
08:08I mean, I was looking today, over 500 yards and six touchdowns his rookie year.
08:11Like, that's a nice, that's a really nice rookie year for Jaden Higgins.
08:15That's a tough loss for them.
08:16You know, a guy we've talked about in Buffalo a lot has a connection there, Brandon Cooks.
08:21And, you know, there's some tie to the Patriots there, too, with him and some of the
08:24people in that organization.
08:25I wonder if that's a guy that they would reach out to, could come in and have a, kind
08:29of a, you know, he's a veteran, and he'd be able to walk right in and kind of pick up
08:33whatever they're doing.
08:34It's a loss for them, for sure.
08:36I agree with you.
08:37You said, I think yesterday you said something about how the Texans have been getting, maybe
08:42it was today, Texans have been getting a little bit more run from some of the national
08:46pundits, right?
08:47And people are starting to like them a little bit.
08:49Warren Sharp talked and wrote about them a little bit.
08:51And I agree with that.
08:52And they are, they're a fantastic defense, fantastic pass rush.
08:57They have a lot of talent on offense.
08:59I think there's a bit of a question on their offensive line.
09:01Of course, the biggest question is what you've seen from Deshaun Watt.
09:04I'm sorry.
09:04I keep doing that.
09:05I keep, I'm thinking about Cleveland and Deshaun was there, but CJ Stroud, biggest
09:09question is about CJ Stroud.
09:10And I was a huge CJ Stroud fan and thought this kid was going to be the next superstar after
09:15his rookie year.
09:16Obviously tailed off a little bit last year.
09:17He was inconsistent, had some nice games and nice moments, but not quite to the ascension that
09:22I thought he would have.
09:23And then in the playoffs, just to not perform very well.
09:25I mean, you're going to want to surround him with, you know, the guys and the pieces to
09:30be able to truly, you know, get him to where he probably should be ultimately.
09:34And losing Jaden Higgins is a pretty darn big deal, I think for them.
09:38Yeah.
09:39Right.
09:39Um, big target that just can post up and, you know, save a quarterback when he's under
09:46siege, which is a lot of what Stroud suffered from last year, not to make all the excuses
09:51for him.
09:52How about the bills and their pass rush as far away as that game still is, Sal going into
09:58the season?
09:58Like we've talked about Houston's strengths and that's one of them.
10:03And what happened last year when the bills went to Houston and how they struggled so
10:06badly to protect Allen, he was just always under duress.
10:10How about the other way around in this game?
10:12Like Houston, I don't know.
10:13It's a little bit early for this question maybe, but do you like in general, the bills
10:18chances of making life tough on quarterbacks?
10:24I like what I've seen so far at camp from, in preseason game from the bills, you know,
10:29outside linebackers, their edge rushers, their defensive scheme.
10:33Um, we're not getting nearly the full plate.
10:35That's for sure.
10:36I mean, Jim Leonard has made that clear.
10:37Like they're, they're not going to show what they're going to do in the regular season.
10:41But one thing that really stood out to me, Mike, from the preseason game and pretty
10:46quickly.
10:47And I tweeted this as soon as I saw it as the bills like team defensive speed has really
10:52improved and they are really being aggressive, but they're also younger and more athletic.
10:57So I think you combine all that and you got to like their chances to maybe get after the
11:02passer a little bit better because of all that.
11:04But you take some of these guys individually and, you know, TJ Parker, I think has, has been
11:09a really pleasant, you know, surprise maybe to me as a first round pick, the things that
11:14he can do the athleticism he has for a big man.
11:17I think that really helps Mike Dana.
11:19I mean, the freaky, who knows if he's going to make the team, he kind of had two sacks
11:22in one series, but just goes to show you some of these guys they have on this roster now
11:26that, you know, I think that they feel confident they can put on the field and have the ability
11:31to get to the passer.
11:32And of course you have Bradley Chubb and Greg Russo and then Michael Hoyt.
11:35We didn't see him last week, but I like that group.
11:37And, you know, the other day, right before the practice, Jim Leonard talked.
11:41And one thing that really stood out to me was a lot of times there's a lot of flatitudes
11:45from the coaches.
11:46They have coach speak.
11:48He talked very highly about his group, like the outs, the edge rushers.
11:52And I, like, I believe what he was saying, like, he really likes them.
11:55And, you know, people talk about Von Miller and all this stuff and cryptic tweets and stuff
11:59like that.
12:00And he signs with the Dallas Cowboys.
12:02I wouldn't be surprised.
12:03It was because the bills after a game go, look, we're, we're good with what we have.
12:06We like what we have here.
12:07We don't need to go out and get another guy right there.
12:09So the question is going to be a question until it happens.
12:13But I like what I've seen so far from that group.
12:15And I especially like what I see from the collective of how athletic and fast they are
12:21and thinking about the possibilities that Jim Leonard is going to come up with.
12:25Sal, I'm about out of time here.
12:26But before you go, what is the timeline for tomorrow timetable?
12:32Joe Brady will speak at 12.50 p.m.
12:35Practice will start at 1.20.
12:37Browns players will speak at 12 p.m.
12:39for anybody who's dialed on that side of things.
12:42And then practice starts at 1.20.
12:43After practice, we will hear from Josh Allen.
12:46Then we will have, the team will have an off day on Friday.
12:49Nothing going on there.
12:50And then Saturday will be the game.
12:52All right.
12:52So you and I will fit something in mid-show maybe.
12:54It seems like there could be an opportunity to do that.
12:57And will you stay there Friday?
12:58I guess I don't need, you don't need to answer that.
13:00No.
13:02I'll be there.
13:03I'll be in Cleveland through, through Saturday.
13:05So, yeah.
13:06All right.
13:06Thanks, Sal.
13:07Talk to you tomorrow.
13:08You got it.
13:09Sal Capaccio on the West Her Hotline.
13:11His appearance is on WGR.
13:12Brought to you by Outlet Liquor.
13:14The place to buy a case.
13:15What's your outlet?
13:16I'm Mike Shope.
13:17Quick time out.
13:18We'll talk some more next.
13:19This is WGR.
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