00:00But you've got Bills Mafia here.
00:02Jacob Kamaker from USA Today joins us now.
00:04And, Jacob, the electricity that you're going to see tonight in this new building tonight,
00:11with that Bills Mafia fan base, this thing's going to be off the charts.
00:16Oh, absolutely.
00:17They're going to be amped up.
00:18They're going to be celebrating that new stadium.
00:20I think they're going to be very excited that they're coming off of a win over the Texans,
00:25where the offense really just decimated what's a very well-regarded Texans defense.
00:29So, I think there's already going to be a lot of excitement about this game, right,
00:34because it's the opening of the new stadium, because it's, hey,
00:36we have a new coach for the first time in nine years.
00:38But coming off that win and with the way their offense performed against the Texans team
00:43that had been Josh Allen's kryptonite, I mean,
00:46the energy level is going to be ratcheted up to an 11 tonight in Buffalo.
00:49It's going to be really, really fun to watch.
00:51I'm very glad this is the first Thursday night game of the year.
00:53It's a tremendous matchup.
00:55It should be a lot of fun for all of us to see how it plays out.
00:59Jacob, do you think the Bills are good enough on defense for them to be able to go all the
01:04way this year
01:04and win a championship?
01:06Because, again, it just can't be Josh Allen.
01:08It's got to be the collective.
01:10Is this defense good enough to go the way?
01:14So, personnel-wise, I do have some concerns.
01:16We've talked about this before.
01:17Their defensive line, I'm just not confident.
01:20They have Greg Rousseau as a fantastic pass rusher.
01:22But I'm just not sure when you look at the rest of the collection of weapons they have there
01:27that they're going to be able to generate consistent pressure.
01:30And we saw against the Texans, you know, surrendering 31 points.
01:33That's less than ideal, especially given that C.J. Stroud had his share of issues in the playoffs last season.
01:38So, I definitely have concerns about that defense moving forward.
01:41That said, I like their new coordinator, Jim Leonard.
01:45And I always try to preach this.
01:48You have to be patient when you're installing new defensive schemes.
01:51You know, often the first few weeks of the season, it takes a while for these guys to get comfortable
01:55with their responsibilities.
01:56So, I'm thinking maybe down the road, week five, week six, if Leonard's defensive scheme kind of takes effect
02:02and these guys start to play a little bit better, then I think you can look at it and say,
02:06hey, all the Bills need is an average defense that can stop the run enough,
02:10and they'll have a chance to go all the way because of Josh Allen and that offense.
02:14So, my short answer at this point is, based on week one, I would say they probably wouldn't win the
02:19Super Bowl.
02:20But if that defense progresses under Leonard, I think they have a pretty good shot at it
02:24because that offense looked really good in Joe Brady's debut as head coach.
02:29Boy, I'll tell you, you just mentioned it, too, the relationship between Joe Brady and Josh Allen.
02:34You see why maybe management went ahead and elevated Joe Brady.
02:38You fired a hell of a coach in Sean McDermott.
02:40He had won a boatload of football games there.
02:43And as I've told you before, this could be the offseason move of the year
02:47because any time you marry up a good OC and a spectacular talent like this,
02:53it's got to push him as the favorite for the MVP.
02:56Now, look, it's September.
02:58It's Liars Month.
02:59But, boy, that's a hell of a start against that Texans defense.
03:03Yeah, absolutely.
03:04And I think under normal circumstances, any time a head coach is fired and there's an internal hire,
03:09I always tend to question and say, man, why are you making this move if you thought you need an
03:14organizational change?
03:15I thought it was strange when Terry Pagula first said that after they fired McDermott after nine seasons.
03:21But Joe Brady's a great young offensive mind.
03:24He's the youngest head coach in the NFL at 36 years old.
03:27I mean, he cut his teeth developing Joe Burrow and that LSU offense in 2019 into a historic unit.
03:33We've seen him enjoy success with Josh Allen over the last few years.
03:37So I think from a continuity perspective on offense, it actually did make a lot of sense.
03:42And we're going to see sort of Brady be able to unlock his full potential now that he's calling the
03:46shots there.
03:47And John McDermott, he was a fantastic head coach.
03:50I mean, he led the Bills to the playoffs in eight of his nine years, had one losing season.
03:55They just couldn't get over the hump.
03:56So I think the change made sense.
03:58Again, at first I questioned and said, you're doing an internal hire when you said you really want to change
04:04the way this organization operates.
04:06But, hey, week one to pay dividends.
04:08And I think you're right.
04:09Josh Allen could be a legitimate MVP candidate once again if he continues to look good in this Joe Brady
04:14offense.
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