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00:00Jim Leonard speaking earlier this week to the assembled media no that was last wait last Friday
00:08last Friday coming I couldn't get the rent it's out the door I went hey uh so Jim Leonard
00:17spelled Leon hard L-E-O-N-H-A-R-D when he became the defensive coordinator and I started
00:27texting
00:27around working my sources I didn't have anybody in my phone named Leonard or with the last name
00:39Leon hard and so it started spelling it like Leonard Skinnerd oh no okay I want to talk to
00:44you about wait that's got to be because you text about him I must have at some point not so
00:49much
00:50I don't I'm not a huge Leonard Skinnerd fan I'm not saying you're a fan I'm saying you text about
00:54him all over time over time I must have texted more about Leonard Skinnerd than Tim Graham late
01:00one night accidentally joined the Leonard Skinnerd text club what are some other famous user groups
01:05Leonard Cohen Leonard yeah Dennis Leonard former Royals pitcher Leonard the sixth
01:15Leonard Nimoy right right Leonard
01:22so anyway oh the the Big Bang Theory isn't that a Leonard that is a Leonard yeah I don't know
01:28that show well but I got that one just thought that was funny it is funny uh you wrote hilarious
01:32it's the funniest thing ever I thought could you even imagine it's wild it's wild it is it is wild
01:39what yeah um you wrote about Deion Walker I said that on the air you wrote about Deion Walker I
01:45did
01:46do you like him yeah uh I think he is an amazing player and he was my prediction before the
01:54season
01:54started to be the Bills defensive player of the year I guess a defensive MVP uh the athletic asked us
02:01to
02:01come up with a bold prediction for each team and that was mine for the Bills and of course if
02:08there
02:08were voting I think Greg Russo which by the way we've had this discussion off the air I need to
02:15talk I need to revisit this I had a chance to do it yesterday in the Bills locker room and
02:20I was
02:21talking with somebody else I need to pin down Greg Russo on his name again we did it when he
02:26got drafted
02:27we've revisited it but he came in as Gregory Russo now he's Greg Russo first name shortened okay I get
02:39that we have a Maxwell and a Max we have all kinds of different dudes on the team a Joshua
02:47and a Josh
02:48Palmer guys get all the time yeah we will be respectful of what they request right within reason
02:55Mitchell Trubisky and Mitch Trubisky so whatever you want but then he's doing ads and his you know
03:03before the games when it says you know Tim Graham Baldwin Wallace University he says Greg Russo yeah
03:11it's not Greg Russo anymore right so he's just changed it anywho I don't know that he's changed it
03:17I think he might just accept that it doesn't matter and all right let's know he's at least changed his
03:23emphasis because when he came in he was like Greg Russo Greg I'm sorry Gregory Russo now it's Greg
03:29Russo anyways right like he's our USSO he is no matter how you say it he looks like the Bills
03:36MVP
03:36through two games statistically for sure he leads the NFL with four sacks three of them are strip sacks
03:42those three forced fumbles lead the NFL also nine quarterback hits all kinds of stuff from him
03:50but Deion Walker has been a disruptor as Jim Leonard said last week he read you turn on the
03:57tape and he wrecks the game he's not getting the stats he's got some weird stats three pass breakups
04:03in his last game and in fact he leads the Bills I think he leads the Bills with pass breakups
04:09there might be a defensive back in there but he's got anyways I'll take a look at that but yeah
04:14Deion
04:14it's not that weird that a massive dude who stands directly in front of the quarterback is
04:19the guy who has prevented the quarterback from throwing the ball to a receiver the most that's
04:23not crazy I know it's typically a DB type of stat I understand that but massive dude in the middle
04:29like that's kind of the point right yeah but I don't think that's gonna uh yeah he does lead the
04:34Bills with three pass breakups Christian Benford has two uh and in fact Dave Davison Igbenosin is the
04:41only other defensive back with any Igbenosin and Benford have three the same number as Deion Walker
04:47the defensive tackle so the story is about Deion Walker and I talked to him back at St. John Fisher
04:53and doing an interview with him and I said what was your welcome to the NFL moment and that's a
04:59sometimes it's a throwaway question in that everybody's all the first big hit I took but it's
05:04six foot seven 330 pounds I did think it was interesting of what is this guy's welcome to the
05:10NFL moment and he said well it was the first time but his the I don't know if it was
05:16the first time
05:17he tried to tackle Derrick Henry but that was it Derrick Henry was the welcome to yes I thought I
05:22was a terrible welcoming committee and Derrick Henry hit me and then but then he continued he kind of that
05:28was his throwaway answer and then he said and then halftime of the Atlanta Falcons game and I'm like
05:35what could have happened and he said that Ryan Nielsen the Bills defensive line coach assistant
05:41defensive line coach I think he had one of those haughty senior whatever titles senior defensive
05:47assistant or something like that you never trust those guys with senior in their title because he's
05:51been everywhere right Dan one of those that's right Brad one of those guys that your advisor he's been
05:56everywhere he's seen everything he's had all these jobs and you add him to your staff even though you
06:00already have the guy who has that you're like we just want this guy on our get on the bus
06:05so that was
06:05Ryan Nielsen and took him aside and simply said why don't you believe in yourself and for whatever
06:12reason Deion Walker in that moment had introspection and I was like why those words it sounds like that's
06:20probably something somebody said to you before and I interviewed Ryan Nielsen about that moment and Deion
06:25Walker about that moment it turned out it was a confluence of coaching and relationships and all
06:30the other things that were set up until that point and finally having opportunity and feel and he went
06:35out and dominated the second half of the Falcons game and then didn't stop and while he didn't
06:43necessarily have a massive impact on each game the rest of the way he did get better and better to
06:50the
06:50point where I was talking with one former Bills coach over the summer and he said he says I think
06:56Deion Walker can be the NFL's defensive player of the year and I thought wow that's a statement
07:03that is a statement and so that's when I decided I was going to do this story and uh how
07:10long ago was
07:11it that someone said that it was over the summer before training before any of this was before training
07:15yeah great it was based off just last year and so then I you know started this is a guy
07:22we need to
07:23know I like to tell you about the guy and so the story was going to run week one but
07:29everything gets
07:29jammed up with week one your previews and all these various stories and who wants a defensive tackle in
07:35week one and it was somewhat unknown yeah it was just you know we had our Josh Allen stuff and
07:41our
07:41my Jim Leonard story that was what was my week one story okay let's get that here's what everybody's
07:47got to say about Jim Leonard with Rex Ryan and Darrell Rivas and Mike Pettin and Jim O'Neill and
07:52all
07:52these guys and so that was my put everything oh and new head coach also you didn't even mention
07:56right new stadium the grass I mean which I was taking up a lot of my time and yeah so
08:02then we have
08:02a short week you don't want to bury a Deion Walker story in a short week when nobody has a
08:06chance to
08:07read it so we're like let's wait until the week of the Chargers game and we'll we'll do the Deion
08:11Walker story and then Deion Walker has a big game in week one and he has a big game in
08:16week two and
08:17I'm thinking well this is lining up great right and of course everybody wanted to talk to Deion
08:21Walker yesterday at Bill's practice so everybody's probably gonna have a Deion Walker story this week
08:26I'm just one of many but mine mine goes back a couple of months yeah yours has uh thought behind
08:33it yours wasn't well these do too but yours okay I'm just saying like months of thought as opposed to
08:38hey we should probably talk about this guy look at all these plays he's making but it is it's tricky
08:43when it comes to a defensive tackle and I've experienced this I did a huge deep dive on Deion
08:48Walker uh two or three years ago and as much as we view these guys with uh admiration as fans
08:57we know
08:58Deion Dawkins is important we know Deion Walker is important all the Deions you're talking about a Deion
09:03yesterday the the singer the singer Deion um Deion James perhaps Deion call it 8030550 call him with
09:14your favorite Deion Marcel Deion of course former uh western New Yorker he had a shop at the uh old
09:22Boulevard Mall a memorabilia shop you remember that he like framed jerseys and no I just remember the
09:27when I discovered that Marcel Deion lived in Amherst it blew my mind never played here no
09:32makes no sense no he likes it so anyway Deion well it's interesting though but you don't have stats
09:39they don't have the big splash plays much like offensive linemen I it's not going to story this
09:46story is not going to resonate like a story that I would write about the grass unfortunately I would
09:52love for as many people to read the Deion Walker story as read my coverage of the grass but people
09:58seem to pick up on different things farm report with Tim Graham right like a like a tiny little uh
10:07am station out in the country where the most important thing is uh the harvest yeah brought to
10:12you by if you work scotch turf builders if you work for one of those places they'd read your grass
10:18story
10:18more too what do they care about they probably read it out over the airwaves well yeah they probably
10:23have a google alert set up for any if anybody ever writes a story about grass anything that says please
10:30let me know any yeah google alert for agronomist and western New York timeout we'll be right back it
10:37is mid days on WGR it's driven by Northtown Automotive and it is brought to you portions anyway brought to
10:45you by Tim Hortons the official coffee of the Jeremy and Joe morning show and WGR tailgate start
10:51your day strong with Tim Hortons and the bill speaking of tailgates uh show up in the bulldog
10:57we'll broadcast live again it seems is that right there's not show up in the bulldog but we as a
11:02station will broadcast live again from wings flight of hope I have it written down here and then I
11:06crossed it off because it was about last Thursday but then I heard somebody else talking about it so
11:10we as a station will be out there again um park for 30 bucks proceeds benefit wings flights of hope
11:15uh free flights for seriously ill patients music food beverages from the help of our partners Tim
11:21Hortons Liberty Cab 26 shirts Hartman's Distilling Company and the U.S. Army be all you can be
11:25we'll see you at wings of hope we'll be right back it's WGR
11:30you
11:30more.
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