- 12 minutes ago
Jeremy White and Joe DiBiase continue to discuss the Bills big deadline acquisition, Titans safety Amani Hooker! They start by sharing some high praise from his old coach Robert Saleh which will always make fans feel good. Then they discuss why it was totally worth it for the team as they try to win now, and highlight the fact that he’ll be here for more than just this season. They also discuss the fit with current Bills safety Cole Bishop
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00:00But I tease going into the break that Titans coach Robert Sala had a quote on Imani Hooker.
00:04I saw Anthony Proska of Cover One, who we've had on the show, talked to quite a bit.
00:08Follow him on Twitter if you can, at pro underscore ant.
00:11Lots of good stuff with Cover One, film stuff, league stuff.
00:15The quote from Sala says this about Imani Hooker.
00:18Quote, I love that dude, man.
00:20I've been blessed, knock on wood.
00:21I've had some really, really, really good safeties in my career.
00:25When you look at Hook, his instinct, where he ends up on the field,
00:28I've told him several times on certain calls, he ends up in certain plays.
00:31He ends up in an area on the field that I've never seen a safety end up in in our
00:36system.
00:37He's just so instinctive.
00:39He's always around the ball.
00:40He's a ball hawk.
00:41He finds himself around the ball.
00:42He's an eraser, elite communicator, executes his technique at a very, very high level.
00:47And then on third down, we've been able to utilize him as a dime backer.
00:51He's fun.
00:51He's a heck of a football player, man.
00:54So glowing reviews from Robert Sala.
00:56The thing it makes me think of there when, hey, he finds himself in a position that maybe
01:00he's not supposed to be in, it's a little bit of the playmaking of whether that's Micah
01:05Hyde, who maybe did that sometimes.
01:07But Byron Murphy in the Bills game against the Vikings, what's that guy doing over there?
01:11What he's doing is making a play.
01:13You can read a play so well that you know, I can go somewhere I'm not supposed to be.
01:20And the quarterback thinks I'm not supposed to be there either.
01:23And that's how I make, you know, this potential game-changing play.
01:26So eager to see Hooker back there.
01:29Hooker and Bishop for the foreseeable future, right?
01:33Like for two and a half seasons.
01:35I mean, Bishop gets extended more than likely.
01:38And you've got a tandem back there, which provided it goes well, which I think it will,
01:43is really good.
01:43I was talking about this on the Bill Squad Show yesterday, like the second round pick
01:47for a player that can help you right now, it is so often treated as all in or, you know,
01:55if you don't like the price, whatever.
01:57I just think that so many NFL teams should be looking at it like it's just accelerating
02:04a timeline.
02:04And if they make that second round pick in this upcoming draft instead of Imani Hooker,
02:11that second round pick is on the team next year and the year after that, and then for
02:16two more seasons, and what's Hooker on the team for?
02:19This year.
02:20Yep.
02:21Two years after that.
02:22I could extend him for two years.
02:24What did I really pay?
02:25I paid to accelerate.
02:28I want to buy it now, right?
02:30I want to buy this starting safety now.
02:33Ideally, that second round pick would have been what?
02:35A safety that starts?
02:36And as good as Imani Hooker.
02:38Like, if you had drafted Imani Hooker with next year's second round pick, you'd think
02:42that's a good pick.
02:44Great job.
02:44You identified a need.
02:46The only difference is you have to pay the money.
02:49You have to pay the difference.
02:50And for a team that's trying to win and can make the space to do it, of course you should
02:54do that.
02:55So that was a little bit to me like the digs trade was always, what did I do?
02:59I paid a first round pick to get a fully grown, can do it receiver right now for Josh Allen.
03:06And it was always a good idea to me, even if you think, well, you could have drafted a
03:10guy at that time.
03:11You could have.
03:12And maybe that would have worked out.
03:13What I paid for, though, was the ability to know I've got a fully grown asset and I'm
03:18plugging it right in.
03:19And I just think contending teams should definitely do that.
03:23I don't need to grow stuff right now.
03:25I need a fully formed asset.
03:27And that's what the Bills did.
03:28So I like it just on that.
03:30And I like the process and think they should maybe do it every year.
03:35Maybe even the second round pick is the perfect sweet spot.
03:37Is this not the NHL?
03:39The NHL trade deadline, what do you do?
03:40You trade second round picks for second pair defensemen that you're going to take into
03:44the playoffs.
03:45Because what are you going to do, draft a guy?
03:47I mean, that timeline's even further out.
03:49It's five years.
03:49In the NHL, it's five or six years.
03:51In the NFL, if you hit it, the guy makes a difference for you maybe right away, maybe
03:55in two.
03:56So I like the process.
03:57I like the timeline.
03:58I'm eager to see what he looks like out there.
04:00Because of the position he plays, by the way, it's not really like the money is definitely
04:05different, but it's not crazy.
04:09No.
04:09Right?
04:09Like safeties don't make what left tackles and edge rushers and receivers make.
04:15Like he is one of the 12 highest paid safeties in the league.
04:20He makes $13 million per year.
04:22Your rookie contract is less than that.
04:25But, right, when you're looking at positional value, what would a, let's use receiver, what
04:31would a receiver of Amani Hooker's level make per year?
04:34Oh, 20, what was the 14th highest paid receiver?
04:37He's the 12th, or he's the 12th highest.
04:38So $27 million.
04:40It's DJ Moore.
04:41Is it not DJ Moore?
04:42The 12th highest paid receiver in the league is Amanra St. Brown at $30 million.
04:47Right?
04:47So like.
04:47I still would like one of those.
04:49But still, yeah, right.
04:50But this is why you always point to like, you draft them.
04:53Because the 12th highest paid receiver, the 12th highest paid left tackle, the 12th highest
04:57paid edge rusher is going to cost me, I can trade for that player, and I'm losing the
05:02pick, and I'm losing a ton of salary to do it.
05:06Safety, if I'm getting a really good safety, that might not be the best in the league, but
05:11really good, that's not, it's going to cost me $13 million per year.
05:17It's, I'm spending, I'm spending $8 million more on the salary cap to do that, rather
05:23than spending $22 million more.
05:25Never mind, his cap hit this year is $4.4 million.
05:28I'm looking at if they extend him.
05:30Let's say it goes well, and they want to restructure or extend.
05:33Maybe he'd be open to that, maybe not, who knows.
05:36But there's an extension idea where next year, his cap hit could drop by like $6 million.
05:40It could be $4 million again.
05:42Sure.
05:42You could restructure and save more money next year and push in the future, or when
05:47they traded for Amari Cooper, there was at the time an idea of, well, this goes well.
05:52He's not that old.
05:54He was one year older than DJ Moore.
05:56I think he was 30 at the time.
05:58I think that's right.
05:59Okay.
06:00And he just retired.
06:01Which is still kind of crazy.
06:03It is kind of nuts.
06:04Like, whatever, he never played again, really.
06:06With this guy, I mean, he's of an age where, all right, can he play until he's 32?
06:11Does he want another year tacked on?
06:12So, the potential makes total sense.
06:16Yep.
06:17And having good safeties is fun.
06:20Really fun.
06:20And the Bills have been missing the second guy in that spot to such a point that he,
06:26whoever's been there, when it's not working, it's killed Bishop, too.
06:31Yeah.
06:31Bishop, when he's on his game, and Bishop, when he's free to do what he does, is one of
06:35the most fun Bills players to watch.
06:37Because he's so athletic.
06:38He's so athletic.
06:39He makes, I mean, think of the interception he made of Chris Olave.
06:43He intercepted, right?
06:44It was an Olave pass against the Saints.
06:46Was it?
06:46I think it was an Olave pass.
06:47Yeah, I think you're right.
06:48Okay.
06:48He picked off Chris Olave.
06:49One-handed, right?
06:50Up in the air.
06:51He's also the guy that smashed Travis Kelsey in the chest, smashed Nico Collins.
06:56He had a hit on a, was it Bowers or was it Mayer?
06:59He had a big hit on a Raider a couple weeks ago.
07:01He's rangy and an enforcer.
07:03And to get another safety back there, it's like you get two safeties at the same time
07:09just by unlocking the guy that you already have.
07:11Well, and I like having the ball hawk type guy.
07:14Because that, Bishop will make crazy great plays.
07:17I don't think anybody ever calls Cole Bishop like a ball hawk.
07:19Like when I think of ball hawk safety, I'm thinking, like, well for me, growing up as
07:24a Bills fan, I think of Jairus Bird.
07:25I was just going to say, you know who's a super fun safety to remember is Jairus Bird.
07:29Right.
07:29Jairus Bird made insane catches.
07:32Right.
07:32Absolute ball hawk.
07:33And then he went somewhere else and it never really worked out the same way.
07:36And isn't the type of interception with that guy, like, I feel like a ball hawk interception
07:42is different than, like, that Bishop pick.
07:44The Bishop pick is leaps into the air, one-handed, like, crazy grab.
07:49He reads the play.
07:50When I'm thinking ball hawk, I'm thinking guy jumps in front of the receiver.
07:54And, you know, like, he comes from behind the guy, runs in front because he read the play.
08:00That's a different type of pick.
08:02Those are the picks Hooker had against Burrow.
08:04So, at least two of them.
08:06The one against Jusecki, if anyone's watched the highlights, like, of that game.
08:11Jusecki's coming down the sideline and Hooker comes from the middle of the field.
08:15He sprints in, reads Burrow, and makes the pick on the sidelines.
08:19Like, that's a ball hawk type pick.
08:21And you don't get those from Bishop.
08:23So, now I feel like everybody feels like this is the perfect marriage of safeties.
08:29Right.
08:29That what Bishop does well and what Hooker does well, like, they're just kind of, let's see it on the
08:35field.
08:35They're kind of meant for each other, I think, on paper.
08:38And there are, of course, like, it's the nature of football.
08:40How many positions are affected by another position?
08:44Your receiver room is affected by how good the top guy is.
08:47DJ Moore comes in.
08:48And all of a sudden, the Bills receiver room goes from looking like it's a real problem for them to,
08:52oh, it's fine.
08:53Because everybody else slots in where they should be.
08:55You know, that's true on defensive line quite a bit, where I've got Rousseau and Walker together.
09:00And watching them work together, they are force multipliers.
09:04If one of them were to leave, you would expect the other to maybe have a dip in production just
09:08because they work off each other.
09:10So, 803-0550.
09:12Billy in Toronto.
09:13Hey, Billy.
09:14Hey, guys.
09:15How's it going?
09:16Good.
09:16I love hearing the story about Brady.
09:20Even though Brady was my favorite.
09:22Well, Jack Lambert was my favorite.
09:24But then after that, it was Brady and, of course, Josh Nell.
09:27But I love hearing those stories from the sidelines where, you know, you see this more in baseball where pitchers
09:34usually tip in his pitches.
09:36But that's really something to know that the Giants had that.
09:40And that's probably one of them in the Super Bowl.
09:41So, I hope the Bills can have something like that against, you know, Kansas City or somebody, whoever we wind
09:47up playing.
09:48But, listen, like what the Bills did, you're right, getting the safety.
09:52I mean, I'm not crazy about having to get guys in the trade deadline.
09:56But, you know what?
09:56I'll take it.
09:57I like, you know, it's one more guy in our defense.
10:00And I do think our defense is improving.
10:03The one thing I wanted to say, guys, and this is a little bit different, but, you know, here in
10:10Toronto, we don't get – they don't take phone calls at all.
10:13And I really appreciate calling your guys, Joe, because any time during the day, we can call in and voice
10:19something that we heard.
10:20And all the guys are great.
10:22I love talking to all of them, except the one guy that I talked to a couple of days ago.
10:28It was after Chopin the Bulldog.
10:30I don't know the guy because I usually add up that time.
10:33But this is to him, and I hope this gets back to him.
10:36Listen, buddy, when somebody comes in and challenges you, you don't hang the phone up within five seconds.
10:42And that's just cheap and low rent.
10:44Nobody at this station does that.
10:46You are going on and on and on about how we've never won nothing in Buffalo and we need a
10:51player and the front office.
10:53And I just told you to settle down, and you got all bent out of shape.
10:57Look, the Bills got – Bills, I think this is the year.
11:01I think it's every year.
11:02But, I mean, man, hanging up the phone on somebody is like spitting in somebody's face.
11:08And I can't –
11:09Yeah, that's it, guys.
11:11All right, Billy.
11:11I mean, it's definitely not spitting in somebody's face.
11:13I mean, it's controlling the show and putting on what you want.
11:16There's probably Nate's rant about how we haven't worn anything, which I saw that clip, and he was entirely right.
11:21Like, absolutely right.
11:24I mean, you know, like getting hung up on – I don't know, sometimes you're up against a break.
11:26Sometimes you want to put a call on hold because I don't want to yell directly at you, the person.
11:32But I do want to shout at a point.
11:34Somebody makes a point about how we should be happy because the drought used to exist.
11:38I think, like, that's not what real teams think.
11:41No.
11:41The Jets – when the Jets make the playoffs in four years, if they decide they want to try to
11:46win the Super Bowl, I wouldn't, as a Jets fan, say, like, hey, remember when we were bad?
11:49Who cares?
11:50I want the Sabres to get in this world right now.
11:53I wanted the Sabres offseason to be one that treated it like they could be a real team and a
11:58good team that could win and not have a drought level offseason, which it kind of looked like they had
12:02a drought offseason to me.
12:03So, you know.
12:06Treating it that way is letting the drought continue to exert its influence on you.
12:10Yeah.
12:10Like, no, it's over.
12:12It was – also, by the way, it was a long time ago now.
12:15It was nine years ago.
12:17The Bills.
12:17We're going on a decade since the Bills drought was over.
12:22And spending the rest of my life saying, well, this is okay because I went through that before.
12:27Like, okay, I guess I'm good never winning.
12:29Yeah.
12:30Listen.
12:30And when I mean winning, I mean winning.
12:32Like, the Super Bowl.
12:33I think – I also would just say this.
12:35Like, in terms of people calling and yelling back and forth at each other and rants and this and that.
12:41But, like, that happens a lot if you can kind of accept or understand you, the caller, the role is
12:47to get good conversations going.
12:49And have you ever yelled at your best friend about sports?
12:52Like, definitely.
12:53What are you, crazy?
12:54The group chats, all caps.
12:56Like, you know, I know sometimes it can feel like maybe that's personal, Billy, but really what it is is
13:01just I've yelled at Nate.
13:03He's yelled at me.
13:04That's how it goes.
13:06Anyway, 803-0550.
13:08Thanks for the phone call.
13:09What are we going to do today?
13:10We've got shots of audio because it's a Thursday.
13:12I decided I'm rooting for the Vikings.
13:14I'm going to have a real battle.
13:16Well, Kirk Cousins, his presser.
13:18Did you watch it?
13:18I did.
13:19It was pretty good.
13:20How do you not like this guy?
13:21Talking about the – doesn't have a driveway yet, but, like, you know, snowblower and the kids' reaction to going
13:26back.
13:26Talking about telling his kids, should we go back to Minnesota?
13:28And they're like, let's go.
13:30It's tough.
13:31Everyone seems to love him there.
13:32They really do.
13:33There was a video going around of when he was playing with Atlanta, going up and hugging everybody, saying hi
13:38to everybody.
13:38They definitely all appreciated him and loved him quite a bit.
13:43And, like, I've got to decide who my NFC North team – the NFC North, as I flirt with the
13:49North.
13:49I flirt with the North.
13:51I like all of them.
13:52Really?
13:52You know me and my Bears.
13:54I love Good Better Best and Ben Johnson.
13:56Dan Campbell is a dude.
13:58What's not to like about that guy?
13:59Right, and he goes for it all the time.
14:01The Vikings now have cousins, and Brian Flores rocks a flat-brim hat better than anybody I've ever seen.
14:07That's a good point.
14:09No one's ever looked better in a flat-brim hat than Brian Flores.
14:11I think that's right.
14:12And then the Packers are just winging it down the field all the time.
14:14They're so fun.
14:15It's the most fun division to like and to watch.
14:19So, I'm conflicted on who my NFC North team of the day is.
14:23I wonder what the odds would be of an NFC North team being who represents the NFC in the Super
14:27Bowl.
14:27It's above 50, right?
14:30They definitely have four teams that could do it.
14:33You would take the NFC North over the field.
14:35I think I put the Lions in fourth now after the Cousins trade.
14:39They're just having a bunch of injuries on defense, and they made a trade anyway.
14:43The North, it's fun.
14:44We'll get a break in.
14:45803-0550, and we'll play some of that Cousins sound.
14:48Maybe Kirk Cousins and shots of audio.
14:50We're also going to revisit One and Done, a segment that allows us to use some Joe Kelly audio
14:55because the Kelly countdown's at two days.
14:57Today and tomorrow, Joe Kelly's last two days here as our morning show producer.
15:01Colin Ritchie taking over here.
15:02He's running the show today.
15:03So, we've got lots to get to.
15:04More of your phone calls if you want to yell about the Sabres or, you know, say something nice about
15:08anything, really.
15:09It's all there for you here on WGR.
15:10It's a little bit TONER.
15:11We're going to get those things together.
15:11We've got aAdvice from a new one.
15:11We've got a survey.
15:11Theρού is going to a trip to林 recently.
15:12I'll get in.
15:13We'll kill you.
15:13A couple of things to call this Jimmy die.