Speaker 1: We're live right now. Hey, we're live. Everybody got me
Speaker 1: not Let's go baby, Everybody do their job. One eleven
Speaker 1: twelve Calvin Deeflets let's go, no overthinking, right, go play
Speaker 1: some ball. We'll play some football. It's an exciting time
Speaker 1: to be a Buffalo Bill, and I'm a fan of
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills. Welcome into Week twelve of the Sean
Speaker 1: McDermott Show, presented by Connors and Farrish, your workers comp attorneys. Sean,
Speaker 1: thanks as always for joining us. You're coming off your
Speaker 1: bye week at seven and three. You're in first place
Speaker 1: in the AFC East after taking some time to reflect
Speaker 1: during the week off, how do you feel about where
Speaker 1: your team is at six games left in the season. Well,
Speaker 1: I feel pretty good about where we are, honestly, Steve.
Speaker 1: You know, we've done some good things. You know, we
Speaker 1: wish we were ten and oh obviously we're not. And
Speaker 1: so like many teams, like most teams out there, I
Speaker 1: would say, and I'll speak for our team where we're
Speaker 1: not perfect, haven't been perfect, but we've done a lot
Speaker 1: of good things with certainly room for improvement, and that's
Speaker 1: what the next six games are all about. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: you lost a heartbreaker before the bye to the Cardinals
Speaker 1: on a Hail Mary, but you still control your own
Speaker 1: destiny to make the playoffs. And what did you do
Speaker 1: during the bye week to put that loss behind you
Speaker 1: and turn your focus onto the playoff push. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: we needed to look at that game and give it
Speaker 1: its due, and then we also had to look at
Speaker 1: other areas of our team and performance where they haven't
Speaker 1: been up to our standard. And so we put a
Speaker 1: lot of work in the early part of the week
Speaker 1: as a coaching staff and have the plan more than
Speaker 1: anything going forward how we're going to improve in those areas.
Speaker 1: So we've got basically a six game season left and
Speaker 1: whatever else happens after that, nothing's guaranteed, and so we're
Speaker 1: in a good position, but we're anxious to get rolling
Speaker 1: here again, what was your process during the week off?
Speaker 1: And I know you said you look back and you
Speaker 1: kind of diagnosis to how you were going to improve
Speaker 1: and different parts of your team. But which areas of
Speaker 1: the team were you most focused on? Well, all three phases, honestly,
Speaker 1: you know, we looked at certainly things we were doing
Speaker 1: well so we can replicate that and understand why. And
Speaker 1: then move forward with that in mind, but also the
Speaker 1: areas of our offense where we haven't been performing up
Speaker 1: to par, and our run game in particular, and then
Speaker 1: the run defense on the other side of the ball,
Speaker 1: and then some of the areas and opportunities we've had
Speaker 1: on special teams as well, whether it's in the return
Speaker 1: game or the coverage game. Just to continue to try
Speaker 1: and again grow as a football team. You've always been
Speaker 1: a defensive coach during your time in the NFL, and
Speaker 1: even when you came here, your team identity was always
Speaker 1: built around your defense. This year seems to have shifted
Speaker 1: a bit to where you've developed more of an offensive identity.
Speaker 1: Was that a goal headed into this season or has
Speaker 1: it just unfolded that way as the season has rolled
Speaker 1: on well? Number one, I think it's somewhat of the
Speaker 1: theme around the league at this point for some reason.
Speaker 1: The scorings up, all the offensive stats are up pretty much.
Speaker 1: But going back to your questions, specifically to defense, every
Speaker 1: year is different. I'm not a defensive head coach that
Speaker 1: you know goes and tries to just load up on
Speaker 1: only defensive players. I believe in a balanced approach and
Speaker 1: a balance football team and you've got to be able
Speaker 1: to score points, and yet you've got to be able
Speaker 1: to stop people as well. So I'm really looking forward
Speaker 1: to our football team growing as we move forward into
Speaker 1: the back half and back third or so of the season. Here,
Speaker 1: as you look back at the Cardinals game before the
Speaker 1: bye week, your offense went down and scored that go
Speaker 1: ahead touchdown with thirty four seconds left. If the results
Speaker 1: would have held, your team would have been six and
Speaker 1: oh this season in one possession games. How much confidence
Speaker 1: do you have in your office to go out there
Speaker 1: and win it for you at the end of these games. Yeah,
Speaker 1: great amount. You watched You've seen that this year, and
Speaker 1: we've come back, whether it be the Rams game, the
Speaker 1: Cardinals game, just the latest example. We've got a lot
Speaker 1: of confidence in our offense and yet we have a
Speaker 1: lot of confidence in our defense. When you look at it,
Speaker 1: give the credit again to what happened in the play
Speaker 1: that was made, but we didn't play up to our
Speaker 1: potential and it took a Hail Mary, if you will
Speaker 1: to beat us. So there's a lot that we can
Speaker 1: learn from that game, both on the positive side and
Speaker 1: the negative side that we can take out of that game.
Speaker 1: As we move forward, and it's important that we play
Speaker 1: our best football over the next six weeks, starting this
Speaker 1: week with the Chargers. Yeah, and when you talk about
Speaker 1: that go ahead score, Josh Allen found Stefon Diggs. It
Speaker 1: was diggs seventy third reception of the year on that play.
Speaker 1: And even after the bye week, Diggs is still second
Speaker 1: in the National Football League and catches and yards. How
Speaker 1: has his performance this year lined up with the expectations
Speaker 1: had for him when the team traded for him back
Speaker 1: in March, Well, again, I thought Brandon did a great
Speaker 1: job of having a good field for the market, having
Speaker 1: a good field for the pool of talent that was
Speaker 1: going to be out there in free agency and the
Speaker 1: draft a couple of months later, and you know, found
Speaker 1: the right person, the right player for our situation, and
Speaker 1: that's all that matters. You Know, Stefan has done a
Speaker 1: great job. Our players have done a great job welcoming
Speaker 1: Stefan into our family here at the BI, and he
Speaker 1: just continues to inspire us with his energy, his competitive fire,
Speaker 1: and his love and passion for the game. Well, along
Speaker 1: with a huge season from Diggs, you've also seen a
Speaker 1: breakout year from Josh Allen but in your estimation, who
Speaker 1: has been your unsung hero this season, who hasn't been
Speaker 1: getting enough attention through the first ten games. Well, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go, I'm gonna kind of just flip flip it
Speaker 1: on you here. I'm gonna go over the special teams
Speaker 1: and the things, Steve and I know that's near and
Speaker 1: dear to your heart, and I'm gonna go with Tyler
Speaker 1: Madikevich on our core special teams units. He's been a
Speaker 1: great addition to our football team. A real gritty football player,
Speaker 1: instinctive football player, and just he loves to work, he
Speaker 1: takes He's a blue collar kid that takes that lunch
Speaker 1: pale approach every day and we really appreciate what he's
Speaker 1: added to our football team this season. That's good to hear, Coach,
Speaker 1: thank you for that. We're gonna catch up with you
Speaker 1: later in this show to get your final thoughts on
Speaker 1: your upcoming match up with the Chargers. Shopping Wood is
Speaker 1: presented by Saint Bonaventure Unversity, the official education provider of
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills. Welcome back to the Sean McDermott Show,
Speaker 1: and it's time now to break down the tape with
Speaker 1: our good Buddy eric Wood eight. Josh Allen had an
Speaker 1: uneven performance against the Cardinals in Week ten, but he
Speaker 1: did show up when it mattered the most in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter and on that final drive he connected with
Speaker 1: Stefan Diggs and Cole Beasley each four times. What did
Speaker 1: you see from the Bills receivers against the Cardinals and
Speaker 1: throughout this entire season? Josh has been spreading the football
Speaker 1: around to his receivers a ton. Now Stefan Diggs gets
Speaker 1: a majority of it, but he spreads the ball around
Speaker 1: so much. And what I've seen from them is they
Speaker 1: move these receivers around as well, put them in different
Speaker 1: spots on the field in their formations to allow them
Speaker 1: to get releases that are advantageous for whatever route they
Speaker 1: want to put them on. Let's start by looking at
Speaker 1: the touchdown by Cole Beasley. This isn't happen until the
Speaker 1: third quarter, and this put the Bills up twenty three
Speaker 1: to nine, And really you can see the mindset that
Speaker 1: was behind this point. Yeah, the Bills used a three
Speaker 1: by one formation a lot in this game, and Cole
Speaker 1: Beasley is able to work across the formation. Again, Really
Speaker 1: tough for that guy across room to get a jam
Speaker 1: on him. Dawson Knox clears out the zone and this
Speaker 1: is an easy completion for a touchdown. And we've talked
Speaker 1: to many times in the pasteve these red zone windows
Speaker 1: get super tight, and that's a great play designed by
Speaker 1: Brian dave Wall. It certainly was. And Alice fast forward
Speaker 1: to the fourth quarter that drive where the Bills scores
Speaker 1: the go ahead touchdown. Cole Beasley made some critical catches,
Speaker 1: including this one hander on third and four. Cole Beasley
Speaker 1: has been phenomenal since he got to the Bills catching
Speaker 1: the football and in this one defeat man coverage, released
Speaker 1: to the outside, make a one handed catch, get both
Speaker 1: feet down and get across the sticks. Was absolutely unbelievable.
Speaker 1: And it seems like Cole Beasley and crunch time in
Speaker 1: these third down situations, whether it's a man or zone,
Speaker 1: Josh has got a lot of trust in him that
Speaker 1: he can convert for him. Yeah, and on that scene
Speaker 1: drive a few plays later, the Bills are in a
Speaker 1: second and thirteen and Joshed again comes back to Beasley.
Speaker 1: This play all starts with the protection they were able
Speaker 1: to give Josh a ton of time. Cole Beasley here
Speaker 1: is lined up in the two spots in this three
Speaker 1: by one set again, and the old line gives him
Speaker 1: enough time to run a deep dig route, which is
Speaker 1: extremely tough of the defensive back to cover, as we
Speaker 1: see Cole Beasley make even a little extra move at
Speaker 1: the top of that route. And this was another play
Speaker 1: that was crucial in this drive to take the lead
Speaker 1: late in the game. Yeah, this all sets up, of course,
Speaker 1: to go ahead score from Stefan Diggs. What did you
Speaker 1: see on this play? Throughout the game? Patrick Peterson had
Speaker 1: almost been the nemesis to Josh Allen. He drops two interceptions,
Speaker 1: he was able to intercept him once and this was
Speaker 1: a Manda man defense. Josh Allen has Stefan Diggs lined
Speaker 1: up in the first spot in the three by one
Speaker 1: set and he just runs a corner route and he
Speaker 1: uses a combination of speed in a sharp round to
Speaker 1: get a little bit of separation and Josh throws an
Speaker 1: absolute dime on the money. It's a great catch, holding
Speaker 1: the ball through contact with the ground. It's great execution. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was a great drive and it really should have
Speaker 1: been the game winner. But let's rewind to another great
Speaker 1: drive that got some other weapons involved. This was the
Speaker 1: Bill's first scoring drive and it was set up by
Speaker 1: this thirty one yard screen to John Brown. Yeah, like
Speaker 1: how they set this play up and Josh Allen recognizes
Speaker 1: that it's going to be all out blitz. They motioned
Speaker 1: them across. So we've seen this play to John Brown,
Speaker 1: this wide receiver screen out of a three by ones
Speaker 1: that we've seen this multiple times this year. Well, now
Speaker 1: they bring Cole Beasley across the formation, so it's not
Speaker 1: as easy for the Cardinals to recognize. They can't pick
Speaker 1: up their eyes on it as much. And again the
Speaker 1: Bills make the defense pay if you're going to run
Speaker 1: all out blitz against them. They now have answers. That
Speaker 1: seemed to be something that held them back a ton
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen was facing all out pressure, and this
Speaker 1: year it seems like they have answers. Yeah. Plays later,
Speaker 1: Brian Daball draws up a trick play for the Bills
Speaker 1: to get their first touchdown of the game. Brian dave
Speaker 1: Ball likes to have some fun, and we see him
Speaker 1: having some fun here. The jet SUITEP is something the
Speaker 1: Bills use a lot. To Isaiah McKenzie, I actually thought
Speaker 1: it was kind of funny because generally it's a lot
Speaker 1: sharper right at that the mesh point, you know, it's
Speaker 1: it's the snap, the handoff. This one, they truly let
Speaker 1: the Cardinals see it with their eyes, like here it comes,
Speaker 1: and then it's it's a great play design. It's actually
Speaker 1: a really good catch by Josh Allen. It's a good
Speaker 1: throw about McKenzie, but it's a little out in front
Speaker 1: of Josh, and Josh actually makes a good catch. The
Speaker 1: lineman get out in front. And it's stuff like this
Speaker 1: that makes playing offense a ton of fun in this league. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the Bill's offense really looked strong and hopefully they can
Speaker 1: keep that rolling against the Chargers this week. Eric, thanks allot.
Speaker 1: We appreciate you coming in and spending some time with us. Yep,
Speaker 1: my pleasure. Steve Mattie glib here with this week's game preview.
Speaker 1: The seven and three Bills are coming off there by,
Speaker 1: rested and ready to take on three and seven Chargers.
Speaker 1: Sean mc dan is undefeated following a buy since becoming
Speaker 1: the Bill's head coach. Buffalo will face a Chargers team
Speaker 1: who is better than their record. Reads LA has been
Speaker 1: in several close games and all seven of their losses
Speaker 1: have come by an average of four point six points.
Speaker 1: Their offense ranks third in total yards, averaging four hundred
Speaker 1: point nine yards per game. That's thanks to rookie quarterback
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert's arm. Herbert is averaging the third most passing
Speaker 1: yards per game with two hundred ninety nine point nine.
Speaker 1: He also ties for sixth with twenty two passing touchdowns.
Speaker 1: One of the rookie's favorite targets is receiver Keenan Allen,
Speaker 1: who leads the NFL with eighty one catches and one
Speaker 1: hundred and twelve targets with eight hundred and thirty five
Speaker 1: receiving yards, LA's defense is eleventh in total yards, allowing
Speaker 1: three hundred and forty four yards per game, and ties
Speaker 1: for twenty ninth with only nine takeaways. The Bill's offense
Speaker 1: is averaging twenty seven point two points per game and
Speaker 1: three hundred and seventy six point five total yards per game,
Speaker 1: which is good for eleven. They have the fourth best
Speaker 1: passing offense in the NFL, averaging two hundred and seventy
Speaker 1: eight point nine passing yards per game. Receiver Stefan Dix
Speaker 1: has seventy three catches for nine hundred and six receiving yards,
Speaker 1: good for second most in the NFL. That's this week's
Speaker 1: game preview, Steve back to you. Thanks as always, Maddie. Coach,
Speaker 1: you're three and o coming off the buy as a
Speaker 1: head coach. What's the key to having success off a
Speaker 1: bye week. Well, we've got a big challenge with the
Speaker 1: Chargers coming in here. You know that said it's it's
Speaker 1: always about us. It's always about our players and then
Speaker 1: being ready to play, and that's how we've gotten to
Speaker 1: that record. As you mentioned, coming out of the buy,
Speaker 1: our staff doing a great job over the buy, yet
Speaker 1: coming back ready to work and put the time to
Speaker 1: earn the right to win come Sunday. So, as always,
Speaker 1: it'll be a big challenge and we've got a good
Speaker 1: team coming in here and we've got to regain our
Speaker 1: edge over the course of this week as we practice.
Speaker 1: An interesting thing about this Chargers game. They come to
Speaker 1: Buffalo with a quarterback who looks a lot like Josh Allen.
Speaker 1: Justin Herbert's making a strong case for Rookie the Year.
Speaker 1: He's got twenty two touchdowns, only six picks, and he's
Speaker 1: averaging three hundred yards a game. What similarities do you
Speaker 1: see between him and Josh and what kind of challenges
Speaker 1: do you see him presenting to your defense this week. Well,
Speaker 1: he's off to a good start, a great start. You know.
Speaker 1: He hasn't turned the ball over much, which is unusual
Speaker 1: for a rookie quarterback. He seems to see the field
Speaker 1: and not be confused. And he seems very poisoned the pocket.
Speaker 1: Tough as you mentioned, big and strong with the strong arms.
Speaker 1: Looks like he can make every throw. You know, it'll
Speaker 1: be a challenge for us defensively, but as always, one
Speaker 1: of the goals is to affect the opposing quarterback and
Speaker 1: so we've got to do that if we want to
Speaker 1: win the game. Thanks for this, coach, and good luck
Speaker 1: this week against LA. We'll be back here next week
Speaker 1: to recap your game against the Chargers and preview your
Speaker 1: Week thirteen matchup against the forty nine Ers. Thanks for watching,
Speaker 1: everybody at home. This has been the Sean McDermott Show,
Speaker 1: presented by Connors and Ferris and as always, go bills,
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