5 BILLS PLAYERS TO WATCH VS. CAROLINA PANTHERS

5 BILLS PLAYERS TO WATCH VS. CAROLINA PANTHERS

First and foremost, it’s I’m the Bills OC and I got to get back to what has made me a really good OC and a guy that has been a candidate for head coaching jobs and will be I think at the end of the year. Welcome back to the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel. Mike Catalana, Dan Fates in Rochester. I am Jenna Codro. Please be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share. We are here down in Carolina. We have Bank of America Stadium behind us. The Bills getting ready to take on the Panthers on Sunday. We’re going to do our five players or people we should say to watch out for in this game, in this matchup. As we know, the Bills coming off the by-week, they struggled before the buy, losing two straight games. Where’s this team at heading into tomorrow? This is a crossroads for them now. I think it is a positive that they had the buy. They needed it. Yeah. Right. They got some things to fix. They’re incorporating players into the game plan for Sunday and I think they needed a reset. You know, a lot of times fans will say, and even media sometimes we’ve said it, oh, it’s an early buy. I don’t think the players look at it that way. They think about August, so late July when they start training camp. So, this buy coming now for them is to almost in the middle if you think of it from late July till the end of I guess into January. So, they think of it that way. I think they needed a break and I think they needed that reset. Now, how does that translate on the field? Well, that’s what we’re going to find out tomorrow. We are gonna find out. We we will see what it will look like for this team. In terms of our five people to watch, I think it’s important to start with Joe Brady and then branching off of that, James Cook. Joe Brady’s got to get back to being Joe Brady. And you know, I I have seen some criticism of the guy. He has been a very good offensive coordinator for this team. I think Joe Brady when he gets in that rhythm is really good. I mean, we saw them last year 30 points a game. Josh wins the MVP. James Cook is a dynamic player. They’ve lost that identity and I think obviously Josh Allen is the guy. But Jenna, it starts the identity part I really do believe starts with James Cook and they have not used him enough and not used him in key situations. I think they get back to that tomorrow a thousand%. I think this is the get-right game for the Bills in terms of hey, we maybe got a little too cute. I know you’ve heard that phrase the last couple of weeks, but I think this is who are we? We want to run the football. We want to be smart with the football and we want to get James Cook, another dynamic player involved. And I do think this is something I mean Joe Brady was f fired from Carolina coming back down here. Do you think that has any space in his head coming into tomorrow? Yes, I really do think it does. I mean, you know, he he learned from his experience here, right? He got sort of thrust into that job and the next thing you know, just like his head coach who ended up here after getting fired in Philly. I mean, both of those guys, Sean McDermott and Joe Brady have been fired. And I think they have used that to make themselves better at their jobs. There’s no question. But in your mind, you’re a little bit like, “Yeah, I took the heat for what was going on here.” They’ve still had issues with offense since he’s been gone. Um, but no, I think it plays into his mind. But first and foremost, it’s I’m the Bills OC and I got to get back to what has made me a really good OC and a guy that has been a candidate for head coaching jobs and will be I think at the end of the year. I think it’s totally human nature to have that in your brain when you’re going to a place that you did get fired from. But I want to see the Joe Brady that has evolved. I want to see the mature Joe Brady that’s deciding to take what the defense gives them. Make sure you get James Cook involved. What if they give them reverses to the tight end and the fifth wide receiver? Too cute. Too cute. I don’t I don’t want to see too cute. Yeah. No, too cute. Sean, I want to see cute enough. Yeah. Sean McDermott doesn’t want anything cute in his game plan. He wants a physical football team. And I believe that can start on the offense for this team. Yes. Yeah. So, Joe, no cute. You don’t need cute. You need physical Bills football like they used to play a little while ago. Hey, look at that. People recognizing us. There we go. We love it. Um, all right. So, we got Joe Brady and off of that, James Cook. Yep. A guy we don’t usually have involved in this. Yes. But Josh Allen is a player I think we’re all going to be watching tomorrow. And yes, because he’s Josh Allen, but also because he has not been playing the way that we have seen him play in the past, these last couple of weeks before the buy. Obviously, turnovers were an issue. He had moments even said at his press conference on Wednesday, how he needs to not put his head in the sand when things aren’t going his way. Grandma says she just wants to see him smile. Josh is a guy, I think, that you want to see that maturity from as we get into tomorrow. Josh Allen has been able to overcome everything with this franchise, right? When the defense’s not good enough, Josh makes a play. When they’re not blocking as well on the O line, he makes a play. When the wide receivers aren’t doing anything, he’s just like, “Screw it. I’ll run it and get it myself.” Mash the buttons, right? He wears the cape and he does it. Now, that’s hard to do all the time. The last couple of weeks, he’s gotten in a bit of a bad space. They’ve attacked him and I think Carolina’s going to bring pressure. That’s not really what they do, but they’ve seen what Atlanta did and Kansas City’s going to do it the next week. So, they got to be ready for that. But I think you’re going to see Josh Allen get back to being Josh Allen in this one. And Grandma, he’s going to be smiling during the game. She’s so cute. Yeah, I met her at a game. She’s just so I love grandparents. All right, Grandpop. Okay, I know. Let’s talk defense side of the ball because we talked about it all week. Larry Oen, Joby, Michael Hoy returning to the team. their suspension for the peeds is over with. What do you think it’s realistic to set expectations for them as we get into this game? Yeah, look, Larjobi is playing in place of whoever would have been up from the practice squad. That’s the way I kind of look at it. He’s a veteran who’s been around, seen some stuff in his time. I think he’s anxious to get on the field. He’s got a one-year deal. He misses six games. That’s on him. He knows that. I think he wants to get out on the field, wants to contribute. I think in that role he can be an effective player for them. You know, we’re not saying he’s going to go out there and gamewreck the place, but he knows where he’s supposed to be. Do your 111th and and play. And and Michael Hoy, I think based on the role he could have, I think he can be impactful in the game. I think he can be a pass rusher. I think he has shown the ability to do those things. I think he’s got a high motor. He seems to be that type of player. I’m not expecting uh defensive player of the week here, but I do think there’ll be guys who contribute certainly to bring the floor up on the defense. That’s I think the key there is my expectations is not like the ceiling of this defense has just entered a different stratosphere. It’s the floor has been raised by having these veterans back there, especially Larry Oenjobi considering the amount of rookies or practice squad players that we’ve seen the Bills use at defensive tackle this season. So for me, I think that’s encouraging. I think Michael Hoy, we’ll see if he has any talk about it, his energy, anything that he can add in that way. But those are two guys that we’re definitely going to be watching as they make their Bills debut this season against the Panthers. One thing I wanted to add, um, we’re recording this before there’s the official thing about Max Haristen. So, here’s what I’m going to say. If you’re watching this and they have activated Max, I think that’s great. They get him on the field. I think it would still be a limited participant if he’s out there. Yeah, it’s probably more likely they don’t do that. He’s only had the one week of practice. We will see how that plays out at the deadline, but he’s going to get out there soon. I think he has looked, when I say look good, looked healthy enough that I don’t think it’s a health issue. It’s him being comfortable with the defense. So, if he’s activated, I think he’ll have a role. They’ll want to get him on the field and then they keep ramping him up to playing more and more. I was just checking Twitter to see if there’s any updates. There is not any. But what Michael said is obviously very well put because he’s a Hall of Famer for a reason. All right, another guy to watch. You might know him. Jordan Puyer. Yeah, he’s back. Had a good talk with him this week at practice. One about tackling, which I thought was great. And that’s when he offered up, hey, Monday we put the pads on. Yeah. Cuz I said, can you get better at tackling during the hear? It’s like, yeah, you can. I I do think that’s an important note, though, because I think that’s a little bit counterintuitive. Do you know what I mean? like you’re in the season. I feel like there’s such a wear and tear in your body already that you feel like you can’t get better at tackling. But to him be like, “No, that’s absolutely a possibility.” That to me is encouraging. It’s a mindset of being physical. It’s Monday. It’s like, you know, it’s like in another sport where you might come in, right, and say, “We’re running today.” You know, in basketball, it was like that. Coach is like, “We’re running suicides here. We’re doing this.” You know, it’s waking everybody up. It was the message sent when they came back in. And I think it’s about physicality, but there’s so much of this game is technique, especially on defense. It’s positioning. It is getting the guy to the ground. And I do believe they wanted to reinforce that. Look, he’s not the player that he was. I even said to him like, “Everybody that’s played safety has to live up to Puyer and Hyde. You have to live up to Jordan Puyer.” And he’s like, “Yeah, I can’t really worry about that. I just got to go out and play. I think we’ll see some Jordan Hancock out there maybe too, but I think Puyer’s going to I would expect him to start and get a lot of snaps in the game tomorrow. I agree. I think he’s also we’ll see what level he is at. We know that Jordan Puyer like you talked about, but I do think it will be either way a step up from Taylor Rap who Shawn McDermott says that he’s been dealing with a knee injury since training camp made the move to put him on IR. I just think he’s Puyer knows this defense very very well. He says he’s feeling really healthy, which is also encouraging. And I think he does bring that that physicality that you want to see mid midseason or early like one-third of the season best shape of their life. Jordan Puyer, Larry Oen, Joby, Michael Hoy, because they haven’t played that much. Yeah, I mean it’s true. All right, last guy. Yeah. So there’s this is a a reunion for a lot of Shawn McDermott coming back. Obviously Brandon Bean, they all cut their teeth here in Carolina. Joe Brady. Also, Shaq Thompson, linebacker, played for a long time here. He played with Shawn. Uh, and I think he’s added a nice little bright spot, I would say, to the Bills defense. Now, look, should he have had that interception at the end of the game? Yeah. Yes. But I think you’ve seen and noticed his play in a positive way. And he talked about this week just being back here and what it’ll be like. Yeah. I mean, he was a great player with the Panthers. Injuries have kept him off the field. Knock on wood, he’s been healthy with the Bills. He does bring that physicality. I asked him about tackling and he’s like, you know, I said about doing your job, being in the right spot. He’s like, “My job isn’t done until the guy’s on the ground one way or the other. If I’m in the area, I got to get him to the ground.” And he emphasized the same thing. What makes that better? When there’s multiple players around that. I always say this, watch for that early in the game. Panthers throw a pass, whatever it is, even if they gain yardage, two, three Bills around that player, I think that’s a great sign. Yeah. Population to the ball because it’s hard to tackle. Yeah. Yeah. I’m I’m not making excuses. I’m saying it’s hard oneonone tackles. That’s what player said. You get in that open field, it’s hard to make that tackle. It’s hard to make that tackle, but you have to make that play. Yes. That’s what he said. Yes. But you’re right. having population to the football, gang tackling, all that stuff. A DB net, whatever you want to call it. Physical. Physical. Be physical. What is the biggest thing for the Bills here this weekend? Identity. That like the identity on offense. Get back to what you are. And on defense, don’t get pushed around. I mean, that first half against Atlanta was as embarrassing a defensive performance as I’ve seen the Bills put on the field, maybe since Shawn’s rookie season. that first year where they had some bad ones. That’s not what they need now. They were better in the second half. That’s encouraging. They’ll have new players on the field. Let’s see how they respond. They better respond after a buy and two losses like that. They better respond and make it nine consecutive after buy victories. In my head when I was asking that question, it’s like be the Buffalo Bills. Take care of the football. Run the football. be able to not give up the big plays on defense. We’ve seen it before. This team just needs to get back to that. Dan says it’s a must cover. I you know, I know I know you don’t agree with that. I do think looking Oh, I’d love to see a blowout for the Bills. No, I I know I know you’re not saying that. I just it would make me feel better if this team looked competent and executed to the level that we know. At the end of the day, is the win the most important thing? Absolutely. Yes. Yes, they would be five and two getting ready for the Chiefs. And you know what that week is going to be like. They need to win. They need There’s no question they need to win. They need to play like the Bills. I think if they do that, hey, this Panthers team hasn’t lost a game here. They’ve won three in a row. They’re feeling kind of good about themselves. This is a measuring stick game for them. No, no question. This would be um for Dave Canales, the I um you know, the AI. Why did I say AI? Yeah. AI generated head coach. When you see him on the sidelines, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Yes. Uh he this would be his biggest win. No question. This would they beat the Cowboys, which was big, but this is Josh Allen and the Bills. So, we’ll see how it plays out. All right. Make sure to check out the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel for postgame reaction. We’ll have that coming up later on tomorrow. All right, for Dan Fates, who’s back in Rochester, he’s Mike Catalana. I am Jenna Katrrol. Please be sure to like, comment, subscribe, and share. We will catch you next time here on the Buffalo Plus YouTube channel.

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Jenna and Mike talk who to watch as the Bills look to bounce back against the Panthers in Carolina.

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