Greg Cosell: Bills At Patriots In-Depth Preview | One Bills Live | Buffalo Bills

Greg Cosell: Bills At Patriots In-Depth Preview | One Bills Live | Buffalo Bills

[Music] Welcome back to hour two of one bills live. Steve Tasker and Chris Tarpaso. We’re pleased to be joined now by NFL senior producer Greg Kosell. Also co-host of ESPN’s NFL matchup. Greg Kosell’s weekly appearance on One Bill’s Live presented by Pepsi. Pepsi is the official soft drink of the Buffalo Bills, Food Deserves Pepsi. Greg, thanks for being on with us. U the Bill Bills fans, it took him quite a minute. It took him a minute to turn the page from the Cincinnati game. um more of a that was more you know games like that are a fun to watch and all of that but to me there have been a lot better football games that the Bills have played than than that one and you know when Josh whenever Josh puts the cape on I mean everybody loves to see it but that’s kind of what happened right yeah you know it’s funny I was watching that game and uh you know I guess there’s a part of me that roots for the Bills Steve you know I prefer to see them win than lose you know I try I I try to be objective But, you know, I prefer to see the Bills win than lose. And I’m watching that game and it gets to be 2818 and I’m thinking this this one’s over. You know, you might have lost the same way. There’s no way. What do you think? I I was thinking the same I was thinking the same thing. I was like, man, this is going to be a long week. Yeah, because I mean, obviously, if they had lost that game, I mean, they’re just fighting for the playoffs. We don’t And again, they’re not in yet. And, you know, a lot of things can change. We know that with still four to go. But look, you we’ve talked about Josh Allen so many times. You guys know I believe he’s the most physically talented, physically gifted quarterback in the league. But you cannot live in that world every week, Steve. You know that where where he has to make these plays that are just ridiculous. I mean, you know, the play we’re looking at right now to Shakir. It’s funny. I watched that play over and over. I’m not sure if he was throwing to Shakir or if he was throwing to uh I think it was Shavers behind him, but uh no one will say, but you know, they’ll tell you he was throwing to Shakir obviously and maybe he was. But uh and then of course this run, you know, the Bengals, I’m not sure what they were thinking in certain situations where they had nobody to account for Josh Allen’s scrambling ability and that play that 40-yard touchdown, they played zero with no one accounting for Josh. So, you know, sometimes the defense has to has to help you at times as well. But, you know, it’s just hard to live in that world where you expect him to be Superman every single week. Yeah, we uh the Shakir play and you’re right, I don’t know who he was throwing it to either. In fact, it there was no place to put that football. Um he threw that he threw that I don’t know what he expected to h I can’t tell you what he expected to happen when he let that ball go because he when he threw it, it was a disaster. And yeah, I I I have no idea how he expected any Buffalo Bill to catch that ball and yet it looked as you know I mean good grief um it turned into a touchdown. It’s Josh Allen. I mean you know in in a different kind of way it reminded me of that play was it a Thursday night game a couple of years ago against New England where he made that play with like no time left at the end of the first half and I think that’s who it was against. Am I right? Am I remembering that correctly? It was against I think a Dolphin Saturday night game in the snow. They wore the red jersey. Yeah. Yeah. Chris, is he remember that? Was where there was literally like they were in field goal range and and but that play, you know, it took him to the end of the half, but he threw a touchdown and you know, it’s one of those No, no, no. Yes. You know, but uh he has a lot of but you know, like we said, it’s tough to live like that. Yeah. Greg, I have one more question about this previous game against the Bengals because I’ve seen some takes on both sides and what you pointed at, I think, makes a lot of sense. The Bills don’t want to always live in this status of we need to just rely on Josh Allen being Superman. On the other side of the ball, did you come away from that film thinking that the Bills defense is a problem, they didn’t have a good game, or that Joe Burrow and not so much Jamar Chase, but Jamar Chase and T. games. Miki are just that dynamic when they’re all together on the field. Well, Chris, you know, I I’ve watched the Bills. I’ve been doing this with these you guys for years and years. I’ve watched the Bills for years, literally every play. This may come across as a bold, controversial statement, and maybe some fans will hate me for it, but I don’t know if they truly have an impact player on the defensive side of the ball. I think Oliver is the closest, and he’s obviously hurt. I don’t know if he’ll be back. I guess he’s trending toward coming back at some point. Um, you know, so when I’m watching the Bills, D, the thing I think Shawn McDermott does exceptionally well, and I’ve actually had conversations with offensive coaches in the league about this, I think he’s really really good at changing the picture pre- snap to postnap, but they don’t really have a a one-on-one pass rusher. Um, at this point in time, you wouldn’t say they have a great corner. I mean, Bedford, they signed, nice player. Um they’re hoping, look, they drafted Haristston. They’re hoping he turns into more than a nice player because he was a first round pick. Um but you know, and Cole Bishop looks like he could become a really solid safety. But I just I feel like when I watch their defense that I don’t feel like there’s an impact defender that you feel like, well, that guy is going to be the guy that that just makes plays when you need it. You know, Bosa was out this week. He’s probably the closest right now to a pass rusher that they have. Rouso hasn’t turned into exactly I imagine what they wanted. Good player but you know not that kind of guy. So I just you know that’s that’s the way I feel about their defense and I think it’s it’s and because of that any given week against a good opponent can be a potential struggle. Well that’s that’s kind of what they’ve hung their hat on, right, Greg? I mean even last year they got to the champ conference championship with a defense that was no all pros like you said like was just okay but they had the ability the thing they did well was turnovers out. They did it consist all the way through the season. They did that. They were consistently winning the turnover battle and that was again do that every year. You know that, Steve. It’s hard to go into a season and say we’re going to get 40 turnovers this year, right? That’s something you can’t really say, you know? Right. And that’s been the difference of late. Now, the Bills have, you know, the playmaking defense, you know, Benford is the point example. A touchdown in each of the last two weeks is the first Bills in player in team history to have back-to-back defensive touchdowns. all of that. That’s been their their motives oper mod motus operendi. They either get turnovers or they have some guy, one guy, this guy, that guy, Epanessa tipping a ball or Jordan Phillips tipping a ball. Somebody makes a play on a game where they were getting lumped up. Yeah. And and and look, those plays count. And the Bedford play was just a great athletic play. It’s funny because they actually ran the exact same pressure to get a sack late in the first half with Bedford coming off the boundary corner and then they ran that play, you know, and it’s a great play. You’re not taking anything away from that play, but that’s not a necessarily a play you say, “Oh, we’re going to we’re going to make that play, you know, and then the next the very first play on the next series, the ball gets tipped and, you know, it could get tipped and go somewhere else.” You can’t, you know, you can’t count on those kinds of plays. Um but hey, in that game it worked, you know. So we’ll look, they’re nine and four. Um we’ll see where it goes. I mean, obviously we can turn our attention out of this week. They’re playing a team that’s played extremely well. What have they won? Is it nine in a row? Is it? I think 10 in a row. It’s 10. 10. 10 in a row. Yeah. Believe me, it’s 10. Yeah, we’ve been talking about it all week. They And this is the thing, too. You tell me, Greg, because you’ve been around maybe as long as me. the this Patriot team and Vrabel and his countenance on the sideline and the way they win and the way they play and and certainly they have not, you know, they’ve got the easiest strength of schedule in the league, right? So, they haven’t really had a gauntlet, but nevertheless, 10 in a row is 10 in a row. 10 in a row is 10 in a row and they are playing and see if you think this the same thing. This is exactly like an old Bill Parcel’s team. They just don’t beat themselves. there zero mistake and when they get make a mistake it’s like you know it’s like the worst possible thing in the world you go off the sideline it’s like the the first mistake you’ve seen in two weeks you know what I mean they’re just very rare yeah they’re they’re a they’re just a solid fundamentally sound football team I’m sure a lot of people didn’t expect Drake May to take this kind of leap in his second year um but you know Josh McDaniels has been doing this a long time I love the way he coaches Drake May he’s not simplifying the game for him. Um, he’s actually giving him everything and allowing him to develop as a quarterback. Um, you know, the one thing he does extremely well with him is there’s a lot of the same concepts that they get to in many different ways, but the concepts are the same. And Steve, you know this from when you played, you know, that’s the way the pass game is is most effectively taught. You deal in concepts and then it’s just a matter of how you get to them. You can get to them from multiple personnel packages, all kinds of different formation looks, motion shifts, but the concepts are the concepts. And I think they do a great job with Drake May and that so that it doesn’t, you know, overload his brain, you know, and you know how it is when it’s third and let’s say eight, the quarterback’s not expecting, you know, a potential of 30 possible play calls. He’s expecting the five or six that you practiced all week, you know. And I sometimes I think fans think, oh, well, there’s 30 plays to choose from. That’s not the way it is. You know, my guess is Drake May in pretty much every situation almost knows without even hearing the play call, you know, from Josh what it’s going to be because it’s only going to be one of five or six concepts and then it’s just a matter of how we running it. You know, what’s the formation? Is there emotion? You know, that kind of thing. So, they they I think they’ve done a really really good job with him and he plays very comfortably. Correct me if I’m wrong, Greg, but isn’t that idea of getting to the same concepts from all different formations a lot of what Josh McDaniels did with Tom Brady? And it’s to me uh Yeah. So, it’s I guess what like how I wanted to ask is piggybacking off that. What did you think of Drake May coming into the NFL out of the draft just in the 2024 class? And have you been impressed? Did you expect him to have this much on his plate and execute as efficiently as he has entering this game? Well, in many ways, yes, Chris, and I’ll tell you why. Because the quarterback coach at UNCC when Drake May was there was Clyde Christensen. And Clyde Christensen, I’ I’ve known him for years. He coached Tom Brady. He coached Andrew Luck. He coached Pton Manning. And I was actually down at UNC. It was the year after Drake was was gone, but Clyde was still there on that staff. Um, and we talked quite a bit and he told me that this kid is going to make it, that there’s no question in his mind, just the kind of personality he is, um, how smart he is, how mentally tough he is. Um, so I’m not surprised and I liked his traits a lot. Um, there were a couple of, you know, things in his game that I thought needed correcting, but they were coachable things. And by the way, no quarterback in in college comes out as a finished product. I mean, sometimes fans think that, particularly if a guy plays well early, oh man, this guy’s great. But, you know, you know, Chris, you’ve been doing this a long time. You do a lot of college work. No quarterback is a finished product coming out of college football. The games are totally different. So, there’s always something to work on to keep getting better at. You know, look, even the great quarterbacks in this league, I guarantee you if you would talk to defensive coordinators, you know, who have to play against Josh or Patrick Mahomes, they tell you the one or two things that they’re not great at that they feel if they put together the right game plan that they can minimize, you know, so no one is is, you know, a 10 in every category, but I really like to Drake May’s uh talent. I really like the way he played. Um, so I’m not surprised that he’s developed particularly with a coach like Josh McDaniels who’s been doing this a long time and I’m a believer in that. I think, you know, I think about this with Tennessee and not that we’re going to spend time talking about Tennessee, but that the biggest thing they have to do is get someone in that building with the absolute point of making Cam Ward great. Anything else is pointless because then they’re all going to be fired in two or three years if it doesn’t happen. Yeah, perfect segue there about Drake May that for this quick followup, what are any weaknesses that you’ve noticed of his on film that maybe Bills fans can be looking for in this game on Sunday? Well, I thought when he came out, and I think he’s improved at it in the league, he was a drifter, Chris. He would tend when he dropped back in the pocket to drift predominantly to his left. Um, and what that does, of course, is it it you create your own pressure sometimes because the offensive line is blocking a certain way and they’re expecting you to be in a given spot based on the play call, especially if it’s, you know, drop back or play action where you’re going straight back into the pocket. And if you start drifting, you create your own pressure and you make throws harder than they need to be. And he had a tendency in college to do that. And what you do then because you start to feel the bodies, you start to feel squeezed is you start to rush your throws. And then when you rush your throws, you lose accuracy. And there were times in college where his ball location, I’m sure you saw this, where his ball location wasn’t exactly what you wanted it to be because you start to rush. And I think that that’s definitely a coachable thing. Every once in a while he’ll do that, but it’s better than it was in college. Okay, so we just got the final practice report. Uh it looks like uh Christian Benford, Terrell Bernard, and Joshua Palmer are all questionable for Sunday. Benford, I don’t know if you think Christian Benford got a toe injury yesterday. He he, Bernard, and Palmer are all questionable, but it looks like Bosa is good to go. Spencer Brown is good to go uh for the Bills on Sunday. But as you said, Bosa is a pretty good is a good player and has been really good. probably the most effective and consistent defensive lineman for the Bills, certainly the pass rusher, but do is there anybody else that you’re really worried about losing or having on the field? Because as you said, this Bill’s defense is, you know, it’s 11 guys. Is there is no real game? That’s what it is. Yeah. Yeah. So, so do you worry about the injury report that much? Well, you know, if Bedford can’t go, um, who’ll be the outside corner then? You know, will they play Trey? It’ll probably be Trey White and Max Harist and Harston. Yeah. And then Harston will play all the snaps instead of in rotation. Um, right. Yeah. And, uh, look, you know, that’s you just got to then live with it. I mean, um, you know, I think I think what they’ll try to do is just slow down the mental processing for me. As I said, what what Sean’s really good at is is changing the picture. And uh you know, he actually did it a lot against Burrow, and Burrow’s Burrow. I mean, he’s one of those guys. Burrow is a computer chip. You know, there’s not many guys like Burrow who can see it just, you know, it just happens. It’s you know, it’s an eight. It’s you know, it’s there are guys like that in every sport. You know, I probably showing my age, but you guys, I know Steve, you’ll you’ll know this, but I mean, you can’t just say to a guy, well, see the ice like Wayne Gretzky. You know, some guys can do that, some guys can’t. You know, Burrow’s one of those guys. you know, uh, but I think you’ll you’ll see Shawn do a lot of that and hope that he just slows down the process for Drake May. On the Patriots side, Greg, I want to ask you on the defensive side of the ball. Uh, they have some injuries, too. Robert Spelain dealing with an injury, Harold Landry, and looking at it from an analytics perspective, and I know you’re mostly film, but I’m looking at it as the Patriots last year were 31st in EPA per play allowed on defense. Now they’re 10th. What have you seen from watching Patriots defensive film that you think are the the core reasons for such a seismic jump from the one of the worst defenses in football to truly one of the best this year? Well, I hate to show my ignorance, but I don’t even know what that means what you said, but but about EPA, why were they bad? Why were they bad last year and why are they good this year? Pretty much. That’s what I meant. That’s what I meant. Well, first of all, I think they got better in terms of talent. I mean, I you know, I know he he missed some some time, but and I don’t know if he’s due, I guess he’s not due back for this game either, Milton Williams, but Milton Williams was a major upgrade on their defensive front. Bar has played exceptionally well this season. Um, Spalain is one of those guys, he may not be a household name, Chris, but I got to tell you, when he was in Pittsburgh, he ended up being the guy, the linebacker that never came off the field with all these other so-called high draft choice players. As you know, Spalain never came off the field. He was terrific in in with the Raiders. He’s a really really good player. If he can’t go, I mean, I don’t know if he’s injured enough where he can’t go, but he’s really good and they’re really good at corner. I mean, they you know, Gonzalez, Davis, they’re really good at corner. Believe it or not, the one area where they’re they’ve been bad this year is the red zone. Now, you got to get there obviously, but they’ve not been a good red zone defense at all. Uh, one last thing I not one last thing, but this I want to talk about Drake May is in the MVP conversation. He’s had that kind of year. He’s playing at a high level. Um, and so you kind of view the Patriots in that respect a lot like teams view the Bills. How far have the Patriots gone? And I know that you Josh McDaniel has, you know, done what he’s done. What about protecting him? Um, it seems they start with protection first and foremost. and whatever happens, Drake May is is like an egg, man. They don’t they do not want to get him cracked. And that that they’ve done a really nice job of giving him plenty of time to see it, study it, and throw it. And you know, to me, I remember this goes back, I don’t know, 15, 18 years when I had a conversation with John Gruden and he said something to me that has always resonated and he says, “You have no pass game without protection.” And you know, the bottom line is, yeah, would every coach like to send five out? Of course they would because you have five eligibles. But if you can’t protect your quarterback, then you have no pass game. And you’re right, Steve. Now, now Will Campbell is out, you know. So, you know, maybe that’s an area that they can exploit to some degree, especially if Bosa is back, you know. Um, but you want to try to speed them up, you know. I think with quarterbacks, look, sacks are great and people respond to, “Oh, we had six sacks.” But you’re trying to speed up the quarterback, you know, you’re trying to just get him to because you know how it is. I mean, for a quarterback, they don’t have a lot of time to begin with. And if you and if they feel that they have to play faster when they only have, you know, 2.5 seconds to begin with, everything starts to happen way too fast. You know, that that’s where the the the changing the picture pre to postnap becomes a bigger deal. Everything sort of becomes a domino effect. So, you just want to see if you can squeeze the pocket, get bodies around him, but you still have to be aware. He can he can run. He’s a very good scrambler. So, you have to be aware of that, too. You have to account for that. Sure. Last one from me, uh, which is again kind of a segue from that. And I’m going to start with an observation of mine. You tell me if you’re seeing the same thing, Greg, or you’re not. Everything else that you laid out about Drake May, I I’ve been super impressed. I was a big fan of his coming out of North Carolina, too. The one area that I think he’s still playing like a secondyear pro this season is taking sacks and maybe I don’t want to say necessarily drifting into pressure. Have you seen the same thing where there’s maybe a few plays where he needs to throw the football away? And that was a problem early on for Josh Allen too. Yeah. No, he gets sacked too much. I think he’s second or third in the league in number of sacks. Um and yeah, he does get sacked too much and uh you know that very often that can be a function of you know for whatever reason you just don’t see it as cleanly as you’d like and and then you end up you know getting sacked. Um so we’ll see. Um look they need to like I said it’s not a matter of sacks in this game but you just want to speed him up. got to speed him up because if he’s comfortable because he’s a very easy thrower, Chris, as you know, he doesn’t work hard to throw the ball if he just looks like a very calm, comfortable player and you know, you want to get him out of that. Now, the run game has had moments this year, but it hasn’t been, I’m sure, what they’ve hoped. So, you just don’t want this to be the week that they feel like they get their run game going. Um, but you know, the Bills, you know, everybody talks about Josh and he’s so good, but you know, every week I watch them and I just sometimes I sit there and cringe thinking, God, is it just is is are they just waiting for Josh to make these incredible plays, which he’s capable of, but it just it that’s hard. That’s a hard road to hoe every week. Yeah, it is. It’s a it’s a very very fine line to walk if you’re going to ask your guy to do that because it’s it’s not just about him. if he gets the ball out of his hands, somebody’s got to be there to catch it. And yeah, it’s a it’s a highwire act waiting to drop, right? Yeah. So, we’ll see. I mean, this is Look, obviously this is a huge game for the Patriots. They win, they win the division, which would mean the first time in what, four or five years that it’s not the Bills, something like that. Whatever it is, you guys would know. Um, but, uh, whereas if they win, not that they’ve clinched anything, but then they still have a legit shot to win the division and, uh, they’re a step closer to the playoffs. Yeah, absolutely. All right, Greg. Thanks. Appreciate it. Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you next week. All right, guys. Thanks so much. Great to be with you.

NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell joined One Bills Live for his weekly appearance. He quick recapped the win over the Bengals, including Josh Allen’s late game heroics. He went on to discuss this weekend’s matchup with the Patriots in Foxborough. He talked about Josh McDaniel’s job in helping Drake Maye progress in year two, some possible weaknesses Maye have shown, and how he may fare against a Sean McDermott defense.

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