- 2 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Sal Capaccio is, in a manner of speaking, Sal joins me on the Wester Hotline from Cleveland.
00:06Sal, today read like a great day, was it?
00:09Yeah, I mean, it was a great day for work for these two teams.
00:13I thought it was a great day for the Bills' offense, and, you know, specifically the tight ends.
00:18They were tremendous today, I thought.
00:20Josh Allen was good.
00:21I don't believe I saw him throw an interception today.
00:24I didn't see anything that, you know, it's tough to watch everything going on at the same time.
00:27And I thought the defense wasn't as good as the offense.
00:30They were fine.
00:32They were probably a little, it was pretty even, I think, between the Bills' defense and the Browns' offense.
00:36But more than anything, really none of the nonsense that we've seen throughout the, the stuff we talked about, like,
00:42just didn't happen.
00:42That was great.
00:43They got, today was a good day for getting a practice in.
00:46What did you see or hear along the lines of cooperation or coordination between the two teams and coaches?
00:56I think that they just basically decided how they want to, you know, structure everything with, you know.
01:03So in advance.
01:04Seven on seven.
01:05Yeah, in advance.
01:05Seven on seven, 11, 11.
01:06They don't just show up and start practicing, right?
01:08You have to have a script.
01:09You have to have a, it's the same thing as when you're at your own facility and you talk with
01:13your assistant coaches and you give them a script for the day.
01:15And this is what we're doing for the first 15 minutes.
01:17This is what we're doing for the next five minutes.
01:19It's the same thing.
01:19So however they did it, I don't know if they got together at a, you know, local restaurant recently or
01:24they did a Zoom call.
01:25But that obviously was coordinated that everybody knew exactly when the air horn went, everybody kind of knew, okay, we're
01:32over on this field now and we're on that field now.
01:34We're going, you know, seven on seven or two minutes roll or something like that.
01:37One thing that hit me was watching a couple of highlights from you is that there was a pretty good
01:43loud reaction to things.
01:45And I think my understanding was that fans were not there.
01:48So this would have all been from the players.
01:52Yes.
01:52There were no fans.
01:53There were, there were some, there was like corporate fans.
01:56You know how you have that sometimes they just get, you know, give out VIPs.
01:59There weren't many of those though, but the stands were there.
02:02There's actual like makeshift stands, the auxiliary stands, the bleachers.
02:05They were empty.
02:06Just some of the media sitting there.
02:08Same thing on the other side.
02:10It was the players.
02:11They were very energetic today.
02:13And that's what you get in a lot of these eight, a lot of times, especially when it's
02:17players who are fighting for jobs, players who aren't going to see maybe, you know, making
02:21the roster and people know that, but they're trying, they can see them, their, their teammates
02:26can see them fighting to survive in the NFL and they make a play and it's a big deal.
02:31Like, oh my God, that's great.
02:32And you're, you're giving them love because you've been the guy going against them for the
02:37last three weeks.
02:38And then finally you see them make a play in a big spot for them.
02:42And that really makes you feel good.
02:43I'll get it in now before I forget again, training camp coverage on WGR presented by
02:48Fiegel car and Joyce, your border attorneys and brought to you by outlet liquor.
02:52When you need to stock up, it's the place to buy a case.
02:54What's your outlet?
02:55Finally, the Barnes firm car crash.
02:57You've got to call the Barnes firm 1-800-8 million.
03:01What for you was the highlight of the day?
03:03Dalton Kincaid.
03:05He was just wide.
03:07The tight ends.
03:08I'll say the tight ends.
03:08I think Jackson Hawes had, I thought he had two touchdowns.
03:11Dawson Knox corrected me and said he had three touchdowns, Jackson Hawes today, you know,
03:15in different periods.
03:16But the tight ends were tremendous today.
03:18And they, I don't know.
03:20I just got a text from my buddy, John Harris, who, you know, you talk to, he's the sideline
03:24guy for the Texans.
03:26And he just said, oh my God, I'm watching what's going on in Cleveland today.
03:29Did the Browns just forget that Dalton Kincaid was on the field the whole day?
03:32They never covered him.
03:32I mean, he was wide open the whole time, it seemed like.
03:35So I just thought it was, that was the best I saw today was how the Bills were able to
03:40incorporate their tight ends for big plays down the field, touchdowns.
03:44And to be honest with you, you kind of had to because you were down four receivers again
03:47today.
03:48No Keon Coleman, no Khalil Shakir, no Skyler Bell.
03:53DJ Moore did play.
03:54He did take reps, but nothing down the field.
03:56It was very, to me, it was very intentional that they kept him underneath.
03:59They kept him on shorter routes.
04:00They didn't want him overexerting himself or anything like that.
04:03Dante Pettis was out today at another one of the lists.
04:06So the tight ends had to be big.
04:08What's going on with Shakir?
04:10We don't know.
04:11We don't get updates from Joe Brady other than they're progressing or, you know, they'll,
04:17they're dealing with a lower body injury or something like that.
04:19We don't know anything on him.
04:21Brady does not have to give any injury updates until two weeks from now.
04:26When Wednesday comes around next in the week before the opener, there has to be
04:30an injury status report.
04:32There has to be an injury update, injury report each day, as you know, starting Wednesday.
04:38Right now, there are several guys injured.
04:40The guys I just mentioned at wide receiver, you still have Ty Johnson out.
04:44You still have CJ Gardner Johnson out.
04:46Nobody knows exactly what's wrong.
04:48You can speculate or maybe we found out through other sources or channels, but the bills don't
04:53have to tell you anything right now.
04:54Understood.
04:55Shakir has been missing for how long?
04:57At least approximately.
04:58Can you say, do you know?
04:59Two days.
05:00Two days.
05:01His first, he played Saturday in the preseason game.
05:03Yep.
05:04And then he, something happened.
05:06He wasn't out there on Tuesday.
05:08That's right.
05:11Yesterday, I talked to Daryl Ryder in Cleveland, 92-3 the fan.
05:15He's here with me.
05:16We're going to do something together here in a little while after I'm done with you.
05:18Well, one thing I was going to mention from that conversation was sort of like a sense
05:23of the Browns defense was maybe the last question I asked him, and he basically said, we'll find
05:27out tomorrow.
05:28Like, you know, the bills come in or went into Cleveland as, you know, what they've been
05:33in the league in the last several years, and the Browns are just trying to find their way.
05:37And I think maybe he was trying to get across that today was important to measuring, you
05:43know, this is reasonable, of course, in measuring what the Browns look like on defense, if not
05:48on offense, too.
05:50I heard that conversation, and I expected the Bills defense to dominate the Browns
05:54offense, and I expected the Bills offense to have a bit of a struggle.
05:57It was actually the reverse.
05:58Yeah.
05:59The Bills offense, to me, dominated the Browns defense today, and the Bills defense was very
06:04even with the Browns offense.
06:05I thought that the Browns offense made some plays, and they also gave away some plays
06:09to the Bills.
06:10It felt to me like when things got a little bit more chaotic, like in the red zone in two
06:15minutes, that's when the Browns broke down.
06:17And that's what Darrell was saying, like the operation of the offense just can get discombobulated,
06:21and that's what we saw today.
06:22When it was just, hey, they're out there, they're going to the 20-yard line, the normal
06:26play, first down, the Browns made some plays, and I thought the Bills had a few ties where
06:30they could have been better.
06:31But once things started to get a little bit more crunch time, clock management, things
06:36like that, it felt like the Browns offense came apart a little bit.
06:40Would you say that specifically of Watson, would you include him in that?
06:43I mean, he's the quarterback, not on every play, but right?
06:46I thought it was more Sanders from that, but Watson as well.
06:50To me, Watson was actually better than Sanders today from what I saw, but it wasn't, I mean,
06:56there was no real difference when that happened.
06:58Either way, it felt like when either of them went on the field, they didn't quite, they
07:01didn't finish the job.
07:03You know what I mean?
07:03Like there were a couple of times where it felt like they should have scored and the
07:06Bills kind of stopped them, whether it was two minute or red zone, because they just
07:08kind of quite couldn't finish the job.
07:11I mentioned this recently, I watched a minute of the Browns-Bears game when maybe the Bills
07:16were in a commercial or something on Saturday, and there was this one situation where there
07:20was a long delay at Soldier Field.
07:23The Browns had the ball, there was this long delay about a ball spot, and they eventually
07:28did bring out the chains, and the announcers were like, wow, I didn't know they would even
07:31still do this.
07:32But they, it was minutes, and then I think what happened was they marked the Browns barely
07:37short, Watson ran a sneak, and then the next play they got a delay of game or had to call
07:44a timeout.
07:45Like these are just the kinds of things that used to drive me, us, insane about the Bills.
07:51Like, okay, you don't have the cannon for an arm, you're not a 4-4, 40 runner, but you
07:57gotta know the other stuff.
07:58You gotta know the logistics, the mechanics at the position.
08:01And when a veteran messes that up, not that that happened today, but I'm thinking about
08:05the preseason game, that's, I think, really glaring.
08:08You know, you just, you don't want to see veteran quarterbacks in these situations really
08:13struggle with, like, getting plays off, for example.
08:17No, I agree with that.
08:19They have to make decisions, and, you know, they're gonna have to make a decision on who's
08:24gonna start.
08:25And I agree with what Daryl said yesterday, because I listened to that conversation in my
08:28drive up over here.
08:29And his premise was, look, if they're both even, you go with the young guy, because what
08:33are you doing?
08:34Why would you go with Watson?
08:36If they're even, you go with Sanders.
08:37You gotta let him develop.
08:38Otherwise, you get, you know, halfway through the year, all the way through the year, and
08:42you wasted development on him when he could have been playing, and, you know, for what
08:45was it worth if you're not winning, actually?
08:47And who knows if they're going to do that.
08:49But that said, he obviously, with Deshaun's contract, I just wonder if other factors are
08:54at play there.
08:55And that's, you know, he winds up, even if they're even, getting the nod there.
08:59So there's a lot that they have to decide and cypher through.
09:02And I'll tell you this, just talking with people around here, I'm just glad that we're
09:05not dealing with that.
09:06And we don't have to deal with that with Josh Allen now, and knowing who he is, and coming
09:09to town.
09:10Matt Bovey and I just did a podcast, and we're sitting here, and I'm still under the
09:14hospitality tent, actually looking over the field.
09:15We did it here, and next to us, I think Tony Grossi, is that who covers the team?
09:20I think that was him who was over here.
09:21And he was doing a podcast with somebody, and either him or somebody else, basically,
09:26the way they summed up today, we heard them, and Matt's like, yep, that's exactly right.
09:31The way they summed it up on their podcast was, today was very notable and noticeable that
09:36the Bills have Josh Allen and the Browns don't.
09:38That's what they said, and it's right.
09:40I mean, that's two-thirds of Bills' games, isn't it?
09:43Yeah.
09:44It's a lot of their season.
09:45We had Miami for years.
09:47It's sort of, it's as simple as that sometimes.
09:50Sal Capaccio in Cleveland for the Bills and Browns today.
09:54I'm Mike Shope.
09:55Bulldog is off.
09:57You know, one counterpoint to the Watson debate would be the players in the room.
10:04Now, this, basically, the premise would have to be that the veteran is better.
10:10And sure, the team would have obvious incentives to play the kid, but if you're starting the
10:17season and you're playing the second-best guy because he's younger, then that would maybe
10:22not go over that great.
10:23So, I don't know if that's really been true.
10:25Most of what I've heard from Cleveland this year is that Watson is shaky and still just
10:29not, like, not good anymore.
10:31But if you didn't have that, I think you might, a coach, a new coach especially, right?
10:36What is he trying to impart there?
10:38Todd Munkin.
10:39Go with the veterans until, basically, you don't have any choice.
10:43Yes?
10:45Yeah.
10:46I mean, it depends.
10:47You've got to know who your team is and where you are, right, in your timeline.
10:50I just think that there's a lot to be considered whenever you have these decisions, whether
10:54that's quarterback or any other position.
10:56You know, veterans, yeah.
10:57You go with them and you ride it out and say, okay, it's their best chance to win.
11:01But at some time, I think you have to decide, you know, who you are and where you are building
11:06your team.
11:06And he's a first-year head coach.
11:08I think he has some grace.
11:09Maybe not.
11:09We've seen first-year head coaches get fired, right?
11:11So, that could happen.
11:13But generally, a first-year head coach can have a little grace.
11:15Look, he's in a different situation than Brady, obviously, right?
11:19He's taking over a team that doesn't have all these great expectations.
11:22Joe Brady's taking over a team that's expected to go to the Super Bowl.
11:25I mean, they're the AFC favorites, for crying out loud.
11:27And he's replacing a guy.
11:29The only reason he's replacing him is because the team feels that they need to take the
11:32next step, which is Super Bowl.
11:33Todd Munkin's replacing a whole bunch of coaches who just couldn't get off the mat.
11:37They couldn't win games.
11:38I mean, anything he gives them.
11:39So, I don't know.
11:41I would go back and forth on that philosophy on how to do it.
11:44I don't think it's an easy thing to do.
11:47And then, I mean, look what the Dolphins are doing right now.
11:50It's probably better for them in the long run, what they're doing, which is stripping everything
11:54down to the studs, essentially.
11:55They think it'll be better for them.
11:57But, Mike, I remember having conversations with you over the years about the Browns
12:00having all these draft picks and how, you know, they're set up.
12:03But it doesn't matter if you don't cultivate it correctly, right?
12:05It doesn't matter if you don't pick the right players, develop them correctly.
12:08And they just haven't been able to do that.
12:09Wait, are you saying that that hasn't worked out in Cleveland?
12:12Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
12:13Yeah.
12:13Let me ponder that before we go too much further.
12:16No, and again, it doesn't happen.
12:17It can.
12:18You could have a lot of draft picks and you hit on the right quarterback.
12:20It's going to fix everything, right?
12:21We know that.
12:22A lot of that can just be luck.
12:23And if they, I guess, what are they calling it here, the March for Arch, right, for Arch
12:27Manning?
12:27Whether that's going to work or not, I don't know, right?
12:28That's what it's called.
12:29And that can happen.
12:31But, you know, over the years, whether it's the Jets or the Browns or anyone, you collect
12:36all these draft picks, you're set up, three first rounders, two second rounders.
12:39I went back and looked.
12:40I mean, you go to the 18 draft for the Browns, it's pretty good.
12:43You know, they have these guys, Baker Mayfield's there, and they get him.
12:45And Nick Chubb is in that draft, right?
12:47They have Miles Garrett, you know, right before that.
12:49And, you know, they're starting to build it.
12:51They have all these draft picks, and then they have a couple injuries.
12:54That's part of it.
12:55But they just didn't cultivate it and didn't develop a lot of the players.
12:58And then suddenly happens, a guy leaves because of a contract situation.
13:01The quarterback falls apart a little bit, and then you're back at square one.
13:05Yeah.
13:06Well, I don't want to relitigate.
13:07That's all fair.
13:09The quarterback is King Kong.
13:11I mean, if it doesn't work out, he's basically stepping on the city, and the city is to ruins.
13:17And if he's Allen, what I think about often, Sal, with respect to other teams, and they're
13:23often the same teams always, Cleveland, the Jets, you know the list, how the Bills were
13:29one of those teams, or they were seen as that when Allen showed up.
13:33And Allen wasn't immediate.
13:35Like, it was a year or two before, oh my God, this guy, the Bills have him and we don't.
13:41So you would not have thought of the Bills as a team that a prospect could have just
13:45walked into and just had it made.
13:48They were the opposite of that, or closer to the opposite of that, I would say, in fairness.
13:52But then, you know, poof, you have the quarterback is a magic man, and you know, you're kind of
13:59all set at that point.
14:00But you know, we just know how important the position is, is all to whatever that equation
14:04really is.
14:05Do you think, from Joe Brady today, this is my bet, nobody plays Saturday, right?
14:10The starters?
14:13I doubt it.
14:14I think after today, Mike, they got a lot of good work in today.
14:16I doubt the starters play.
14:18He didn't commit.
14:18He just said, ideally, you get a good day in today and you don't have to do that.
14:22And that happened, right?
14:23You're saying that happened.
14:24I believe so.
14:25I think today was an excellent day for, again, all the things that we talked about, like
14:30the fights, the nonsense, and how do you control it, and you don't.
14:35You have Jim Leonard saying, I want to see physicality, and you're like, okay, what's
14:38going to happen here?
14:39I thought today was excellent.
14:40There was, there were really, there was none of that.
14:42I mean, minor, minor pushing and shoving here and there that lasted very, very quickly,
14:47and it was dispersed.
14:49And then there was just some trash talk, and that's the extent of it.
14:51Otherwise, I thought it was a great day for practice.
14:53They went a full two hours, too.
14:55Well, I shouldn't say.
14:56They went about, they went about an hour and 50.
14:59You said that you were a little surprised that the Bills' defense didn't kind of dominate
15:03the Browns.
15:04Yeah.
15:05Why not?
15:05What was it?
15:06I saw a couple of Casey Concepcion highlights that looked pretty good.
15:09Mm-hmm.
15:10I talked to him, by the way, and I asked him if he thought he'd become a Bill.
15:12He said, yeah.
15:13He said, if he got down to that pick, he thought the Bills were going to take him.
15:15So for whatever that's worth, I'll make sure people have that quote out there, but I sent
15:20that into the station if you guys want to hear it.
15:23And yeah, he got loose on one for sure.
15:26I think that was Watson who threw that ball.
15:29And then I think there was another one I didn't see.
15:31But yeah, he had a couple of highlights, and he's a nice player for them.
15:33And the reason why I didn't, I just felt that the Bills weren't, I'm going to say aggressive
15:40enough.
15:40Maybe they were aggressive a couple of times that they just weren't close enough to make
15:44a play on a receiver on a ball.
15:46Now, there were a couple of times that Jordan Hancock had an interception towards the end.
15:50Max Harrison made a great play in the end zone to stop a touchdown during a two-minute
15:54drill.
15:54Like, they had their moments, no doubt.
15:56Greg Rousseau had a sack.
15:57And that whole two-minute sequence I was talking about earlier where they couldn't finish the
16:01deal, the Browns, a lot of that stuff was happening.
16:04But at the end of the day, I thought the Browns made, you know, a few more plays than I
16:09would like to see them make against the Bills' defense.
16:12I like that you talked to Concepcion.
16:14Did you talk about Rochester with him?
16:16A little bit.
16:17Not a ton.
16:18I just asked him about being from Rochester, and, you know, he was talking about how the
16:21Bills would have been his hometown team, obviously.
16:23But we didn't get too much into it.
16:24I only had him for a second.
16:25But he definitely said that he thought that he might be going to Buffalo.
16:29Also, would you agree with that, or would you know?
16:31I'm not sure you would know, but that was two picks before the Bills were up in that
16:36draft.
16:37And they end up trading down with Houston and then trading out of the first round, ultimately.
16:40Do you think they would have done this had the Browns not taken him?
16:45Oh, boy.
16:47It feels like they wouldn't have.
16:48It feels like they kind of didn't want to do that in this draft.
16:50They went out and they got D.J. Moore.
16:52Yeah.
16:54Defense.
16:54You know, and I don't...
16:55Because that was this year, right?
16:56This is this draft we're talking about.
16:58Yeah.
16:58Yeah, this draft.
16:58Jeez, man, it runs together.
17:00I feel like they wouldn't have used their top trade asset and their top draft pick on
17:08a wide receiver.
17:09I know that he would have been kind of a guy they considered, and you never know.
17:13Maybe he just was highest rated on the board.
17:14They would have done that.
17:15I just never got the sense after trading for D.J.
17:17Moore they would have done that.
17:18I agree.
17:20And it was a little bit early, as I remember it, with Concepcion going 24.
17:25I mean, three receivers had already gone.
17:26And then you got Omar Cooper, who was talked about some, and some other guys.
17:31So, it was a little bit...
17:32It was seen, I think, mostly as being a little bit early.
17:35But very exciting-sounding player.
17:38Like, I don't know if the Browns...
17:40Yeah.
17:40That'll be the trick, of course.
17:41I mean, at least for this year, is if the Browns can sort of hold up and pay off a
17:47receiver
17:47like this.
17:48I mean, maybe it's a little bit like Watkins here, where...
17:50I don't know.
17:51But the guy seems like...
17:52It sounds like he's good enough.
17:55Yeah.
17:55I think he sounds to me like he's fitting in, from everybody I've heard here.
17:59He's doing a really nice job.
18:01And he made a couple plays today.
18:02So, you know, good on him.
18:03And, you know, we'll see where it goes with him.
18:06But I thought, overall, the Bills' defense, like I said, made some plays.
18:11Had some plays against, where I thought the offense clearly won the day against the Browns' defense.
18:15I know what you said about Shakir, and maybe this is essentially asking you the same question,
18:20but Ed Oliver, anything?
18:22No, he wasn't even...
18:23We didn't see him today, Mike.
18:25You know, Shakir, we saw.
18:27CJ Gardner-Johnson, we saw.
18:29Skyler Bell actually came out with a helmet on and did some work with an athletic trainer
18:32on the side.
18:33Did not see Ed Oliver at all today.
18:35I do not know if he made the trip or not.
18:38Okay.
18:38Do you have, maybe for fans who could be wondering this, or even myself, you know,
18:43talking about Concepcion, that's a first-round pick in Cleveland.
18:46That'd be a story.
18:47That'd be a player we'd talk about every day if we were here.
18:51How about, I mean, Elam Zara has been one name you've talked about a lot.
18:54Rookies or maybe lesser-known Bills players that are sort of popping for you?
18:58A couple?
19:00Well, I think Kanai Walker, you know, a guy that you saw make that interception last week,
19:04he's one for sure.
19:05All right.
19:05You know, and he's starting to, you know, gain some traction as a real option to make the team.
19:11He's an undrafted free agent, so, you know, he looks the part.
19:14He's long.
19:14He's athletic.
19:15I think that's somebody that they really like having.
19:18Trying to think who else could be.
19:21Oh, you know, I was standing in the end zone today.
19:24It was great, Mike.
19:24Like, we could be right on the field, and the video you saw, like, we got to film everything
19:28today, and I didn't get video of this, but Ian Wheeler, the running back, they got this
19:33kid from the UFL, you know, the United League, or XFL, I guess, whatever it was.
19:38You know, there's so many of these now.
19:39And he caught a pass, and he just trucked a guy.
19:42I mean, he was physical, and he just ran him over.
19:45And doing the pod with Matt a little while ago, Matt believes he has jumped Frank Gore
19:49Jr. in the pecking order.
19:50And the reason why this is significant is we don't know about Ty Johnson's injury right
19:54now.
19:54And if they have to think about a third running back and keeping somebody on the ready,
19:59I think Ian Wheeler right now is starting to get into that conversation.
20:02Ian Wheeler, I have to look it up myself.
20:05The most valuable player of the United Bowl this year.
20:09Yes, exactly.
20:10Playing for, I think, maybe that's Louisville.
20:13So, there's a guy to know.
20:15Yeah, Ty Johnson's been out for almost all of it, right, Camp?
20:20No, he got hurt.
20:22No, he got hurt in the open practice.
20:25Okay.
20:26He went down in the red and blue scrimmage, the red and blue game in Buffalo.
20:31And then he missed.
20:32So, it's been a little over a week.
20:33Right.
20:34Two weeks.
20:34It'll be two weeks Saturday, right?
20:35Sorry, two weeks, yeah.
20:36Okay.
20:37Tomorrow, there's nothing for you to cover?
20:40Nothing tomorrow to cover.
20:42And then Saturday will be the game at 1 p.m. at the stadium.
20:46Perfect opportunity for a Buffalo-Cleveland Media Fantasy League draft, don't you think?
20:51Ha!
20:51I mean, you don't have to stop at 1.
20:54Yeah, I don't think that'll be happening, but I'll still be out here in Cleveland.
20:57All right.
20:58Let me know if you need help putting that together.
21:00All right, you got it.
21:01Thank you, Sal.
21:02All right, you got it, man.
21:03Thanks.
Comments