00:00If you think that Todd Munkin should win coach of the year if they get the 7-10,
00:04that means that you believe that he's worked a miracle.
00:07That's not a good thing to be said.
00:10If you think that that was positive, that's a pretty backhanded positivity thing
00:14that's given to you.
00:15That ain't good stuff.
00:16Let's go to Sal Capaccio because he's a respectful outsider, and we respect him.
00:22He's the Bills reporter, WGR 550.
00:25He joins us right now on the Wiseheart Right.
00:27We make it right.
00:28Call Kyle Right hotline.
00:29I'm going to stop talking like this right now.
00:31Hello, Sal.
00:32You know, I appreciate you coming on this morning.
00:35I'm a bunch of an outsider.
00:35It was only three hours from door to door here.
00:37We're pretty close to you guys.
00:38It's an entire world away.
00:40Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:41No, no, good to be on with you guys.
00:43It was a really, really great day yesterday.
00:44I thought both teams got a lot of great work in.
00:49I've been a part of these things for maybe four of them now with the Bills, five of them,
00:53and I thought yesterday both teams, very professional, very good work,
00:56not a lot of the nonsense that was good out there.
00:58So you did think that the Browns look good, or how do you think that the Browns look overall?
01:02Do you think it's going to be a long season?
01:04What is your – I know it's one practice.
01:06You'll have a preseason game tomorrow, but still, what's your thoughts?
01:09Well, let me tell you going into it, just kind of listening to everybody, reading people,
01:14talking to Daryl, everybody.
01:16I expected the Bills' offense, which looked great on Saturday.
01:21I mean, really, both sides of the ball looked really good in their first preseason game,
01:23but I expected the Bills' offense to struggle a little more than they had in their own practices
01:27because the Browns' defense had been looking really good.
01:30But the question was, was that because they were playing against the Browns' offense and the quarterbacks,
01:34and then I expected the Bills' defense to kind of look really good against the Browns' offense.
01:39It was just a bit more of the opposite, to be quite honest with you.
01:42I thought the Bills' offense really owned the day.
01:46Of the four units, I thought they were the best unit on the field.
01:48I mean, tight ends just were uncovered.
01:51The Browns were – they had several busted coverages.
01:55It was tough for them to – they got around Josh Allen a few times.
01:58He scrambled out.
01:59The Bills' running game looked really good.
02:00On the other side of the ball, I thought the Browns' offense did a pretty nice job
02:04against the Bills' defense overall.
02:06Both teams won some plays.
02:07They won some reps.
02:09I was impressed when the Browns got the ball in their hands.
02:12They were able to do some nice things, whether that was receivers or running backs.
02:16They were creating space.
02:17I like that.
02:18The Bills did get to the quarterback a couple of different times.
02:22Here's where I think the biggest difference lies low.
02:25Every time it seemed like the Browns' run offense, whether it was Shreder Sanders or Deshaun Watson,
02:31when things got sped up, when things got chaotic, that's when they broke down.
02:35When you watch the Buffalo Bills play and you go to practices and you go to games, obviously,
02:41and you watch them, Josh Allen thrives in chaos.
02:44He's great at it.
02:46And, you know, when – you're never worried about things breaking down.
02:49Josh is going to find a way to kind of make the play happen.
02:52And then the pre-snap stuff, too, like just comes with the operation and being a veteran
02:56and those kinds of things.
02:58But that's where I think the Browns really didn't do a good enough job.
03:02The two-minute drill, I mean, they didn't finish the job a couple times when they were getting close.
03:08Red zone, they got close at the very end.
03:10And, I mean, I think they had like three cracks inside the five-yard line.
03:14Once they moved the ball down there, they started the two-minute drill with a penalty.
03:18But that's where I think the biggest difference lies.
03:21Well, that's very interesting to hear, Sal, as obviously our fans just want to know quarterback, quarterback, quarterback.
03:27It was nice to see the receivers flashing.
03:29Casey Concepcion seems like just a speedster.
03:33I mean, people are afraid to say it, but like Tyreek Hill, let's get crazy.
03:37I know that's very early and it's tough expectation on a young wide receiver.
03:41But what did you think overall if you were to compare the quarterbacks, how would you differentiate Shadur and Deshaun?
03:48The only real difference was I felt that when Deshaun had an opportunity to kind of figure things out in
03:56the pocket and had time, he made a couple of better reads, a couple of smarter plays.
04:01You know, both guys threw some nice passes.
04:03I think the one to Casey was from Deshaun, I believe.
04:06Those were a really nice play.
04:07There was down the field, Casey Concepcion, and I agree with you, by the way.
04:10You know, kids from Rochester, a lot of people wanted the Bills to draft him.
04:12I talked to him afterwards.
04:13He thought if he got to the Bills, they might draft him.
04:15But that's a nice draft pick, I think, for the Browns.
04:18And that's a really nice player to have as they, you know, go through this whole thing and trying to
04:23figure out their quarterbacks.
04:24And maybe it's going to be a young quarterback paired with a young receiver.
04:28I thought that Shadur Sanders had some nice moments, made some nice throws.
04:32But I think he, again, when things got a little chaotic, when things got sped up a little bit, that's
04:38when I thought that he panicked maybe a couple of times.
04:41The throws weren't where they were supposed to be.
04:44I thought that Sean was a little bit better.
04:46It's hard to practice saying to watch everything, as you know, and you don't know all the time, you know,
04:50who's running the right route or anything like that.
04:52We all go through that when we watch practice, no matter what team we cover.
04:54I would have given yesterday's edge a little bit to Deshaun Watson.
04:57I don't think it was that big of a gap.
04:59I thought they both had some nice moments.
05:00That's the only thing that I would be concerned about is, hey, when things go a little bit, get a
05:04little critical, a little chaotic,
05:06you've got to have a little better calmness and play from your quarterback.
05:10Sog Capaccio joining us, WGR 550 up in Buffalo.
05:14Who would you start week one at quarterback if you were in charge of the Browns?
05:20If it was even, even really kind of close to even, I would go with Shadar Sanders.
05:24And the reason is, what are you doing?
05:26If it's even, why would you not go with a young guy to let him grow?
05:29Then you get to, because if you go with Deshaun Watson, you get to week eight, week nine.
05:33If you're not winning games, you've just wasted half a season on developing a young quarterback.
05:38Now, I know we have Josh Allen and Buffalo, but I went through this.
05:40We all went through this.
05:41You guys have been through it for longer now than Buffalo was.
05:43And you had Baker Mayfield for a hot minute, but for, you know, 17 years of no playoffs
05:48and quarterback after quarterback and J.P. Lossman and Trent Edwards and E.J. Manuel
05:52and Tyrod Taylor, whoever it was, we've seen this in Buffalo.
05:57And I think the better option is, if you have a young guy, even if he's not quite ready,
06:02you've got to play him.
06:03You've got to put him on the field, unless the other option is just that much better
06:07and he's going to win games.
06:08Of course you do it that way.
06:09That's why I would go with Shadar Sanders if that's the case.
06:11I want Shadar to win the job.
06:13Why would Todd Munkin pick Deshaun Watson then?
06:17The only reason I would think, I think there's two reasons.
06:21One of them is, I think that a lot of coaches would, especially maybe a veteran coach like
06:26he is, I know he's a first year head coach.
06:28They would more err towards a veteran, a guy that they feel a little bit more comfortable
06:33with in situations where he's been there, he's done that.
06:36I want to give my other guys the room, right?
06:39The locker room.
06:40I want those guys to know that I'm going with a guy that has seen things before and
06:43maybe that calms everything down and they feel a little better about it.
06:46The other part of this, which I don't know, this part about the organization, would there
06:51be pressure on him to play him because of the contract, right?
06:53Like, we've seen that in organizations.
06:55That's just how the reality of how the NFL works.
06:57That's how sports work.
06:58You know, you have people who maybe should be making the decisions about who's playing
07:03who aren't making those decisions because someone else says, hey, we're paying that guy a lot
07:07of money.
07:08And, you know, if the other guy isn't that much better, you're playing them.
07:10And I don't know where that would stand with the Browns.
07:14I curious, one of the big matchups we were looking at yesterday, Jared Verse, Deion Dawkins,
07:20the five-time pro bowler.
07:21What did you make of that was Verse able to create any pressure?
07:26Were you able to see, I know we're coming off of Miles Garrett, so it's going to be tough
07:30for Jared to compare a play-by-play basis, but was anything there that you noticed?
07:36I was more focused on Deion, and I would think, and here's the reason, I would say that, you
07:40know, last on Saturday, I didn't think Deion had his best preseason game.
07:43And he had a good year last year, but not by his standards, the year he wanted to have.
07:47And I thought he did a pretty good job against Verse.
07:49So I thought Deion was good in that situation.
07:52However, two things about Jared Verse.
07:54Number one, there was a play where he put some nice pressure on and Josh had to scramble.
07:58It's always tough in those situations because Josh is so good at, you know, just making
08:01things happen and scrambling out of the pocket in those situations.
08:04So, you know, you can't really judge.
08:07In a practice setting, he would have sacked him, but I thought Jared had a nice pressure
08:10in one of those.
08:11The other thing is, holy cow, Jared Verse just brings the energy, guys.
08:14I mean, you know where, you know he's on the field the whole time.
08:17He is, he's like the Browns version of TJ Gardner-Johnson, who we're just getting to know for
08:22the first time in Buffalo, where it doesn't matter where he is.
08:25You know he's on the field and you know that he's going to be doing and saying anything
08:29he can to get his teammates going.
08:31Did you hear CJ Gardner-Johnson calling Shador Sanders the check down king?
08:36I did not hear that.
08:38I heard about it.
08:40I did not hear that.
08:41It wouldn't surprise me.
08:42So I can't like confirm or deny he said it, but I will just say that like CJ Gardner-Johnson
08:47is a different cat, man.
08:48He really is.
08:48And there are a lot of people who believe that the Bills would have never signed CJ Gardner-Johnson
08:53if Sean McDermott was still the head coach because he just didn't bring in certain types
08:58of personalities.
08:59The Bills have intentionally brought in different types of personalities, guys with edges.
09:04You know, you guys know, because it's not far away, you know, a lot of Ohio State fans
09:08here, Davis and Nick Minosin, you know, people thought maybe the Bills overdrafted him a little
09:12bit.
09:12But the one thing that's always said about him is such a, he plays, he's such a dog.
09:16He's so competitive, like that's who the Bills kind of concentrated on this year to bring
09:20in guys like that.
09:20And CJ Gardner-Johnson is that guy.
09:22I mean, he is not afraid to tell you what he thinks about anything.
09:26And I wouldn't be surprised if he said that.
09:29I, on a side note, I did have to ask you because oddly enough, off the field, more was brought
09:36up over the last few weeks about the Buffalo Bills new stadium and we are getting a new
09:40stadium.
09:42Did you think that the talk of the obstructed views and the scoreboard, the minimal scoreboard,
09:48did you think people got a little too carried away with all of that stuff?
09:52I did.
09:53I do think that if anyone has an issue, it should be resolved and that shouldn't happen.
09:57I mean, that's just, you know, if you buy something and if you're not getting what you
10:01thought, it depends on if you went into your stadium experience and you were given a, you
10:07know, a virtual look and it's not the same, then that's something that should be addressed.
10:10There's no doubt about it.
10:11Here's what I think happened in Buffalo and it is happening.
10:14And I think you should prepare yourself for this in Cleveland in a few years, which is
10:18these PSL prices are so high.
10:20There are a lot of people that are upset.
10:22They, you know, can't go to the games anymore.
10:25It's always been a bit of contention from the beginning because of all this.
10:29So there were just, there's a lot of people just waiting to tell you something negative.
10:32There's a lot of people waiting to kind of bash either the team or the stadium.
10:37And I think a few people who do have legitimate gripes, there's no doubt, brought those up.
10:42And then I think a few other people and it just kind of became viral.
10:45We live in this world where people were looking for things to complain about and it became
10:50something it shouldn't have been.
10:51Now that said, again, you got a complaint, take it to the bills.
10:54They should definitely address it.
10:55But I think, and I've been in the stadium every step of the way.
10:59I mean, we had media tours when it was a hole in the ground and there were no seats in
11:02it.
11:03I think it's unbelievably beautiful.
11:05I think 95 to 99% of the people who are going into that stadium are going to tell you
11:09the
11:09same thing.
11:10It's incredible.
11:11It's one of the nicest buildings we could ever have in Western New York.
11:14We have the bills now here for, you know, generations to come, which is great.
11:18The scoreboards are intentionally built a little smaller.
11:21We were told this because they are actually like very vivid.
11:24Like that's one of the things.
11:25Instead of making them as big as possible, let's make them where they're really, you
11:30know, cruel to look at.
11:31And they're not, they're still big.
11:32They're just smaller than what you see at some of these other stadiums.
11:35So yes, I do think some people carried it away.
11:37I think the internet carried it away, but I think there's just a segment of the fan base.
11:42It's mad.
11:42And they're, they're looking for things to talk about.
11:45Now, the big thing is now the grass and the players even are like, well, it's not necessarily
11:50where we want it.
11:51And that's become an issue right now.
11:53It's better than turf.
11:54It's still not as good as you want it, but I don't, you know, I'm not a grass expert.
11:58So I don't know how long it takes for that to kind of, you know, get to where it needs
12:02to be for people to feel comfortable.
12:04Sog Capaccio joining us on the show.
12:06My last one, Joe Brady, new head coach.
12:10Is there, are you, is there a honeymoon period?
12:12Is there even a chance for honeymoon period?
12:14Or was it, is there skepticism with the fan base?
12:19Cause like, there's a lot of people like Todd Munkin is completely different personality
12:23than Kevin Stefanski.
12:24And a lot of people are, have been excited about Todd Munkin for you.
12:28I mean, your team's expected to win a Superbowl.
12:30They've fallen short.
12:31And then you bring in Joe Brady instead of, or you bump up Joe Brady, I should say, instead
12:36of looking around and finding somebody else to, to replace Sean McDermott.
12:42There's no honeymoon.
12:43This might be at the preseason.
12:44That's it.
12:45And, you know, I think the bills last week, they, they made it really intentional on their
12:49part to go out there and have a good showing in that first game again, a new stadium, because
12:53Joe is a new head coach and they do have a lot of expectations.
12:56They want to start off on the right foot.
12:57But guys, I mean, he, he is not replacing a coach that won five games.
13:03He's replacing a coach that won, you know, what, four consecutive division titles until last
13:07year, got the team to the AC championship game a couple of times, had a lot of success
13:11in Sean McDermott.
13:12And the reason is because people, the bills want them to get to the next level.
13:16So that's what he's got to do.
13:17There's no honeymoon in that.
13:18The only way that, you know, Joe Brady falls short and people are, you know, kind of okay
13:24with it, I guess I'd say in a way is if there's some sort of like a lot of injuries
13:28on the team
13:28or Josh Allen, and they say, look, this guy was dealt a pretty tough hand.
13:33I heard so many times when Joe Brady was hired, well, you know, only two first year head
13:37coaches, I think it is, have ever gone to a Superbowl.
13:39And I'm like, well, yeah, because first year head coaches generally take over bad football
13:42teams.
13:43Like this guy's taken over a Superbowl contender.
13:45They are the co-favorites in the AFC to go to the Superbowl.
13:48So I don't think there's a honeymoon.
13:50I like what I've seen from Joe Brady so far.
13:52I think he's answered a lot of the critics and questions about his relationship with players
13:55and, you know, how he deals with things.
13:57Is he too friendly?
13:58I think I like what I've seen from discipline, messaging, all that kind of stuff, but it
14:02won't matter until you start winning games and he needs to win games and he needs to
14:06take this team at least until where, up until where they have been already under Sean McDermott.
14:11Sal, thank you very much for the time.
14:12All the best to you and yours and have a fun season, my friend.
14:16All right, guys.
14:17Thanks a lot.
14:17Sal Capaccio, Bills reporter, WGR 550.
14:20We'll see you next time.
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