- 4 weeks ago
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00:00This afternoon, I'll be back to my regular shift at 1 p.m. tomorrow with my regular radio partner, Tim
00:06Graham, who I haven't seen in so long.
00:07I miss Tim Graham.
00:08I'm excited.
00:09I miss Tim.
00:09I'm also excited to speak with Carl Jones, who I've said this.
00:12I said this when you weren't here, Carl, and I will say this with you here.
00:16I don't even know you.
00:17I've never met you.
00:18I just like you on TV, and you seem like somebody I would enjoy talking to.
00:22So I'm glad to have this opportunity.
00:23I'm glad Owen had your phone number to get in touch and reach out and get you on the show.
00:28See, you don't got to butter me up like that.
00:30No, it's legit.
00:31I said it, man.
00:32I said it earlier.
00:34That said, Owen, you had a pretty specific reason you wanted Carl to come on to.
00:37Well, yeah.
00:38I think the defensive secondary in the last few days, Carl, has become a bit of a talking point.
00:43We had Jim Leonard say that he was concerned with some of the injuries and whether they've had enough time
00:49to gel together.
00:50So let's start right there.
00:51How big of a factor do you think having guys in and out, missing time, not working as one solid
01:00unit with the starters,
01:01how big of a factor do you think that is for a team that's trying to install a new system
01:06and has a new defensive coordinator in Jim Leonard?
01:09Is that a major issue for you?
01:12All I want to say is not nothing.
01:14Anytime that you're not out there with a fellow teammate, it definitely takes away something.
01:18But with how much time you've got to spend in the meeting rooms, with all the additive stuff you can
01:23do in terms of walkthroughs and jogthroughs,
01:26you can make up some time lost as long as players are healthy enough to be on the field.
01:30It's not like C.J. Garner-Johnson's on crutches or anything worse or a boot, where if they're doing walkthroughs
01:35at night,
01:36he can't talk through certain coverages and certain checks and balances, right?
01:40So I don't think that's a big issue.
01:42I asked the question.
01:43I was talking about just the youth in the cornerback room when I asked Jim Leonard yesterday,
01:48and he took it with the injury direction.
01:50I think the bigger concern is just that there's not a lot of trusted depth behind Christian Benford,
01:56more so than the injuries.
01:57I mean, yes, it's never ideal for players to be missing or out,
02:00but I don't think it's like a ring the alarm, like, oh, my gosh, the players aren't healthy.
02:05They're not going to be able to talk to each other week one.
02:07Yeah, all right.
02:08Well, that is sort of my instinct as well, is, like, these guys are together so often.
02:13It's the job, and if you know you're not getting the reps you would normally want in a, you know,
02:18standard practice setting, you would think that these guys are working behind the scenes to sort of make that time
02:23up.
02:24So, and one of the names you mentioned in there, Maxwell Hairston,
02:26another guy that I think has sort of become a topic of conversation.
02:30You've been around the team since camp started.
02:34What have you seen from him?
02:35I'm seeing a lot of conflicting reports.
02:37He's had a bad camp.
02:38He's been fine.
02:39He's ahead of IGB.
02:40He's behind IGB.
02:41Where are you at on Maxwell Hairston right now?
02:44I don't think he's had a superb summer by any – well, I'm not going to say summer.
02:48I don't think he's had a superb training camp in preseason.
02:51I wouldn't categorize it that bad.
02:53I don't think it's been awful either.
02:55I know I saw some people say that, you know, busts and things of that nature.
02:58I wouldn't go that far either.
03:00But I think, you know, heading into year two, you just maybe wanted to see some things pop
03:04and be more obvious.
03:05But, listen, it's a new system.
03:07I get it.
03:08And, you know, the questions and concerns about how much of a fit this new system is for his game,
03:14I don't think those are going to be answered until the regular season, right?
03:17We were never going to get that answer until the regular season.
03:19So, I wouldn't say it's been great.
03:22I wouldn't say it's been ugly either.
03:24I want to see how this plays out into the regular season.
03:27And if I had to guess today, they'll roll with him out there in week one
03:30and then let the ball, not just steal a turn from Joe Brady,
03:34they'll put the ball down and see where it goes from there.
03:36Yeah.
03:37All right.
03:37Well, that's good to hear because I think it's a major concern.
03:41I think they drafted for the second year in a row a corner at that position really high.
03:46And, you know, for a team that has lacked high-end talent, burning back-to-back years of really high
03:53-end picks
03:54and maybe not getting the results we've wanted is a big concern for the fan base.
03:58So, I'm glad to hear you say it hasn't been necessarily a nightmare like some have claimed about Hairston's summer.
04:04There was something in...
04:05Where are we on Hairston's season last year?
04:09Because everything I heard was good, but there just wasn't a ton of production,
04:12but most of that was injury-related.
04:15So, I mean, collectively, what do we think about him as a player?
04:18I didn't think it was crazy for them to go after IGB early.
04:21I just view that as especially with the way the playoff game ended
04:24and, you know, watching guys drop like flies.
04:26You can never have enough of these dudes.
04:28And they can play special teams for you.
04:30You can move them all around.
04:31But, ultimately, Hairston, like, he has a grade of incomplete on season number one.
04:37So, it's not like I would have drafted IGB to replace him.
04:40I just needed more.
04:41And it doesn't reflect on Hairston.
04:43But where are we on Hairston?
04:45I think calling it an incomplete is a fair way to call it.
04:49There are certain things that are certainly promising how he played last year.
04:53You saw the playmaking chops.
04:54You saw how that translated from college to the NFL.
04:56That was his number one college.
04:57Well, his speed was his biggest calling card.
04:59But, behind that, he's a master of taking the ball away.
05:02You saw that against the Chiefs last year.
05:04And I think the Dolphins was the other game.
05:06But then there's some other things where you need to, you know,
05:08have your antennas up and make sure you have your eyes on going forward.
05:11Injuries are one of them.
05:12And the other is, you know, giving up the big play.
05:15I think about that Jalen Waddell touchdown.
05:17I think about the Bengals game.
05:18So, you wanted to see him clean some of those things up.
05:21And then, unfortunately, this month he dealt with some injuries.
05:24I believe he just came back from a – I don't know if he was a groin.
05:27Someone just came back from a groin injury.
05:29And then he's given up some big plays this fall, this summer as well.
05:33So, I think some of the concerns we had last year are still here.
05:37But I don't want to call it spade to spade.
05:40I mean, I want to be fair to everyone here.
05:41The games are one of the things that count.
05:43So, I just want to see what it looks like in Houston going forward.
05:47Totally.
05:47There was another part of Joe Brady's press conference this morning that I found
05:51interesting and really sort of shined a light on your name in our lineup later.
05:57He discussed about nonverbal communication between defensive backs before snaps.
06:03And I was just really curious to pick your brain about how much are you working on as
06:08a defensive back acknowledging, listen, I'm not going to be able to hear you out here
06:12because our fans are crazy and the opposing teams on offense and we're trying to disrupt
06:17them.
06:17We're going to need to find a way to get our message across.
06:21What does that sort of look like?
06:22What are some strategies behind that?
06:24Anything you can tell us about sort of that aspect of the game from a secondary player?
06:30Yeah, for sure.
06:31I remember at Syracuse, there was something similar when we were playing a big team, whether
06:35it's Clemson coming to town, NC State, Florida State, whatever the case may be, you understand
06:41that, listen, third down, it might feel like a home, a role game to you too because they're
06:44blowing the other team's quarterback.
06:46And one of our coaches used to say, if I play this film back, it need to look like y
06:51'all
06:51throwing up game signs.
06:52That's the type of nonverbal communication we're doing out there, just throwing up a
06:55bunch of hand signals, right?
06:57And I think that's one thing.
06:58I always say a confident secondary is a secondary that's doing a lot of talking, a lot of hand
07:03motion signals.
07:05And so when you're seeing a secondary do that, that's someone that is confident in what they
07:08have going forward.
07:10So that's a bunch of stuff.
07:11It can be walkthroughs when we're repping that stuff.
07:14It can be walking to the bus.
07:15I know sometimes we just be, you know, you're walking to the bus, getting ready for the
07:19game.
07:19You're like, all right, listen, man, if I get this look and I just throw up like elf ears,
07:23this is what's coming.
07:24So it's so much, but that's time on task, right?
07:27Christian Bemper's been there and done that.
07:29He's playing next to Cole Bishop.
07:30He's a good friend of CJ Garner-Johnson.
07:32When you just spend time with someone, with players off the field, some of the minute details
07:36you can pick up just like that.
07:37I don't need to be on the field to figure that out.
07:40We can figure it out, whether it's in the hot tub, in the locker room, you know, whether
07:44we're hanging out playing video games together.
07:46That's where that time on task helps out a ton, especially being close off the field
07:50as well.
07:50Speaking with Carl Jones of Channel 4 Sports, I would say the same thing happens even here.
07:57And Carl, you're in the same basic business here.
07:59We can, I can look at Owen and say, just now, Owen kind of just pointed, his hand came
08:05up and that meant, are you about to speak next?
08:08And I just gave a quick little nod and we moved on.
08:11And you don't normally talk about it and you don't normally think about it.
08:14But the more that you are around the same people, the more that you can communicate non-verbally.
08:18And it gets you out of a lot of trouble, not just in the football world, but in life.
08:24Oh, for sure.
08:25A hundred percent.
08:26There's so many times where I've been on TV and I'm the rookie out there, right?
08:29You know, I'm with the OG, Josh Reed, Tim Graham, Capaccio, all the fellas.
08:32And I'm sitting here, I'm like, hey, is it my turn yet?
08:35Is it my turn yet?
08:35So, you know, I'm working on my winks and my head nods, y'all.
08:39I need to steal some of your tricks.
08:41I'm working on my winks and head nods.
08:43I'm right with you, Carl.
08:44I'm in the process of learning the ropes myself.
08:47So, I hear you.
08:49Let's move away.
08:50We spent some good time on the secondary there.
08:52That's, you know, a big part of what you talk about and your expertise.
08:56But just moving up a little bit, I mentioned this earlier to Brad when we were talking about
09:00what we've seen in the preseason so far.
09:02And I try not to, you know, take too much out of these games that are pretty much utterly
09:08meaningless.
09:09But the one thing I could nitpick about if I was going to choose something was it did
09:14not look to me like the defensive line was getting much pressure on the quarterback.
09:19And I know that Leonard is likely to dial up a lot more exotic looks and to do a little
09:24more to help schematically up front.
09:26But is there anything you're concerned about on that line?
09:30It feels to me like the number one place I need that defense to improve.
09:35And through two games, I don't know that I've seen it.
09:38I think that's a fair critique.
09:39My one pushback to that will be on third down once the games start, the four players,
09:45and many of them that are going to be out there are Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau, Bradley
09:50Chubb, and Deion Walker.
09:51We've probably seen them together for six snaps this year.
09:54So I think that's so if we're talking about money down January 20th, this team is on the
09:59road at Arrowhead or in Denver or pick a random city.
10:02Those are the four that are going to be out there.
10:04It's not going to be Landon Jackson, TJ Parker, TJ Sanders, and insert other edge rushers.
10:09So that's the one pushback I would say.
10:11Having said that, though, that is something I actually brought up as well, where I want
10:15to see some of the young pups.
10:16We'll see what their pass rushing chops look like, what type of juice they have in terms
10:19of getting after the quarterback.
10:20Because when you talk about depth on the defensive line, players who get after the signal caller,
10:25think about what the Seahawks were.
10:26You think about what the Chiefs have been the last few years, the Philadelphia Eagles, the
10:29Houston Texans.
10:30I know they have two Cyborgs, but they also have players off the bench.
10:33You would like to see if TJ Parker has to sub in on a third down for an edge rusher.
10:37Can he hold up his end of the bargain?
10:39What about a TJ Sanders, a Landon Jackson?
10:41So I think there's some merit to it, but I'm not going to be overly concerned because
10:46at the end of the day, the Aces, the big dogs who haven't played a lot this preseason
10:49are going to be the reason why one way or another, the Bills advance as far as they want
10:54to go.
10:55We had a thing come up earlier, and I mentioned this, and let me see what you think about it.
10:59Bradley Chubb, every time his name is mentioned, I go, oh yeah, because it wasn't the flashiest
11:07signing, despite the fact that this is a fifth overall draft pick who has been a star in the
11:11league, who had eight and a half sacks last year and had 11 a couple years or three years
11:16ago, whatever it was.
11:17How do you view him?
11:19What level of expectation do you have for what he means as a part of this defense?
11:25I think the first thing is his infectious personality, right?
11:28If you talk to anyone in the building, that's the first thing they say.
11:31He's a leader.
11:33The guys gravitate around him.
11:34You can just feel his energy out there on the field, whether it's the handshakes and
11:38how he commands the edge room huddles, things of that nature.
11:42So he's clearly been an additive in that regard.
11:47That's the thing that happens to Tim Graham all the time, and suddenly he's on WBEN.
11:52I don't understand what it is, but I recognize that sound, and that has happened twice.
11:57I hope we didn't bail Carl out into some news talk radio over there.
12:02Yeah, that's too bad.
12:03I don't totally understand it, but the phone switch places or something?
12:07But we've got Carl back, so it's fine.
12:10No, but in terms of Bradley Chubb, the leadership is one thing.
12:13And then also, I would say that I don't have the expectations that he's going to be a 10,
12:1812-stack guy.
12:20That's not my expectations for him.
12:21If it happens, so be it.
12:23But I think that he's the one who's going to be solid and reliable.
12:26I'm not like, oh, man, what is he doing out there on third down?
12:29I don't think that's going to be the case whatsoever.
12:30He does look solid so far through St. John Fisher and now today back in OP.
12:34Maybe I'm not going to sit up here and say, though, I'm expecting Will Anderson or anything
12:38like that either.
12:41Fair enough.
12:42All right.
12:43Carl, thank you so much for your time.
12:45Nice to meet you, kind of.
12:46And hope to talk to you soon.
12:48First of all, good to talk to you guys, too.
12:50Have a good one.
12:51All right.
12:51Thank you very much.
12:52It's Carl Jones from Channel 4 Sports.
12:55You were right.
12:55Carl's cool.
12:56I was right, too.
12:56I thought he was cool.
12:57Yeah, he's great.
12:58I think talking to him about defensive backs is how I try to sound when people ask me about
13:02goalies.
13:04So it's nice to have somebody like that.
13:07A little background, a little expertise mixed in.
13:09Makes all of us look better.
13:10I like that.
13:11All right.
13:11Quick.
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