Sal's "State of the Bills" podcast from today is a good listen

[Logic]

https://www.radio.com/wgr550/podcasts/salsportsand-stuff-20273/02-08-state-of-the-bills-offensive-line-356502268

I highly recommend giving a listen to at least the first 10 minutes of this 30 minute podcast.

What is ostensibly just the latest installment of Sal's "state of the Bills" roster examination podcast begins with a plea to Bills fans to step back from the ledge a bit. Essentially, Sal is irritated by all the "Bills are so far away from the Bucs and Chiefs" talk, all the Leslie Frazier slander, etc.

He is quick to remind us that the Bills won 13 games, that they were a very good team, and that having one bad game (and bad defensive gameplan) against the Chiefs does not suddenly mean they're super far away from legitimate Super Bowl contention.

Not all Bills fans are in the "our team is so far away" camp, of course, but many are. I found this episode to be a pretty good listen and a good reminder that we have a damned good team. It needs tweaks and improvements, sure, but the Bills had a very good year, they ARE very good, and will likely CONTINUE to be very good.

[Long Suffering Fan]

I agree with that sentiment.  We are good enough to have "a ticket to the dance" on likely a yearly basis.  That is all we need.  By that, I don't mean ticket to make the playoffs, but ticket to be an actual contender.  Once we get to the dance, you never know what can happen.  

 

The way the offense sputtered does not worry me.  The defensive game plan in the last game does a little, but this staff has shown the ability to improve.

[Seasons1992]

WAAAAY-too-early prognostication for 2022:

 

Bills-Browns AFC Championship game. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

1 minute ago, Seasons1992 said:

WAAAAY-too-early prognostication for 2022:

 

Bills-Browns AFC Championship game. 

 

 

Thanks, for the painfully obvious observation.  Typical response to anyone having the "courage"  making a prediction here.

 

The podcast is there for a reason, entertainment and to attract listeners.  Would you prefer he just had a banal, bland non-committal podcast?

[SCBills]

I'll give it a listen, but I do think people have a right to be very pessimistic about the defensive product we saw out there. 

 

For the investment, draft capital and money spent on this defense, it was incredibly underwhelming all year.  Culminating in a completely useless performance in the AFCCG in which they looked absolutely powerless to do anything.  This after already playing KC earlier this year.  

 

If we loaded up on offense, at the detriment of our defense, that's one thing, but the investment on that side of the ball... for the product we got on the field... needs to change.  

 

 

[H2o]

I mean, we are a really good team. We beat some good teams this year during the regular season. We beat a couple of really good teams in the playoffs. We still need to work on both lines and LB is going to be a need on defense when Milano chases the $$$. We also need a dynamic RB who is a homerun threat. This team is not without flaws, but we are closer, much closer, to reaching our goal than we are far from it. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by H2o

[BuffaloRebound]

I’m not saying we stink, but we are gonna take a step back if OBD shares this guy’s sentiments.  I can agree that our offense is good enough to win a Super Bowl with some tweaks.  The defense needs a major overhaul.  

[White Linen]

6 minutes ago, H2o said:

I mean, we are a really good team. We beat some good teams this year during the regular season. We beat a couple of really good teams in the playoffs. We still need to work on both lines and LB is going to be a need on defense when Milano chases the $$$. We also need a dynamic RB who is a homerun threat. This team is not without flaws, but we are closer much closer to reaching our goal than we are far from it. 

 

I think this is exactly right.  We're really good but we have issues and they're at minimum more significant than one bad game plan. 

[dwight in philly]

As the saying goes "any given Sunday" applies to the Bills regarding their Super Bowl aspirations.. i think the offense is sound.. sure improve the running game obviously.. but the O is there .. the D , cant complain too much.. they were very good defending in the red zone a great deal of the time.. maybe a more aggressive overall approach.. but im content and feel they will be there , and after the long drought . feel good .. 

[Seasons1992]

57 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

 

 

Thanks, for the painfully obvious observation.  Typical response to anyone having the "courage"  making a prediction here.

 

The podcast is there for a reason, entertainment and to attract listeners.  Would you prefer he just had a banal, bland non-committal podcast?

 

I do apologize for offending anyone on this thread; I didn't listen to the podcast. I simply typed words into the page with my beliefs. 

 

I'll see myself out, thanks.

[starrymessenger]

The Bills are a good and competitive team but there is certainly room for improvement.

[atomicpwrd]

Mainly due to the salary cap situation, I don't see us even maintaining the status quo, much less improving.  I hope I am wrong.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

The key question I have is, does Sal say anything I don't already know? 

 

 

[zonabb]

What's the over/under no the percent of time he spend talking about his wife, kid, or interjecting himself into everything instead of *checks notes* being unlistenable. Guy is the worst, I can't even stomach when he shows up for 5 minutes on someone's show if I am in the car. Last week on just a drive to the store he was talking about not making his wife his person of the day or whatever. Guy's a giant flag football playing, jock sniffing tool. I miss Joe B, who is what a real report is. Research, analyze, report and keep it impersonal. Between fantasy sports, gambling, and this dweeb, WGR55 is tough to swallow when you just want 5-10 of listening on the way to the store or office. 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

19 minutes ago, zonabb said:

What's the over/under no the percent of time he spend talking about his wife, kid, or interjecting himself into everything instead of *checks notes* being unlistenable. Guy is the worst, I can't even stomach when he shows up for 5 minutes on someone's show if I am in the car. Last week on just a drive to the store he was talking about not making his wife his person of the day or whatever. Guy's a giant flag football playing, jock sniffing tool. I miss Joe B, who is what a real report is. Research, analyze, report and keep it impersonal. Between fantasy sports, gambling, and this dweeb, WGR55 is tough to swallow when you just want 5-10 of listening on the way to the store or office. 

I don't disagree with some of this. Sal is not my favorite listen either. 

 

I think the thing with Sal is, he thinks he is important. And so when he shows up on a show, he wants you to acknowledge his presence, remember what he told you last week on the show. Sal loves the phrase "and I will tell you".  

 

Like Schopp, he can't handle when a caller disagrees with him. 

 

You're right about him bringing up his family. I think he works in the fact he lived in Florida frequently. 

 

But he does care about Buffalo, the City, the team, the Sabres. He has passion for the sports here. Sal gives more effort in preparation for the show than Bulldog, who acts like a martyr everyday for staying in his attic and broadcasting remote for almost a year now. Howard Simon is another guy at WGR 550 that seems like he rolls out of bed in the morning and does the show in sweatpants with no preparation or studying. Even Jeremy White now can only repeat offense must score 30-points every show. 

[LabattBlue]

I am of the opinion that Sal is(and has been) angling for a position with the Bills ala Chris Brown.  Therefore, he is always on the "glass is half full" side.

[John from Riverside]

My feeling on Morse vs Jon F. at center is this.

 

If you are going to use Morse CORRECTLY.....which means pulling your center on plays because Morse is actually good at it......then keep him.

 

If your not......cut Morse and sign Mongo for Center and use that money to keep D. WIlliams at RT because Morse is getting overpowered in the middle of that line.

 

I swear to god I think Ryan Bates can play that Center position as well as all of them

[billsfan89]

The state of the Bills is strong, young franchise QB in place with two years remaining on a rookie deal (including the 5th year option), a very good head coach with his full staff intact, a lot of talent around the young QB on offense and a solid defense and really good special teams unit. The team also played 3 playoff games winning two of them. That's a big boost to all the players on the team who now know what they have to do to win. The state isn't perfect as the Bills for once are having to retain a lot of talent and are going to be up against the cap and depending on where that cap is set the Bills will have to let some key players walk. For once the Bills are in a legit place to contend and hopefully Watson isn't traded within the division (would love to see him go to the NFC or to the Raiders where he and Mahomes can meet up twice a year.) 

[NewEra]

2 hours ago, SCBills said:

I'll give it a listen, but I do think people have a right to be very pessimistic about the defensive product we saw out there. 

 

For the investment, draft capital and money spent on this defense, it was incredibly underwhelming all year.  Culminating in a completely useless performance in the AFCCG in which they looked absolutely powerless to do anything.  This after already playing KC earlier this year.  

 

If we loaded up on offense, at the detriment of our defense, that's one thing, but the investment on that side of the ball... for the product we got on the field... needs to change.  

 

 

Can’t argue with that. Our D was pathetic in 2 of our 3 playoff games.  Both of our defensive showings vs Reid and Mahomes were borderline tragic and I don’t think that’s exaggerating.  The AFCCG was Frazier and McDs worst effort imo.  

[Warcodered]

 

[QB Bills]

Sal Cappacio is bullish on the Bills? Now I've heard everything.

[Nextmanup]

Sal is first and foremost, a *fan* of the team.

 

The reality is the Bills were outclassed by the Chiefs, at least on the day we played....twice last year.

Of course we are still a very good team, and I think we'll have a very strong record again next year, but the team needs to be improved in many areas. Holding hands and chanting "we can do it" isn't going to get the job done.

 

Lots of key decisions to be made this off-season.

 

If Beane and Co. get them right, watch out!

 

Keep an eye on Josh Allen, too.  As always, he remains the most important link in the chain.

 

He morphed into a totally new player this year.  

 

He needs to stay that same guy next year, too, and beyond, or none of the rest will matter.

 

 

 

 

 

[BillMafia716ix]

The Gap between the Chiefs and the Bills is much wider than Sal is leading on. That’s the team we need to beat.

 

The Chiefs were literally toying with the Bills offensively. The defense need a major overhaul. The offensive line needs upgrade and we need another weapon on the outside. 

[TheBeaneBandit]

Sounds like a expect to take a step back excuse. Not on our watch lol!!!! 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

Did Sal use his patented “what people/fans don’t understand is” line?

 

 

[jimmy10]

5 hours ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

I agree with that sentiment.  We are good enough to have "a ticket to the dance" on likely a yearly basis.  That is all we need.  By that, I don't mean ticket to make the playoffs, but ticket to be an actual contender.  Once we get to the dance, you never know what can happen.  

 

The way the offense sputtered does not worry me.  The defensive game plan in the last game does a little, but this staff has shown the ability to improve.

Agree with all of this. All I’ve wanted the last several years is to be good enough to make the postseason more often than not. Get there and take a shot. So far so good. 
 

And for the first time in forever we have a competent front office on the same page with a competent coaching staff. 
 

That’s a recipe for consistent success, and unless things go very badly sideways, we seem to be there. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by jimmy10

[Punching Bag]

5 hours ago, SCBills said:

I'll give it a listen, but I do think people have a right to be very pessimistic about the defensive product we saw out there. 

 

Of course they do.  Some have been pessimistic for all of their lives and they have right to be so, 

They get more enjoyment from saying "I told you so" than they do Bills winning.

Sully's Sour Supporters still are around.

[machine gun kelly]

Everyone has a right to their opinion.  Sal has been a very informative guy and points out a lot of things you don’t hear from other WGR guys with data, etc.  I don’t think he’s perfect, but he’s not in my humble opinion egomaniacal.

 

Think what you want, but listen to other cities local guys and you’ll find he’s a lot better than most.  I live in another city and you get a lot of the Bulldog stuff.  That I will never listen to as it’s just noise.

[SCBills]

13 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Everyone has a right to their opinion.  Sal has been a very informative guy and points out a lot of things you don’t hear from other WGR guys with data, etc.  I don’t think he’s perfect, but he’s not in my humble opinion egomaniacal.

 

Think what you want, but listen to other cities local guys and you’ll find he’s a lot better than most.  I live in another city and you get a lot of the Bulldog stuff.  That I will never listen to as it’s just noise.

Sal is phenomenal, agreed. 

[BullBuchanan]

We're a very good team that in all likelihood will stay a very good team for a bit, but we aren't in the same tier as the Chiefs or the Bucs were this year, and that should be pretty clear by now. Depending on the draft, FA and development of younger player, maybe we'll have enough to go up a level. There are going to be a lot of other teams fighting us for the same privilege next year though. Maybe it's the Titans or Ravens taking that leap and leaving us behind. Maybe Burrows or Herbert blows up and takes the league by storm. If you get to the dance, Maybe the Rams finally have what they need, the 9ers get right, or Rodgers gets some help.

 

We are certainly in the mix, but there needs to be more work and a little luck to get where we want to go.

[BillsFan130]

I like sal, but he’s definitely a bit of a homer and gets defensive when anyone criticizes the bills. At least I find that to be the case.

 

I don’t think the bills are that far away, but they are a couple “things” away.

 

1. Pass rush

2. Need a better run game

[Logic]

5 hours ago, SCBills said:

I'll give it a listen, but I do think people have a right to be very pessimistic about the defensive product we saw out there. 

 

For the investment, draft capital and money spent on this defense, it was incredibly underwhelming all year.  Culminating in a completely useless performance in the AFCCG in which they looked absolutely powerless to do anything.  This after already playing KC earlier this year.  

 

If we loaded up on offense, at the detriment of our defense, that's one thing, but the investment on that side of the ball... for the product we got on the field... needs to change.  

 

 

I agree that the defense was disappointing this year, and I agree that the productivity did not match the payroll.

That said, I think "very pessimistic" is too negative an evaluation of the defense, personally. They made some big plays throughout the year in key games, and they did start to come on strongly at the end of the year. They were EXCEPTIONAL in the Ravens game. Yes, the performance against the Chiefs was an embarrassment, but again, that's one gameplan and one game, and as we saw in the Super Bowl, that happens to even the very best teams sometimes.

I think it can be true at the same time that:

1.) The Bills defense was disappointing and needs to improve.
2.) The Bills overall were very good and had a very good season. Winning 13 games and two playoff games is not easy. 

After finishing 2nd and 7th in defensive DVOA the two years prior to this COVID year, I'm willing to give McDermott and Frazier the benefit of the doubt in terms of fixing the defense for next year. 

There's a fine line between recognizing areas of weakness and areas for improvement, and some of the exaggeration/hyperbole I saw after the Bills-Chiefs game with regard to the failures of our defense and team in general. 




 

 

[BuffaloRebound]

It wasn’t just against the Chiefs that the defense looked bad.  They almost cost us the game against the Colts by imploding on those two 4th quarter drives.  Yes, they looked good against the Ravens but they run a gimmick offense.  

[machine gun kelly]

The Bills defense was 14th.  13th on pass defense (a disappointment given the previous two years), and 16th on rush defense.  Basically we were used to top 5 the previous two years so we went from one of the best to avg.  On offense though we were 3rd, and 2nd in points.  Now that was an incredibly dramatic improvement.

 

If you listened to the whole podcast, he wasn’t a Homer.  He discussed cap hits on different players and inferred Morse is a possible cap casualty and stated Feliciano might be about the same at a lower cost.  Sal seems to give a fair assessment not dodging talking about deficits of the Bills, but not playing the doom and gloom game I’m reading right now.  I didn’t hear we are the best, but I also didn’t hear we are the worst.  We did win 13 games in the hardest schedule of playoff teams.  That’s true as I’ve said so many times as i took the time to go through every playoff team and posted several times we were 6-3 against winning teams.  That was better than any other team.  Part of that can be just who they played like the Chiefs and Steelers who didn’t play as many winning teams, but they won close to as many as we did.

 

I think he’s just saying, guys put it in perspective.  Not the best, and not the worst.  Things to improve, yes, but so are Chiefs fans saying today as well.  The same with every team who didn’t win the SB.

[Logic]

2 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

The Bills defense was 14th.  13th on pass defense (a disappointment given the previous two years), and 16th on rush defense.  Basically we were used to top 5 the previous two years so we went from one of the best to avg.  On offense though we were 3rd, and 2nd in points.  Now that was an incredibly dramatic improvement.

 

If you listened to the whole podcast, he wasn’t a Homer.  He discussed cap hits on different players and inferred Morse is a possible cap casualty and stated Feliciano might be about the same at a lower cost.  Sal seems to give a fair assessment not dodging talking about deficits of the Bills, but not playing the doom and gloom game I’m reading right now.  I didn’t hear we are the best, but I also didn’t hear we are the worst.  We did win 13 games in the hardest schedule of playoff teams.  That’s true as I’ve said so many times as i took the time to go through every playoff team and posted several times we were 6-3 against winning teams.  That was better than any other team.  Part of that can be just who they played like the Chiefs and Steelers who didn’t play as many winning teams, but they won close to as many as we did.

 

I think he’s just saying, guys put it in perspective.  Not the best, and not the worst.  Things to improve, yes, but so are Chiefs fans saying today as well.  The same with every team who didn’t win the SB.

Well stated. Thanks! 

[purple haze]

7 hours ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

I agree with that sentiment.  We are good enough to have "a ticket to the dance" on likely a yearly basis.  That is all we need.  By that, I don't mean ticket to make the playoffs, but ticket to be an actual contender.  Once we get to the dance, you never know what can happen.  

 

The way the offense sputtered does not worry me.  The defensive game plan in the last game does a little, but this staff has shown the ability to improve.

I don’t think the defensive game plan was an issue.  Lack of finishing plays on the pass rush/blitz  when they were there to be made was an issue.  The other issue is they need more impact up front, in general.  

[Royale with Cheese]

4 hours ago, BillMafia716ix said:

The Gap between the Chiefs and the Bills is much wider than Sal is leading on. That’s the team we need to beat.

 

The Chiefs were literally toying with the Bills offensively. The defense need a major overhaul. The offensive line needs upgrade and we need another weapon on the outside. 

 

I don't think the gap is that wide.  They've had our number and we have to figure it out.....I trust McDermott eventually does that and Allen hasn't even peaked.

 

The Chiefs were toying with the Bucs in the first 3 quarters in their first match up.  Mahomes had over 300 yards passing and Tyreek Hill had more than 200 yards receiving in the first half.  Mahomes finished with 470 yards/3 TD's and Hill had 269 yards/2 TD's....

 

The Bucs did something in the 4th quarter where they shut the Chiefs down and it continued in the Super Bowl matchup.  

It sometimes takes just a tweak or adjustment and everything changes.

2 hours ago, BuffaloRebound said:

It wasn’t just against the Chiefs that the defense looked bad.  They almost cost us the game against the Colts by imploding on those two 4th quarter drives.  Yes, they looked good against the Ravens but they run a gimmick offense.  

 

That gimmick offense was averaging about 34 points per game in their last 6 games....

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

I think the biggest issue is to find some nastiness in the front 7. Get a LB that is a Spikes/Cowart style animal out there. Not a thinker. A guy that will just scare the life out of the offense. A monster out there, running around and setting the tone of physicality on the field. Let him be the MLB and the QB of this defense. Slide Edmunds to WLB to take Milanos spot. Unless you actually plan on paying Milano, which I’m good with too. Then you have to try to find a guy along the Dline that can create pressure when you only rush 4. Hughes is still effective but he’s also getting old. Having another guy that can really get to the QB would really transform this defense.

[RyanC883]

9 hours ago, SCBills said:

I'll give it a listen, but I do think people have a right to be very pessimistic about the defensive product we saw out there. 

 

For the investment, draft capital and money spent on this defense, it was incredibly underwhelming all year.  Culminating in a completely useless performance in the AFCCG in which they looked absolutely powerless to do anything.  This after already playing KC earlier this year.  

 

If we loaded up on offense, at the detriment of our defense, that's one thing, but the investment on that side of the ball... for the product we got on the field... needs to change.  

 

 

 

I think it changes next year or Frazier is gone.  Game plan v. KC was a joke. 

[RyanC883]

4 hours ago, Logic said:

After finishing 2nd and 7th in defensive DVOA the two years prior to this COVID year, I'm willing to give McDermott and Frazier the benefit of the doubt in terms of fixing the defense for next year.

 

1 hour ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I don't think the gap is that wide.  They've had our number and we have to figure it out.....I trust McDermott eventually does that and Allen hasn't even peaked.

 

The Chiefs were toying with the Bucs in the first 3 quarters in their first match up.  Mahomes had over 300 yards passing and Tyreek Hill had more than 200 yards receiving in the first half.  Mahomes finished with 470 yards/3 TD's and Hill had 269 yards/2 TD's....

 

The Bucs did something in the 4th quarter where they shut the Chiefs down and it continued in the Super Bowl matchup.  

It sometimes takes just a tweak or adjustment and everything changes.

 

That gimmick offense was averaging about 34 points per game in their last 6 games....

 

the issue here is that KC’s offense owned us twice while Tampa adjusted.