Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady addresses the media ahead of Tuesday's practice in Orchard Park. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)
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00:00How are we doing?
00:00Good.
00:01How are y'all?
00:02Good.
00:06How difficult is it gonna be to play this game
00:08with two quarterbacks who have been here
00:10for a week or less?
00:12Yeah, I don't think any...
00:16Look, like last week, Ben DiNucci did an incredible job.
00:19Kyle Sherman, it was all hands on deck
00:21of just being able to go out there and operate.
00:23And he felt confident going in there.
00:26If we had to throw the ball, he would have been fine.
00:28And, you know, Anthony obviously will do the same thing
00:31this week, like we'll have our guys ready to go.
00:35And, you know, I'll make sure if it's one play
00:38that they feel confident in, if it's 10,
00:39you know, I'll make sure that I'm giving them
00:42the best opportunity to put their best football out there.
00:44And so we got in a couple of days
00:46to kind of figure that out.
00:47What did you like about the way Ray Davis
00:49played on Saturday?
00:50I thought you can see a little different
00:54of a comfort level from week one to week two.
00:56You know, I liked how he, you know, ran behind his pads,
01:00you know, and it was just another guy,
01:03you know, he enjoyed being out there.
01:05I liked he wasn't running out of balance.
01:07He was trying to be physical, seeing the holes.
01:09I thought his patience was good.
01:12It was just, you can see the, you know,
01:15again, a second game of preseason,
01:16but experience just getting some of that live reps,
01:18getting the feel of it.
01:19It was really good for him.
01:20I was happy with how he played.
01:22What was the biggest difference from week one, week two
01:24in the running game overall, not just Ray,
01:26but from where you were against the Bears,
01:27where you were against the Steelers?
01:29We got a yard.
01:31I think, yeah, not really.
01:34No, I think it was, again, it's just a lot of the how
01:40that we stressed all last week,
01:41not necessarily from a game plan standpoint,
01:43but just us just doing the simple things
01:45and just the communication,
01:46us all being on the same page in terms of how we're IDing it,
01:49you know, receivers in the run game.
01:51I thought that was one of the best games
01:52I've ever been a part of, of seeing receivers block,
01:55you know, and so it allows you to continue to call that,
01:59but it was just more of just the guys
02:01just all being on the same page and, you know,
02:04them asking for it and just keep giving it to them.
02:06So I was just, I was happy with how they,
02:09how they kind of handled it.
02:10And, you know, they took everything
02:12that we kind of talked about,
02:13even the after the play on the sidelines,
02:15everything we talked about last week,
02:16they kind of took it to the game.
02:18And that was fun to watch.
02:20Where do you think Zach Davidson's grown
02:22in terms of an all around game?
02:24We obviously see what he can do as a pass catcher,
02:26but understanding the position asks for more than just that.
02:29Yeah, I've seen, I remember evaluating Zach coming out,
02:32you know, he was a small school guy that also was a punter
02:35and, you know, and just to see a guy that feels comfortable
02:37playing the tight end position now,
02:40understanding, you know, his growth in the run game,
02:42being able to understand angles and hand placement
02:45and, you know, you know what he can do in the pass game,
02:48but just seeing, like, I would have loved to have been
02:50in a lot more 11 personnel in the second half,
02:52but they were in base defense the whole time.
02:54So we were like, hey, let's just,
02:55we'll just go 12 the whole time.
02:56And Zach and Trey McKitty didn't blink
02:59and Zach able to just run duo after duo after duo.
03:02And, you know, you can see the growth in him,
03:05his understanding of how to play the position
03:08and not just be just an athletic tight end.
03:10And so it's, we know his personality.
03:12We know how fun he is to just watch him be around,
03:14but just to see the physicality element come out
03:16was fun to watch.
03:17You spoke about receivers blocking
03:19with Keon being a rookie.
03:20Where do you feel he's at right now with his blocking?
03:23I love, I love where Keon's at
03:25as a football player right now.
03:27You know, it's, it's obviously understanding
03:28where expectations are and everything.
03:30I understand where he got drafted and whatnot.
03:33I'm not always just focused on how the production is
03:35in a preseason game, as opposed to seeing it on every day,
03:39you know, every day in practice.
03:42You know, there's certain things
03:43that we've asked other receivers to do.
03:44You know, it's, it's everybody in a little different role
03:47in terms of the run game.
03:48But, you know, if you remember Keon coming out,
03:51he's one of the best blockers in the draft.
03:53Not saying you're drafting a guy to block,
03:56but giving, having guys that can do
03:58a little bit of everything, you know,
03:59where they can make plays as a receiver,
04:01they can block, it makes it a little harder
04:02on defense to know where guys are
04:05and what they're going to do
04:06when they're in those positions.
04:07And so I'm pleased with where Keon's at right now.
04:10What's your biggest challenge for him right now,
04:12in your mind?
04:14I think the biggest thing is just the,
04:17when, you know, you're getting into game plans,
04:19you got to eventually learn how guys are playing you.
04:21Right? Like, you know, when you're not,
04:24when you're not watching tape, you know,
04:27like I thought he did a good job last week
04:28going into practice and, you know,
04:30you're doing some one-on-ones,
04:31you're going against Joey Porter Jr.
04:32and you're seeing how he kind of plays it.
04:33And then the next time being able to,
04:35okay, this is how I think guys are going to play
04:37a guy like my size.
04:38And a lot of that sometimes changes throughout games,
04:40but for, especially for young guys, as it is,
04:43is getting a feel of, hey, who are you going against?
04:48And then knowing, you know, what's in your tools
04:49and how they're going to be playing it against you.
04:50Cause it might be a corner on a five, eight receiver.
04:54He's going to play it differently
04:55than they're playing Keon.
04:56And him just learning the game
04:58from that standpoint, physically,
05:01he can do everything that we ask him for,
05:03have no issues with anything physically.
05:04It's just a matter of him just growing
05:06and getting the experience of how the game's being played,
05:08how guys are going to defend him,
05:10how they're going to change things as the year goes.
05:12And that's just for every rookie,
05:13but something that really just harping on with him.
05:16Joe, one of the biggest question marks
05:17going into this season,
05:19going back to spring, was receivers.
05:21With all the changes that have taken place there,
05:25given the fact that, you know,
05:27MBS is out for a week to week,
05:29and you've got Curtis Samuel also on the turf,
05:32so do you think this group has had enough time with Josh,
05:38even, you know, whether it's on a field
05:39or just a limited preseason time they had,
05:43to be ready for the start of the season
05:45and how much do you kind of,
05:48do you, in any ways, do you wish you had a week
05:50or more time or maybe two or a month?
05:53Yeah, I mean, if you can give me more years
05:56and more weeks and more practices, more reps,
05:58I'll take all of that.
05:59But I haven't had questions about the receiver room
06:03since we've got them and put them together.
06:04And I love how they're working, how they're gelling,
06:07how they're playing together,
06:08the communication they have with Josh, you know,
06:12and obviously just trying to get some guys healthy
06:14and figure that stuff out as the season goes.
06:16But Josh has confidence in that room
06:18and they're on the same page with each other.
06:20And sometimes it might not be the physical element.
06:22It's more of the, hey,
06:23this is how I see how this guy's playing it.
06:25I need you in this spot.
06:26A lot of it, you know,
06:27we can take advantage of the mental right now.
06:28And, you know, and so in a couple of weeks
06:31that they'll be ready to go.
06:32And I feel confident in that.
06:33Joe, what were your takeaways from Mitch's performance?
06:35Obviously now he's dealing with the injury,
06:36but while he was in there during the game,
06:38what did you take away?
06:39Yeah, it was unfortunate, obviously, with the injury.
06:42I thought Mitch just had a really good camp, you know,
06:45and so there's a couple of throws
06:47that he obviously would like back.
06:48You know, you let him know.
06:49It was, it was a, you know,
06:51there's a lot of emotions that go on in it, right?
06:53You're getting let know, hey, you're a starter,
06:55you know, right, right before a game.
06:56And some of that is intentional, right?
06:58Where, you know, when you're a backup quarterback,
07:00you got to be ready to go in, you know,
07:02at any given moment.
07:04But I thought he handled that, he handled that well.
07:06The guys in the, in the, in the huddle were good with him.
07:08He would have loved for us to be able to get in a rhythm,
07:10which always helps a quarterback.
07:11You know, when you go three and out,
07:12it doesn't help, you know,
07:14so obviously he was going to want the interception back
07:17for sure.
07:18And he knows that no quarterback wants to do that,
07:20but, you know, I wish,
07:23I wish we would have been able to sustain
07:24some of those drives,
07:25which would allow him to showcase a little more,
07:28you know, but we got to be better.
07:29I got to be better from that.
07:31And obviously, unfortunately he got injured
07:32or else he would have been able to kind of play
07:34a little bit longer.
07:35Hey Joe, what do you want the starters to get out of
07:37this week's three practices?
07:39You know, to me, like,
07:41I know I'm kind of a broken record,
07:42but like there's, there's,
07:44there's intention behind everything that we're doing right
07:46now. And so, you know,
07:48I want them kind of approaching it and everything like
07:50they're playing this game this week. Right.
07:53And so this is a, you know, a mock week where, hey,
07:56this is it's training camp practices. Don't get me wrong,
07:58but like,
07:59let's go into our groove and get into our routine on what a,
08:01a first and second on day would feel like.
08:03And then, you know, tomorrow we'll get into situations,
08:05just get into that.
08:06And so that our practices are going to kind of reflect that.
08:09And so just, you know, where, hey, you know,
08:11don't get me wrong.
08:12A lot of our, I think like a first month of the season is
08:14all, you know,
08:15interesting weeks in terms of like what is a normal game
08:17week, but just getting them to get a feel of how the
08:20meetings are going to go, how practices are going to go.
08:23And, and then what we're doing behind it is more of just us
08:26cleaning up some things that we feel like we need to get
08:28cleaned up before we go into the season.
08:30Joe, how do you balance getting two new quarterbacks up to
08:34speed while also making sure your offense,
08:36who's been here for months now is moving in the right
08:39direction to be ready for week one?
08:41Yeah, it's a lot of fun, but this is,
08:44this is why we coach, right?
08:45It's, you know, you gotta,
08:48you gotta find ways to get your guys ready to go.
08:50And we have a lot of great coaches on staff,
08:53a lot of young guys that, you know, are taking, you know,
08:55it's like, hey, we might have separate meeting rooms.
08:57I feel like the QB room,
08:58we got to start meeting in the team meeting room with how
09:00many people are in there now, but it's, it's good.
09:03It's, it's just finding ways to get these guys ready to
09:05play and then getting them ready to play for, hey,
09:08this practice, you know, it's, it's,
09:11so you're kind of balancing a bunch of different things.
09:13And so the two guys that we brought in,
09:16I think they have the right mindset, the right approach.
09:18They understand, hey, what's important.
09:19And hey, like, let's focus on today's practice.
09:22Let's get these plays in.
09:23Hey, tonight we'll kind of crank out a little bit more of,
09:25hey, these are the things that are going to be in for this
09:27week for you.
09:28What are you comfortable with?
09:28And we'll kind of do that on week to week, but,
09:30cause we got to get the team ready to go,
09:32but we need them to be able to play good football on,
09:34you know, on the end of this week.
09:36How have you seen the leadership on your side of the ball
09:38develop? You, you know,
09:39a lot had been made of losing the captains that you did and
09:42Mitch and Stefan and Gabe.
09:44How, how have you seen the leadership develop,
09:46whether that be from Josh,
09:48who was kind of an obvious one or, or elsewhere?
09:50Yeah, I think,
09:51I think we're in a really good place with the leaders on our
09:53football team. And, and I think a lot of that is,
09:58well, just their approach to work ethic, you know,
10:00like we have a good healthy mix of guys that aren't,
10:02aren't scared to communicate, but also are going to work,
10:05you know? And so I think sometimes people, you know,
10:06there's leaders that, hey, just follow me.
10:08And there's some leaders that, you know, follow me,
10:10but do the, you know,
10:11the talking and we have a healthy dose of people who are
10:14able to hold people accountable. We'll, we'll stand up,
10:16we'll say things and we'll work and people will want to
10:19follow them.
10:20And so I feel confident that we have guys in each position
10:23room that I can lean on to have a good pulse of the
10:26football team.
10:26But I also know that if they're saying something,
10:28they're also working.
10:30And so I really like where we're at from a leadership
10:33standpoint and it all, it all always,
10:34we'll always start with Josh and as always,
10:37he's been incredible.
10:38And so he allows those guys to feel comfortable being able
10:41to be themselves and talk and communicate and take a
10:44leadership role. And that helps as an OC.
10:46Does anyone come to mind in particular when you talk about
10:48that?
10:49I think up front, you know, we have, you know,
10:51you talk Mitch, but like a center is always, you know,
10:54you're always hoping your center is, you know,
10:55a guy that can communicate and Connor has done an elite job
10:58at that.
10:59He does a great job with the guys all being on the same
11:01page, you know, bringing David into,
11:03into the guard position.
11:04David does a great job of communicating next.
11:06He's got Dion next to him and Connor.
11:08So I'm seeing those guys we're always going to go as our
11:12quarterback, but up front,
11:13as long as we're on the same page, we can get play started.
11:15And, you know, I'm wearing the shirt,
11:16but you guys can see Matt Collins out there.
11:18Like I think he goes about things the right way and guys
11:22want to follow him.
11:24And I think you see a lot of guys that don't have shoes on,
11:26but it's not just because it's,
11:27it's the way his work ethic is and his approach and I'm a fan
11:31of the way that those guys are kind of working.
11:33At center, you do,
11:35I'm glad you brought that up because Alec has been working
11:37there a lot from what we've seen.
11:38He also has business flexibility.
11:40Do you see him more as a kind of backup center or kind of
11:42your swing guy around the line and how you want to use it?
11:45Yeah, I feel confident with him playing center and guard and,
11:48and, you know, it's the backup,
11:51backup offense line role is always like a tough position,
11:53right? You want to be able to, the more flexible, you know,
11:56the more flexibility you have,
11:58the better opportunity is to make football teams when you can
12:00be a, Hey, a left tackle and a right tackle.
12:02If you can be guards and center, it just, it only helps you.
12:04And it puts a lot on those guys because, you know,
12:07it's not easy to get in a left,
12:08a left stance and then get in the right stance. You know,
12:10I know it sounds like nothing, but that's a big thing.
12:12It's, it's not easy to go from not making any calls to now
12:15you're at center making all the calls.
12:16And so it is a lot on them,
12:18but there's a reason the guys that were swinging are able to
12:20handle that.
12:21And to be able to go from center one series to guard one
12:24series, I've been impressed with how Alex able to do that.
12:27And it's not easy in a game to be able to be ready to go for
12:31any of those positions.
12:32And so that's why we're kind of making mix and match and
12:34all these guys right now.
12:35Yeah.
12:36Knowing it won't be Josh or Mitch,
12:38but how important just maybe for the offense to score a
12:41touchdown on Saturday?
12:43I mean, it's, I always want to score touchdowns.
12:46You know?
12:46Not so yet.
12:47Yeah, I know that.
12:49No, it's yeah, it's, it's, it's important.
12:53Because I want, if we're scoring touchdown,
12:55that means our guys are, are having success.
12:57And I know that in the long run,
12:59these statistics and the game results might not seem like
13:03anything at the end of the season, but for our guys,
13:05if we're getting into the touchdown, that's,
13:07that's being able to showcase them and they're able to party
13:10in the end zone, able to do that stuff.
13:12So it is very important to me.
13:13It was, it's been important to me the last two weeks,
13:15even though it hasn't happened,
13:16but I'm not concerned with the results of the game,
13:19but I want our guys to be able to have success.
13:20And so that's, that is important to me.
13:23You're not the only team that doesn't play their starters
13:25or even their starting quarterback a ton in the preseason.
13:28And everybody makes up for it in different ways
13:30and how you practice.
13:31What do players miss out on in not getting,
13:35and I understand why you don't play them a lot in the games.
13:37You got to get everybody healthy for the start of the year,
13:39but the actual playing of a game,
13:42full-on tackle for the quarterback's extended time,
13:45not just Josh and you guys,
13:47but what's missed out on as you go into the regular season,
13:51when you don't have that, like we used to?
13:54You know, I think, I think it's,
13:55there's a couple of different ways to look at it.
13:57It's, it's, are they, are they up at all?
14:00You know, are they, are they in street clothes?
14:02Are they going through the warmups?
14:03Are they waking up, going through their routine,
14:05going through their, to me,
14:06that's just almost just as important as playing in the game.
14:10Excuse me.
14:11Just being able to, hey, wake up, I'm going to go stretch.
14:13All right, now we're getting to team takeoff.
14:15I got to get my mind ready to go.
14:16Like what, unfortunately for Josh,
14:18he finds out before, you know, he's not playing,
14:20but I would have loved,
14:21I loved that he had to wake up
14:23and go through a night game,
14:24a process that I'm playing in a game, you know,
14:26in the locker room, things were getting delayed,
14:28but hey, I'm playing in the game.
14:29And so to me, he might not have played in the game,
14:31but that is a value, that's valuable.
14:33A guy like him, you don't blink as it is,
14:35but for any guys,
14:36even if they're not playing,
14:37us going through that approach is just as important.
14:39Yeah, when you're out there, you're getting hit,
14:41you're being able to sustain drives,
14:43you're trying to get in a flow.
14:44I'd love to say that's all important.
14:45We try to make our practices, you know,
14:47where we're sustaining drives,
14:48we're doing everything with exception
14:50to go into the ground.
14:51So as we try to make it as much as game-like as possible,
14:54but the one thing that you can't,
14:56you can't reenact is the routine that leads up to it.
15:00And so I think that that's,
15:02I'm appreciative of coach making sure
15:03that we're going through all of that.
15:05Hey Joe, you mentioned versatility
15:06for the back of offensive line being important.
15:08Where do you see that right now with,
15:10well, Collins, like what does he offer you?
15:12Where can he line up?
15:13Well, he offers flexibility, you know,
15:15cause he can play guard and tackle,
15:17experience and a mindset.
15:19And so, you know, I've, I've obviously I coached Ellis,
15:22you never coached him, but I know, you know,
15:24his personality and the way that he kind of plays
15:26and you see a long run.
15:27We had a long duo, got the ball inside,
15:29I think like the seven yard line last week.
15:31And the receivers are celebrating with Ray Davis
15:34and he has a little dance as he's running to him too.
15:36Like, so he plays with the personality
15:37and he's been really good for our room,
15:40but it's hard to have guys that can play guards and tackles.
15:43And so that's very, we're fortunate for that.
15:47I appreciate you guys.