Podcast: Camp is here. How will the 2022 Buffalo Bills respond to '13 Seconds?'
Live from Genesee Brewery, I'm joined by The Athletic's Tim Graham & The Buffalo News' Jay Skurski to figure out if last season's epic playoff loss has any effect on this year's Super Bowl contender
PITTSFORD, NY — Honestly, little of consequence occurred Monday morning at St. John Fisher University.
When Isaiah McKenzie trotted onto the practice field, he entertained the crowd with a back flip. One adult male fan yelled to Stefon Diggs, “My wife loves you!” The way fans both young and old scream at the sight of Josh Allen is akin to a religious experience. But on the field? Like most NFL teams, this early stage of training camp is a glorified walkthrough for the Buffalo Bills.
There was a dash of Bob Seger on the speakers. Some “Rapper’s Delight.” And, yes, Allen did autograph the neck of tight end Dawson Knox.
Truth be told, the Bills simply need to survive the summer without injuries… and not only that. It’s not about August or September or October or even November for this organization anymore. This team and this head coach will justifiably be judged in the postseason until further notice. While the words Super Bowl or Bust is thrown around far too liberally, that’s the very real expectation for the 2022 Bills.
No longer do players need to wear shirts that read “All In” or “Playoff Caliber.”
The bar is the Super Bowl. Period. Especially after such a crushing playoff loss in 2021.
If not for 13 fateful seconds at Arrowhead Stadium, last year’s Bills outfit easily could’ve hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott were ultra-aggressive this offseason, too, in signing Von Miller to a whopper of a contract.
What happens next? There’s no better way to kick off our training coverage than a roundtable chat at beautiful Genesee Brewery in downtown Rochester. After Day 2 of Bills camp, I headed on over to the official home of the “Ruby Red Kolsch” to dissect the psychology behind this all with three of my good pals: The Athletic’s Tim Graham, The Buffalo News’ Jay Skurski and one of our loyal subscribers here at Go Long in St. Bonaventure journalism professor Brian Moritz.
We also spend a good amount of time gauging Jordan Poyer’s value to the defense, and what his future entails.
The Bills have difficult decisions ahead but, hey, that’s the price of building a team capable of winning it all.
Enjoy.
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