[Music] ctbk gives Executives and owners of
mid-market businesses unparalleled confidence and Clarity so you can focus on strategic
objectives and organizational success their multi-disciplinary advisers accountants and team
members have a wealth of experience and are all available and responsive to each client to ensure
the most effective advice actions and outcomes no matter the situation or complexity level that
experience base and one team approach combined with integrated and efficient way of operating
enable them to be truly proactive Partners doing the best thing for their client every time visit
ctbk or call 716632 2400 to learn how ctbk can work for you you are listening to a podcast
by a guy that shouldn't have a podcast it's Tim Graham and Friends welcome to Tim Graham
and friends brought to you by ctbk CPAs and Business Consultants I'm Tim Graham of the
athletic here with my co-host Jonah bronstein of bronsteen Sports Plus and this time last week
we were talking about how busy we were going to be with Western New York Sports High School Football
starting up and Bill season starting up UB had a big game at Missouri Sabers Camp around the
corner but look it's about as busy with the exception of a local not playing for a tennis
major the Sabers have begun their rookie Camp UB is at home Saturday afternoon against UMass a
game that UB should win Bill's playing Thursday Night division play against the Miami Dolphins a
lot to talk about there including some significant injuries on both sides of the ball so Jonah it is
uh here we are you were out at Sabers rookie camp today but let's start with the bills because uh
that's what's on most folks Minds we're recording this uh on Wednesday so the game is tomorrow
night hopefully you have a chance to listen to this before the game um Josh Allen got an
injured left hand and he was dismissive of any concern so have the bills been he was a full
participant in practice it is that offhand it's his non-throwing mitt but uh I was talking
with some quarterbacks yesterday and the day before for a story at the athletic and they all
say it's probably no big deal probably but then we got into all all of the little things that
will matter when it comes to Josh Allen and his left-and injury um interviewed Archie Manning
Warren Moon Phil Sims Jake plumber all four who have played with offhand off arm injuries
obviously I just didn't pick those guys out of a hat um but you were out there this week too
did you get any sense before we get into all the little things that we are going to need to
be mindful of when we watch the Bills Thursday in Miami Gardens to make sure that Josh Allen
is okay but Jonah you were out there this week at one Bill's Drive uh it seems like they were
kind of just blowing it off but then again isn't that what you would do regardless of the situation
short week the whole thing well yeah and I think that the bills have done something similar maybe
not always but Josh Allen has had some injuries that he's played through that didn't cause him
to miss any games or parts of any games but he was uh appearing on injury reports in the past
and the bills have generally had the vibe that it was not going to be a problem I there was the
one time with the elbow injury where he didn't practice didn't throw early in the week and then
was kind of hiding the fact that he had returned to practice and was throwing the ball later in
the week I think this is less concerning of an injury than the elbow and shoulder injuries and
some of the other dinged up situations that Josh Allen has had over the past couple of years it
probably doesn't prevent him from doing a lot of the things that he's good at but anytime a player
who's important as important to the bills and as important to any football team as Josh Allen is
less than 100% in any way and feeling any pain um I think that there's some level of concern
concern about a possible reinjury or as you mentioned or you kind of detailed the little ways
that having an injuries to your non-throwing hand could affect a quarterback especially one like
Josh Allen who initi Ates contact on his runs and might be stiff arming with that hand and before
he landed awkwardly on that hand he was you know using it to propel himself over budha Baker's
helmet so the hurdles and and some of the extra things that Josh alen is able to do as a running
quarterback might be limited by this hand injury or he just might be more careful and less willing
to do those things if he can be more careful he's such an instinctual player uh and that's the one
thing that Jake plumber brought up by the way plumber you know probably the least accomplished
of the other uh three you know of the four that I interviewed he's the least accomplished uh but he
was my favorite interview of the four and he got into a lot of uh things that you wouldn't think of
and and I'll give a a brief overview I want you to read the story it'll be posted Thursday morning at
the athletic very very early probably by 6:00 am or so it'll be posted uh but you have the pain
number one but let's just say that it's not a significant injury and there's no pain necessarily
it is the short week there is swelling there is fewer days to get treatment on it fewer days to
also learn some maybe muscle memory type things that they need to do with handing off to the
right for instance you're talking about from imagine being from the quarterback's Vantage Point
well number one it's going to be this direct snap from Center and you think well the bills can go
shotgun etc etc well the bills under Joe Brady still went about 30% direct snap over 30% direct
snap over last season's games with Joe Brady as the offensive coordinator and they were over 40%
direct snap uh against um the Cardinals I'll have to I'll I'll look it up exactly but whatever it
was it was something like 44 maybe 44% something like that direct snap so they do that Conor
McGovern has things that he's going to need to worry about when he's snapping it back to Josh
Allen and yet he's got nothing to worry about he's supposed to not be thinking about it because
even on the direct snap he's got to fire it back just as much as he could on any other play they're
going to be uh in Miami Gardens loud crowd perhaps silent count if Conor McGovern decides to kind
of just gingerly put it back there even to take a little bit off of his snaps he might have somebody
jumping off sides um in a shotgun situation if he floats it back there a little bit it could throw
off motion I'm talking about pre- snap motion it could throw out off the running back's timing
if there's a hand off or a pitch involved so Conor McGovern as he explained to me has to act
as though J Josh Allen is 100% he cannot be the reason why the play blows up before it even begins
so that's a big part then you have Josh Allen handing off to his right a quarterback uses his
left hand to stick the ball in the running back's stomach uh it's it's a that all all four of the
quarterbacks I talked to stressed being a big one uh and all the different things that they would
do to try to uh manipulate or cope with their left arm injury when it came to that things that
they couldn't do things that maybe even made it a little more dangerous to do with the ball maybe
using your right hand uh when you're supposed to be using your left um he he Josh Allen's gonna
have to be concerned about further injury uh it's supposed to rain uh hurricane blowing through
South uh Florida uh today I believe it's going to strike a little bit more on the western side uh of
the peninsula then the Eastern side headed towards Louisiana but you're probably going to have some
thunderstorms uh well I don't want to say probably you could have thunderstorms but there's probably
going to be some prec precipitation so you have a wet football with uh keeping it secure even two
healthy hands it's it's imperative and now Josh Allen has one that's going to have a wrap on
it or a glove that he's been practicing iing with um yeah I I just think there's a lot
to to look at and that's why I reached out to these guys because they've played through it
and it was fascinating for them to get into the granular things that when you read the story and
then watch the game Thursday night you're going to be constantly thinking and considering okay
is is everything going to be all right and as you see him go through these things that uh
that these uh longtime veteran quarterbacks decorated quarterbacks went through then um then
I think it's going to make for the the well maybe it'll make you a little nervous before the
game but it'll it'll should add to your uh your educated uh enjoyment of of what Josh Allen's
up to on Thursday night yeah it's a good breakdown of some of the micro ways that this injury could
affect any quarterback and specifically Josh Allen on the macro sense you know Josh Allen could play
the rest of the season without sustaining another injury it's certainly possible and he's shown an
ability throughout his career to uh remain healthy be durable play through injuries however the bills
need so much out of Josh alen this season and week one was a very good example of the superhero
type play that Josh alen needs to play just for the bills to win a home game by six points
and over an inferior organization I'm not gonna say a team because maybe the Cardinals are going
to be a surprise but that's an organization that if they have figured it out after winning four
games last year then it'll be a minor miracle that's a team that the bills have to beat in
their home opener if they want to get anywhere near to the over of 10 and a half that Vegas has
them at with victories if they want to get to 11 wins they cannot uh they cannot struggle against
an Arizona and for Josh Allen to get injured in the very first game on his most superh heroic
play of a a superh heroic second half and you know I know the first touchdown came in the first
half but second kind of part of the game where he had those four touchdowns it just makes you wonder
how if he can get through a whole season without sustaining more injury uh a more serious injury or
even an accumulation of injuries is can the bills get to the playoffs with Josh alen playing at this
level without somehow getting hurt in a way that limits him and limits the offense and limits this
team's ultimate potential when it's happening so quickly uh you know and they they had to be
very careful with Josh Allen in the preseason to to prevent any kind of injury there backup
quarterback got hurt very early in you know in the preseason backup quarterback plural yeah right
yeah absolutely and those things are not related but it it does kind of feel that way it does kind
of feel like the bills can't get through a game without their quarterback getting hurt and the
bills can't get anywhere this season if Josh Allen gets hurt significantly one thing that the bills
do have going for them it was something that I was actually surprised Phil Sims uh had he was pretty
passionate about this is that the game being on grass will help him because the jarring nature and
he wasn't even talking about back when he played when it was pretty much allpurpose office carpet
on top of concrete in those stadiums including at Rich Stadium but at the metal lands too he's
saying even today's artificial turf adds to your weariness about injury because you about how
you're going to feel the next day and how tough it is to shake off injuries and feeling miserable
after a game on artificial turf so playing on the grass uh in Miami Gardens will be very helpful
to Josh Allen and also augment that thought by they don't play again until the following
Monday night so if the bills can get through this game uh and play it the way they want to
play it and whether it be with hydration and the south Florida humidity or avoiding more
injuries to their defensive back field with Taran Johnson being out for a while with his forearm
injury um that this is maybe a pretty good time to have a short week get it out of the way they're
going to have this mini buy uh and then they can figure things out going into that game against
the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night um but to your point Jonah about Josh Allen and playing like
he did on on Sunday and how they're going to need it with a dimmer Supporting Cast and I'm I use
the word dimmer in terms of like star power you know there's no Stefan Diggs anymore um Gabriel
Davis even though he was frustrating to watch did have amazing games at times to be without him
to watch the Bills have to spray the ball all over the place with Arizona taking Dalton concade
out of the game it's going to have to be an all handson deck situation for the bills offense with
Josh Allen being bug eye as we saw to your point uh which is why I wrote what I did off of the game
on Sunday that Josh Allen needs to be the MVP if the bills want to get to where they go this year I
think that that's evident again it's just one game maybe James Cook occasionally can pop up for 175
yard three touchdown game or there are different dudes that can make a big play Terrell Bernard
uh has a pick six or you know who knows special teams make a big play and Josh Allen doesn't have
to be a hero on a weekly basis but uh I think that and that that was the the sentiment of my column
off of that Sunday game is if Josh Allen is an MVP player and he shows it this year then you're
not going to have to worry about Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes uh or anybody else stealing away
his votes as Bill's fans have been or anybody consider considering him under uh overrated uh as
uh as an NFL quarterback in in Anonymous player polls Taran Johnson being out uh obviously
that's a much bigger injury than Josh Allen although Josh Allen being the Marquee player
Taran Johnson uh incredibly important to the bills secondary they're able to survive the
Cardinals game without him I'm picking the Dolphins to win this game uh on Buffalo
kickoff live on on Channel 4 tomorrow before the game I don't know if I'm the only
one but I as as the predictions were coming in uh I was I was the only one for a while I
don't know if it finished out that way but um I have a hard time when I'm looking at this
game and I'm I'm imagining the chess pieces moving around I'm having a hard time Imagining
the bills being able to cover Mike McDaniel offense in a way that makes me forget how wide
open the Arizona Cardinals were running around the field for Kyler Murray uh and their 37y old
offensive coordinat now Mike McDaniel's young too but I guess that's the age maybe doesn't matter
as much as as I wanted to make it sound there when when I threw on that caveat or that that qualifier
but the Cardinals did not have a lot of offensive of wherewithal in ter you know their system being
a thing like Miami system is a thing that you have to worry about every defensive opponent and I
don't know that I can just keep saying the bills are going to win or predict the bills to win just
because Mike McDaniel has had a hard time doing it uh based on what I saw if Mike McDaniel or if
uh if the Dolphins players were running around the field like the Cardinals players were wide
open then the bills probably don't win on the opener yeah I'm picking the Dolphins to win
this game as well I think a lot of it I would attribute to being a schedule loss for the bills
being the road team on a Thursday night I know the numbers say that the HomeField advantage
in Thursday night games isn't much different than it is in traditional Sunday games but it
does feel that way and there definitely does seem like there's a I think a natural feeling
that the home team that doesn't have to travel has an advantage in this shorter week just the
way the schedule is formulated for the bills this does seem like one of their hardest
challenges having to turn around and go on the road and play a division rival so quickly
after the first game the bills have dominated the matchup with the dolphins during Josh alen's
career in the last five six however many years that is I don't know if that necessarily
means the Dolphins can't beat the bill I think there's been games where the Dolphins have
kept the game close and played well in spurts and haven't put together their best game against the
bills and that might still be coming they might have a motivation Edge from the way they've lost
to the bills and the way their seasons have ended or their division title hopes last year ended
against the bills they almost won a playoff game here with Skyler Thompson at quarterback they
had a very good chance I think to win that game in Miami last year and it didn't go their way in the
end Jordan puyer I think gives them a little bit of emotional juice in this game and maybe when
they play again later this year at his age and his injury history that's not as much of a factor
the bills certainly can win this game I just think a lot more is stacked against the bills than it
is the Dolphins and I think that's why you saw this line open as a one-point Advantage for the
dolphins being favored by one point and I believe it's moved to two and a half points now from the
outside objective perspective people seem to think the Dolphins are the favorites in this game but
in Buffalo there's this knee-jerk response that Josh alen is the Dolphin's daddy and you know the
Dolphins can't win the game no matter what happens so Taran Johnson being out as crucial as that is
uh we were talking not that long ago about Joe andrees being uh the UB hero the local but uh
there's another UB player now that is going to have to step in and fill well hell two right
that we may see filling very important roles and what are your thoughts on those two guys I
know that you know those are stories that you were kicking around uh tying the because you
cover a lot of UB too and it's it's good for it's a good Channel 4 story it's a it's a good
story period about ub's players going to have a prominent role Thursday night it's a great UB
story didn't didn't get much reaction from UB this week the interesting well the funny thing about
that is you know well they didn't know this guy it's it's that's two regimes ago right two regimes
ago Sam Lewis and Jamarcus Ingram both played for different coaches and now there's another coach
I mean Mark olut has been the athletic director there there has been one constant John Fuller
the you know athletic Communications boss over there so there are people that have watched all
of these guys play and I think appreciate these connections Brandon Bean talked about how the
local pro day and having the ability to bring all these UB players in on their own has been
somewhat of an advantage for the bills and finding these gems on that you know something about cam
Lewis that might be inter now Taron Johnson is a forearm injury hasn't been reported anywhere that
he broke his arm I think there is some belief that that might be the case I'm not reporting that
myself but I think some of us believe that might be the case cam LS played with a broken arm in
his senior season at UB and Lance Lio called him the toughest player he's ever coached around that
time so you know just something about cam Lewis he played excellent filling in for Taran Johnson I
don't think there's a huge worry about him in that spot there maybe it's a collective worry of the
bills just continuing to lose their best players and another All Pro Player who's not in the lineup
but I think the early returns and cam Lewis has been building up to this and he's probably better
in that slot position than he maybe was on the outside some of the times he had some trouble
defending deeper passes on the outside might not be a factor in what he does he he show an ability
to get in the back field and be a run Defender from the bill side of things I think this is
just another example of their ability to develop defensive backs and players in that back seven
and have players who maybe three four years ago cam Lewis wasn't quite ready for this role but the
coaching and experience in the system same with Jamarcus Ingram they're now members of the Bill's
secondary that you rely on and it gives you even more confidence in the Bill's ability to develop
Dorian Williams or whoever they're going to need at safety down the line you know I I don't wor
as much when the bills lose a defensive starter in the back seven anymore sometimes it takes a
few weeks but they usually find that replacement and then lo and behold sometimes that replacement
ends up being as good or better than the guy that was hurt that you were worried about you know the
younger guy coming in for Jamarcus Ingram came in and played 11 snaps for the bills against Arizona
but um cam Lewis played 55 90% of the defensive snaps cam Lewis was out there uh with uh uh Taran
Johnson herd he was only able to play seven snaps the one thing I'd War wonder about cam Lewis
despite what I just said about him maybe being the toughest player that Lance lifeold ever coach and
a guy who played every down in college is that he hasn't often been an every down player in the NFL
and coming off a big game but a game where he had to make a lot of tackles a lot of physical plays
on a short week maybe there's something I don't want to say he's not ready for it but maybe
there's more acclamation needed for him to be able to come back and play that well again in
a fay span so just the volume of snaps and the volume of physical plays having not done that
so regularly in his NFL career and then he's a key special teams player now that he's on the
defense does he not play special teams or does that further tax his body that's something the
bills have to think about in way coming into this game the bills historically have done well
against Tyreek Hill or at least as a dolphin but clearly he is the player that the bill secondary
is going to need to be aware at all times as they have all these moving Parts with Taylor W as a the
graybeard I guess of the safeties Demar Hamlin uh played okay uh in the opener but a lot of people
still concerned about Demar Hamlin even from two years ago thought that he was maybe a liability at
times it's a great story and where he is and you know he's back to competitiveness and competency
and you know but with you then t uh taking Taran Johnson out of the mix uh I just want I came
across this Tyreek Hill stat today and I want to share it because I it was a head Shaker for me
I I I know that Tyreek hill was a great player uh but this really sums it up so um through nine
Seasons he already has 22 games of 125 yards or more excuse me that is tied for third with Calvin
Johnson and Randy Moss for players through their first nine Seasons they also had 22 games of
at least 125 yards and second only to Lance allworth and Jerry Rice for players who've had
that kind of production in a single game and so that is how explosive this guy is it's uh again
the bills have done well against him uh since he's joined the Dolphins but uh it'll be it'll
be interesting here uh to see if they can keep the lid on this guy and rul Douglas played very
well and took Marvin Harrison JR out of the game in the opener Ty Hill is a different obviously a
different type of receiver and a different type of matchup and we don't even know how often rul
Douglas will be on him but you know he's been rul Douglas has been excellent for the bill since
the day they traded for him and that's continued into the season and might again be a factor in
this matchup with Tyreek Hill interesting thing with Tyreek Hill I think is he's the biggest
story in football right now and it has nothing to do with football has everything to do with what
happened on his ride to the stadium last week that might not be a factor at all in this game but it
could be it could be a galvanizing factor for the Dolphins it could be a distraction for Tyreek
Hill and the Dolphins this week they've been talking about that and reacting to that in their
press conferences I think a lot more than they have to the bills and Josh Allen in this matchup
I don't know which way that's going to fall and it's certainly possible that it really has nothing
to do with what happens on the field but again it does feel like that's a storyline coming into this
game that might coming out of the game you might look at that and think that was a factor yeah
I agree with that I agree with all of that and there's nothing for me to even add because you
summed it up perfectly um let's stay with UB I mean we just I know we flipped it over there and
talked about Tyreek Hill a little bit there but we just talking about UB um and then we'll get
to Sab rookie Camp uh UMass at UB in ham Hurst 1:00 Saturday afternoon this is a non-conference
game Joe and I don't know really what's to say I mean it's one of those you know they already they
already won their early non-conference game these are the games that make UB football fans uh
frustrated because they lose these games and they have I don't know I just I'll just tee it up
for you that way what what what are your thoughts on this matchup well it is a non-conference game
but not quite because you does have a Mid-American Conference tie in they're Mid-American Conference
in waiting and they played two Mac teams so far this season and you know after this season it's
going to be a conference game when UV plays UMass and might be a bit of a Mac rivalry considering
they're the two most eastern teams they both play in Amherst Amherst Massachusetts and Amherst New
York I I should have clarified that I said the games in Amherst and some people might think that
it's in Massachusetts and even though it isn't a game that's going to count in the Mac standings
it's a game that's a much better gauge of whether UB can be competitive in the Mac this year than
playing against an FCS team in the home game to open the season and then playing at Missouri
which was number nine and now up to number six so whether the UB wins or loses I think you'll have
a much better sense of how good this team is and how competitive it can be against Mt competition
based on this game and comparing it to the results of the other two Mech teams that UMass has played
and just not having to play a team full of SEC NFL draft picks but also not an FCS opponent where
UB has a little bit of that Talent Advantage it's also a home game UB can I think this will
be the first time in Four Seasons that UB can win its first two home games and it I think it's
just good you know I don't know if UB is going to be a team that contends for Bowl eligibility
but this is the game they need to win I think to get to six wins and have that as a hope and have
that as a carrot for them going into the end of the season and they just need to play better
spec specifically on offense specifically in the passing game and quarterback CJ Agana if that
doesn't happen and this isn't a good resol for UB or it isn't a good offensive performance there
could be some questions about depth T changes and whether a quarterback or somewhere else in
the offense UB needs to rec caliber for their Mac opener that is coming up and I want to make a
comment on that game two weeks AG but before I say that UB is also dealing with maybe a significant
injury Nick Millan their best wide receiver a kichus high school former player he's going to
miss this game with a knee injury you know that might hurt UB a little bit in one of the areas
of the game where they struggled a lot against Missouri after this game against UMass ub's next
game is against Northern Illinois who's number 25 in the country and has a buy this week probably
going to stay in the top 25 going into that game so UB will have two ranked teams on their schedule
within the four first four weeks Northern Illinois just beat Notre day maybe the biggest win in
Mac history so that's going to be a tough match up for you in South Bend by the way right and you
know Missouri probably better than Notre Dame but you know UB lost 38 to nothing and really never
had a chance in that game they kept it close for about a quarter Northern Illinois beat Notre
Dame but I think the line it's a thinner line than that might suggest between a Max school that
doesn't beat a big 10 team on the road or an SEC power five I'll say you know UB could play well
and have a chance to win at Northern Illinois it's not that Northern Illinois is a juggernaut and UB
doesn't have the horses to play in that game so I just think it's we talked about it last week he
asked me can you be win at Missouri I didn't think they could but you know you never know you play
you execute well enough and division one football these players do have enough talent I think to
compete and play these games but everything has to go right and you have to play your A+ game and
you need that other team to play you know below their A+ level it's funny because when I asked
that question and it was probably out of my mouth for three seconds before I realized I should have
formulated the question better you know like can they cover how competitive can they be um but what
I had in mind is look I I followed the Mac for a long time because I grew up in Northeast Ohio
that was the conference that I had I was most interested in even more than the Big 10 I followed
Bowling Green and Kent State and akan way more than I followed OSU and Michigan and all this
other stuff why I don't know I probably because kids in from my conferences and in my area that I
grew up in that's where they went and played and I don't know my my brother and sister both graduated
from Kent State and I was just drawn to it I don't know but every year they would have a competitive
game or two or sometimes four or five early on in the season against a juggernaut these Mac teams uh
and then again latest example being what you just said Northern Illinois goes into South Ben shocks
Notre Dame and again I I didn't know that that was going to happen it's not like I was psychic about
Northern Illinois but when I'm asking the question about UB you'd like to see them come up and do
something at some point over these years I moved to Buffalo in 2000 that my first job was covering
college sports it was Craig cus trying to turn UB football into a division 1A competitive program
and I don't know so it's been 24 years I I'd like to see UB stun somebody and it doesn't seem like
if you were to compare the UB Missouri game and the Northern Illinois Notre Dame game which you
were just doing it doesn't even seem like we're talking about the same conferences are the same
this it's not it's not uh there's no allegory maybe they need to get an Notre Dame on the schedule a Syracuse maybe yeah that that that
has happened I know that has happened I don't know I would like to see him play army I'd like
the New York teams to have to play each other they played Army in the past it's been a few
years you know on a regular basis I mean yeah scheduling is tough for Max schouls I mean they
get these games and they make a lot of money in these games but you have to book them out like
10 years in advaned and they don't have much uh say in who they get or they kind of just take
the the most money and the best opportunity they have for those schedules but yeah eventually you
know as a division one program UB kind of needs that signature win at least for the fans sake and
maybe they don't need it but it does feel that way and it's been a long time I think since they went
into one of these games and you thought they had a good chance of pulling it off they they played
tough at Penn State few years back um a lot of it depends on how good that other team is and how
ready to play that power five team is but you also probably need to be U at its best like it was with
Lance lightbolt as the coach or or brief period with Turner Gil and not UB in a downward Swoon
as it is coming out of moris Ling's tenure and now Pete Lambo trying to rebuild things speaking
of booking things 10 years out Jonah uh you were out at sab's rookie camp today I I was not I was
uh consumed with Bill's football and heading to Miami and the whole thing on the short week but
uh Sab rookie Camp people get excited about it every year or at least well maybe not excited
they're borderline interested I don't but again to me it's always uh fascinating that we we start
covering these guys who we're not going to see for years you know booking them several years out
you're drafting in the NHL and yes maybe there's a guy who might make the roster but but you're
going to you're talking mostly about Rochester guys maybe ECHL guys maybe guys who are you know
floating around and maybe not making a making any Sabers organizational roster but how how do you
go out there and cover it what's the what's the vibe regarding the roster I know that I think
there were five first round draft picks on the ice today um what's what what Drew your attention
well you know it's a cumulative thing I'm kind of out there for a few days and then hope hopefully
you find some storylines or or what I'm most likely going to write is some sort of catchall
at the end about everything that happens it's part of the ramp up towards the season but yeah
you are right in that you know you might not be seeing guys that are on the NHL roster this year
at all in this prospects challenge but there are a lot of players that figure into the Sabers
future and probably near-term future Yuri khle Zak rosan they've already played two full seasons
in Rochester and if they're not ready to play in the NHL right now they're very close and the
way the Sabers approach free agency and fill out the roster there might not be a roster
spot for them unless Zack Benson is going down to Rochester and I don't know if that's the
case he's not here at the rookie Camp prospects challenge you know I think it's it's an
interesting event to kind of scout for the future and see these prospects and especially if
you're a Rochester Americans fan and you get to see up close what that team's going to look like
this season Ryan Johnson he's here he's a player who has played with the Sabres for a large number
of games before being sent back down to the miners it's be interesting to see if any of these players
are ready you know can be Camp surprises can steal a roster spot the way Zack Benson did last year
or if they're playing so well in Rochester that the time does come that they need to be elevated
into the roster the Sabres do seem to have this whole in the forward line right now for a top
six forward who can score goals replacing what Jeff Skinner gave them maybe Yuri Kik is that guy
eventually you know they need to he needs to all of these guys really need to show that they can
play defensive hockey in a two-way game and maybe not a top six high-scoring Winger role but the
Sabres might need that type of player and they might have a few young options and a lot of them
possible options are going to be on the ice at Harbor Center this weekend what's the situation
there with these practices are open to the public or some of them are or all of them are what's
the well the prospect challenge games are open to the public I don't believe the practices are
at least today's practice was not um public oh there were some PE I don't know exactly how Harbor
Center works if it's a little bit like uh you know UB alumni Arena where it's kind of always open
because people are running around on that track just living life students coming through can't
keep them out of there it seems like there's sometimes a little bit of that at Harbor Center
but I don't want to say that they're open to fans when they're not but there weren't a lot of fans
it did seem like a not public practice today and I believe that's the case for tomorrow's practice
but then they're they're playing games Friday Saturday and Sunday night anything else Jonah
nlll draft coming up Bandit putting together their roster and I think a schedule announcement
is probably coming soon after that and and we'll see when they get to lower their Banner at Key
Bank Center and this you know this um prospects challenges the ramp up to the real training camp
for the sabr and next week we're going to get to see we've seen photos but you get to see up close
uh the new scoreboard and the other new I guess you just had to drive on the Skyway to see the
new roof but the new things that are there at Key Center and the new season and Lindy Ruff back
behind the bench the new players the new roster then they go overseas to Germany for an exhibition
game and opening the season in Prague but hockey season's going to be here sooner than later and
this prospects challenge is really the start of welcoming back the hockey season I have it jotted
down here so I might as well share it I'll leave everybody here with a Josh Allen stat uh before
I get to that though let me remind you please uh like subscribe comment do all the things that you
can do on your platform of choice to support Tim Graham and Friends uh we greatly appreciate it uh
but here is a stat heading into Thursday night's game against the Dolphins Josh Allen is tied with
with Cam Newton in NFL history with 37 games of at least one passing and one rushing touchdown
so you got to think that he's eventually going to get that record and with the way that we we
were talking about Josh Allen and how he needs to play and the bills are going to be leaning
on him this year you'd like to think that he breaks that record uh pretty soon here in the ne
that's not like the Tyreek stat earlier that's not through nine Seasons or through this or through
that that's for NFL history most games with a rushing and passing touchdown uh another stat I
might as well empty the empty the notebook here uh he's also tied with Cam Newton for 10 games
with two rushing touchdowns but he's behind Jaylen Herz in that one so it may take so just because
he passes Cam Newton which he'll eventually do he's still gonna have to catch up the Jaylen Herz
who is Young and is's looks like he's going to be doing this for a while too so that could be a a
race that that Josh Allen has trouble winning but that record for passing and rushing touch Downs
uh looks like that'll be his pretty soon Josh Allen is the quarterback on one of my fantasy
teams so we'll see if he benefits my team I I had him on one team and I played against him
on the other team so I don't know whether I should be rooting for him to score or not or if
I should even be having those kind of thoughts while I'm sitting in the Press Box trying to be
an objective journalist well Jonah what you should be rooting for is not necessarily your opponent
because that's just one week you need to root for Josh Allen to stay healthy yeah well I think the
problem with that team is too many Buffalo Bills players oh do you want to you want to talk about
that I got let's save it for next week let's save it for next week because we can get into that for
a good 10 minutes I I it's it is amazing let's let's just leave it at that uh thanks to everybody
out thanks to everybody out there for listening or for watching whichever you preferred on to
uh Tim Graham and friends brought to you by CT BK CPAs and Business Consultants the financial
needs of a business go beyond tax and attest Services that's why ctbk goes beyond accounting
services and offers outsourced Solutions through their affiliation with CFO Solutions Plus
these additional Services allow clients to focus on their operational and long-term strategic
goals trust cbk's outsourc solutions to provide costeffective value added Financial Services
tailored to your company's needs call ctbk at 716 630- 2400 again 716 630- 2400 or go to ctb.n
more about cbk's outsourced Solutions [Music] [Music]