The Best Part of Bills Training Camp Has Nothing to Do With Football
Every August, I become the old man yelling at the cloud.
Bills training camp coverage drives me absolutely insane. Every summer we go through the same cycle. The fan favorite who will be cut in two weeks suddenly becomes the next Bills legend. Buffalo Joe, Christian Wade, Brandon Reilly, other white WRs, UB Products, Joique Bell, Marcus Easley, Robert Foster. The annual backup quarterback where every throw in shorts is terrible before everyone remembers why those guys are backups. Every Josh Allen handshake gets dissected like it’s the Zapruder film. Keon Coleman catches a pass against air and suddenly he’s “turned the corner.” Someone gets hurt and Twitter doctors say he might be done for the year, but is then back the next day. Chris Brown reveals “secrets” about where players are lining up only to get suspended when it doesn’t make sense because content people are tweeting it from the stands. Bills media tweeting food reviews and golf selfies. Unlimited amount of emojis describing a play where everyone is wearing shorts and zero pads.
It’s the Content Olympics. Everyone is chasing the same viral clip because training camp is football’s version of reality TV with no actual football. I get it. Media and content creators need content to do their job, but the hype is normally out of control and Bills fans on X are fanning the flames.
But there is one thing training camp absolutely nails.
Kids.
That’s what training camp is supposed to be. It’s one of the few places where parents can take their kids to see NFL players for free, maybe grab an autograph, maybe catch a football, and create a memory they’ll still be talking about 30 years later.
I know because I was one of those kids
I still remember being about 12 years old when the Bills held some weird scrimmage at Rich Stadium in May. Before practice started, they opened things up for autographs. I had my football, my Sharpie, and absolutely no standards.I wasn’t waiting for Hall of Famers. I wanted everybody.
Matt Rogers? Come on over.
Mike Devlin? Absolutely.
Gale Gilbert? You’re getting on the football.
If you wore a Bills uniform, I wanted your autograph. Half the guys probably would’ve made Pat Moran’s annual “this undrafted free agent has a chance” list.
Then the atmosphere changed.
The white whale was coming.
Jim Kelly.
Within seconds, it went from a fun autograph session to complete chaos. Kids were leaning over the railings. Adults were reaching over kids. Everyone was screaming his name. Jim would sign one or two things, then move what felt like 10 seats down before signing another couple.
By pure luck, he looked right at me.
Maybe it was because I had a football instead of a card. Maybe I was just in the right place at the right time. Whatever it was, he grabbed my football and signed it.
I can still remember thinking I had just won the lottery. I turned around to my older sister who took me there and yelled I got Jim Kelly’s autograph!!
Then an older guy shoved something toward Jim and yelled, “Jim! Autograph this!”
Jim didn’t even hesitate.
“No.”
Then he kept walking.
Looking back, it was kind of hilarious. Classic Jim Kelly. Maybe a little gruff. Maybe a little rude. But honestly? Good. Adults shouldn’t be elbowing kids out of the way for autographs at training camp.
Unfortunately, I have no idea where that football is today. At some point when I was about 18, I think I made the brilliant decision to throw it around in the snow, so half the autographs were probably faded away. I’m also pretty sure one of our dogs peed on it at some point, which probably didn’t help preserve its long-term value.
Not that it was ever worth much money anyway. Matt Rogers, Mike Devlin, Gale Gilbert…I think they combined to knock the value down to about a buck.
But that’s the funny thing about being a kid.
The value was never in the signatures.
The value was in the memory.
I can still picture standing there as a 12-year-old with my football and Sharpie, hoping every Bills player would stop. I can still remember Jim Kelly looking my way and signing it. I can still remember thinking it was the greatest day ever.
It’s about kids.
It’s about parents getting to bring their children to watch NFL players for free. It’s about getting an autograph, catching a football tossed into the crowd, or simply seeing Josh Allen in person for the first time. I can’t wait until my boys are old enough to spend a day at training camp. I want them to experience that feeling of walking through the gates knowing they’re about to see NFL players up close—whether it’s Josh Allen or some undrafted rookie who never makes the team.
When you’re a kid, you don’t know who’s going to become a legend and who’s going to be out of the league six months later. You don’t care. They’re all Buffalo Bills. Every autograph feels special. Every player seems larger than life. That’s the magic of training camp.
When you see all those kids lined up along the fence with footballs, jerseys, helmets, and Sharpies in their hands, that’s what training camp is really about. Not depth chart debates. Not “winning” a practice. Not trying to squeeze another viral clip out of a quarterback handshake.
It’s about creating a memory that might stick with a kid for the next 30 years.
So bring your kids.
Leave your inner coach at home.
Trust me, your son or daughter won’t remember who won the third-string linebacker battle.
They’ll remember the autograph.
Thirty years later, I still do.
From Queens to the Box: Drafting Bills Helmets/Jersey combos
Joe: Chris, it’s training camp time, and that can only mean one thing for the two of us to do... and that’s not talk training camp. It’s time for our first installment of drafting something.Yes, we are stealing an idea Schopp and the Bulldog did, that Pat Moran stole, and now we’re stealing from both of them. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, right?
Today, we’re drafting Bills uniforms.
There are 19 different uniforms for us to draft. I know you’re an insane person when it comes to jerseys, especially if the smallest, most minute thing gets changed. But I’m going to ignore those little details like collar tweaks, white facemasks, and things like that. I am also going to ignore the Bills jersey/helmets from the finale last year because it’s just a helmet. Not a jersey.
This will be a snake draft. I think that’s what they call it. I’ll let you pick first, then I’ll pick two, then you’ll pick two, and blah, blah, blah. Before I show the draft board, in general, how do you feel about the Bills’ uniform history?
Chris Ostrander: If you want my hottest take, the overall history is kind of boring. The team has had effectively the same uniform for the vast majority of its lifespan—blue home jersey, block numbers, red-and-white-trimmed sleeve stripes. It’s kind of vanilla if we’re being very critical.
But that’s a result of having a really timeless look. “Don’t mess with perfection” comes to mind with the Bills uniforms, especially their primaries. Both logos are excellent, and the uniforms aren’t busy. There have been a few errors over the years, and the lack of variation will sap some of the fun from this endeavor, but that’s what you get for having such a long run with a design that’s very similar across all those years.
Chris Ostrander: How about you?
Joe: I think most fans judge Bills uniforms through nostalgia more than fashion. Sports are emotional. The uniforms we watched Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Josh Allen, or our childhood heroes wear are always going to mean more than a color scheme or stripe pattern. That’s why I tried to separate the memories from the actual design. Some uniforms get a huge boost because they remind people of a certain era, a Super Bowl run, or their first game at Rich Stadium. Others get knocked because the teams wearing them weren’t very good.
If you took all that away and judged them strictly on looks, I think the rankings would surprise a lot of people. Nostalgia is powerful, but it doesn’t always equal great design.
Overall, though, to answer your question... they’re fine. I do wish they would go a little more balls to the wall. The Sabres have never been afraid to burn everything down and completely redo a logo or uniform. The Bills have mostly just tweaked what already existed.
So let me get to the draft board and the rules.
We have 19 uniforms—home and away—to pick from. We are only drafting the helmet and jersey. Pants do not matter in this case, because we’d be here all day if we started debating the 75 different uniform combinations.
Draft Board
1960–1961 | Original AFL Era
Helmet: Silver helmet with player numbers
Home: Blue jersey / silver pants
Away: White jersey / silver pants
1962–1973 | Standing Buffalo Era
Helmet: White helmet with red standing buffalo
Home: Blue jersey / white pants
Away: White jersey / white pants
1974–1983 | White Helmet Charging Buffalo Era
Helmet: White helmet with charging buffalo
Home: Blue jersey / white pants
Away: White jersey / white pants
1984–1993 | Red Helmet Era
Helmet: Red helmet with charging buffalo
Home: Blue jersey / white pants
Away: White jersey / white pants
1994 | 75th Anniversary Throwback
Helmet: Red helmet with white standing buffalo
Home: Blue jersey / white pants
Away: White jersey / white pants
2002–2010 | Navy Modern Era
Helmet: Red helmet with charging buffalo
Home: Navy jersey / white pants or navy pants
Away: White jersey / white pants or navy pants
2005 | Standing Buffalo Throwback
Helmet: White helmet with red standing buffalo
Home: Navy jersey / white pants
2009 | AFL 50th Anniversary Throwback
Helmet: White helmet with red standing buffalo
Away: White jersey / white pants
2011–Present | Classic Revival Era
Helmet: White helmet with charging buffalo
Home: Blue jersey / white pants or blue pants
Away: White jersey / white pants or blue pants
2015–Present | Color Rush
Helmet: White helmet with charging buffalo
Home: All-red jersey / red pants
2025 | Cold Front Uniforms
Helmet: White helmet with charging buffalo
Home: White jersey / gray pants
2026 | Nickel City Throwback
Helmet: whatever the fuck that is.
Home: Nickel City throwback
Chris Ostrander: We could probably do an entire draft just on the Bills helmets and the different tweaks they’ve made over the years, so it’s probably for the best that we streamline this a bit. I’ll still be annoying and point out some things about the pants or socks, so strap in.
Joe: I know. I’ll definitely link everyone to your site where you discuss goaltending pads. Otherwise, we’ll be here until the Bills win the Super Bowl.
Okay... what’s your first pick and why?
Chris Ostrander: My first pick is the 1984–2001 away uniforms.
I think this is the best the Bills have ever looked. Red helmet. Clean white-on-white uniform. Red socks. The red helmet pops against the white jersey. It all just works. You can’t beat it. And to be clear, I’m talking about the ‘90s version specifically—with the white facemasks. The blue facemasks on the red helmets just don’t work.
That’s my first step outside the rules.
Joe: I feel like you’re placating the masses with that pick, but I know you better than that. Still, it’s a good choice. And yes... throw those blue facemasks into the sun.
Now I have two picks.
First, I’m taking the 1984–2001 home uniforms.
Everyone on Twitter wants these back. When they wore the red helmets in last year’s finale, nostalgia hit everybody like a truck. That’s definitely me pandering/ball washing to the masses.For my second pick, though, this one’s all me.
I’m taking the 2005 Standing Buffalo throwback.
It’s the only thing Tom Donahoe ever did that I have absolutely zero notes on. I owned it in a Nate Clements jersey, which of course only lasted a year before he left for San Francisco.
These kick ass.
Chris Ostrander: They technically only wore the red helmet last year. The uniforms themselves were the current set. Honestly, that was vindicating for me because I’ve been on the red-helmet train for years, and people always told me they wouldn’t work with the current uniforms.
Turns out... they look great.
I generally lean away from the constant push to go back to older uniforms because I think a lot of it is driven by nostalgia. But in this case? Those things rock. I’d love to see them wear them more often.
Now I’m back on the clock.
For my second pick, I’m taking the modern Standing Buffalo throwback.
You have it listed as the 2009 white throwback, but they’ve basically used it as their throwback jersey for the last 15 years, and for good reason.
This is easily their second-best uniform, and I actually think it looks better than the one it’s based on.
The original ‘60s uniforms were a little sloppy. That’s just how jerseys were made back then. The striping is kind of messy and the colors are a little muted.
The modern version fixes all of that.
Paul Lukas might egg my house for saying this, but I actually think the sleeve striping looks better on the modern cut sleeves than it did wrapping all the way around the old jerseys.
It also looks much better than the current white jerseys with the unnecessary navy trim around the numbers. The simple red outline around the blue numbers is much cleaner.
For my next pick, I’m taking the current home uniforms.
I was tempted to go somewhere else, but I’m locking up the royal blue home jerseys with the white helmet—and yes, the white facemask.
Coming off the navy era, the Bills did a really nice job with this redesign. I still think they’d look even better with a red helmet, but this is a really solid uniform.
Joe: This is where the draft gets difficult because I think six of these uniforms are basically the same.
The 2005 throwback is basically the ‘64 home jersey. You have to diversify your portfolio. You can’t have three versions of essentially the same uniform.
So with my next two picks, I’m taking the current away uniforms first.
They’re just solid. Nobody really complains about them.
Then I’m going with the 1960 inaugural home uniforms.
Also... the Bills are idiots for not selling those numbered silver helmets. I’d buy one tomorrow since the numbers are them. I think if you did a #17 one it would sell out.
Chris Ostrander: There really is a ton of crossover with the Bills’ uniforms. There are minor differences in the striping and little tweaks here and there, but overall there are far more similarities than differences.You know, it’s kind of funny that the Bills jumped through all these hoops with the patronizing blue-collar messaging for the Nickel City jerseys when they already have a silver helmet in their history they could have drawn inspiration from. If you’re making a uniform called Nickel City, that seems like the obvious place to start.
Anyway, on to my next two picks.
First up are the 1962–73 home uniforms.
These are the classic Bills uniforms. Jack Kemp. Cookie Gilchrist. The Rockpile. Standing Buffalo helmet. Royal blue jersey.
There’s really not much more to say. They’re a proven classic, and they’re the only uniforms here with a true championship attached to them.
Now that I’ve grabbed a couple of home uniforms, I’ll switch back to the away side and take the 1974–83 white uniforms.
Although I might be mistaken, didn’t they wear white at home quite a bit during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s?
Either way, I like these. The debut of the Charging Buffalo logo, the blue facemasks, and yes, I even like the blue pants with this set. The double sleeve stripes aren’t great, but I like the rest of the uniform enough to overlook them.
Joe: I don’t know if they wore white at home that much, but those are solid selections that would definitely make Boomer Bills grandfathers happy.
Since I already have the current away uniforms, I’m taking the 1974–83 home uniforms with the Charging Buffalo helmet.
Is O.J. Simpson the player everyone associates with those uniforms, even though he didn’t break the 2,000-yard rushing record in them?
For my next selection, I’m going with the Cold Front uniforms.
I like the Cold Front jersey and helmet because they’re different without completely abandoning the Bills’ identity. The icy gray look gives the team a modern, winter-inspired vibe that feels unique compared to the endless parade of black alternate uniforms around the NFL.Paired with the white helmet, it’s a clean, sharp combination that stands out.
Chris Ostrander: I’ve been revisiting the Cold Front uniforms after this week’s announcement. I like the logo treatment, and I actually like the jersey. But the pants and the helmet striping just don’t do it for me. It’s obviously much, much better than what they dropped this week, but I think we need to demand more from the Bills when it comes to alternate uniforms. I agree with your take on black alternates, too. Those have been way overdone around the league.
And I get especially annoyed by alternate helmets that are nothing more than the current helmet with a different paint job.
That’s kind of how I feel about the Cold Front helmet. It’s basically the current striping with an icy overlay.
Do something different. Show some effort.
Joe: So here’s what’s left:
2026 Nickel City
2015 Color Rush
1994 35th Anniversary home and away
2002–10 home and away
1960 inaugural away
1962–73 away
Right?
Chris Ostrander: That’s what I have on my draft board. We feel strongly there are still a few players left with first-round grades. Since this is a two-person snake draft, the order of our individual picks doesn’t really matter. I know there are some Bills normies who are going to be mad about what I’m about to do.
For my next pick, I’m taking the Color Rush uniforms.
I wanted another alternate uniform on my roster, and I think these are solid. The NFL Color Rush program was generally a disaster, in my opinion, but these were one of the few uniforms that actually worked. I’d have no problem if the Bills kept them in the rotation.
Whispering... I actually think these would work better with the new blue helmet than the gray jerseys.
So give me the Color Rush uniforms ahead of the 1962–73 away uniforms.
That rounds out my home-and-away set, and I’m sure it’ll annoy some diehards that I ranked the red alternate ahead of the AFL championship-era white uniforms. I don’t have many notes on those. The original sleeve stripes are a mess compared to the modern throwbacks, but they’re still clean, classic uniforms that I know will score well in the post-draft grades.
Joe: My groomsman bought me a Josh Allen Color Rush jersey that I’ve been trying to lose weight to fit into since 2021. Right now it looks like Fat Guy in a Little Coat every time I put it on.
Okay, I’m going to do something drastic.
Call this the sleeper pick of the draft—reminiscent of the Bills drafting back-to-back defensive linemen.
I’m taking both 1994 75th Anniversary uniforms.
I love the red helmet, and I actually think the extra stripes they added to the bottom of the home jersey sleeves are pretty cool. The away jerseys, though? They were kind of lazy that season.
Chris Ostrander: For my next two picks, I’m taking the 2002–10 home uniforms and the 1960–61 away uniforms.
The drought-era navy uniforms were atrocious, but the navy home uniforms—when paired with the blue pants—were at least passable. Certainly better than the away version. Even though the pants stripes didn’t match, going blue-on-blue at home was a good move.
As for my second pick... well, it’s not the 2002–10 away uniforms. I don’t really have a strong opinion on the inaugural away uniforms. They’re pretty nondescript. It would actually be cool if the Bills brought them back one day as a one-off homage set with the silver helmets and numbers on the side.
I do like the plain white jerseys with the single-color numbers.
They’re simple, but they work.
Joe: So here is what is left:
2026 Nickel City
2002–10 away
I’m going to pick one, and you’ll pick one.We’ve reached the Battle of Barf:
2002–10 away uniforms vs. 2026 Nickel City.
So, I have a confession.
I actually liked the 2002 uniforms when they were first released. Maybe that was because social media didn’t have nearly the influence it does today. I didn’t even see them until my buddy came to visit me in New York City shortly after I moved there, and he was wearing a white London Fletcher jersey.
I remember thinking, “Those are pretty cool.”
Then time passed.
Looking back now, those uniforms are kind of like looking back at ‘90s fashion and wondering why everyone thought JNCO jeans were a good idea. As for the new Nickel City uniforms... I mean, they’re pretty wretched, and almost nobody likes them.
Part of me also wonders if the hatred toward the 2002–10 uniforms is more about remembering the drought than the actual design itself. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think that’s at least part of it.
With that said, I’m sticking with how I honestly felt when they were released, not how I feel twenty years later.
So my final pick is the 2002–10 away uniforms.
Chris Ostrander: I’m happy with that because the 2002–10 white jerseys were so awful to me. They looked like Montreal Alouettes jerseys. That oversized shoulder yoke always felt completely out of place, like it belonged on a CFL uniform instead of an NFL one. To me, they’re far and away the worst jerseys in Bills history. I’ll gladly take the Nickel City uniforms over those, as ugly as they are.
At least the helmet is cool. The jerseys, though?
They’re a travesty.
Joe: how do you feel about our draft overall?
Chris: I feel like that’s a 74 Steelers-level draft. Incredible depth and only one that I wouldn’t want to play.
Joe: Well let’s see what the audience think. Vote in the poll or comments. See you at the Sabres jersey draft in January
Check out Chris Ostrander’s work at Two in the Box
VIRAL BUFFALO TWEET OF THE WEEK
One of the bigger talking points from camp this week was Alec Anderson describing Joe Brady as “the fun uncle” who lets you do things your parents normally wouldn’t. Judging by the reaction online, though, some Bills fans weren’t exactly buying it as a reason for optimism. I think most people would rather hear about better execution, a more creative offense, or fewer stalled drives than how relaxed the atmosphere has become.
After five playoff exits to go along with most fans seemingly against the McDermott firing and promotions of Beane and Brady, fans are looking for evidence that something on the field has actually changed…not just that everyone is having more fun.
Then again, there are definitely fans who blamed McDermott for the shortcomings, especially when it came to what happened in that building. I started trying to think of examples where an established top-six team fired the strict teacher and replaced him with Mr. Belding’s brother. Mike Shanahan replacing Dan Reeves came to mind, but even that isn’t perfect because Wade Phillips—who was loose as hell—was sandwiched in between. Maybe Jim Mora to Tony Dungy in Indianapolis? Belichick to Vrabel? The last 4 coaches for the Eagles from Andy Reid to Chip Kelly to Doug Pederson to Nick Sirianni is it’s own therapy session. There just aren’t many examples in the NFL of a team going from very good to truly great by replacing a disciplinarian with a more relaxed coach. And to be fair, there aren’t many examples of going from Mr. Belding’s brother to Tom Berenger in The Substitute, either.
STATHEAD OF THE WEEK:
Not surprisingly, the Bills ranked in the top 10 in explosive plays last season. They finished 8th in both passing plays of 20+ yards and rushing plays of 20+ yards. They also scored 40 touchdowns from 20-plus yards out, which ranked 3rd in the NFL.
I know I complain about the offense a lot, but when you look at numbers like these, maybe I’m being a little too hard on them. Then again, maybe the standard should be even higher than 7th overall.
One thing that really stood out: among the top 10 teams, only two were from the AFC (the Bills and Ravens). And how about the Chiefs? Seeing them all the way down at 24th in explosive plays is pretty surprising.
DAD SHOTS
—The obsession with dragging Anthony Fauci back in front of Congress is political theater at this point. Was the CDC perfect? No. Was Fauci perfect? No. Mistakes were made, guidance changed, people developed depression during isolation, but we also went from a pandemic that was killing hundreds of thousands of people to a world where a combination of vaccines, improved treatments, prior infections, and natural immunity dramatically reduced the overall impact of COVID.
Let’s not be obtuse and rewrite history. In the early months of 2020, many of the same politicians now trying to pin the entire pandemic on one guy were downplaying COVID….calling concerns overblown, saying it was a media hoax, or insisting it would disappear. If they had acted faster when all the warning signs were there, we could’ve saved more lives. See how New Zealand was out in front of it in January of 2020 while the president didn’t give two shits.
The lack of a clear, consistent response from the top created confusion, and in my opinion, it was one of the biggest reasons Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. People were scared and wanted leadership. Additionally the people who did die were mostly anti-vaxxers who refused to get help cause they wanted to…well, i dunno..own the libs? You couldn’t go a day without reading a story about some Fox News brain worms person becoming another tooth pic.
Six years later, we’ve somehow replaced lessons learned with political score-settling. The anti-vaccine grifters, the politicians chasing soundbites, and the people pretending one scientist was solely responsible for a once-in-a-century pandemic aren’t interested in finding answers or how to prevent another pandemic. Instead...They’re interested in finding a villain.
—Kevin Sylvester and Paul Peck will be doing the 97 Rock pregame show before Chris Trapasso and Mitch Morse’s two-hour block on Bills gamedays. Peck and Sylvester have been part of the Buffalo sports scene since the ‘90s. Both are veterans of radio and have done work covering the Bills and Sabres. They also worked together on The Buffalo Sports Page nearly a decade ago, where they wrote columns and hosted a podcast, so the chemistry should already be there. The website is actually still around, although neither has contributed in years. I’m curious how objective they’ll be. They’re on 97 Rock and not the Bills’ in-house broadcasts, which we all know will be a propaganda machine.
—I’m pretty sure C.J. Gardner-Johnson isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last, player to livestream from inside an NFL facility. Joe Brady coming over to “shut down” the stream was much ado about nothing. I don’t think this is some sort of gateway drug that’s going to lead to chaos around the team. I even saw one content bro—Bad News Brasky, or One Bills Brasky depending on that dude’s mood—trying to turn it into a massive controversy, which just made me sad. There’s no such thing as a real controversy on the first day of training camp. Players stream all the time. Oh, and C.J. also gave someone $20,000 to pay off her student loans, which was pretty damn cool. He must be a Bernie Bro. With that all said, thank goodness his injury on Saturday is only a calf strain. I was out all day and when I logged onto twitter it was like 5 hours after practice and my feed was a shit show stating he could have blown out his ACL.
—I have to assume the Bills asked Josh Allen to throw some cold water on the outrage over the new Nickel City uniforms. Completely unprompted, he told everyone to calm down about the new gear. Once again, the Bills seem to need the Josh Allen rub whenever they want fans to ease up. They’ve done this before by mentioning that Josh wanted Keon Coleman or Connor McGovern. Josh is always the good soldier for the organization. I also wonder—and this is pure speculation—whether he had any input on the uniforms. I only bring it up because of his relationship with New Era. Maybe he had a voice in the process. Maybe not.
—The annual “Howard picks the Bills” segment may finally be coming to an end. Howard tweeted last week that he just wants to be a fan this year and that it was time to step away. Then Jeremy White tweeted that he has a plan involving Howard, so now I’m wondering if that means he’ll also be done with Leading the Charge on WKBW alongside Joe Buscaglia and Matt Bové. Not to ballwash, but that show has always been one of my favorites because all three had great chemistry. Howard has basically had the Mick Foley career arc—retiring, kind of coming back, retiring again, then making another surprise appearance, and now out.
In other WGR news, as of this writing they haven’t done any live radio shows from training camp. Sal Capaccio has been there doing his reports, but the station itself hasn’t set up shop like it used to. I have to wonder if losing the Bills radio rights has something to do with that. Meanwhile, One Bills Live has been on site and landed a bunch of player interviews during camp, although I haven’t gone out of my way to listen. 97 Rock has been on site with their show which I’m willing to bet was a part of their agreement with carrying Bills games. I only know that based on seeing a picture of Shredd and Ragan at practice on Facebook. The 97 Rock Twitter feed hasn’t tweeted in two years. May wanna get someone on that since they are paying for Bills radio rights.
—The only thing I’m truly paying attention to in camp right now is Tyler Bass. I didn’t like that my kicker had a rough 2024 season that had me ready to move on from him, and then essentially didn’t kick in game situations last season. The Bills seem to be bringing him along slowly, but if I’m covering camp, that’s the position I’m watching most closely. Kicking and punting are about the only things in training camp that closely resemble what you’ll actually see during games.
—I know The Bear has become one of those shows you’re almost expected to love, but Season 4 just didn’t do it for me. My wife and I actually fell behind because of well…you know. The performances are still great, but it felt like the show traded momentum for long conversations and artsy moments that didn’t move the story forward. Maybe it’ll pick back up when we start the final season, but this was easily my least favorite season.
—Was I the only one who didn’t completely hate Ser Criston Cole on House of the Dragon? Everyone online seemed thrilled when he died, and I kind of felt bad for the guy. He made plenty of bad decisions and brought a lot of his problems on himself, but the women he loved basically told him to get bent after using him as a sex toy. He spent years caught between loyalty and guilt, and his life just kept spiraling. I’m not saying he was a hero, but I always thought he was a more tragic character than the internet gave him credit for.
—I know Astoria is loaded with great food and bars, but the Bier & Cheese collective on Ditmars is one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood. They have an awesome craft beer selection, great sandwiches, and some of the best grilled cheese you’ll find anywhere. It’s one of those places that’s perfect whether you want to grab a beer with friends or just pick up some cheese and beer to bring home. If you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth checking out.
—Quick update on the “Sit next to Joe from Queens” contest for Bills-Jets in November. As you guys know, I have a partnership with Homage, and they’ve agreed to hook the winner up with some free swag for the game. So now you’re getting tickets, hanging out with yours truly, free tailgate food/booze, transportation from Queens to NJ and back, and some Homage gear. If that’s still not enough to make you subscribe, then I have to assume you’re just hate-reading at this point or just a bot.
One quick reminder: I’m not providing transportation or lodging to the tri state area. You’ll need to make your own way to Queens or New Jersey to pick up the tickets and get to the game. Trust me, you don’t want to crash at my place anyway. Between my two kids, my cat, and the overall chaos, it’s less “VIP experience” and more “survive the Joe from Queens household.”
—Our Snoo is dead.
—Garden update: WE HAVE A CUCUMBER
— If you made it this far, thank you. If you’re enjoying the Substack, please share it with your friends, family, and enemies. Buy a Homage shirt through my link, or if you’re feeling extra generous, donate to my “get sleep” fund. We definitely sold a few shirts last week and I have to thank Patrick -Not pandering Patrick- who donated 30 dollars to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it and I’ve already spent it on booze. Just kidding!
As always, I’ll be on the Talking Buffalo podcast Monday with the Joey Chestnut of chicken finger consumption and tweeting worthless training camp nuggets…Pat Moran. Enjoy the rest of your week and wear sunscreen.
Rewatching the Broncos game it is kind of shocking that the Bills were still able to force overtime. Their defense was terrible. There was never any pass rush and the Broncos receivers seemed to constantly have these wide berths to make uncontested catches. Allen made a bonehead play at the end of the first half, but the issue there was the stupid play call with 16 seconds left on their own 30. Why on earth would you call a play there and not just take a knee? Of course Allen is going to try to pull off a miracle in that situation. You have to know your player. The real killer was Cook’s fumble that killed a promising drive. Having said that, Allen and Cook were still the best players on the field for the Bills.