Talking Buffalo

On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by friend and recurring guest Anthony Marino from Buffalo Rumblings to discuss the biggest thing(s) that are stopping the Buffalo Bills from getting over the Kansas City Chiefs hump on the heels of the Chiefs winning their third Super Bowl in five years.

Spoiler alert---it's not Patrick Mahomes being so much (if at all) better than Josh Allen. Not only has Allen led the Bills to three consecutive road wins versus Kansas City in the regular season, but he's played more than well enough to have deserved a win in Buffalo's last two playoff elimination losses to the Chiefs. What has killed the Bills, a focal point of this discussion is some of Buffalo's other star players performing like anything but stars when the games matter most. While guys like Chris Jones and Travis Kelce always seem to rise in playoff defining moments, Buffalo's key non-quarterback players have faceplanted in the postseason.

The guys also give their takes on if they think players in Buffalo get judged by fans and the media too much for their work in the regular season and not in the playoffs, poor injury luck playing a role in recent Bills playoff exits, a little peak into Buffalo's upcoming offseason and much more.

Be sure to follow Anthony on Twitter @AnthMarino and check out Buffalo Rumblings, featuring written and podcast/vidcast content pretty much daily.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by PK from the Buffalo Sports Collective for live postgame reaction in a podcast streamed immediately following the Buffalo Sabres annihilating the Los Angeles Kings at the Key Bank Center Tuesday night, 7-0.

It was the Sabres most convincing win of the season and the guy discuss several aspects of it, most notably UPL getting his fourth shutout of the season (33 saves) as he continues to be far and away the team's biggest bright spot on an overall disappointing season. Jordan Greenway and Zack Benson were among other Sabres who also did several good things in their shutout over Los Angeles, their largest shutout victory since 2001.

That said, the hater hats quickly go on Patrick and PK as they turn their focus on the totality of the season through 52 games, which has saw Buffalo woefully underachieve if your expectations for this season were the playoffs. Short of a minor miracle the Sabres are poised to miss the playoffs for a NHL record 13th consecutive season. Should Don Granato have been fired or at least be on the hot seat? How much does bad injury luck play a role in where the Sabres are at right now? Why is the power play so dreadful?

The guys also talk a little Super Bowl, cruising and much more.

You can follow PK on Twitter @PK_BSC and check out the Buffalo Sports Collective podcast.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, the second of a two-part series, Patrick Moran examines the state of the Buffalo Bills with this one being the "happy version", a good vibes only list of things about the team to excite fans as they start move onward towards the 2024 season.

Unlike the doom and gloom of yesterday's episode, today the focus is on good things and that starts with the franchise quarterback. Patrick talks about how despite a midseason offensive coordinator change and declining production from his top wideout, Josh Allen continued to play at a level very few quarterbacks in the NFL are capable of playing at. In fact, Josh was quite realistically two more Bills team wins/non choke jobs away from likely winning the 2023 NFL MVP that instead went to Lamar Jackson.

Part of Allen's and the offensive turnaround in general during the back half of the season is attributed to extremely promising play from rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid, wide receiver Khalil Shakir and running back James Cook. Patrick discusses their importance and what a luxury it is to have all three for multiple years under contract at ridiculously affordable rates (less than a $6 million 2024 cap hit from all three combined).

Among other topics discussed is the borderline stunning development of Terrell Bernard nearly instantly becoming a star middle linebacker, the best offensive line of the Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott regime, McDermott becoming far more aggressive as the season wore on and excitement about the Bills having two rising young coordinators in Joe Brady and Bobby Babich. That and plenty more--no pissing in your Cheerios today, Bills fans!

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, the first of a two-part series, Patrick Moran examines the state of the Buffalo Bills with this one being the "sad version", a list of concerning things about the team as they move onwards towards the 2024 season.

Among the topics Patrick jumps into is the Bills extremely undesirable salary cap situation, a huge factor in 2024 that's going to leak into several facets of the team. Among them is a handful of potential veteran cuts that would be mostly if not entirely salary cap related---a list Patrick thinks could potentially include Tre White, Mitch Mors and Jordan Poyer among others. Beyond players currently under contract it's also expected to several prohibit Brandon Beane from going out to get solid veteran depth for the roster like he has over the past four seasons. There's a slew of pending Bills free agents, including DaQuan Jones, Gabe Davis and AJ Epenesa not to mention quality role players like Taylor Rapp, David Edwards and Tyrel Dodson.

Also, there's additional worrisome things Patrick talks about---such as Von Miller potentially being washed up, questioning if Matt Milano will be the same player after his severe leg injury, the possibility of more Stefon Diggs drama (and declining production) as well as wondering if this team has gotten as far as it's going to under Sean McDermott and if these Bills are destined to end up like the a quality NBA team from years ago.

That and more in this intentionally gloomy look at the state of the Bills. Don't fret though--tomorrow's show will be significantly more upbeat, it's the "happy version."

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, it's "Fan Friday" and Patrick Moran reads off several comments and questions from fans with takes on those topics of his own, including a handful focused on the Buffalo Bills getting unlucky the past few seasons with injuries and the recent devaluing of earning the two seed in the AFC.

Several fans are quick to point out how hard the Bills have been hit with injuries over the past two seasons, to the point it nearly feels unfair---- Von Miller tearing his ACL in 2022 and DaQuan Jones missing the Bills elimination loss to the Bengals and this year with Matt Milano and Tre White's season-enders not to mention Terrell Bernard missing the Kansas City game a few weeks in addition to other important pieces. Patrick agrees about the injury bug decimating the Bills but using that as a primary excuse feels empty when considering they faced a Pittsburgh team in the wild card this year without TJ Watt, a Chiefs team that had some key injuries of their own, a third-string quarterback for Miami in last year's wild card and a Bengals team that was missing three starting offensive lineman and a defensive back last year.

Also included is this episode is continued fallout from Tyler Dunne's in studio recent appearance on this show, favorite former Buffalo Bills players, the toughest person Patrick's had to interview on this show, Nine Eleven Tavern talk, an outstandingly optimistic portrait of the Bills from a fan and much more.

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by WKBW-TV sports reporter and anchor Dom Tibbetts for a candid and fun conversation about his life and career through this point.

Tibbetts talks about growing up in the Syracuse area and knowing at a young age that being in sports broadcasting was a dream he was willing to chase. It was a path that sent him around the country before ultimately landing in Buffalo at Channel 7. After college Tibbetts discusses the process of applying for more than 40 jobs before finally getting his opportunity---taking him all the way to Butte, Montana. The guys talk about culture shock living out west and then again in 2020 where Tibbetts' career took him to Tallahassee, Florida. Dom talks about how big college and high school sports are in Florida and some of the challenges that came with going to a job during the height of the Covid era.

Tibbetts was looking for a chance to get into the Buffalo market and that came in 2022. He talks about how that opportunity came about and with respect to Florida it was an easy decision for him. They also discuss some of his colleagues at the station, peers in the Buffalo sports media market and how for the most part everyone's friendly with each other.

They end with a "Fun Fact Finale", which hasn't happened in a hot minute on this show because it's been a while since having a first-time guest. Included among the cool things we learn about Dom is his early crush on Shania Twain, a unique go-to snack, a bad habit he calls himself out for and him winning $10,000 and other goodies before as a contestant on The Price is Right.

Be sure to follow Dom on Twitter @DomTibbetsTV and check out the great work he's doing over at Channel 7.

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On today's Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by friend and recurring guest Tone Pucks for a second consecutive day, this time to hand out some hardware during our Buffalo Bills 2023 season awards episode.

There's not really much to debate when it comes to obvious selections like Team MVP (Josh Allen) and Rookie of the Year (Dalton Kincaid) but the disagreements start with Defensive MVP, having Pucks take the linebacker (Terrell Bernard) who became a revelation in his first year as a starter while Patrick gave the nod to Ed Oliver despite his faceplant against Kansas City in the playoffs---something Pucks doesn't agree with either and explains why.

They also some banter among other awards, including best and worst individual performances, best and worst games of the season, best and worst offseason additions and their single-favorite thing about the 2023 season now that it's over.

That plus Tone Pucks continues to get angry about the Buffalo Sabres even though they're not really a topic of discussion today and much more.

Follow Tone Pucks on Twitter @TonePucksRedux

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by friend and recurring guest Tone Pucks to discuss the Buffalo Sabres as they come off the All-Star break and into their final 33 games of the season in addition to handing out some midseason awards for them---the good, bad and ugly.

There were a lot of expectations on the Sabres this season to finally break their playoff drought but through 49 games that hasn't come to fruition. The guys discuss a lot of went wrong and why they're 11 points off last year's pace, ranging from the inability to put a real winning streak together to an abundance of injuries to star players and a straight-up lack of consistent stepping up from other players that's led to a big dip offensively.

They then hand out some midseason hardware, with a disagreement for team MVP so far. Patrick explains why he went with Casey Mittelstadt while Pucks argues for UPL. They also give out awards for other categories including most pleasantly surprising player, biggest disappointment, unsung hero, best and worst additions, favorite thing about the season so far and least favorite thing about the season, which sends Pucks into a tangent.

That plus countless Tone Pucks references to "The Titanic" and much more.

Follow Tone Pucks on Twitter @TonePucksRedux

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran has a conversation with talented WIVB-TV sports reporter and anchor Sara Holland, focused on her life and career that's already blossoming in her early 20's.

Sara talks about being born in Virginia but always having Buffalo roots because of her mother. A good athlete, especially at softball, Sara talks about the decision that went into choosing the University at Buffalo for college, in part to play Divison-1 softball.

She also talks about her favorite memories with softball, both as a kid and at UB and how an internship at Syracuse.com thanks to Matt Parrino and then another at WIVB helped prepare her for the career opportunity she now has at Channel 4.

Sara also discusses the process of getting comfortable being in front of a TV camera and public speaking, some positive influences among her peers in the Buffalo sports media, her views on social and plenty more before concluding with a Fun Fact Finale where we learn plenty more and quirky things about Sara, including her mom dancing with---Michael Jordan?

Be sure to follow Sara on Twitter @saraaholland and check out the great work she's doing at WIVB-TV with Josh, Heather and their sports department.

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It’s another edition of Fan Friday on this episode of Talking Buffalo and host Patrick Moran is joined for a second straight day by friend/recurring guest Tone Pucks and together they take some questions and comments from fans, including those pointed towards Gabe Davis, Sean McDermott, Jordan Poyer, Sabres potential trades and all-time video game favorites.

As you'd suspect the comments and questions are heavy on the Buffalo Bills side and the guys answer from show listeners wanting to know if they think Buffalo is going to re-sign Davis (a pending free agent), and/or keep Poyer for the final year of his contract. Also, the guys are asked if they'd retain or fire McDermott if it where them making the decisions as well as if they think Tyler Dunne's scathing McDermott commentary actually helped saved their season.

Beyond football, a listener wants to know if the Sabres will make trades as sellers near the deadline if they don't make a run soon and who are the most likely candidates if that happens, sending Patrick and Tone into a conversation primarily about Casey Mittelstadt. The thought, a realistic one of losing Mittlestadt soon enough in particular angers Tone Pucks.

They also answer questions revolving about where they'd most to live, favorite re-watchable TV shows, the thing they liked most about where they grew up and plenty more---a fun and causal Friday of sorts!

Follow Tone Pucks on Twitter @TonePucksRedux

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