Talking Buffalo Blue Wire

On this episode of Talking Buffalo as we reach the one week mark before the 2024 NFL Draft, Patrick Moran goes over eight draft prospects that he likes that are not going to be first-round selections in addition to thoughts and commentary immediately following the Buffalo Sabres at least somewhat surprising firing of head coach Don Granato on Tuesday.
It's easy to spend most if not all your time as a fan or content creator obsessing over the biggest names and who will be the first pick of the Bills next Thursday whether they stay at No. 28 or move up for someone, but in reality drafts and even championships are often made on days two and three of the NFL draft. Patrick has eight guys likely to be selected in the second to fifth round range that he's pretty high and thinks could be a great fit for Buffalo. The list includes a pair of guys in the trenches that could play meaningful snaps right away, two wide receivers that could contribute and potentially even start by season's end and a pair of prospects from the team Patrick's a big fan of, Notre Dame.
Turning to the Sabres, Patrick expresses his thoughts on the team announcing Granato's dismissal the morning following their season finale in Tampa the night before. Patrick's admittedly borderline shocked and outlines reasons why he thinks the move was completely necessary to show not just the roster, but fans that they're fully committed to winning and ending the longest playoff drought in NHL history. Patrick also gives credit to Pegula for not sticking with Granato despite giving him an extension and lists a few guys he can see taking over the reigns, including one Sabres fans are incredibly familiar with. Spoiler alert---it's Lindy Ruff. That and much more today.
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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, it's our fourth in a series of five weekly Buffalo Bills mock drafts leading up to the actual draft beginning on April 25th and for it Patrick Moran's joined by Aaron Quinn from Cover 1 for the first time in over seven months to discuss the Bills selections.
Two of the first three Bills mock drafts have resulted in the Buffalo taking something other than receiver with their first pick, but things very well may have changed with Brandon Beane trading Stefon Diggs to Houston two weeks ago. For Aaron, how much does that raise the likelihood that the Bills have to go receiver first? Aaron also has some takes on why the position doesn't necessarily have to be filled by a specific type of player, as he's more fond of "positionless" wide receivers that are good at creating separation and creating defensive matchup problems.
Spoiler alert--- after plenty of talking about other potential positions being addressed early, the guys go ahead and not only take a receiver first but immediate double dip. Bonus spoiler alert--it's aided by two trades, a trade down with Baltimore and then a trade-up with Vegas.
But that's not all the double dipping in this draft as the guys find that blocking for Josh Allen is an effective way to have a better offense. Staying with the trend, they pick up a pair of safeties that Aaron loves in the fourth round as well as their final pick.
Additionally, the guys spend a few minutes talking about going on their first cruises ever respectively over the past few months and much more.
You can follow Aaron on Twitter @AaronQuinn716 and be sure to check out the Cover 1 Buffalo Podcast
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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by friend and recurring guest Anthony Marino for their weekly chat, this time focused on at least five non-wide receivers that the Bills could realistically end up selecting with their first pick of the draft, possibly via a modest trade up that may or may not lessen the wrath from fans that Brandon Beane didn't take a receiver with Buffalo's first selection.
To preface today's discussion, the key word is "realistic." Neither Patrick nor Anthony consider it feasible to trade all the way up in the draft to target a non-receiver such as offensive tackle Joe Alt or edge rusher Dallas Turner. Instead, Anthony lists five guys that are considered realistic for the Bills, whether that's staying pat at 28 and having a guy fall to them or to make a modest move up--meaning no higher than the very late teens or early twenties.
The list includes two edge rushers, an interior defensive lineman, a defensive back and interior offensive lineman. To reiterate, both guys predict and prefer wide receiver to be the spot but with the position being rich in depth, there's certainly a possibility the Bills look elsewhere before turning their attention to a pass catcher.
After Anthony's list, Patrick adds three more of his own with his rationale behind the possibilities. This plus Bills OTA's starting, moving on from the Diggs Fatigue and plenty more.
Be sure to follow Anthony on Twitter @AnthMarino 
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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by frenemy and recurring guest Joe From Queens for a discussion primarily around "Diggs Fatigue" being the biggest reason Stefon Digg is no longer with the Buffalo Bills in addition to several thoughts on O.J. Simpson following his death from cancer over the past week.
Joe hasn't been on the podcast since Buffalo traded Diggs to the Houston Texans for a 2025 second-round pick and is raring to go with several (hot) takes on it. Joe, who mostly sides with Diggs in any beefs between he and the organization, media and fans tries to talk about it from several angles, including his on field production, fan reaction, the team's point of view, what led to Diggs being so pissed and also how the media covered him in Buffalo. Patrick disagrees with at least some of Joe's assessment and leads to some pretty testy debates.
Also, Simpson died in his home at 76-years old from his fight with cancer. Without question one of the most fascinating and polarizing football players and celebrities of our lifetime--primarily for the wrong reasons---the guys have a conversation about his life, fame and legacy. Is separating the art from the artist in some ways plausible?
That, a big moment for the Cody Crybabies and plenty more today in a pretty fiery episode that doesn't pull any punches. Follow Joe on Twitter @BuffaloWins.
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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is recording live from Imperial Pizza in South Buffalo and is joined by Buffalo Bills beat reporter Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News for a conversation primarily focused on the Buffalo Bills, aftermath of the Stefon Diggs and insight into what Buffalo may do in the upcoming NFL draft.
It has certainly been an eventful offseason for the Buffalo Bills with some of it expected and some not so much. Jay has several thoughts on the totality of what the Bills have done so far in terms of getting rid of plenty veterans (a few more surprising than others) and the guys they've added so far. He also has plenty of thoughts on the Diggs trade from all sides, including the perceived relationship Diggs had with both coach and quarterback and Jay's thoughts about how he'll ultimately be remembered for his time in Buffalo.
Jay also goes over a handful of wide receivers and some other positional players he likes for Buffalo in this draft. Should it be considered a foregone conclusion the Bills take a wide receiver with their first pick? What and who is realistically in play with it?
They also spend some time talking about the hugely disappointing Buffalo Sabres season that extended their own NHL record playoff drought. Jay, a fan who attends some home games shares his thoughts on the state of the team and if Terry Pegula should fire Don Granato after the season ends next week. That plus some talk about wings, golf and much more.
As always, a huge thanks to Imperial Pizza for their great hospitality and killer wings. It should also be noted that the second Imperial location at 1665 Main Street is fully open for business.
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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined in studio by longtime friend and recurring guest Tone Pucks to discuss some Buffalo Sabres & Bills topics, including the Sabres officially cementing 13 years without a playoff appearance as one of several reasons it's time for the organization to fire head coach Don Granato.
After narrowly missing the playoffs last year the expectations for the Sabres were higher. In those regards as well many others, it's been a huge disappointment. The guys discuss how much Granato, the current sixth-longest tenured head coach in the NHL deserves the blame for another faceplant of a regular season campaign---one that saw Buffalo got from third in the NHL in goals scored last year to 21st this year, on the heels of a power play ranked 29th in the league. Early sleepwalks to start games were a huge problem this season, as evidenced by the 29 times Buffalo's given up two or more goals in the first period and just a 7-21-1 record in those games. That's a direct indictment on Granato not having his team ready to play coming out of the locker room. There's that, a seemingly big lack of accountability and a season-long inability to go on any sort of sustained positive run.
Of course, Granato deserving to get fired and it actually happening are two completely different things. Do Patrick and Tony have confidence in Terry Pegula to fire Granato when the season ends next week, even if he has to eat an entire Granato extension before it actually kicks in? Spoiler alert---not likely.
They also spend time talking Bills, even though Tone is completely disengaged from all the Stefon Diggs drama at this point. However, he has thoughts about a possible perception of Josh Allen's work ethic while the guys discuss the possibility that much to the chagrin of most fans, the Bills don't take a wide receiver with their first pick of the draft. That, why Tone blocked Patrick on Twitter and plenty more today.
Follow Tone Pucks on Twitter @TonePucksRedux
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