On this rare weekend Saturday episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by sports broadcaster and recurring guest Steve Bermel to discuss a handful of Buffalo sports topics, including taking a long and perhaps painful look at what's kept the Buffalo Bills from reaching or winning a Super Bowl during the McBeane era.

Following a 17-year drought Buffalo Bills fans obviously have a ton to be happy about. Buffalo has won the AFC East five consecutive seasons and have also won at least one postseason game each year during that run. They've also appeared in two AFC championship games and of course, have the reigning NFL MVP in quarterback Josh Allen. Life's been mostly good. However, this is also a team that has been Super Bowl favorites almost every year during that time and going by the ultimate standard and measure of success, have fallen short.

The guys dive into four reasons, the biggest in Patrick's eyes for Buffalo failing to get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the early 1990's. That includes a defense that's been perfectly fine during the regular season but utterly imploded in every playoff elimination loss under head coach Sean McDermott. Speaking of, situational coaching has killed them on more than one occasion during this run, as has the lack of an edge rusher or cornerback making a truly meaningful play and last but not least, the most untimely drops from receivers. All are discussed.

Also, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic wrote an excellent story on the Buffalo Sabres this week and appeared on this podcast a few days ago to provide insight on it. The guys talk about that. They also talk about Steve being in the booth a few weeks ago and getting to call the Buffalo Bandits winning their third consecutive NLL championship in front of their rabid fans at the Key Bank Center. That and more.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveBurmel.

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time. Also big thanks to Imperial Pizza and their two locations (1035 Abbott Road and 1655 Main Street), home of not only great pizza and tons of other delicious eats but also the best everyday lunch special in town.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, it’s another edition of The Podbag, filled with submissions from listeners that Patrick Moran is responding to, including predicting who the Bills 2025 leaders will be in receiving yards from one through 10.

There’s no Stefon Diggs, Eric Moulds or Andre Reed in the Bills pass catching room, so trying to forecast who’ll lead the team in receiving yards let alone charting it from one to 10 is no easy task. That doesn’t stop Patrick from taking a stab at it anyway. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out that barring injury, Khalil Shakir feels like the only sure thing with Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel and Elijah Moore all being legitimate wild cards.

Also, a listener has a hot take that Brandon Beane should’ve signed James Cook to an extension before Shakir, which leads to Patrick elaborating on why he disagrees but still concludes fans are writing off Cook because they think it’s a formality that his time with Buffalo is nearing a conclusion.

Kincaid going into what feels like a make or break year is also discussed, as is Mack Hollins not returning, Bills super fans and Joe From Queens. That and plenty more.

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time. Also big thanks to Imperial Pizza and their two locations (1035 Abbott Road and 1655 Main Street), home of not only great pizza and tons of other delicious eats but also the best everyday lunch special in town.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

♦♦♦♦♦

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by Matthew Fairburn from The Athletic to discuss his extremely informative and intriguing story that dropped earlier this week involving Terry Pegula, Kevyn Adams and the continuously dysfunctional Buffalo Sabres organization.

Fairburn did a deep dive into the Sabres organization, one that has certainly caught the attention of many people including frustrated Sabres fans. For the story Fairburn sat down with the Sabres general manager in addition to speaking to no less than 10 different people involved with or having knowledge of the organization's inner workings. Before discussing the story specifically Patrick asks Matt some questions about the process of putting the piece together, including how long it took to do from start to finish, if he gets a sense for how much attention people like Adams and Pegula pay to media stuff out there, and if it's even worth the bother attempting to ask Pegula to speak on the record for stories anymore.

It doesn't take long for the story to take shape, as barely four paragraphs in a gloomy----yet completely accurate portrayal is painted of the franchise. The guys talk about some of the key talking points from Fairburn's work, including Pegula not feeling his vision was being seen before promoting Adams, the (sad) truth about the team's spending habits in relations to the salary cap, many skeptical that Adams got the job to begin with considering he had no real experience at any hockey operational level especially scouting and what the present/future may hold. It's truly some excellent work from Matt and this was an informative chat with one of this market's best writers.

You can follow Matt on Twitter at @MatthewFairburn and of course check out his coverage of the Sabres at The Athletic,

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time. Also big thanks to Imperial Pizza and their two locations (1035 Abbott Road and 1655 Main Street), home of not only great pizza and tons of other delicious eats but also the best everyday lunch special in town.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

♦♦♦♦♦

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by Matt Warren from SB Nation to discuss a handful of Buffalo Bills and NFL topics, including a list of the biggest surprises that’ve happened with the Bills this offseason as training camp’s now just a handful of weeks away.

How things play out obviously remains to be seen but one thing’s for certain when it comes to the Bills---it’s been an eventful offseason. The guys talk about some of the more surprising things we’ve seen in depth, including the James Cook contract situation becoming a very public hot topic, not having any real interest in retaining popular receiver Mack Hollins, Brandon Beane signing four significant veterans to long term extensions before free agency even began, the Bills being named as the subject for HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer and Beane taking a big swing on a one-year deal for defensive edge rusher Joey Bosa, who’s already got a calf injury while training.

Also, the Bosa injury and other factors could make this a very important season for veteran edge rusher AJ Epenesa. The guys discuss why and if we should realistically expect anything more from Epenesa than we have in the past.

That plus is there any chance that a Buffalo return Von Miller could be in the cards and much more.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattRichWarren and be sure to check out Buffalo Rumblingsfor your (really good) daily Bills content.

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time. Also big thanks to Imperial Pizza and their two locations (1035 Abbott Road and 1655 Main Street), home of not only great pizza and tons of other delicious eats but also the best everyday lunch special in town.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

♦♦♦♦♦

Follow Patrick Moran/Talking Buffalo Podcast

Substack: Patrick Moran’s Substack

Twitter: @PatrickMoranTB

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by Joe From Queens to discuss several Buffalo Bills and other topics, including Joe reacting to a handful of what Patrick calls sneaky good Bills takes.

Joe missed last week's show because he's a jerk who went on family vacation but he's back this week. After spending a little time catching up, Joe talking about his family trip and Patrick going absolutely over the top in a tirade against a specific Tops Markets location (6150 South Park Avenue in Hamburg), they dive into some Bills talk where Patrick lays down some Bills takes for Joe to react to. Among them is opportunity getting ready to knock for second year running back Ray Davis, why Brandon Beane may look to trade Curtis Samuel for peanuts and Tre White having a real chance to be the Week one starter at cornerback alongside Christian Benford.

Also, Josh Allen got married to Hollywood star actress Hailee Steinfeld. The guys have plenty of reaction to that. Plus, Joe has a Mt. Flushmore of the worst celebrity couples, Patrick's got an extended "True or False' segment, reaction to some fan comments and plenty more.

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time. Also big thanks to Imperial Pizza and their two locations (1035 Abbott Road and 1655 Main Street), home of not only great pizza and tons of other delicious eats but also the best everyday lunch special in town.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

♦♦♦♦♦

Follow Patrick Moran/Talking Buffalo Podcast

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Twitter: @PatrickMoranTB

Blue Sky: @PatrickMoranTB.bsky.social

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, it’s another edition of The Podbag, chockfull with submissions from listeners that Patrick Moran is responding to, including a submission from a listener who says Buffalo Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa should be treated like a lottery ticket with zero expectations.

The Bills drafted three defensive lineman with their first four picks and coupled with what they already, they shouldn't have any real expectations for Bosa this season, at least according to the submission. Patrick takes great exception to that, saying the money spent on Bosa automatically makes him someone that should be counted on to have a very good season, and not just the playoffs. Winning your division comes first and foremost and then home field advantage matters too, both things that come as a result of the regular season, which is why Patrick also takes exception to those who say guys like Bosa only need to matter for January.

Also, another listener is worried about the defensive line on a whole in part because it appears the Bills are banking on significant contributions from three rookies. Another explains what it will take for the Bills defense to be great this season and adds that Patrick and many others are sleeping on second year safety Cole Bishop.

There's more Bills topics and also a few Sabres things as well, including a comical plan on how the Sabres can even get worse next season. That plus an interesting Sean McDermott with a Bills beat reporter and much more.

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

♦♦♦♦♦

Follow Patrick Moran/Talking Buffalo Podcast

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by PK from Buffalo Sports Collective to discuss several Buffalo sports topics, including assigning a grade to some storylines going on this week at Buffalo Bills OTA's.

Voluntary, and the word voluntary needs to be emphasized, practices are going on at One Bills Drive this week. While in the grand scheme of things practices in May almost always amount to nothing, there's certainly some storylines worth discussing and that's exactly what Patrick and PK do. Patrick tasks PK with discussing and grading on a scale of 1-10 a handful of topics noticed and reported by the media. Among them are Joey Bosa injuring his calf muscle during a workout last week, James Cook being the lone player absent from OTA's, Keon Coleman reportedly looking bulkier, new wide receiver Elijah Moore flying around and Tre White looking like he never left.

Also, PK shares his feelings about the Bills being featured on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer and of course, the Hallmark holiday Christmas movie revolving around the Bills.

Of course, PK does an outstanding job co-hosting Buffalo Sports Collective, which gives incredibly comprehensive coverage of the Buffalo Bandits and PK's got plenty of feelings about the Bandits winning a third consecutive NLL championship this past Saturday in front of their home crowd at the Key Bank Center.

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

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time.

♦♦♦♦♦

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On this episode of Talking Buffalo, Patrick Moran is joined by Matt Warren from SB Nation to discuss several Buffalo Bills and NFL topics, including examining what Bills positional group currently feels like the biggest cause for concern going into the 2025 season.

On the whole, the Bills appear to be loaded. That's evidenced by Buffalo being the only team in the league to be favored in every game this season as things stand. That doesn't mean the team is without flaws and concerns. The guys examine which positional group is currently giving them the most reason for concern as they get ready for training camp in July.

Plus in news that broke shortly before the taping of this show, Bills defensive end Joey Bosa has a calf injury already. The guys react to that.

Staying with the Bills, Matt also has thoughts on who, if either should be extended first between Connor McGovern and James Cook. Also, what does Matt think of Buffalo being selected to be on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer.

Moving over to NFL talk, the guys take a stab at what team(s) could be in line to win their division this season that didn't last year. That plus thoughts on the tush push and playoff seeding staying intact and much more.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattRichWarren and be sure to check out Buffalo Rumblingsfor your (really good) daily Bills content.

Major props to Talking Buffalo sponsor, Sonny Red’s at 1841 Abbott Road in Lackawanna, just minutes from Highmark Stadium. We consider them THE most underrated spot for wings, pizza and other great food in Western New York plus it’s a great place to drink and have a great time.

Special thanks to local Buffalo band, Orange Zest for allowing us to use their awesome single, “Old Friends” as the new official intro music for Talking Buffalo. Check out Orange Zest and be sure to support not only them, but local music!

♦♦♦♦♦

Follow Patrick Moran/Talking Buffalo Podcast

Substack: Patrick Moran’s Substack

Twitter: @PatrickMoranTB

Blue Sky: @PatrickMoranTB.bsky.social

Instagram: @PatrickMoranTB

Facebook: Talking Buffalo Podcast