1st and 5 Podcast Recap: Are the Bills Getting Healthy for the Season Opener?

On today’s 1st and 5 episode, Dave and Greg dug into Brandon Beane’s press conference and the Bills’ health heading into the season opener, including:

• What Beane’s “hopeful” and “should be ready” updates really mean for Week 1
• The injury names to watch: Michael Hoecht, Terrel Bernard, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson
• Why the Shaq Thompson signing matters for a thin linebacker room
• The punt return job and Greg Dortch
• Whether Josh Allen is finally getting an offense that lets him cut it loose
• Josh Allen voted the NFL’s No. 1 quarterback

Reading Between the Lines on Beane’s Injury Updates

Dave came away from the presser convinced Beane tells you more than fans got used to under Sean McDermott, and he pulled out the word choice that mattered. Beane called Michael Hoecht “hopeful” for Week 1, and that word touched off the first debate of the show.

Greg doesn’t love “hopeful” from a general manager. His read is that Hoecht is probably inactive to open the season, maybe down through the Thursday night game in Week 2, which quietly banks a couple of extra weeks on a surgically repaired knee. Dave leaned the same way, pointing out how careful the team has been about protecting Hoecht from his own motor as he comes back.

Terrel Bernard drew a better word, “should be ready,” but the two didn’t fully exhale. Bernard has battled nicks before, and both hosts kept circling how little margin the Bills have at linebacker if he tweaks something early, with two games in the first four days waiting on the schedule.

»» Keep up-to-date on injuries throughout the season with our interactive NFL Injury Tracker.

Bills Return to Practice

There was good news, too. Ed Oliver, Connor McGovern, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Keon Coleman were all back on the field. McGovern’s hamstring is the one the two flagged hardest, since hamstrings nag and he plays a spot that lives on them.

Gardner-Johnson was the mystery. Beane said the latest issue was unrelated to the earlier one and left it there, which got Greg guessing at something related to the Achilles worth monitoring. 

Dave was more focused on the depth question behind it, walking through who slides back there if Gardner-Johnson misses time. They did agree that Keon looked sharper in return drills than the lazy-route reputation would suggest, a rare moment of Keon praise from Greg.

Shaq Thompson Steadies a Thin Linebacker Room

Beane wants Shaq Thompson ramped up to game shape, though he doesn’t expect him ready for Week 1. Dave read that timeline as a sign Bernard is healthy enough to play, since the team isn’t counting on Thompson yet.

Greg came around on the signing the more he sat with it. With Dorian Williams still young, Kaleb Elarms-Orr a rookie, and Joe Andreessen in year two, both hosts saw a veteran who has played every style as less a luxury than a need, and the kind of steadying presence a thin room leans on when things go sideways.

Who’s Returning Punts for the Bills Week 1?

Beane said the returner spot isn’t locked, and Dave used it to make his field-position case again. The Bills finished 26th in starting field position after punts last year, which he calls unacceptable for a team with Super Bowl expectations.

Greg’s angle was that the Bills signed Greg Dortch because they know they have a need, and he expects Dortch, an actual NFL receiver with real return chops, on the game-day roster in Week 1 even if it means some roster gymnastics with how many receivers and linemen they dress. The one thing they lined up on instantly was Khalil Shakir, who neither wants anywhere near punt duty, because he is too important to the passing game to risk on returns.

Is This the Year Josh Allen Airs It Out?

The best stretch of the show was the two chewing on what Joe Brady’s offense actually becomes now that Brady has full control. Greg has been hard on the bubble screens and the runs on second-and-one, and he wonders aloud how much of that was Brady and how much was Sean McDermott pulling the reins.

Dave pushed it into the bigger picture, tracing how the offense loosened up whenever Josh Allen was allowed to sling it and how a healthy DJ Moore and four tight ends give Brady more ways to attack. Where they met was a hunch that a reenergized Allen is about to get the green light to throw more.

They also traded notes on something quieter, a steady drip of subtle jabs at McDermott since the coaching change. Greg raised it, and Dave agreed that it is time for everyone to move on.

Josh Allen, the NFL’s No. 1 Quarterback

The show closed on Josh Allen being voted the league’s top quarterback in the NFL’s Top 100, picked first by players, coaches, executives, and scouts. Dave brought it in and asked whether that kind of recognition piles on pressure. Greg waved it off, because the only pressure that moves Josh is the Super Bowl he hasn’t won, and that drive is already there.

From there they got into the noise around it. Both are tired of the quarterback wars where fans tear down Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, or Patrick Mahomes to prop up their own guy, when you can just appreciate all of them, and Greg tied it back to 17 years of quarterback purgatory in Buffalo that make him happy to root for a superstar without apologizing for it. Dave capped it with a stat. Only nine Hall of Fame quarterbacks have more career touchdowns than Allen, and Allen has played just eight seasons.

Ten days out, the Bills look like they are trending toward healthy at the right time, with a few names still worth tracking on the injury report. Which returning player are you most relieved to see back on the practice field?

Watch the full episode here. Be sure to Like, subscribe, and leave your comments.

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