ESSENTIAL: Why the Buffalo Bills HAD to Keep Connor McGovern and What Comes Next for the OL

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Conor McGovern had some interesting things to say about his return to Buffalo, and we're

going to break it down for you right now on Lockdown Bills.

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What's up, Bills Mafia, it's Joe Marino, host of Lockdown Bills, that's Jerry Astroski,

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Well folks, welcome in.

Conor McGovern had a press conference on Tuesday afternoon as the Bills, of course, made

official, his four-year contract extension, and I listened to this press conference, and

I immediately texted Jerry Astroski, and I said, you got to listen to this thing, and

we got to get together and talk about it.

So that's what we are doing right now, Jerry, good to chat with you, welcome in.

Thanks, Scott.

Appreciate it, man.

Let's just start with this.

The Buffalo Bills are a better football team because Conor McGovern is going to resign

and be their starting center.

So that's what we need to talk about right off the jump.

That's the most important thing.

We're a better team because Conor McGovern is still a part of it.

I know you're excited.

This was a big thing for you.

We've been talking about receivers and edge rushers, and well, I guess fittingly, you

continue to ground us and say, they better take this offensive line seriously.

This is no small thing to say goodbye to Conor McGovern and David Edwards.

And we agreed that McGovern was the one to keep.

That's what they did.

And here we are.

Conor McGovern stays with the Buffalo Bills.

I know you're happy about it.

Without a doubt, I mean, you got two of the premier free agents in football that are going

in the free agency, and you keep one of two.

That's a win.

That is a win.

And, you know, props to Conor McGovern.

It's a win not only because Brandon Bean went ahead and offered the contract.

It's also a win because Conor McGovern understands things and actually took a little bit less to

stay in Buffalo.

Let's not lose that.

Let's not lose sight of that whole thing.

This thing really went down in the way it did because of Conor McGovern.

And if you didn't see that press conference today, you need to go watch it because that

press conference in general is just the epitome and describes just why you would expect,

you know, you see this guy take less money to stay in Buffalo.

It was outstanding.

I mean, what a tremendous leader to have up front for us as a center.

The vibes were good, Jerry.

I'd say.

I mean, you set the scene.

What did we see?

Very interesting, right?

Well, first of all, if there's anything more Buffalo than a dude rolling in in a muscle

shirt and sweatpants carrying pizzas, I mean, come on, man.

Come on.

I mean, that's about as, that's about as Buffalo as it gets.

We love our comfort and Buffalo.

We love our food, right?

And this guy rolls in muscle shirt handing out pizzas that he made just a really good gesture

by him and his family and and then he went right to it.

I mean, he got right into things and talked about the contract, talked about how it all

went down and just just a really honest, awesome press conference and a guy that just a lot

of leadership was shown today in that press conference.

I felt as far as as far as a player on this team, let's get into some of the specifics

of what he said.

And there was a lot of conversation about, well, David Edwards leaving and now there's

a transition at left guard, but he was obviously very excited to keep four of the five starters

from last year.

Let me give you some quotes here about this left guard transition.

He said it's going to be a big role because Dave, David Edwards was a big pillar for

everyone out there.

Someone we can lean on when times got hard.

So they have big shoes to fill and whoever fills it, I think he's going to have to do

a great job.

Luckily, whoever comes in and plays left guard, we all have relationships with each other.

Now it's just going to be a new chemistry, establishing the front because they got to

get used to playing next to me and Dion and luckily we've been healthy the past few years.

So we really haven't had to have many guys step up.

So that's one thing we just have to get used to playing with each other.

And that's a great thing for starting two weeks early because the bills have a new head

coach they can start a few weeks earlier than other teams and he said, we get to start

that process earlier and just get comfortable because Dion likes to take crazy splits.

I like the guy a little bit tight just to communicate and Dave did a great job with the

whole communication piece last year, whether it's home or on the road.

And so they've got to step up, not do as much as Dave, but be comfortable in being able

to help out.

If Dion needs to hear something or he's not sure what's going on, I'll be able to communicate

with him.

Then while I'm working with the right side or vice versa, so they have some big shoes

to fill, but I'm excited to see who does it.

There's a lot there, Jerry.

What stands out to you?

I think the biggest thing is, and I kind of picked up on it partway through the season

this year is that usually your calls are made from your center.

That's the guy who handles communication, but then you started seeing, especially on

third downs, David Edwards really pointing out a lot of stuff and directing protections

and everything.

And it was kind of odd, but now it all kind of ties into play and it makes sense.

You know, Dion's out there in his own world sometimes.

He does get way out there in his splits.

I mean, he's a vertical set guy and one of the things that makes it so hard to play against

him and pass through against him is because the way he jacks with his width and all of

that.

But that also can lead to some communication issues, especially in loud stadiums when a

guy's, you know, an extra in Dion's case, sometimes four to five yards further than

maybe a normal tackle.

So that's one thing.

And then sometimes you get players and I can see Dion being one of these types of guys

and I've played with guys like this.

They are exceptional.

They are pro bowlers.

They are the best of the best and they're kind of, they come in and they kind of have

the mindset of, look, man, just just tell me where I need to be.

And I want to do it at a level that nobody else in the league can do it.

And I can see Dion doing it.

Okay.

And I'll be honest with you.

I'll sign up if they need somebody to play left guard and tell Dion what's going on.

Fire me, man.

I'll do it.

I mean, I'm fine with that.

It's just, it comes with, with the territory, it's what makes offensive line play so beautiful

that you got five different guys from all different backgrounds and walks of life.

And they come together and they form this team within a team, right?

And that's what makes the line play so, so beautiful.

And probably 10, 15 years from now and these guys are all sitting around, you know, having

a brew and kicking back, they'll probably make jokes about.

You remember that time, David, you know, we were trying to put, and it's all

part of it.

And, you know, it goes with it.

And I thought it was interesting, though, Joe, talking about this left guard spot, there

were no, you know, no names said.

I mean, this is an open competition.

I truly have to, I mean, if anybody was honest today, it was countermegoverned.

And I took his, his answers as honest answers.

And that's an, that's an open position, then we'll see what happens there.

Dion Dawkins has said openly before that there's not been consistency next to him at left

guard.

Of course, he had David Edwards for two years.

And I'm sure he very much enjoyed David Edwards who, you know, is a guy who played quarterback

in his past.

You know that he knows what everybody's doing.

He is dialed in on what everybody's supposed to be doing.

And I'm sure that was a major asset to Dion Dawkins.

Well, it's not going to be David Edwards.

With this in mind, in some of the things that we are considering and things you just said,

how do you, how do you get this right?

I mean, I like Anderson's been around, but is that the player you want between the

government and Dawkins?

It certainly doesn't feel like a rookie's the best idea because I think I got to find a,

a savvy veteran to put in that spot.

Right.

I think you go out and, you know, as this free agency is kind of, you know, becoming clear

and it's the fog is kind of lifting and you're seeing who's available and who's not.

Find a guy that can fit within your payroll and come in and provide some competition for

you know, Alec Anderson.

I'm not saying Alec Anderson can't do it.

I mean, he's been around.

He knows Dion.

I'm sure these guys are friends and they've known each other for, you know, what, a couple

of three years.

So it's not like he can't do it, but you need to have options.

You can't roll in to just saying, okay, this is going to be it and you have one option

and all of a sudden, you're like, hey, this isn't working and what are we going to do?

So you've got to bring another vet in that provides depth that provides, you know, even

more leadership and things like that.

Isn't it awesome, Joe, that we're sitting here talking about left guard and not center

and left guard?

Because just think about this.

Just how tough it's going to be to find a David Edwards type player.

And now, you know, just think how hard it would have been if you got to find two of them.

Right.

Just, you know, much more difficult.

So, yeah, I mean, I think we can get by with trying to find the best option to left

guard.

Is the challenge there going to be getting, of course, acquiring the players.

And you want to have a competition, probably.

But then you also have this chemistry piece where adjusting to playing next to Dion is notable,

whether that is a communication piece, but also because of the way that Dion plays where

he sets, right, where he's where he aligns when you're talking about handling stunts from

the defensive line, like that chemistry is going to be really important and maybe that

feel is different, right, with a tackle like Dion next to you, then maybe where other

guys would line up.

How do you let the competition play out, but also give yourself or maximize that runway

to get prepared for a season with these guys, you know, gaining reps with each other so

they can hit the ground running.

Well, the only way to do it, especially with limited games now and the preseason is when

Dion and Carmichael and Spencer Brown and Osiris Torrance are over there and they've got

a towel over their mouth and they're cuffing a hot dog because they played a series and

they're out already, whoever's left guard in that competition will be there from the

first quarter to the fourth quarter until that thing becomes a little bit more clear.

You've got to put them in.

You know, it's a lot of practice time.

It's a lot of game time and those types of things and you can work communication without

having a ton of, you know, not being, you know, super physical and having to be in the

middle of this, you know, scrimmage type situation, but still those guys need to work some things

out in game like situations, but yeah, it'll be difficult.

I mean, you guys got to understand, David Edwards is there three years, you know, started

out as the extra offensive lineman that had two more years and, and, you know, you, you

laid it out so well today or the other day when you're talking about David Edwards, other

than the concussion deal, this is no slouch.

I mean, this is a guy that started three years in L.A. too.

So lots and lots of snaps under his belt and, you know, it's, it's, it's going to be

an interesting, you know, interesting shoes to fill for sure.

Am I reaching or is there an argument to be made that having Pat Meyer stepping in as

the offensive line coach while you're having this transition at left guard that maybe that's

helpful.

Of course, you want Chroma, like I am not saying anything dry towards Chroma, but does having

the new offensive line coach where there's a level of new to, you know, everything, right?

Does that help with that transition at left guard?

For sure.

I mean, you've heard, you heard kind of a government say today in the press conference,

you know, Pat Meyer worked under Aaron Chroma while we love Aaron Chroma.

This is a guy and then you're also bringing grub back as well, right?

So there's, there's guys that we know and guys that have been in the Chroma system coming

in.

Brady staying there, everything's going to be the same with terminology.

You're not going to worry about new terminology.

And that's a big part of the offseason as well.

When you have big changes, you've got to completely learn a new dictionary, right?

A new set of terminology to go with these blocks.

That's going to stay the same.

The biggest, the biggest thing's going to be, how does the communication go from

Conor McGovern to Dion?

And even if you say, okay, let's add King Cater, Dawson Knox next to Dion, you know, one

more spot, how do you get the communication to him?

And then the players working out through reps, through practice, through preseason, how

the spacing works, getting the feel for how a guy sets, how a guy moves, because, you

know, other than, other than some of the blocking stuff on the back side and maybe changing

off some games in the, in the past game, most of what the bills did up for was a lot of

five on five, right?

So it was a lot of man to man, there wasn't a ton of, you know, those types of things.

So don't, don't be able to get it done.

But I do think it's, it's really, really important that another player's brought in to add

to the mix of, of what they have available to see who fits the best next to Dion.

Man, I can't believe I get to talk to you about this stuff.

This is, this is cool, man.

Like the insight that you're sharing on this is, is just incredible.

And it's a real treat to Bill's mafia to have you and, and what you brought to this

channel, what you bring to this space, man, I really love it.

One thing that Conor McGovern did say and kind of going way back to your comments about

the leadership component of Conor McGovern, he said, everything starts with me.

So it's easier to be the pillar and glue for everyone else to kind of rally behind.

I'll let Dion do all the energy and get everyone hyped up and going.

And I'll gladly work behind the scenes and make sure everyone's working well together.

These centers got a different kind of job.

Yeah, there's a lot of responsibility.

I mean, it's a lot of responsibility.

And especially nowadays, when I played the coaches really controlled the protection.

There wasn't a bunch of flipping protections in the middle of plays like there is now.

Now they'll flip protections on their own.

A center flips it.

Now the now the center, he might have called something.

Josh flips it and now McGovern has to look up and go immediately to a whole new.

A different, you know, section of calls to get to where that protection to Josh went to is.

So there's a lot that goes into it.

And I thought, you know, it's kind of like I've been talking about whenever it was like, well,

just how can a central step is a center?

It's not that easy.

You got to have a certain temperament.

And I appreciate Conor saying that.

He wasn't bragging or anything.

He was being honest.

It just takes the job, right?

Yeah, it's the job.

It just takes a different, you know, you could be in meetings.

All right, offensive line meetings, you'd be back there doing a crossword puzzle.

Well, if Conor's doing a crossword puzzle, they're host because nobody's going to know what to do.

So he's got to be on point at all times.

And, you know, there's meetings with his, I'm sure he meets with the old line coach on his own.

I'm sure he meets with Josh on his own.

So there's just much more responsibility when it comes to snapping the ball,

than just playing guard or tackle or something like that.

John Fina doing crossword puzzles during team meetings.

No comment, no comment.

All right.

We got a whole lot more to do.

So fascinating comments from Conor government about Josh Allen's involvement in this extension.

So we'll get to that.

And a really, really interesting quote about how he took less to stay in Buffalo.

And something that I think fans will be very interested to hear Jerry's thoughts on.

We'll do it all here next, folks.

Be sure to stick with us.

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Joe Marino and Jerry Astrosky here reacting to kind of a governance comments and you can

tell we got a lot to say about it.

This has been it's been an awesome conversation.

We got more that we want to cover.

Let's get into Josh Allen's involvement here, Jerry.

Sounded like he had a big role.

Not only representing Conor McGovern's interests, representing the Bill's interests, I mean,

he was kind of the general manager.

It sounded like on this deal and I think we have Josh to think because obviously this

crossed the finish line.

And Conor McGovern said, look at the exit meeting, you know, they told me they were going

to let me get to free agency and I've earned the right to kind of see what my market is.

And then a few days before we get there, you know, everything starts to change and Josh

Allen has a big role in that.

Starting quarterback in the NFL, farmer, dad, agent to the stars.

I mean, this is the new, most interesting man in the world, right?

If he ever does an ad campaign, he should do it with those secues because he seems to

do everything and obviously Josh should have a big part of this and Conor just basically

said it because I talked to Josh and Josh talked to both sides.

Well, let me, let me rephrase this.

It's almost like, it's just almost like a weird thing where everybody's afraid to say Josh

Allen.

Nobody says his name.

I don't know if it's like kind of kinds of so say you never said kinds of so say his

name.

So everybody can sort of, you know, he's, he's referred to as 17.

So if you're in the press conference, Conor McGovern referred to him as 17 multiple times, never

use the name Josh once.

So yeah, 17 obviously did a lot of behind-the-scenes work and thank goodness because it's awesome

that he's still here.

But yeah, Josh was a big part of this and he's had a busy off season, believe me, picking

coaches, helping negotiate deals, getting surgery, getting surgery, probably doing the nursery,

you know, whatever.

I mean, like going on for Josh Allen.

Josh Allen, picking colors and curtains, I'm sure, making sure he's got the right rug

in the middle of that thing.

I'm sure he's heavily involved.

So Josh, he's, he's been doing this, like there's no players, the bills have signed that

they say, yeah, I got a call from Josh and that probably carries a lot of weight, you know,

like talking about league MVP, future hall of fame type quarterback here in Josh Allen,

he gives you a call, that's, that's going to mean something.

But here's why it works because he does it himself.

Okay, when he calls Conor McGovern and ask Conor McGovern, can we get this worked out

to where I know you could probably go on the open market and maybe make 15 or 16.

And I don't know if he got in the specific numbers, but still he can do this because he

does it himself.

He took less money to come back to Buffalo.

He does these things, the way he he acts with his teammates, how he is on the sidelines,

the way he talks and press conferences.

All that stuff you see, just imagine this, you see that in public, just think what he

is like behind the scenes.

So when a guy like him, you're your guy, that is your leader, the man, okay, the most,

the most visible, probably famous face in the city of Buffalo right now, right?

No question, no question.

He does those things and then he talks to you and maybe asks you about the possibility

of you doing it.

How can you say no?

I mean, it's, it's again, that just goes back to leadership and, and most of the leadership

is leading by example, it's not running your mouth and these things, it's how you handle

your business and Josh Allen handles his business that way and others want to do the same

thing.

Contrast that to the Baltimore Ravens.

Well, Mark Jackson's been difficult, right, for contract extensions, they're up against

it right now.

It's been challenging.

Right.

What did his, his center just go do?

Jerry.

Yeah.

That $27 million a year from the Raiders, yeah, he reset the market by, I mean, it was

Creed Humphrey was the, the APY king at, at center at 18.

He got 27.

Yeah.

And guess what?

No.

Jackson needs a center now.

Yeah, he needs a center and gets what the franchise did.

They went and traded two first round picks away to get Max Krausby because they know we're

going to have to win with defense as opposed to letting Lamar Jackson win the whole thing

for us.

Woo.

Maybe that's a whole another episode, but I said it and I stay behind it.

Lamar's going to be fun getting ready for this season.

All right.

So here's, here's the quote, here's the quote from Conor govern 13 million dollars a year

as a whole hell of a lot of money.

If me and my family can't live off that shame on us is a couple million dollars worth

our happiness here.

Is that going to change our lives?

We decided no and we thought the best fit would be here in Buffalo.

Look, everyone he has their own priorities, right?

And I am not going to sit here and say that two million dollars a year or more somewhere

else isn't meaningful because at the end of the day, it's still two million dollars,

two million dollars a lot of money.

But I think this is the type of quote that fans really appreciate and I think a lot of fans

think like this, you know, and again, weren't I'm not we're not in these shoes.

We've never been in these shoes.

We don't know what it's like.

But this type of quote I think really lands with a lot of people and I'm not going to

be critical of guys for not thinking like this.

But there's definitely a feel good element to Conor McGovern saying this out loud.

I'll never I'll never question somebody's decisions on what they decide to do as far as

whether they stay or go, but I will say this, I've been in this situation.

I had the opportunity to leave Buffalo and for agency and go home, go to Philly.

And I chose to come back to Buffalo because I loved it in Western New York that much.

And obviously Conor McGovern loves Western New York that much as well.

I mean, it's a Penn stator man.

He's a PA guy.

This is his deal.

This is how he is.

He's already got it set up.

I mean, he's already doing the Northeast thing, right?

What everybody wants to do.

He's living in the Northeast dream.

He calls, he calls Taylor Florida in the off season.

He comes back, you know, back up to Buffalo when it's football season.

I mean, and it's what it's all about.

And again, I talked about this.

This guy, you know, he wasn't born in Western New York.

He didn't grow up in Western New York.

He's Buffalo.

I mean, he is best what he does, man.

He's Buffalo.

I mean, look at guys throughout our history.

Jim Kelly still lives in Buffalo's term and still lives in Buffalo.

I mean, there's guys like that, you know, Conor McGovern's Buffalo, man.

That's what he's about.

The, you mentioned the Pennsylvania State part of this, right?

And one thing that I guess Conor McGovern put out there that I never considered is that

Joe Brady, and he wore together at Penn State when Joe Brady was a grad assistant.

And Conor McGovern shared in the press conference that, you know, he was a freshman.

So there were a little man on the totem pole.

And they've kind of obviously been very interested in each other's careers.

And here they are.

Could you imagine?

Like, if I would have told you some GA, that was at Tulsa was, while you were a freshman

there, was going to be your NFL head coach in 10 years, like you'd be like, yeah,

okay.

Sure.

That's really happened, which I found it to be interesting when he was asked about,

you know, just kind of the whirlwind that's been Buffalo, right?

Moving on from Sean McDermott, it's been, there's been a lot here.

A lot of transition here over the last several weeks.

And Conor's answer to that was, I think we're in a better overall spot.

He said, Joe Brady is a breath of fresh air.

He brings energy, which energies the world we've heard from everybody about Joe Brady.

But do you think that these comments are more rooted in their relationship,

kind of going back to Penn State, him being an offensive player?

You know, I think these offensive linemen have a lot of pride in James Cook being the Russian

King and then Josh Allen being an MVP the last two years.

Like, there's, there's something there that you could feel it.

Maybe everybody wouldn't have the same answer.

But I found it interesting that Conor came out and said, I think we're in a better overall

spot.

Joe Brady is a breath of fresh air.

I think I look at a couple of ways and just real quick to go back to the Brady thing is,

Brady was an offensive GA at Penn State and Conor McGovern was a freshman.

You have to figure they probably work together on scout team.

Probably Conor was running scouts.

And I'm sure Joe Brady was helping run the scout team.

So had that relationship for a long time.

But when you look at this thing and Joe, you talked about it not too long ago.

I think a couple of, you know, a couple of squad shows ago where the pressure of the bills

being in a Super Bowl and just kind of morphing it into just the public sentiment and how

the, how the city swings with every decision made from Brandon being in these different

things.

And it ties to just the pressure of getting to that game, right?

If you, if you think about this outside of that building, if outside of one bill's drive,

is that kind of pressure situation where everybody feels it?

I feel it.

I mean, we all do, right?

Yeah.

We feel it all the time.

Think what it is like in that building, especially if you're the head coach and you've,

you've got nine cracks at it with probably, with not with probably with one of the best

players to ever play in the NFL.

And you've had nine cracks at it and you haven't gotten broken through yet.

The amount of pressure that he had and you think you could do all these different things

to try to match that.

What you're feeling is a head coach over that amount of time is going to eventually ooze

out of you into your team.

And they're going to feel that as well.

And I'm sure like it's, we've talked about, and Terry Bagula made, made reference to when

I walked in that locker room and I saw my quarterback crying.

I think it's, it wasn't, it was all, that was, that was pressure.

That was a pressure release.

That was like having a, a pressure cooker and you pop that valve and that steam comes

out.

That was a pressure release.

And I think that's kind of, when we talk about Conor McGovern and what he said today

about a breath of fresh air and the energy, that's what it is.

You got to figure this, this cloud has been lifted off of that place and it's just different.

And it's a new, it's a new beginning, it's starting over.

And even though the face is the same and a lot of the, the names are, are the same.

There's a lot different and it is different.

And I'm sure that that, with player wise, I'm sure that that, that's palpable, man.

I'm sure that that, that release of pressure is palpable.

You know, moving on was risky, but staying the course was risky.

Yes, yes, yes, you give another shot, you had eight chances on to go on a playoff

run with Josh Allen.

You never got a super bowl.

You want to do it again, all right, and it's not, and it's not a, and it's not a indictment

on anybody.

It's just, it was the situation.

Yeah.

And I think a lot of that was circumstantial.

There was a few times it was definitely Sean's fault, but ultimately didn't happen.

Right.

I want to close with this, of course, exit interviews are, you know, very commonly referred

to, we know they happen, Connor said that, you know, they had their exit interview, they

were on the same page, blah, blah, blah.

I guess what I'm interested in here is like what happens in an NFL exit interview, like

every year?

What, what is that like?

What do you get done in that?

Take us behind the scenes.

I think a lot of it is you just check in, you got to go through all the different things.

You got to meet with the training of staff, you got to meet with the equipment staff,

you got to meet with the strength staff, you got to do all these things.

You got like a, they literally give you a checklist to go through.

And then you have your, your final, you get your position meeting, you get your head

coach meeting.

And we never met with general manager, I don't know if they meet with general manager

or not.

I don't know how they do it now with Brandon Bean, but we never met with the general manager,

we always met with the head coach and our position coach.

And you know, there's just a lot of honesty.

I mean, you go through, you go through things and there's guys, you know, if you had your

contract worked out, you know, you're coming back and those things will take place.

I mean, you don't have to have an exit interview to understand the situation you're in going

into the off season.

Does that make sense?

Yeah.

I mean, you know, like, just like Dawson Knox, he didn't need an exit interview to understand

that he was probably going to have to redo his contract or he wasn't coming back.

I mean, guys are very smart and very, very astute with that stuff, but yeah, I mean,

there's just a lot of honesty.

I mean, you played good, you didn't play good.

We appreciate what you did.

Thanks for playing, you know, your third position in two years with force this year, you

know, things like that.

I mean, it's, it's, it's pretty cut and dry.

I mean, you get your schedule when you, when they expect you to be back and all those

things.

But, uh, but yeah, I mean, I think a lot of it is, uh, just depends on the situation.

And, you know, economic governance was a lot different.

I'm sure he did meet with Brady before he left.

So, you know, it's always, it's always different for the individual player.

Well, Jerry, this is one of my favorite conversations I've ever had with you.

I'm glad that it was recorded and that people get to enjoy it because, uh, you have such,

a unique insight that you can offer on this stuff and, uh, it's extremely valuable.

And so I, I really appreciate it, dude.

Well, not a problem.

I enjoy doing it.

And I'm just glad we're able to record this episode and talk about Conor McGovern continuing

to be the starting center for the Buffalo Bill.

Instead of freaking out about what the heck they're going to do.

Conor McGovern is back.

Yes.

All right, folks.

Thank you so much for being here.

I hope that you enjoyed it.

I hope that you'll take a moment to subscribe, rate, review the podcast, have a great rest

of your day and go bills.

Much love, folks.

Go bills.