1. Safety Jordan Poyer: By far it's the best defense I've ever been on
Safety Jordan Poyer joined WGR on Thursday morning ahead of Sunday's Week 3 matchup against the Bengals. Buffalo's defense is currently ranked fifth with points allowed per game at 15. Poyer said the team has started off on the right foot but has things to improve on as the season progresses.
"We started off well, but there's a lot of areas that we can make improvements on and there's a lot of football left to be played," Poyer explained. "If we just take that, and [head coach Sean McDermott] always talks about that growth mindset. That mindset is just continually getting better each and every day, each and every week, and it's continually getting stronger. It is only September, there's a lot of football left to be played."
Playing on three different NFL teams, Poyer thinks this is the most talented defensive group he has been a part of.
"By far it's the best defense I've ever been on, and it's the most cool group of guys you could ask for to be able to go to work with every single day," Poyer told WGR. "You share a bond, you start to build a bond over the years, and then got some [more players] coming in and you start to build even more, stronger bonds. You go through tough times,you go through good times. It's just the brotherhood we have on this team, and I'm not even talking just on the defensive side of the football. Special teams, the offense, and even the coaches and the training staff. This whole organization as a whole is one you want to be a part of... We just want to continue to build that."
Part of what makes the defense so talented is the safety duo in Poyer and Micah Hyde. The two are known for their chemistry on field and ability to create havoc for an offense with how they disguise different formations.
"There's different situations on the field, offensive formations, and we will get a call," Poyer said. "We will kind of automatically know where each other are supposed to be and what kind of look we want to give. There's sometimes the offense will be in the huddle and we will get the call and kind of talk about what we want to show or if we even want to show anything. Team's know now we disguise things so sometimes we just want to line up and say beat us."
Poyer says the two are always trying to figure out new ways to disguise on defense. After two weeks, the Bills rank 10th in the league in third down defense. Their opponents have converted on only 10 of 29 third down opportunities.
2. Stephen Hauschka makes NFL's top 10 kickers list
NFL.com's Chris Wesseling wrote about the NFL's top 10 kickers and Bills kicker Stephen Hauschka landed at No. 8 on the list.
Hauschka is similar to Gould in that his old team (the Seahawks) almost immediately regretted letting him walk out the door in favor of an unknown quantity. A single-game record holder (three field goals!) with the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives back in 2010, Hauschka has gone on to earn a reputation as one of the NFL's most reliable cold-weather kickers. Plying his trade in the unfriendly environs of Seattle and Buffalo, Hauschka's career average of 86.5% (fifth-best of all-time) stacks up well against the dome specialists of his era.
This season, Hauschka has connected on all field goal and extra point attempts. He successfully kicked one 43-yard field goal and has made all six extra point kicks. Last season, Hauschka connected on 22 of 28 field goals and 25 of 26 extra point attempts.
3. Former Bill Eric Wood and voice of the Bills John Murphy receive prestigious honors
Former Buffalo Bill and current Bills Radio Network analyst Eric Wood will be inducted into the University of Louisville Hall of Fame Class of 2019 on Friday, Oct. 25. The Louisville alum is one of six who will be inducted into the class.
Eric Wood was a four-year starter at center (49 consecutive career starts, 2005-08) on the Cardinals' offensive line. He earned freshman All-America honors his first season in 2005 and was twice named a first-team All-Big East selection (2007, 2008). Wood was a driving force in UofL's 2006 offensive line when the Cardinals ranked fourth in the nation in total offense and 12th in rushing offense in a season which culminated with a victory in the Orange Bowl. Wood was a first round NFL draft selection in 2009 by the Buffalo Bills, where he started 120 career games and played his entire nine-year NFL career, until a dangerous neck injury forced him to withdraw from professional football in 2018.. He made the Pro Bowl in 2016 and was the Bills' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2015 and 2016. He currently serves as an analyst for the ACC Network and the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.
The current Voice of the Buffalo Bills John Murphy will also be entering into the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Murphy leads the class of six and was honored on Thursday, Sept. 19.
The Lockport native began his broadcast career in radio, serving as Sports Director for WBEN-AM in 1984 and hosting a show on that station for more than a decade. He made the jump to television at WKBW-TV, succeeding Rick Azar, and joined the team of Irv Weinstein and Tom Jolls at the anchor desk. Murphy served as WKBW-TV's Sports Director until his departure from the station in 2007. Eventually, Murphy moved across the street to join the team at WIVB-TV in 2008 as Sports Director. He left that post to work full time for the Buffalo Bills in 2012.
Murphy is best known as the voice of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network and host of One Bills Live on WGR-AM and MSG Western New York. He has been play-by-play announcer of the Buffalo Bills since 2003. He has served as commentator for nearly every team in town including the Buffalo Bisons, Canisius College Golden Griffins, UB's Buffalo Bulls, and the Niagara University Purple Eagles.
