Bills legend and NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly joined Good Morning Football last week , and by the time the segment wrapped, the greatest quarterback in franchise history had made a strong impression on each of the topics covered.
Among those he talked about were the new Highmark Stadium rising across Abbott Road as well as Buffalo QB Josh Allen's body, Joe Brady's offense, and the arm-strength debate that's followed him since 1986.
And even about the Bills losing in January.
After all, the longtime franchise quarterback is invested both professionally as their long time greatest quarterback, as well as personally in his retirement years as an alumni and fan of the team for whom Buffalo became home.
The new $2.1 billion stadium opens against the Lions
on Thursday Night Football in Week 2. Capacity drops from roughly 71,000 at the old building to 61,500 at the new one. Kelly's concern isn't the seat count.
"I don't want the fans to be the … because some of them are disappointed because they can't afford to go there. The stadium went from 68 to 61, but I just don't want them to change," Kelly said. "The Bills Mafia is awesome. I mean, if y'all ever played up there, you know what it was like."
He remembered the capacity crowds of his era, even before suites scaled the old building down slightly. He hasn't heard the new sound system yet. He's heard about it.
"Oh my word, it is amazing," Kelly added. "It'll get the players all pumped up. But the most important thing I don't want to have change is the fans the way they are."
Then he also laughed about the tables — and about the fact that the Mafia didn't exist yet when his five brothers were tailgating in the Rockpile lot.
"I know some of them probably would have been sent to the hospital because they're wild, they're crazy," he added.
Josh Allen was a topic as he has often been this offseason, and WWE superstar and guest analyst Seth Rollins wanted to know whether the reigning MVP should keep playing aggressively into contact or to start protecting his body more for the franchise.
Kelly's answer was both.
"Josh is — gosh, that's what he does. He runs, he makes the big plays with his legs, and yeah, you want him to protect himself a little bit more because he does take chances, but the thing is, that's him. That's the way he plays football and I love it," he said. "The Bills are going nowhere if Josh gets hurt. I think he's done a better job in the last couple years of protecting himself, but there are times, as you all well know, you got to do what you got to do," Kelly shared. "If that means running somebody over or putting your head down and getting that extra yard or two, you got to do what you got to do."
Donte Whitner asked the question every talk-radio caller in Buffalo asks: what does it take to get over the hump?
"Yeah, they got him a good receiver. They have a good offense. I think that Joe Brady has done a good job the last few years," Kelly said regarding the addition of DJ Moore and endorsement of new head coach Joe Brady. "But my personal opinion, I think they need to get something on defense. I think they need to be able to find a way to pressure the opponent's quarterbacks."
With the likes of Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert lining up under center for AFC opponents, Brady and GM Brandon Beane are hoping to do just that against them thanks to new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's scheme.
"The main thing is to give the Bills a shorter field, not have to rely on Josh, you know, taking them 70-80 yards all the time. Man, they need some turnovers," the iconic QB continued. "You got to find a way to pressure the quarterbacks and get some more turnovers."
Then Jamie Erdahl asked a question to which Kelly was quick to quip a funny answer to.
"Who has the stronger arm, you or Josh Allen in your prime?"
"Oh, me by far," Kelly said, causing the table to break out in laughter together with the Bills legend before he offered a genuine answer.
"I felt comfortable with my arm back then. I knew when you had to take a little heat off. Josh early on his career was throwing some darts and when you get cold weather, you can't do that. He's done so much better the last three, four years at doing that. In his ninth year, I say he has a better arm now than I did."
He also mentioned the changes in defense that he played in — Joe Klecko jumping offside just to land a shot, Reggie White collapsing pockets, 15-yard flags treated as a cost of doing business.
"Now you just touch a quarterback and you get a penalty and they're fine," Kelly noted. "Game has changed."
Kelly is the only player in Bills' history who has stood in the position that Allen is in. It included an MVP and four Super Bowl appearances.
He knows what it looks like to walk into a stadium with a Super Bowl-or-bust roster, and what's it's like to run out of chances. While his sentiment on the defense echoes that of the front office and new head coach, it also carries stoic weight as an appeal made by the man who led the franchise to those four Super Bowls without a championship.
"I'm very blessed to have the relationship I have with him," Kelly said of Allen, "and I'm glad."
Allen and this era of Bills football is looking to get back to that championship and to finally bring a Lombardi Trophy back to Orchard Park.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills legend Jim Kelly is excited for new Highmark Stadium, too
