Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR) - Joe Brady is preparing for his first game as head coach of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in Houston against the Texans. Brady has never been a head coach in the NFL, but said Wednesday that isn't on his mind.
“I'm run different. I don't ever take those seconds and appreciate that," said Brady ahead of Wednesday's practice in Orchard Park. "I know we have a huge test for our guys this week, and I've got to be whatever they need me to be. That's the most important thing.”
Brady is laser-focused on nothing but a win. He tries to put all other things aside.
“We're just trying to do everything we can to go 1-0," Brady said. "You can talk keys and everything, but we're just trying to score one more point than them. There's no such thing as an ugly win. I don't care about any of that. It's everybody buying into whatever the hell we've got to do to get that done.
“We shouldn't have to change who we are, whether we go on the road or we're playing a team that had a successful record. If we change who we are based on who we're playing, then we're not the type of team that we want to be.”
Listening to Brady since training camp opened, he seems to be able to simplify his message to the players.
“All I care about is trying to find a way to win the football game," Brady said. "I'm not sitting here saying, 'Hey defense, you have to...' If we do that, but we don't win the game, it's all for what? So I want the whole football team to not care about that, but is everybody just doing their job on that particular play and not care that, 'Hey, we have to do this.'”
Brady told the team to elect six captains, and they voted in quarterback Josh Allen, tight end Dawson Knox, pass rusher Bradley Chubb, linebacker Terrel Bernard, long snapper Reid Ferguson and special teams ace Sam Franklin Jr.
The first-year head coach likes the job the team did with this process.
“It's a really good captain group," Brady said. "And the cool thing is we had so many guys that also got votes. But a guy like Sam [Franklin Jr.] getting it in a special teams role, I know he was proud of it."
Brady is not surprised by Chubb being elected a defensive captain in his first year with the team after being signed as a free agent this offseason.
“I remember having that dinner with Bradley, he had a 'C' on his chest [in Miami], and that meant a lot to me. But he had to come here and meet new teammates and earn it, and dive into those relationships and be able to get to know his teammates, and lead off the field and lead in practice. He's done all of that and more so. I wasn't surprised by it,” Brady explained.
Some may have been surprised by Knox's nod as captain, but Brady knows the veteran tight end has always been a leader.
“He's been a captain here, regardless whether he's had a 'C' on his chest. That's why it's so important to continue to have him on the Buffalo Bills," he said. "If a coach isn't in the room, he's going to set the standard. So Dawson takes a lot of pride in it, and it means a lot to him.”
Last year, Buffalo had a 9-3 second-quarter lead in Houston, but the Texans sacked Allen eight times and put relentless pressure on him, leaving the Bills short, 23-19.
Brady says his team would be foolish to not look back to learn something from that game.
“There's been elements of all of last year that have kind of been put into this season, in terms of how we build the offense. Not just this game, but anytime you go through success, or when you have failure. You have to learn from it, then it's about what did you learn from it, and seeing it come into action," Brady explained. "There's pride with the guys. They don't like putting on performances and 'I'm pointing the thumb at myself. I wasn't good enough.' It's a great opportunity for all of us.”
