26CornerBlitz

When Allen has a game where he demonstrates this level of QB play, I'll say he's better. He has the physical attributes to be, but has not put that together with the mental aspects thus far to have even a single game as good as Rosen's debut as a starter. None of these rookie QBs are finished products, so we're talking about where they are now with no one knowing how things will ultimately stand. The All-22: Beyond the Numbers Cardinals rookie quarterback Josh Rosen, fresh off his first NFL start in a 20-17 loss to the Seahawks, could certainly relate. Rosen had decent stats on the day—he completed 15 of 27 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions—but in no way do those quiet numbers represent how Rosen actually played against one of the NFL’s better defenses. In truth, had Rosen’s receivers met him anywhere near halfway, not only would his numbers have been far better, but the Cardinals—whose offense was dormant in the season’s first 2 ½ games before the decision was made to replace Sam Bradford—probably would have won this game. Instead, Rosen was mysteriously bedeviled by drop after drop on passes that not only should have been caught, but also showed the attributes that make Rosen the most talented quarterback in this draft class. When I reviewed Rosen’s UCLA tape, I saw a passer with the ability to move in the pocket, the toughness to make throws with defenders all around him, and the arm to make just about any throw accurately. He showed all of those things against Seattle, but the numbers didn’t match up because his targets—including future Hall-of-Famer Larry Fitzgerald—had an epic case of Bad Hands throughout the game. What was most impressive and important about this is the way Rosen handled it. He didn’t get flustered, he didn’t veer off the plan; he simply kept making great throw after great throw. It took a while for that approach to pay off—Rosen threw his first NFL touchdown pass with 8:59 left in the game—but the overall performance had to be encouraging for an offense that had done nothing before Rosen arrived to spark things up.

Byron Leftwich Gets First Chance as Offensive Coordinator By ANDY BENOIT October 19, 2018 Cardinals first-year head coach Steve Wilks made an unsurprising decision Friday, firing offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and promoting quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich to that post. Two things I've heard whispered around the NFL: 1. McCoy's system is strung together by miscellaneous tactics and concepts that worked when he coached great field general quarterbacks like Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning, but were not user-friendly to your typical QB. 2. Leftwich, the former seventh overall pick out of Marshall who started 50 games in nine NFL seasons, is one of the league's great young quarterback minds. I heard this enough times that this past offseason I made a special trip to Phoenix to meet Leftwich and talk football. He was a joy to visit with, but to be perfectly honest, our conversation revealed very little. Leftwich is guarded with his—to borrow a Marc Trestman term—"football intellectual property." (To Leftwich's credit, he's unabashed about this. "I don't like to talk publicly about specific plays," he told me, "because I've heard too many coaches accidentally reveal things with what they thought were innocent, general comments.") What was apparent from our conversation is Leftwich believes that everything an offense does must tie not to a certain philosophy, but rather to your quarterback's perspective. You must understand how your QB sees things and build your plays and verbiage accordingly. That may seem obvious, but it's not something every offensive architect acts on.

OBL 10/19: Adam Archuleta and Mark Kelso on what to watch for in Bills-Colts, Greg Cosell on Week 7 in the NFL, Lorenzo Alexander with the "Lo-Down" CBS Sports color analyst Adam Archuleta (32:00) and Bills radio color analyst Mark Kelso (51:00) joined us leading up to broadcasting Sunday's Bills-Colts matchup. NFL Films' Greg Cosell discussed what he's seen from the Bills and previewed Week 7 (1:04:25). Bills LB Lorenzo Alexander gave us his weekly "Lo-Down" (1:32:25).

For anyone who's going:

He's all over the field in coverage, the run game, and applying pressure on QBs. Great to see him raise his game to such a high level.

Mike Wells - ESPN Captain Comeback? Colts Coach Frank Reich Can Claim the Title Before he was leading Indianapolis, the former QB led two of the biggest comebacks in football history with Maryland (1984) and the Bills (1993).

The Right Time: Bills' QB Decisions, NFL Defensive Struggles & More Bomani is joined by Mina Kimes to talk all things NFL, including the Bills' decision to start Derek Anderson with Josh Allen out via injury (8:47), if defenses getting continuously torched by offenses across the league is the new normal (31:50) and whether or not the Chargers will ever make waves out in Los Angeles (55:01).

Mike Wells - ESPN Colts Hope Hilton's Return Stems Pass-drop Woes With the Colts having 15 dropped passes in the past three games, the team got good news as WR T.Y. Hilton is expected to return vs. the Bills after a 2-game absence. Frank Reich on T.Y. Hilton's Return for Sunday's Game: "There's a Good Chance" (8:36) Head Coach Frank Reich addressed the media Friday afternoon ahead of Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. He mentioned T.Y. Hilton having a good chance on returning to play this Sunday. First Down With Rick Venturi - Defensive Blueprint: Bills (9:12) Former Colts Coach Rick Venturi talks with Host Matt Taylor about what the Colts will need to do on defense to beat the Buffalo Bills. First Down With Rick Venturi - Offensive Blueprint: Bills (8:19) Former Colts Coach Rick Venturi talks with Host Matt Taylor about what the Colts will need to do on offense to beat the Buffalo Bills, this Sunday, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Yep. He'll be outta there. Declined his 5th year option.

They are projected to be over the cap as things stand now.

Already fixed it. But Tood means he arrives with bad intentions.

I'm about to call Todd Gurley on you.

10-19: Greg Cosell on One Bills Live (14:53) The always informative Greg Cosell was on earlier for his usual Friday segment.

True enough. Each can still be evaluated as individual players on a number of factors that determine long term success or failure at the NFL level.