CincyBillsFan

As an aside, has Allen been in the shotgun yet?

So you know this after 5 passes? Get back to us after the home opener. Then we'll have 3 games that mean something in hand. We'll have a much better handle on whether Allen is better then last year.

Funny how over the last 2 games they haven't thrown ANYTHING downfield. And if you only allow your QB to throw on 3rd and long then you can't really expect much production can you? My concern isn't Allen it's that 2 great runs for first downs have been called back by a holding penalty.

As you note, Allen hasn't attempted enough passes to make any assessment of his performance. More importantly though is that through FOUR possessions the Bills have NOT thrown the ball on 1st down. Think about that. In the modern NFL you go 4 possessions without a 1st down pass. It's obvious what the Bills are working on. In contrast the Lions are working on their passing offense and thrown multiple 1st down passes. My concern so far has been the penalties and injuries. And the good news is that the injuries don't look to be serious.

Judas Priest folks get over the the bad throw. It happens. I'm just glad it's in the preseason as it becomes a teachable moment. That last drive showed some better run blocking which is clearly what the Bills were working on. Allen hasn't been sharp but the game plan doesn't involve working on the pass game. In contrast it's clear the Lions are working on their pass game. That's what preseason is for.

No, the Bills are working on the running game which leaves the passing game a bit off kilter. Sure that was a terrible throw by Allen. But better in the preseason so the coaches can drill it into his head that he needs to just throw the ball away.

For whatever reason the O is playing it very close to the vest. First two possessions and you had run/run/pass. Then on the 3rd you had run/run(hold)/pass. It was a nice throw and catch that ended in a fumble. People are freaking out about the passing game when the concern should be the running game, or lack so far of one. Two holds on runs doesn't help either.

You can argue that he just made the catch that Zay Jones didn't.

Are you kidding me! That was a perfect throw. Allen derangement syndrome is becoming a thing I guess.

Funny how first down passes tend to work.

As other have noted he absolutely must play. He's a young QB who needs the reps. This is particularity true with all the new relievers he's throwing to. Sure he could get hurt tonight but then again he could go down in the 1st quarter of the Jet's game. I would play Allen into the 2nd quarter which is probably three series then that would be it.

I think my head will explode if I hear this any more. FACTS don't seem to matter around this subject: * The Bills did not pick Allen over Mahomes unless you believe that in April of 2017 the Bills front office had already determined that Allen would be a better NFL QB then Mahomes AND that Allen would be available to them in the 2018 draft. BTW, had Allen even declared for the 2018 NFL draft in April 2017? * On this topic it helps to look at who else needing a QB passed on Mahomes: 1) The Chicago Bears took Trubisky with the #2 pick so they must have thought he was better then Mahomes. And for the record I think Allen will at least match Trubisky as an NFL QB. 2) The SF 49's passed on Mahomes with the 3rd pick. That season they started out 0 - 9 and were so desperate for a QB that they traded with NE to get Jimmy Garoppolo who they immediately inserted in as QB. Why did they pass on a generational talent especially one that was so obviously generational? 3) The NY Jets picked ahead of KC and they didn't take Mahomes. Yet the very next year they used a 3rd round pick to take Sam Darnold. Is he going to be a better QB then Mahomes? Kudos to Andy Reid and the KC Chiefs for seeing how good Mahomes was going to be. Hopefully, folks will be saying that about the Bills & Allen.

Why even compare Allen to Murray? One is a rookie and the other is a 2nd year guy. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to compare Murray to a fellow 2019 draftee like the Giant's David Jones? I mean Jones has had two solid exhibition games and Murray has had a good & bad game. I've never seen anything like the hatred spewed at Allen. I get that the analytics guys don't like his "accuracy" numbers but why do so many of these writers seem to make it personal? This is more then writers thinking Allen will be a bust. This comes across as sports writers taking personal offense at the idea that Allen might actually be good. It's just plain weird. It seems like there's an agenda here and I don't get it. Someone needs to tell these guys that it's possible a bunch of these young QB's are going to shine in the NFL over the next decade. This is NOT a zero sum game. Anyone who has watched football knows this.

Bingo! I bet when you look back at those 4 - 0 pre-season teams that went 0 - 16 they played to win their pre-season games and kept their starters & back-ups in longer. Those teams knew they sucked and used pre-season wins to drive ticket sales. What I've observed through 2 pre-season games so far is a team that is working on stuff, evaluating players and still managing to win the game. This indicates talent & depth. Something I've not seen for the last 20 years.

I don't think meth has the pharmacological strength to warp reality in the way this thread has.

When I read this I was even more encouraged about what I saw Thursday night. I respect Kubiak's opinion and thought he was very fair AND honest last year in his appraisals of Allen. On the other hand I'm not sure why someone would start such an odd thread. It was as if the thread starter hadn't watched the first 2 possessions that Allen was in on. It has to be pure trolling but why waste the time? I guess I'm guilty of feeding the trolls by responding. Maybe 2BD should set up a special thread for all the Allen haters to congregate in and post their wisdom. That way we could have the opportunity to troll them.

Are you saying that when the Bills (and others) passed on Mahomes in 2017 they had already decided to draft Allen in 2018? Because unless that's true there's no rational reason to connect Mahomes to Allen other then as two top QB's in competition.

When did he lead Beasley into traffic? I saw two completions to Beasley both of which hit him dead center. On one Beasley was able to turn up field for an extra 5 yards. I don't think he targeted him any other times?

It was right on his hands and not an inch behind Jones. If it was thrown in front of him it's either intercepted or Jones is rocked as he makes the catch. That was a tremendous pass threading a narrow window down by the goal line.

Out of curiosity what bad throw by Allen left pints on the field? What I saw was: * On the first series a holding penalty took away a 7 yard pass completion and knocked the Bills off schedule deep in their own territory. * On the 2nd series Allen was on fire as the Bills drove down into the Red Zone. Jones drops a great Allen pass at the goal line and Bills miss the FG. Still Allen looked sharp and the O-line looked okay. The coaches must have liked what they saw with the 1st team offense since they took Allen and most of the starters out after the 2nd series.

I agree especially his 2nd series. The holding penalty knocked them off schedule in the first series but as Matt Perino noted had Jones held onto the ball Allen would have been 5/6 for 70 yards and a TD on that 2nd drive. Very solid outing.

Wait I think we're talking past each other here. I thought it was a GREAT pass. In fact it was a perfect pass. I think I misunderstood your response, my bad.

I watched the play. It was pretty clear to me. What did you see?

It was as close to being a perfect pass as you're going to get at the goal line. The ball was placed right on the hands and not behind Jones. Had Allen led Jones even a bit then he would have been lit up with the ball bouncing up into the air at the goal line which doesn't usually end well. How anyone can say that wasn't a great pass is beyond me.

If Jones holds onto that perfectly placed ball, Allen's 2nd drive was just as good.