CincyBillsFan

Great article with some new takes on what we saw unfold last season pre & post the Allen injury. Thanks for posting! As others have noted the Bills coaching & front office should get a lot of credit for changing things up on the fly. The issues the article lays out for Allen in the first half of the season were a direct result of the Bills decision NOT to name him the starter in the summer. This meant they had to build an offense that suited either McCarron or Perterman. In hindsight this was a huge screw-up. Past Bills regimes would have compounded this mistake by NOT making any changes and allowing Allen to flounder and maybe even wash out of the league in a couple of years. That the Bills made such significant changes in BOTH offensive personal AND scheme DURING THE SEASON was impressive and unexpected. I also liked how Cover 1 noted that Allen was very effective throwing the ball on deep routes. I also recall a couple of big time PI calls where DB's had to tackle the WR before the ball got there to avoid giving up a TD. This is another big advantage of throwing the ball deep. Long ball PI is great because it can get you down the field fast with a 40 yard penalty. With an improved O-line, new & improved WR's to compliment our more experienced returning WR's and a better running game, the Bills offense presents match-up nightmares for NFL defenses. Allen won't run the ball as much as last season but when he does look for 15 yard gains on 3rd & 12. You know the kind that break the back of most defenses. I see him rushing for about 40 yards per game using his legs to convert 3rd & longs & generate red zone TD's.

I think Allen was also referring to the following things: * He didn't get a lot of first team snaps during training camp and the preseason. How many guys did he throw the ball to who weren't even on the team in week 1? Timing issues with his receivers largely happened as a result of his lack of first team reps during the preseason. * The Bills also changed up their receiving corp drastically over the course of the season. They let Benjamin & Holmes go and signed McKenzie. This further hindered the ability of Allen to develop rapport with his receivers. By simply giving Allen the lions share of 1st team reps in training camp and during the pre-season games, he will have a much better opportunity to work out any timing issues with his receivers. This alone almost guarantees better passing production. Throw in the fact that the receiving group has been significantly upgraded talent wise and we have reason to be optimistic.

I think there's a good chance Beasley will have a big impact on the Bills passing game. First off, he's a significant upgrade to McKenzie. And don't forget that Allen was able to hit McKenzie on the type of short throws that make slot receivers so dangerous. Second, the Bills have added speed & another deep threat at WR. With Brown & Foster split wide teams will have to respect the deeper patterns. This is a slot receivers dream. Combine this with Allen being able to hit almost any point on a football field means that there won't be a lot of nickle & free safety help to cover Beasley. This will create exploitable match-up issues with LB's & strong safeties trying to cover this guy. Third, short passes to slot receivers require timing. The best way to disrupt these passes is with quick, up the middle pressure. With last years O-line DT's were pushing the center & guards into Allen's face at the snap. The upgrade of the O-line means that Allen will have that extra second without anyone in his face to make those throws.

The other issue with the whole notion of what is and isn't a "dropped" pass, is the matter of misplayed balls. The best example I can recall is the "lost the ball in the sun" play against New England. That was a perfectly thrown deep ball that should have been an 80 yard TD pass. Not only would that have been a nice stat line for Allen, more importantly it would have completely changed the course of that game. On the positive front, I think Foster is a diamond in the rough who will be a fine NFL player. I also think the addition of Brown & Beasley will have a huge & positive impact on the Bills receiving production.

Another great point addressing the lack of great catches by the Bills receivers last season. I assume you're talking about the perfectly placed ball by Allen that should have been caught at the Dolphins 5 yards line. The play was ruled a catch but overturned on review. Yet it should have been caught and likely would have led to a Bills win. It really bugs me when folks claim that it was Allen's bad pass and not Clay's drop that mattered most on the play against Miami. I say BS! You can't evaluate that play without taking into consideration the amazing way in which Allen avoided being sacked TWICE on that play. That he did not throw a perfect pass under those circumstances is not in the least bit surprising. That an NFL TE making $9,000,000 per year was late adjusting to the ball AND couldn't make a knee level catch that NFL receivers make all the time was the real issue here. Sure, Allen took responsibility and was clearly pissed that he hadn't thrown a better pass. But that's why we're excited about next year - this kid gets what leadership looks & acts like. But IMO that play was on Clay, NOT Allen.

This is exactly right. The best catches I can recall were the Demarco catch on the wheel route against the Chargers and Fosters catch along the sideline against Miami. And neither of those were ever going to make the ESPN highlight reel. Yet almost every time I watched a game on TV I saw WR/TE/RB's make circus catches. IMO the LACK of great catches by the receivers was a bigger problem then the drops. And when you combine the two, it explains why Allen completed less then 60% of his passes.

Good WR's were not exactly abundant in this draft. The Bills added two starting caliber WR's in FA and have a 3rd starter between Foster & Jones. The two UDFA WR's the Bills just signed are intriguing. I'm betting one of these guys not only makes the team but see's playing time at wide out. Throw in the CFL guy who may be a lot better then we think and the Bills are okay at WR. Frankly OL & TE were much higher priority's then WR and they seem to have fixed both those areas.

And evidently didn't miss a game!

I love the pick. As others have noted he is great value at #9 and fits a need. I also think he is an example of the new type of DT that will percolate through the NFL over the next few years. A little undersized but very explosive off the ball, great hand strength and a knack for creating havoc by deeply penetrating the O-line. I think we're moving away from the days of the behemoth DT's that only needed to tie up space so LB's could make plays. As an added benefit the guy looks tailor made for Buffalo. I love the way he waded out into the Bills crowd to high five & hug folks. Seems like the Bill's brain-trust does seriously look at personality types in making their selections.

My beer consumption goes up significantly when I'm watching the Bills. At first it's the excitement of the upcoming game & expectation of a win that triggers over consumption. Then it's angry frustration as the game proceeds that triggers over consumption. Then with a disappointing end I try to drown my sorrow triggering over consumption. I've just never tried it after eating a Thanksgiving feast.

Looking at the schedule I'm seeing 10 or even 11 wins. The way you get prime-time games is to make the playoffs on a regular basis. Until we do that there's no point in getting upset or being surprised by our lack of Monday & Sunday night games. I'm not a big fan of the Turkey Day game at Dallas. It's not that the Cowboys worry me, they don't play all that well on Thanksgiving. Rather it's the late start of the game that gives my stomach the heebie-Jeebies. I'll have to break out the Tums as we'll slam the big feast before the game and then suffer through a nerve wracking game. Why "nerve wracking"? I expect this to be a very important game from a playoff standpoint. Question to this board - is it possible (or advisable) to drink lots of beer AFTER a huge Thanksgiving dinner while watching the Bills? Also is any one going to watch the game WHILE eating dinner. And with the NFL's short halftime breaks would it be possible to finish the feast up during halftime?

Since 1986 there have only been 3 other QB's who in the off season had me excited for the new season to roll around and they were Jim Kelly, Drew Bledsoe & Doug Flutie. That's 33 years and only 3 guys. So yea Allen has got me chomping at the bit for next season to get started. Sure he has a lot to improve on but with that being said in roughly 11 games this kid has produced more spectacular highlights, both running & throwing the football, then any other Bills QB not named Jim or Doug have in over 30 years. A lot can still go wrong and as a Bills fan part of me dreads that Allen will implode and suck. But the chances that we have a special talent at QB hasn't been this good since Kelly first walked out on the field. Bottom line is that I would rather be optimistic now only to have my hopes crushed later then be pessimistic during the off season and then have my hopes crushed.

I saw no issues with his arm after the injury. My guess is that what you perceive was Allen trying to take a bit off some of his throws. During his time off he realized he didn't have to throw missiles every time. For example: * The 75 yard TD pass to Foster against Jacksonville. While he's being engulfed by 3 Jaguar D linemen he gets of a 45 yard throw. * Several throws against Miami including BOTH TD passes and that dart he threw from the end zone to convert a 3rd & long at the sideline. * Several throws against the Jets where he converted 3rd & long situations. On just the 2nd play from scrimmage Allen connects on an 18 yard throw that was an absolute steamer of a throw. * He also threw some darts against Detroit. And there were others. Again I think the Allen you saw after the injury was putting a lot more touch on the ball then just trying to throw it threw a wall. As an aside the reason his % completion didn't go up as a result was that he was also throwing the ball away a lot more post injury to avoid the sack. The reduction in his sack numbers shows that.

They might win a playoff game! At the very least pick a brewery near a Skyline Chile and you could bulk the linemen up nicely. With spaghetti, cheddar cheese, brats and beer - who needs nutritional food. Stop at one of Jeff Ruby's steak houses and gorge on some prime beef and you can get all the protean you need.

Wow they have a cryochamber that can reach minus 198 degrees F! I wonder if they thought about freezing their best players in the off season and doubling the length of their careers? Also we could steal Brady's football and put it in this thing. Imagine Edellmen trying to catch what would truly be a ROCK. Hell, the ball might stick to Brady's hand and require amputation to get it off.

At first I thought there's no way I can pick one play. Then I thought about what was the most amazing game the Bills ever played and I kept coming back to the playoff comeback win against Houston. So I figured it had to be a play from that game and while I thought the Beebe TD catch was big I'll go with the successful onside kick executed right after that TD. That led to the Bills cutting the Houston's lead from 35 - 3 to 35 - 17 and suddenly the corpse stirred.

Great picture!

I'm not even going to throw out any qualifiers - Josh Allen is going to be a great NFL QB. I can't explain it logically or use fancy metrics to support my opinion here. It's a gut feeling that I have after following he Bills for 50 years and watching a lot of NFL football. Allen has the physical tools and the IT factor - he passes the look test. If he QBed the Jets or Dolphins I would be sick to my stomach thinking how this guy was going to "Brady" us for the next decade. I expect big things next year and beyond.

I'm looking at 11 - 5 5-3: Bills Away games: Titans (W), Cowboys (L), Browns (W/L), Steelers (W/L), Giants (W), Jets (W), Phins (W), Pats (L). I see the Bills either losing to Cleveland or Pittsburgh but not both. 6-2: Bills Home games: Broncos (W), Ravens (L), Eagles (L), Bengals (W), Skins (W), Jets (W), Phins (W), Pats (W)

I loved the pick and came to 2BD to see how many other folks loved it and got pretty depressed. Back then I was a lurker so I couldn't jump into the argument. I'm a big college football fan and watched a lot of those late night Wyoming games on espn when Allen was QBing. It was must see TV if you were a football fan and Allen's antics back then were a lot like what you're seeing with the Bills. Jaw dropping runs & passes; fiery disposition, wth was he thinking passes and skill players dropping balls all over the field. I remember one game in his last year at Wyoming where his WR's dropped 3 perfect passes in the 1st quarter alone. What impressed me was that Allen never lost his cool about it. He didn't show his receivers up. What's funny now is that I remember thinking as I watched those games that wouldn't it be cool if the Bills drafted this guy. He would be a steal in the 4th round! So yea even though we had to trade up to take him in the top 10 picks I'm glad they drafted him because IMO he is the real deal. His pre to post-injury improvements in every facet of his game give me a lot of confidence in his future. And for those concerned about Allen's accuracy, just remember it matters who you have around you. Cam Newton went from a career 59% completion average to a 68% completion average in 2018. And it asn't because he suddenly got "accurate". It was because he had a guy in the backfield named Christian McCaffrey who was worth dumping the ball off to.

Good luck to him though I still haven't forgotten about his dropped TD against NE. Sorry but that was a catchable ball for an average NFL TE.

I'm drinking the koolaid AND following it up with a Whiskey chaser and saying 11 wins!

And when given time to sit in the pocket Allen had a number of memorable throws. Specifically watch replays of his TD throws against Jacksonville, Detroit, Miami & the last TD throw against Miami at home in the final game. He sits in the pocket and throws very accurate passes down field. Even in situations where the pocket collapses around him like the famous Jacksonville TD pass or his last TD pass against Miami, he seems oblivious of the pressure. In fact I can't recall a single inaccurate pass when he was able to sit in the pocket after he came back from his injury (I'm sure there was one I just don't recall it). My sense was that on a lot of plays Allen faced IMMEDIATE pressure up the middle and was forced to roll out. These were not cases where he abandoned the pocket to early these were cases of move or be sacked. In many of these situations he connected with accurate throws down the field. Again watch his highlight tapes to see what I'm talking about. Shoring up the Bill's pass protection up the middle was the #1 need on this O-line IMO. And they've done that with their FA signings. This is why I expect to see a huge jump in Allen's accuracy & passing production. That extra second is going to be the death of opposing secondary's.

I get that. But how often on 2BD do we see folks comparing Mahomes passing production in his 2nd season to Allen's in his rookie season? By my reckoning it's just about every time the two QB's are mentioned in the same thread together. The reality was that Allen was thrown to the wolves while Mahomes enjoyed the luxury of being properly prepared for becoming a starting QB in the NFL. And let's not even go into the gross differences in surrounding offensive talent Mahomes enjoyed compared to Allen. Bottom line is that I remain optimistic about Allen's long term future as the Bills QB. I believe that he and Mahomes will be two of the best QB's in the NFL over the next 5 years.

The Buffalo Zoo made me a Bills fan. I grew up west of Rochester and twice a year my family made the trek to the big city zoo in Buffalo. Some of my earliest memories are of these trips. When I was this young I wasn't interested in football though my dad watched the games on Sunday. But when I started to get interested in pro football at about 8 years old it only made sense to root for my dad's Zoo team!