CincyBillsFan

Another losing season that left me excited for the next year was in 1979 when the Bills went 7 - 9 but you could see that Chuck Knox was building a winner and 1980 saw the Bills finish 11 - 5 with a trip to the playoffs.

The big thing that kept Allen from being noticed is that he didn't attend the QB camps during high school. Those camps teach young QB's a lot about what they need to do to improve their throwing mechanics & footwork and they give college programs a chance at evaluating a kid over several days of intense competition against other HS QB's. I have no doubt that even though he was a skinny senior a number of programs would have seen his his arm talent & athleticism and offered him a scholarship. As an aside these college programs are very sophisticated in measuring high school aged kids and estimating their final height & weight by their late teens/early twenties. They would have been aware that he was going to be a big guy and would have planned on red shirting him.

My point wasn't to compare their relative draft standings it was to call out that they both may have been motivated by similar feelings of being disrespected Thomas was very public about his desire to make EVERY team that skipped him in the 1st round pay for their lack of vision. Allen hasn't been so forthright but the story about sending all those tapes out only to hear back from 2 programs had to leave a scar. Allen also had to be aware of what was being said about him by a majority of the "experts" after he was picked by Buffalo.

This times 100! I suspect that if Allen becomes an elite QB in the NFL this will be the reason. His history, given his obvious talent, is unprecedented. You know who this reminds me of? A certain RB who was very annoyed that he wasn't a 1st round pick. I think deep down Allen has a lot of the same motivating factors that helped Thurman become one of the greatest RB's in NFL history.

Great post. That he doesn't throw his teammates under the bus, even for a moment in the heat of a game, is all you need to see about his character.

I agree and also think it's a good thing. Daboll passed his audition this season IMO. Now he gets to build his own staff and has a full off season to help get Allen & company to the next level. I also expect that Dabol will be a key figure in who the Bills go after in the draft & FA on the offensive side of the ball. I also like the decisive way in which the Bills are making changes.

I was all in on Allen after stumbling across a Wyoming game a couple of years earlier. The kid just seemed to have that IT factor and for sure his games were fun to watch if not just for the sheer mayhem & entertainment value. I also remember hearing about the kids story and how none of the elite or for that matter crappy college programs would give him a chance. I thought "man, sending out a thousand tapes and hearing back from only 2 programs, that had to hurt"! Then after Buffalo drafted him and a whole lot of "experts" came out and slammed the pick saying that he could never be an NFL QB given his accuracy issues I got worried and thought uh oh did the bills screw this up? But again I read some in depth stories on Allen's journey to the NFL and thought the "experts" were missing something very important. It was the factor that TroutDog posted above - Allen has had very little QB training in his lifetime. He didn't attend the prestigious QB camps during high school. I suspect his Jr College game plans consisted of having him either running by or over defenders and Wyoming wasn't exactly an Air Raid passing program. But when I saw how much just a few weeks with Jordan Palmer had improved his mechanics I thought this kid could learn to be accurate. He was a perfect example of a blank canvass/raw QB talent. Now I'll throw out the usual disclaimer that he needs to further develop and master the intricacies of the game. And he might never actually reach an elite or even an average level of QB play in the NFL. But I'm optimistic that he will in fact be an elite level QB in a way I haven't been since Kelly showed up to a hero's welcome back in 1986.

I agree. And I think it's fair to say that the difference between Mayfield & Allen is not nearly as big as most people would have predicted last April.

I actually think our offense doesn't need a complete rebuild. IMO we need: * 2 new starting O-linemen. The rest of this group could fill out the remaining 3 spots adequately. * 1 new starting WR. Given their level of experience (or lack thereof) Jones & Foster have shown me enough to convince me that they can be decent WR's next year. Add a go to guy and this unit might go from a liability to a strength. * 1 new starting TE. I would go with a guy that can block first but is a decent check down pass receiver. I believe that with a full off season Grooms can grow into being our #1 pass catching TE. A good blocking TE is needed for pass protection and helping the running game. * a 2nd RB to compliment Shady. I still think that McCoy has gas left in the tank and the Bills will need some veteran leadership on offense. Add a 2nd starting caliber RB and Ivory becomes a back-up giving the Bills decent depth at that position.

I watch a lot of college football to, GO BUCKS, and during 2016 & 2017 i watched several of Allen's Wyoming games on late night espn broadcasts. And the guy was just mesmerizing to watch. Some of the throws I saw him make were unbelievable and the way he moved around behind the LOS was always fun to watch. I actually made it a point to catch these late night Wyoming games because they were so much fun to watch. Allen just seemed different to me. Yea, it was often chaotic but after a day of up tempo, robotic short controlled passing offenses, it was fun to watch mayhem in action. I remember thinking "wouldn't it be cool if the Bills took Allen as a project in the 3rd or 4th round"? Then he started to move up the draft board as he wowed the pro scouts and next thing I know he's taken at #7 by the Bills! The first thing I do is come over to 2BD to see the reaction and the "wrong" Josh folks were out in force bashing the pick mercilessly. But I got what the Bills were doing here - it was a risk but I could see they were swinging for the home run aware of what this kids upside could be. All the while they knew that the bottom could drop out on this pick. And given the utter frustration over the last 20 years, this was the moment to swing for the fences and they did. And for sure the story isn't over. Allen could regress next year or he may never get better. But on the other hand there is every reason to believe that we're on the cusp of seeing something very special blossom at QB for Buffalo. At the very least the next couple of years will be fun to watch!

The funny thing is that in today's college football Allen may have been called for targeting on that play! But the key thing we saw was that Allen shrugged that throw off and went on to have a stellar 2nd half.

On the topic of how a QB gets hurt am I the only one who was screaming at the TV telling Allen not to throw any more blocks? I thought his attempts to impersonate O-linemen were by far his most dangerous plays. And for the record he wasn't very good at it.

This Season Mayfield Allen Darnold/Jackson Rosen Next Season Mayfield/Allen Darnold Jackson Rosen Allens QB rating was higher today then Rosen, Baker or Jackson and with 95 yards rushing and 2 rushing TD's I would think the QBR numbers (for what they're worth) will stay pretty much the same with Allen solidly in 2nd place.

I agree and will go one step further and say that on the first TD pass to Jones Allen made an outstanding throw. If Allen had made the so called "good" throw Jones would have taken a savage hit for at best a 4 yard gain. A hit that might have popped the ball into the air for an INT. The throw to the outside in which Jones made a nice adjustment to catch the pass was the reason he scored a TD on that play. When you watch the reply there were 3 Dolphins converging on the inside route. I believe that Allen placed that ball where ONLY Jones could catch it and there was a zero risk a Miami guy could bat it down or INT it.

I think you're on to something here. The NFL has copied the college games spread offensive attack but have left out a key ingredient - the QB who can both pass AND run. That combined with the new targeting rules means that it may now be possible for a QB to be productive on the ground, stay healthy and still be an effective passer. IMO Allen has this potential. It means that the QB of the future may not need to hit 70% of their passes to be elite. He may need to be able to run for 75 - 90 yards in a game while completing 55% of his passes. The new QB metrics that define how good a QB is might be passing TD's, rushing TD's, passing yards, rushing yards and yards per completion and fumbles lost/INT's thrown.

Wow, that Kelly game was the one I thought of to. Living in Cincinnati we had a big MNF party and it was crammed with Bengal's fans. Man that 1st quarter was nuts. Then Kelly & Lofton started to hook up and I got to live the old saying "he who laughs last, laughs best". I wonder how many of the naysayers about Allen understand just how big his 2nd half performance was in light of the pick 6 he threw right before the end of the 1st half? You're right that you can't coach mental toughness and this kid has it by the boat load.

I hope you're being sarcastic here because IMO they both showed us a lot to be optimistic about the future.

Also in games he started and finished he had a won/loss record of 5 - 5. Which is pretty decent. I'm to lazy to look up all the numbers from before & after his injury (I'll do it latter) but didn't he have 2 TDs/5 INTs before the injury and then throw 8 TD's/7 INT's after? That's a big improvement. I bet his sack rate also went way down after the injury.

And while marveling at Rosen's throw in which he got to take a nap in the pocket the same folks will obsess over every bad Allen throw. Like today where even though he had less bad throws then TD's, there are people who are sure that those poor throws mean he's a bust! Hey, ignore at all those TD's - that's a mirage what you need to be paying attention to is that pass that flew over the receivers head. Yea, that's the ticket! Look I get it's way to early to toss Rosen under the bus. Other QB's had struggled as much a he has only to have exceptional NFL careers. And for sure he's playing on a dumpster fire of an offense. But last April if you kept the QB's identity's hidden and laid out how their seasons went very few people would have picked the right QB to match the won/loss and offensive stats that each actually had.

The Bills took their first possession of the 2nd half 80 yards for a TD with Allen making a couple of great throws and a huge run. So what did you see to make you think he was rattled at the start of the 2nd half?

What a magnificent send off for Kyle Williams! We were celebrating big time when William's caught that pass! Class act that will be missed in a Bills uniform. next stop the Ring of Honor! Wasn't it great to see Edmonds rebound from his game against NE. The kid had a huge game out there with a great INT and a spectacular sack where he jumped over the blocker to nail Tannyhill. We still can't run the ball conventionally which puts our rookie QB in a tough situation. This is one area of the Bills offense that must be improved in the off season. I did see a few flashes from Shady indicating that he might still have a little gas left in his tank. I think he can add value next year as a 3rd down RB who can still catch the ball and pass protect. Zay Jones had a good game. I'm cautiously optimistic that Foster & Jones can be 2 of the 3 WR's for next year. If we can sign a vet to go along with a speedster in the draft we may have solved our WR issues. TE still needs work but Crooms has shown flashes in the last 2 games so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we only need to add one guy here. Oh and Allen has a terrific day today. He produced 5 TD's and showed that he could be accurate enough. His running game is lethal if a team doesn't have the defensive talent to stop it. But the best thing about today is related to allen's worse decision of the year. Yep that pick 6 that ruined a whole bunch of half time food breaks. I thought Allen might fold up mentally and the 2nd half look a bit like the Green bay game. But this kid is more Kelly then Peterman. He came out of the locker room pissed off that he had hurt his team with that dumb throw and answered that bad play with an 80 yard TD drive on the Bills 1st possession of the 2nd half! This is how you want (hope) your QB responds to adversity. He then played lights out the rest of the way demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could shrug off a bad mistake. It was worth having him throw that pick 6 and ruin our halftime food spread to see how he would respond. This off season is sure going to be fun.

After reading some of the comments on this thread I have to wonder if these people watched today's game or any NFL games for that matter. * Even the best QB's make bad throws. Allen's INT was a terrible decision but actually a pretty good throw. That is the ball was chest high for his receiver but a Dolphin was in position to step in front of the pass for the Pick 6. That's a mental mistake by Allen not a bad throw. And it's the kind of mistakes even the best QB's make not just rookies. * Over the course of this game Allen had maybe 4 poor throws with the rest being throw away's. Hell one of Allen's throw away passes was the ugliest pass of the season as it was quacking all the way into the stands. But he avoided the sack and the throw away was NEVER in danger of being intercepted. True the poor quality of that pass did make it hard for a fan to catch it cleanly. * Allen completed 65% of his passes today - something that the analytics folks claimed could never happen (you can't improve accuracy). Heck, he even completed 7 in a row! Most of his short passes were perfectly placed strikes. He threw the ball well and made big passing plays from the pocket and while on the move. * His 2nd TD pass was a thing of beauty being one of those perfectly placed short TD throws that folks claim Allen can't make. And from what I understand Allen made the correct pre-read to spot Foster in single coverage and exploit it. And the touch on his last TD pass was also perfect. I don't care how wide open Jones was that was a pretty pass. * And I loved the way Allen ran the ball today. He didn't take any unnecessary risks yet his runs were huge difference makers in the game. I mean it's getting to the point where on 3rd and 1 or less Allen is unstoppable on the QB sneak. The type of running we saw today can be maintained over a long NFL career. * But the biggest thing we saw today wasn't Allen's excellent stats. After the pick 6 how many of you thought that Allen might have been mentally knocked off his game? I did and I figured that the 2nd half would see a disaster of more INT's and sacks as the kid melted down. But instead we saw a guy come out of the locker room for the 2nd half pissed off at the dumb play he made with the pick 6. He then almost single handily took his team 80 yards down the field to score TD and allow the Bills to take back the momentum. It was worth having him throw that awful pick six so we could see how he would respond and IMO he couldn't have responded any better. * He has the intangible's and he has all the physical tools. He needs experience and has to refine his game, both mental & physical. But IMO I'm convinced he is the guy. He finished 5 - 5 in the 10 games he started and finished. His play improved dramatically after he returned from his injury. Only the sky is the limit to this kids future. * So I choose to be positive about the future of this team and this QB.

I don't know about others but I never thought Tyrod was a horrible QB I thought that he had clearly reached his ceiling and that wasn't good enough to lift Buffalo into being a playoff caliber team. The degree to which a fluke play by the Bengal's ended the Buffalo playoff drought last year can not be understated. In fact the very next week at Jacksonville we all saw why the Bills were not a legit playoff team with their horrendous offensive performance against the Jags. It was clear to me and I suspect a lot of other people that Tyrod was not getting any help from his receivers. As a group they were bad last year. My guess is that the Bills realized that they needed to upgrade both the QB and most of the skill positions after their offenses showing in Jacksonville. The first step was upgrading the QB position where they signed McCarron and finagled their way to move up in the draft and draft Allen. It was always their plan to upgrade their skill positions in 2019 with all that CAP money. The only thing that screwed with their plans was the performance of McCarron & Peterman at QB which caused the Bills to have to use Allen way before they wanted to. As it turns out Allen has been entertaining AND the experience he's gained this year will prove invaluable for next year.

To be clear the idea that Peterman was a starting caliber QB for the Bills is the most damning indictment of the current Bill's managements ability to build an offense. At the risk of again beating a dead horse to death it just boggles the mind that the Bill's brain-trust believed this guy was a starting QB. But with that being said, there are way to many balls bouncing off receivers hands into the hands of the defense for me to be comfortable with. And maybe it's just a statistical anomaly but the presence of #13 near so many INT's is funny in and of itself. Getting rid of both Peterman & KB was addition by subtraction for sure.

Ok at the risk of bringing down the wrath of 2BT on my head, did you notice that a lot of those INT's were balls that bounced off the hands of our receivers? And I couldn't help but notice that #13 (KB) was in the vicinity of a lot of those INT's. Look I hope Peterman makes it in the NFL. At the same time he'd worn out his welcome in Buffalo as he was way to careless with the football BUT watching this funny video can't hide the fact that it wasn't just Peterman.