Beck Water

I thought Gabe Davis was actually lighter this season. where did the "extra 17 lbs of muscle" come from? But, I applaud your hopes for him as blowing us away!

I agree with the "better not more". The Bills were actually running the league average # of attempts per game last season. But part of "better" IMHO is less dependence on Allen as their best rusher, and more dependence on the backs. That may not actually be better in terms of improved Y/A or even as many Y/A, but if it's better in terms of Allen wearing down during the season, it's still an improvement. Note that I'm not suggesting Allen not run, just that he not run as much. I'd like to see him at the 2020 level of 6.4 attempts per game instead of last year almost 8 attempts per game.

So changing the topic: is anyone else particularly interested in the run game the Bills showed? Last season, the league average for rush attempts was 27 attempts/game and league average rush Y/G 121.6 The Bills were right at the league average with 26.9 attempts/game and above league average with 139.5 rush Y/G, but as many have pointed out, if one subtracts out QB rush attempts and QB rush yards, the Bills were below average with both. So I've been very interested to see what the Bills would do with their rush game over the off season. vs. the Colts, the Bills had 26 attempts (about average) for 82 yards (below average). Thoughts?

Dude, I was responding to, and others have been addressing, this post from you: I don't think anyone said that he made no good passes. But if people are responding to your post, they're going to be posting to refute the stuff I highlighted, where you seem to be going overboard in his praise. Of those 8 completions, four were quick pitches or checkdowns to the wide-open RB. One of those was a toss-up ball during a near-sack that should have been an incomplete pass out of bounds or in the dirt in the direction of Murray, which would have gotten us back to the LOS. Which leaves us with 3 passes that showed good placement, plus one that required his receiver to jump for it. Now you can be "more than pleased" if you like, with 3 good throws on 8 completions out of 15 throws, 2 sacks (and a 3rd almost-sack), an INT (and a second near-pick). You and your 3 fan buddies can relieve him of all responsibility for the sacks, put the responsibility on his receiver for the INT, etc. To the rest of us, that's not good enough. And I believe McDermott made it unambiguous in his post-game presser that's where he is.

Ouch. I hope there's more to it, but the allegations are indeed shocking and look bad. I hope justice is served, whatever that means.

How is Chase Daniel still in the league at age 37, having dressed for 74 games and started 5? But I digress. I would say "no" to Wentz. I don't think he has the backup mindset yet, and I feel that if Reich couldn't return him to a successful QB mindset it can't be done. It's possible that the coaches could address what went wrong with Kyle Allen and he could show improvement in the next couple preseason games. If not, there will be QB available for trade or as cuts closer to the regular season.

Shaw, I love you and you say a lot of good stuff many times with very valid points. But you acknowledge you didn't watch the game, so before saying any more about "we don't know his objectives for the game, what the coaches told him, etc etc" you really need to watch the game - or at least, the NFL film of the COLTS highlights/best plays. There is absolutely no freakin' way that the coaches expectations or objectives (or Allen's) align with some of the stuff we saw. Nopenope, none. And that's fair. Provided we can agree that he could have made other comments that did indicate more self-awareness and accountability, and he didn't.

It ultimately doesn't matter what he says to the press after the game, but it matters if he's self-aware and self-critical enough that he can realistically evaluate his own performance. Can we agree that what he said, did not indicate that self-awareness? As a counter point, I do acknowledge that players don't owe the press to be self-critical in public, and in theory a guy can be all "I was happy with it" in public and able to see all the flaws in private.

Shaw, I appreciate your points and you're not wrong - in theory. What I saw in the game from Kyle Allen seems to go beyond unfamiliarity with the offense. I saw lack of pocket awareness - throwing too early from an acceptable pocket, turning and running back into pressure. I saw locking on a receiver, seeming to only read half the field, throwing to a covered receiver where the DB has a better play on the ball than the receiver does, throwing up a jump ball whilst being pressured instead of dirting it or throwing OOB - lots of stuff. OK, we all have a first performance and it isn't always great. What bothered me most about Kyle Allen was the dissonance between the above, and his own evaluation of his performance as "smooth" and "overall I was pretty happy with it". He seemed very upbeat, and while you need a guy to believe in himself you also need him to be self-aware in order to be susceptible to improvement.

The struggles I see from Allen go way beyond not knowing the offense. Pocket awareness, judgement, seems like he's only reading half the field at times? locking onto a receiver. The Bills had better NOT have a "deep ball passing offense". They better have a varied passing offense with a variety of short and intermediate options.

Bridgewater would IMO be a better option. But he signed with Detroit the day after you posted this. Carson Wentz is cooked. If his SB-year QB coach Reich couldn't restore him to function, no one can.

This could just be me, but while I agree on the arm strength, I thought that throw to Shakir was dangerous. A good catch by Shakir, but dangerous. I actually wondered at the time if he'd been targeting Quintin Morris, who is behind Shakir and more open/safer throw. Morris seemed to think it was coming to him? Shakir had to climb the ladder and go up a bit for that throw, and if he'd tipped it, it had 2 guys ready to pick it and 2 more converging. It either needed to be lower (if intended for Shakir) or higher (if intended for Morris). In my opinion. Fair is fair, those are very nice throws, and you're right that Barkley doesn't have the arm for them. There's a reason McDermott described the first half QBing as "hot and cold" not uniform "we need to do better". Kyle Allen did make some nice plays, but he also made some stinkers. The 2:26 throw to Ateman was placed where his very first throw to Sherfield should have been placed, but wasn't, for example. I'm not sure it's just mastering the system, it's also his pocket sense, his judgement, and possibly his aim at times. I don't want to pick on the guy, but this play. (2:01 if it doesn't index). Seems he never once looks to the L side of the field, where Harty (I think) stops and turns to get open. Morris appears to be coming open with a step on his guy across the middle (isn't he throwing the mail flag up?), but Allen doesn't see him because he's turned his back and flees - right into pressure from the Colts DE 97. THEN HE THROWS IT UP! to Murray instead of throwing it past him OOB. Awful awful play. You're right of course, that he does have some physical tools. The thing that bothered me most about Kyle Allen wasn't what happened on the field, it was the combination of his play on the field and his responses afterwards in the interview. Describing his performance as "smooth" and saying he was pretty "happy with it". Then when he was asked about playing behind a rotating cast on OL, he made some comment about "I've been in the league 6 years, I'm used to it". Oh? Then why did you lock on Sherfield and almost get your first pass picked off, throwing before anyone else had completed a route on 3rd and 3? The contrast was "Yikes" - it came across as totally lacking self-awareness. And I say this as one that was positive about the signing, I thought Allen had done some good things in Carolina when he got a chance to start, and also in Washington before he broke and dislocated his ankle.

Pro football reference gives him 20 targets and 2 drops. As has been said elsewhere, it's a small sample for statistics to mean much, but for the people who were OMG he's better than McKenzie why won't McDermott just PLAY his rookies? my guess is that the drop sample was larger in practice, just as has been commented on during training camp.

You know it! LOOK at the placement on that ball! He threw past the sticks! So what if he threw it where the DB had a better shot on it than he did! What on earth is that guy looking at, in liking how Kyle Allen played?

One thing that puzzled me about the depth chart the Bills put out was this guy named "Atemon" that was higher on it than a bunch of other guys whose names I'd heard. Now I know why. To be fair, Barkley played all of the 3rd Q after Kyle Allen's pick 6. I don't know the Colts roster well enough to know who was still on the field then, but that means Barkley was playing behind an OL and with many skill players that probably won't be on the team in 3 weeks. So he had the lesser players to work with as well.

I guess that depends upon how you count. We had Dawkins, Brown, Quessenberry, Doyle, and Bobby Hart on the roster last season but that lasted for like, 2 whole games. At Miami, Hart had been suspended and Doyle tore his ACL so I guess, 4 through most of the season? The discussion I've heard was around Ike Boettger who, sadly, does not look good.

Heh. Well. I noticed Kincaid on the throw to Sherfield that was almost picked (think it was Kyle Allen's first pass, and he stared Sherfield down so intensely that if his eyes were lasers, Sherfield would be perforated. That's Kincaid on the buffalo, basically knocking the Colt in coverage flat. Is that legal or is that OPI?

This is actually my best guess at what McDermott has in mind.

Observe the masterful way Kyle Allen stared down Sherfield (16) and threw to him even though he was covered, before anyone else had a chance to complete their route and even Cook, his checkdown, did not have a chance to leak out and get open. Admire the precision of his targeting,which throws where the DB has a better chance on the ball, instead of where Sherfield would have to come back for it and have a chance for a DH or DPI penalty if not a completion.

I think the starters are, in fact, on snap counts. For example, Joe Buscaglia tracks these things methodically and points out that Kincaid got 2 series, 4 snaps total. Poyer and Hyde were given exactly 10 snaps, and pulled in the middle of a series The idea, I believe, is to help them take a step into football shape with minimal risk of injury - and also, to keep them where they were able to practice today. Now I can't tell you for sure if that was the Bills thinking with Bates, or if they in fact do think of Torrance as the starter now. But I can tell you there IS a reason to not start Bates at RG then give him 2nd team C snaps, and that is it.

Oh, interesting. Apparently things changed in 2020 so if it worked before 2020 it might not work now. That seems sketch AF to me if that's allowed, because since only FA who are signed between the start of the league new year, and 1 week after the draft, count - if you can cut a guy you signed at that point and return to "the black" for comp picks what would stop teams from doing that routinely even with players they want - do a handshake agreement to cut and re-sign them?

I think if you look at the Overthecap article that I linked, it is pretty clear. Since the 2020 CBA, the criteria, if not the exact formula, has been pretty well publicized. From the link: That's a very fair point, but that wasn't exactly the trend of what McDermott said this time.

Just a little reminder that in Beasley's 4th season in the league, he contributed 52 catches for 536 yards. A month into Andy Isabella's 4th season, the team that had drafted him in the 2nd round waived him. Isabella is 26 years old, will be 27 years old and going into his 5th season. We usually figure "he is who he is" for most guys at that point in their NFL careers. Now I guess that can be wrong - look at Zay Jones. But he needs to do more than flash against the third stringers to stay on the team. Kyle? Kyle Allen, Is That You?

A note here, was commented upthread that Shorter only played a few snaps with Kyle Allen, who never looked his way. So it's not really realistic to say he was "outplayed by Johnson and Ateman".

Like I said, you seem very confident in your ability to evaluate OL play based on television broadcast. McDermott, in his interview, seemed much more guarded (Ha!) and as though he would want to watch film and evaluate before coming to a conclusion. I'm not convinced (personally) that Torrence in pass pro was All That and a Bag of Chips. McDermott doesn't sound convinced either. I don't know about "pissed", but I'd certainly go with "critical". McDermott made it pretty clear he thought the QB play in the first half was not good. if you listen to McDermott's presser and then Kyle Allen's the contrast is .......Wow, "surreal" is the word that comes to mind. It comes across to me as though they're in alternate universes or something, like "are we even talking about the same QB performance we just witnessed?" As I said elsewhere, I doubt a team with a backup we might want is going to trade him to us right now. They want to get closer to the regular season. But Beane and his pro personnel scouts should definitely be scouring rosters. Not just because it was a poor performance from Kyle Allen - but because Kyle Allen himself said he thought his performance was "smooth" and "overall he was pretty happy with it".