finn

Turnovers will do that. But let's throw into double coverage anyway, just for the hell of it. Boring to win on the ground.

Exactly. Going back to the first game of the season against the Jets. Take away the deep throw and watch Allen try it anyway. Earlier I asked whether Brady will go with the run game, which is working, or the pass game, which isn't. Questioned answered. He's showing himself to be another Dorsey.

Let's see how Brady adjusts to a QB having an off day.

Ok, now I admit The problem is not just poor play calling, dropped passes, and good coverage. Allen is playing like garbage, except for his runs. Memo to Brady: Run the ball on every down. Every...down.

Running the ball is working, passing is not. What will Brady do, one wonders.

Allen's MVP chances slipping away as we watch.

I don't sense frenzy. Just no one open and pressure in his face. They may be inviting the run, and Brady is choosing to pass. If so, let's hope Brady figures it out.

Agree. It's like hockey or soccer players shooting right at the goalie instead of the open net.

Between the screens and "got to get it to Diggs, no matter what," my faith in Brady is starting to erode. How about scheme people open and throw to them?

Have we ever seen it work? Serious question.

First thing the announcers says is Josh Allen has had a "good year" but turnovers. Brain dead.

Can hardly blame him for taking off with Spencer Brown as his bodyguard. That aside, I would imagine quitting a clean pocket wouldn't count toward escapability. I'd like to see if there's a correlation between QB mobility--evidenced by rushing yards, for instance--and sacks allowed. I believe Baltimore and Buffalo are #1 and 2 in sacks allowed, so there might be a connection.

Most NFL pundits just repeat conventional wisdom, which is fine for a fan board like this but pretty appalling when you're being paid for your insights. "One thing for sure: No one wants to see the Bills in the playoffs." How many times have you read that in recent weeks? Or the literally inevitable "turnover" caveat to any praise for Allen? I just hope the MVP voters aren't so lazy or sheep-like.

I don't think Allen is playing with a poor offense, but I don't think it's anything special compared to other teams in the top half of the league. Take the O-line. One of the reasons we all take PFF grades with a grain of salt is that they don't take into account all relevant factors, such as the QB's escability. What percentage of pass drops do we see Allen dodge missed blocks instead of taking a sack? It's so normal, we don't even notice anymore. Drop back, dodge a whiffed block, throw. Rinse and repeat. Put any but a small handful of other QBs back there and watch the PFF grades plummet. I grant you that Cook is a real weapon, but Murray, Ty Johnson, Davis, Shakir, Knox, Sherfield, and Harty are all no more than above average. Diggs is the only "A" player besides Allen. Kincaid? A nice player with excellent potential. So, yeah, I would say Allen deserves MVP because he does more with less than any of his competitors. Put it this way: Allen would do better than Mahomes if Allen played in KC, better than Lamar in Baltimore, Burrow in Cincinnati, Purdy in SF, Hurts in Philly, Prescott in Dallas, and certainly Tua in Miami. Flip it around and the opposite is true: None of these QBs would do as well as Allen has with the Buffalo roster.

Brown needs all the practice he can get. I keep hearing how he's doing well this year, but every time I see him, he's whiffing on a block. In fact, I'd love to see a clip of him NOT whiffing on a block he has to hold for more than a beat or two. E.g., look at that terrific pass Allen made to Shakir to ice the Chargers game. Yes, it was a blitz, but you want your linemen to pick up someone, and Brown whiffs completely. Earlier in the game, he got called for tripping because he was so badly deked he fell on the ground and from there deliberately tripped his man, negating a terrific Allen throw. He gets beaten by power, quickness, AND speed. Please persuade me that his pass pro is not putrid (without resorting to PFF ratings, if possible.) I will feel much better reassured that he will not single-handedly doom the Bills' chances from here on.

Luck and losses, to be precise. To the extent that Allen has momentum for MVP now, it's largely due that the Bills' winning streak. Recency bias is powerful among fans and the media. That said, the opening-day loss to the Jets was almost entirely on Allen, and it's fair to hold that performance against him. As many posters have said, Allen is the slam-dunk MVP if you look at the facts objectively. He's done more with less than any other player in the league, by a wide margin. The turnover narrative is flat-out bias. Comparing Allen and Lamar, in what world do five more turnovers outweigh SIXTEEN more TDs?

This take makes perfect sense. For that reason, I think the Bills will win in a blowout. With few exceptions, they've confounded conventional wisdom all year, losing to NE, Denver, the Jags and Jets, narrowly beating a lousy Chargers team, and beating good teams (including the Eagles in principle, who were bailed out by the refs, in a pattern that is starting to disgust many fans). No, they'll either lose or win in a blowout.

In what games have you seen him double teamed? I've only seen him blocked--easily--by a tackle. Typically, Miller goes wide, and the tackle steers him away from the play. For example, watch him in this All-22 review of Oliver's performance against the Chargers. No double teams, no impact other than occupying a single blocker, which the water boy could have done. I haven't seen his every play, but the Athletic All-22 review of the Chargers game out today confirms my impression that Miller was a non-factor. Says Jonathan and Settle made more impact with far fewer snaps. Something else like what? I don't follow.

Good point. Another difference, this one negative, is that they have Von Miller back. Take a look at the all-22 review of Ed Oliver's play at Buffalo Rumblings. Oliver is terrific, but I wondered who was the defensive end who didn't seem to be even trying. It's Von Miller. He seems content to be steered out of the play every time and be a spectator to Ed Oliver's disruptive mayhem. I'm sure that's not the case, but he sure isn't doing much. Might be best to deactivate him and put a productive player on the field.

Right. Allen as QB with Belichick's current roster would be a Super Bowl contender. For a four-win team, that's quite a statement about Allen.

To think we passed on Roger Saffold. 😛

In retrospect, it's not surprising the Chargers game was as close as it was. The Chargers had an extra-long week after the humiliating loss the week before to come together as a team for a coach they admire. Meanwhile, the Bills had a short week and had to fly across country. Put that all together, and it's not surprising they were a bit flat. Even so, the three turnovers could have happened in any game (I thought), and the holding penalties against Morse were hallucinations. I would say the weak points were run blocking, Spencer Brown's pass blocking (to be fair, it's hard to block when you're lying on the ground), and the pass rush. Stick had all the time any QB could want, especially when Von Miller was out there.

Tough to do, but the right move might be to put Von on injured reserve and hope he has something next year. (That's if they can plausibly claim he's injured, of course.) I'd give him one more game to show something, no more.

He's activated for the 53-man roster, right, not necessarily active for the NE game?

He's good, but he's a turnover machine. 😄