Cover1 article on Josh Allen's footwork

[HappyDays]

https://www.cover1.net/balancing-josh-allen/

 

My notes probably resemble a lot of your notes on Allen, because when quarterbacks struggle with accuracy, you hear about footwork. Teams will try to try and feed you the company line, that ____ has to clean up his footwork and he will be fine. So it wasn’t surprising to hear that line during his introductory press conference.

Even though Allen explains footwork and what it means to a QB’s throwing motion pretty well, the average fan may not understand it. So I want to try and show you what bad footwork looks like, how sloppy footwork will throw off the entire sequencing of a throwing motion, and how it can lead to an inaccurate throw. If you can understand those mechanics, maybe you can empathize with why the Bills took a shot on the big arm from Firebaugh.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

35 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

https://www.cover1.net/balancing-josh-allen/

 

Good article, thanks!

 

Word: "What I will argue is that accuracy is the premier trait in an NFL quarterback. In college, that is not always the case. However you want to cut it, Allen will need to improve his accuracy and placement if he wants to have any sort of success at the next level.(..........).Balancing Allen’s playing time early on may directly affect the mechanics they are looking to correct. Because as we all know, executing in controlled environments isn’t the same as when the bullets are flying on Sundays. It’ll be up to the coaching staff to keep drilling proper mechanics if they want Allen to truly be the franchise QB that the Bills organization has been yearning for."

[BillsFan3434]

I know I'm going to come off as a negative-Nelly, and I obviously wish Allen all the good fortune in the world and I hope he leads us to 20 super bowls, but a severely dislike taking quarterbacks with "a high upside but need some work".  Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more quarterbacks than not don't fix the issues and go right back to what they know and their athleticism / second nature when the pocket starts to break down, which this is the NFL so that happens 80% of the time.

 

I would rather have a quarterback that is ready to play quarterback and might talk crap about the president every now and again.  Tom Brady was tied to the president and he doesn't get crapped on, "Oh, Tom Brady is too political".

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

Well this got political quickly.

[Dr. Who]

2 minutes ago, BillsFan3434 said:

I know I'm going to come off as a negative-Nelly, and I obviously wish Allen all the good fortune in the world and I hope he leads us to 20 super bowls, but a severely dislike taking quarterbacks with "a high upside but need some work".  Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more quarterbacks than not don't fix the issues and go right back to what they know and their athleticism / second nature when the pocket starts to break down, which this is the NFL so that happens 80% of the time.

 

I would rather have a quarterback that is ready to play quarterback and might talk crap about the president every now and again.  Tom Brady was tied to the president and he doesn't get crapped on, "Oh, Tom Brady is too political".

Well, Nelly, I think the other Josh has durability concerns and I surmise some evaluators think he is polished, but near a ceiling they deem rather modest.  There's enough smoke that I think the personality thing is real and not simply political as you imply.  I'm more of a gambler.  I think Josh Allen's floor is Joe Flacco.  His ceiling is John Elway.  I'm happy OBD took a chance on the kid from Firebaugh.

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

12 minutes ago, BillsFan3434 said:

I know I'm going to come off as a negative-Nelly, and I obviously wish Allen all the good fortune in the world and I hope he leads us to 20 super bowls, but a severely dislike taking quarterbacks with "a high upside but need some work".  Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more quarterbacks than not don't fix the issues and go right back to what they know and their athleticism / second nature when the pocket starts to break down, which this is the NFL so that happens 80% of the time.

 

I would rather have a quarterback that is ready to play quarterback and might talk crap about the president every now and again.  Tom Brady was tied to the president and he doesn't get crapped on, "Oh, Tom Brady is too political".

 

in short, you were/are a rosen fanboy.

 

I'm sure he'll be the goat, since he said he was going to have seven titles, one more then tommy boy.

 

talk is cheap and he's a blowhard and I'm really glad the bills had nothing to do with him.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

13 minutes ago, BillsFan3434 said:

I know I'm going to come off as a negative-Nelly, and I obviously wish Allen all the good fortune in the world and I hope he leads us to 20 super bowls, but a severely dislike taking quarterbacks with "a high upside but need some work".  Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more quarterbacks than not don't fix the issues and go right back to what they know and their athleticism / second nature when the pocket starts to break down, which this is the NFL so that happens 80% of the time.

 

I would rather have a quarterback that is ready to play quarterback and might talk crap about the president every now and again.  Tom Brady was tied to the president and he doesn't get crapped on, "Oh, Tom Brady is too political".

 

You're assuming the Bills didn't choose Rosen for non-football-related reasons, and that Rosen's brand of politics would take the same form as Brady's (pretty low key) vs activism.

 

Maybe it's hopeful thinking, but I believe it's as least more likely than not that the Bills took Rosen off their board for football reasons - either his medical history, or perhaps concerns about his coach-ability, and not his personality or potential activism.

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

12 minutes ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said:

in short, you were/are a rosen fanboy.

 

 

 

I personally would have preferred that the Bills draft Rosen, yes.  I don't think that makes me a "fanboy", no.  When you got a job to get done, I prefer demonstrated ability over potential.  (I really dislike the demarcation into "fanboys" and "haters." )

 

But I also recognize that I don't have access to a lot of the stuff the teams do, including detailed medical history and exam, perhaps knowledge of what the play calls were on different plays, etc.  For example: in the Cover1 analysis that's the point of this thread, Erik breaks down a play where Allen "inexplicably" looks to the right - a side where there are zero targets - and then is off-balance to make a throw to his left in the face of pressure.  Well, what if Allen looked to the right because in the play call, someone was supposed to be there and a WR messed up his route?  This is the sort of thing that can change an assessment of the film.

[HappyDays]

25 minutes ago, BillsFan3434 said:

I know I'm going to come off as a negative-Nelly, and I obviously wish Allen all the good fortune in the world and I hope he leads us to 20 super bowls, but a severely dislike taking quarterbacks with "a high upside but need some work".  Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more quarterbacks than not don't fix the issues and go right back to what they know and their athleticism / second nature when the pocket starts to break down, which this is the NFL so that happens 80% of the time.

 

I tend to agree with this, and it's what worries me about starting Allen too early. I know we're all excited to see the shiny new toy in action but muscle memory gets harder and harder to erase the longer it is practiced. Allen is way too inconsistent with his footwork to see real NFL action right away. I get that he made strides between the end of the season and the Senior Bowl but he wouldn't be the first QB to regress after a couple months of perceived improvement.

[BuffaloBill]

At the end of the day it all comes down to whether Allen takes coaching to heart and uses it when the action is real.  If, a big if, he can correct his fatal flaws his physical potential is simply intoxicating.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I tend to agree with this, and it's what worries me about starting Allen too early. I know we're all excited to see the shiny new toy in action but muscle memory gets harder and harder to erase the longer it is practiced. Allen is way too inconsistent with his footwork to see real NFL action right away. I get that he made strides between the end of the season and the Senior Bowl but he wouldn't be the first QB to regress after a couple months of perceived improvement.

 

Yes.  And he's also learning a new offensive scheme, a much more complex one, and learning how to make reads of much more complicated defenses.

He'll also be playing behind a questionable OL.

 

If his brain is happily and automatically recognizing coverages and what the right read is in response to that coverage, he may be able to keep up changes in his muscle memory.  Learning both at the same time?  Meh.

 

 

[TigerJ]

The article closed on a hopeful note, suggesting that Jordan Palmer's work to help him correct his footwork/mechanical issues seems to have paid dividends in all his post season appearances, from the Senior Bowl on.  I know that at the recent rookie mini camp, Brian Daboll shadowed him pretty closely,  appearing to give him feedback covering all aspects of his play, including mechanics.  There are just two questions that need to be answered: can Allen make all the necessary changes to his footwork/mechanics?  And will those changes stick when he's facing live bullets  on a Sunday afternoon?  I figure I might as well hope.

[Domdab99]

Good article. Shows what his problems have been and how he's working to correct them. Seems promising. That last video at the Senior Bowl looks great. 

 

Still not clear what "setting the hallway" is. Does it mean the back foot needs to be perpendicular to where you want to throw.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Domdab99

[BillsBytheBay]

I believe that Allen is the kind of guy who knows how to work in his issue.  That being said it was mentioned that Wentz had a similar issue by the end of his first season.  If it works out that same way, we may have to be patient.  But I think Allen becomes the best QB of the draft.

  Just not the best rookie QB.  

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

42 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

 

 

I personally would have preferred that the Bills draft Rosen, yes.  I don't think that makes me a "fanboy", no.  When you got a job to get done, I prefer demonstrated ability over potential.  (I really dislike the demarcation into "fanboys" and "haters." )

 

But I also recognize that I don't have access to a lot of the stuff the teams do, including detailed medical history and exam, perhaps knowledge of what the play calls were on different plays, etc.  For example: in the Cover1 analysis that's the point of this thread, Erik breaks down a play where Allen "inexplicably" looks to the right - a side where there are zero targets - and then is off-balance to make a throw to his left in the face of pressure.  Well, what if Allen looked to the right because in the play call, someone was supposed to be there and a WR messed up his route?  This is the sort of thing that can change an assessment of the film.

 

sorry you don't like the term. I use it, especially when some still cling on to not drafting him.

[BillsBytheBay]

2 minutes ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said:

 

sorry you don't like the term. I use it, especially when some still cling on to not drafting him.

That's a little unfair. It's not like hapless is crusading. And until the season starts and we see what we have all his points are still valid

[aceman_16]

I (as I have mentioned multiple times)  was not a Josh Allen first guy. For the record,  I have been beating the table for Mayfield for a very long time. 

 

Also,  the more I look into Allen the more I realize he isn't a finished product.  I truly believe that he has not been playing QB long enough nor extensively enough to have cemented bad habits. When people refer to previous QBs saying that they will revert to bad habits "once bullets fly" are typically correct.  However,  in Josh's case I don't think he has been playing long enough to have formed too many "bad" long term habits.  I was telling my wife that I have had more experience and coaching on how to be a QB than he has (PLEASE don't twist training with talent - I was below average at best - D3 wise).

 

I wish him all the luck in the world and I see him as unmolded clay.... thus his improvement in the senior bowl which "BBs were flying."

[Sky Diver]

1 hour ago, BillsFan3434 said:

I know I'm going to come off as a negative-Nelly, and I obviously wish Allen all the good fortune in the world and I hope he leads us to 20 super bowls, but a severely dislike taking quarterbacks with "a high upside but need some work".  Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more quarterbacks than not don't fix the issues and go right back to what they know and their athleticism / second nature when the pocket starts to break down, which this is the NFL so that happens 80% of the time.

 

I would rather have a quarterback that is ready to play quarterback and might talk crap about the president every now and again.  Tom Brady was tied to the president and he doesn't get crapped on, "Oh, Tom Brady is too political".

 

That ship has sailed.

 

Do you honestly think we didn’t draft Rosen because of his views on the president?

[Buffalo716]

Josh’s mechanics are already 10x better than they were in 2016. 

 

They have been on a steady incline for a while now... they are not as poor as Mahomes footwork and he has a lot of experience under center 

 

even as “poor” as our line is, it is still going to be 20x better than what he’s ever had because it’s the NFL... He ran a complicated scheme at Wyoming and made all the calls at the line

 

Footwork is much easier to instill than upper body mechanics. There is a big difference between his footwork from 2016 to today which says his trajectory has been going up

[Shaw66]

For an amateur operation, Cover1 is really nicely done.   I'm never sure he's completely correct on this stuff, but his analysis is always sound. 

 

Here's my take:

 

1.  You can't throw the ball with the velocity and, often, the accuracy that Allen does without having fundamentally good mechanics.   All his measurables in the throwing area are excellen - release time, velocity, etc.   The guy has fundamentally good mechanics.   So the mechanical problems are not problems with his THROWING, which is what you find with plenty of guys who have mechanical problems.

 

2.  Allen's problems shown in this article and videos are that his footwork in advance of his throw is sometimes flawed, which leaves him in the wrong position when it's time to throw.   Then he delays the throw and misses the window or he hurries the throw and his mechanics then suffer, affecting his accuracy.

 

I think the difference between those two points is critical.  I agree with those who say changing mechanics in an athlete at this level is very difficult.   You can try to remake the throwing motion, but when the pressure is on in game situations, most athletes revert to the muscle memory they've developed over several years.   What they practice on Wednesday goes out the window on Sunday.   That's why most QBs with mechanical issues in their throwing motion, guys in category 1, never overcome the problem.

 

Allen's not in category 1.   He has a great throwing motion.  Allen's in category 2.   Essentially, the problem Cover1 describes is that Allen hasn't learned the steps to the dance.  Sometimes he's doing the cha-cha when he's supposed to be waltzing.   That's a different problem, and an easier problem to correct than being in category 1.   Any athlete can learn the dance steps.   In fact, teams spend a lot of time teaching that.  On most NFL passing plays, the ball is released quickly, and QBs are taught to take precise steps preliminary to the pass.   THey're taught which foot takes the first step, how far, etc.   Step, step, step, pass.  It's all choreographed.    Allen can learn that.

 

Where Cover1's analysis is more relevant is when Allen is forced to move or scramble.   That's not most plays, but it's enough to make a difference.   Then, Allen's ability to set a good base with his feet, not spread too much, feet moving, etc., becomes more important.   Those things can be taught, but like the throwing motion, the question is whether the teaching will hold when he's under pressure.   For that, we'll just have to wait and see.