Question: Can passing accuracy issues be fixed?

[GreggTX]

Watching the 2nd half of the Carolina game, it was pretty clear that Allen has problems with accuracy. Sometimes he's right on the money and other times he missed badly.

 

So I wonder. I've seen a lot of QB's come and go and I've seen very few, if any, that have been able to fix an inaccurate arm. I know Eli Manning was strictly a bomber when he started and he learned to work the short game and to throw with touch, but was he inaccurate? EJ Manuel never fixed that problem.

 

Will this be Josh's downfall or can coaching and practice get him to be more accurate because I really believe that if it doesn't improve considerably, it could sink his career like it did to EJ. How can you retrain an arm like that?

[MarkAF43]

Does this really need its own thread? I'm pretty sure accuracy has been discussed several times before. 

[Dante]

Watched a different game and QB than me apparently. Loved the release and I thought the accuracy was just fine. Some of the deep balls were just off a little. Not enough (as far as I see it) to say the pass was inaccurate. It was refreshing to see a QB actually make confident decisions and many of them were throw the ball beyond 12 yards. I liked it.

[Logic]

To me, if a QB has "area code" accuracy, he'll ALWAYS have "area code" accuracy.

Josh Allen's inaccuracy isn't of the "he can't function as an NFL QB" variety, in my opinion. It IS, however, often placed where his WR has to make an adjustment to catch it. Just a little behind, a bit low, a bit high, etc. What this does is limit the WR's ability to run after the catch and gain additional yardage. On a slant pattern, for instance, an accurate throw in stride can be the difference between an 8 yard gain and a 48 yard gain, simply based on the placement of the pass. As such, I believe Allen CAN be a good NFL quarterback in the mold of a Cam Newton. I do NOT ever see his "area code" accuracy improving. Bills WRs will likely never be RAC all-stars as long as Allen's under center. All of this is just my opinion, of course, and I freely admit I could be way off base.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

3 minutes ago, GreggTX said:

Watching the 2nd half of the Carolina game, it was pretty clear that Allen has problems with accuracy. Sometimes he's right on the money and other times he missed badly.

 

So I wonder. I've seen a lot of QB's come and go and I've seen very few, if any, that have been able to fix an inaccurate arm. I know Eli Manning was strictly a bomber when he started and he learned to work the short game and to throw with touch, but was he inaccurate? EJ Manuel never fixed that problem.

 

Will this be Josh's downfall or can coaching and practice get him to be more accurate because I really believe that if it doesn't improve considerably, it could sink his career like it did to EJ. How can you retrain an arm like that?

 

EJ was accurate enough to be a solid NFL starter. 

 

All the other issues piled on did him in

 

[Bangarang]

Which throws did he miss badly on?

 

I think accuracy can be improved on with footwork changes but I don’t think it can be drastically changed. Either you’re accurate or you’re not. Rarely have we seen QBs who had major accuracy issues in college go on to be accurate in the NFL.

[ColoradoBills]

Accuracy can be improved especially from QB with only two years of college work.

[GreggTX]

12 minutes ago, MarkAF43 said:

Does this really need its own thread? I'm pretty sure accuracy has been discussed several times before. 

Thanks for sharing this keen insight!

[OldTimer1960]

I saw a couple passes that weren’t close, though I would speculate that he and the receiver weren’t on the same page on those occasions.  Other than that, I was pleased with his passes.  

[Juice_32]

3 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

Which throws did he miss badly on?

 

I think accuracy can be improved on with footwork changes but I don’t think it can be drastically changed. Either you’re accurate or you’re not. Rarely have we seen QBs who had major accuracy issues in college go on to be accurate in the NFL.

 

This, I'd really like to know the throws he missed badly on? I didn't see any other than the hook shot on 4th down and to even call that a pass is stretching it.

[fergie's ire]

9 minutes ago, Dante said:

Watched a different game and QB than me apparently. Loved the release and I thought the accuracy was just fine. Some of the deep balls were just off a little. Not enough (as far as I see it) to say the pass was inaccurate. It was refreshing to see a QB actually make confident decisions and many of them were throw the ball beyond 12 yards. I liked it.

I would agree for the most part, but I am not even sure about some of the deep balls.  On one of them, Tasker pointed out that Foster was watching the ball the whole way and that if he just spotted the ball...ran...and then looked again at the last minute, he almost certainly would have caught up with the ball.  On another, Foster gave up on the play.  Yes, one was out of bounds which is an accuracy problem.  On the passes where he missed badly, it looked like he and the receiver were on different pages.  So, I worry about him reading defenses and knowing where his receiver is going to be...but those aren't accuracy problems.

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

 

...strictly opinion...if you arrive at the NFL level with some basics/understanding of the speed and complexity of the game (a/k/a reads, progressions, etc), you're one step ahead in the transition....some do and many don't......without it, the struggle to succeed becomes more uphill IMO...accuracy issues can be fixed or improved, but highly contingent upon establishing rhythm/rapport with your receiving corp....

Edited August 12, 2018 by OldTimeAFLGuy

[Mr. WEO]

He''l be fine.

[Rc2catch]

Accuracy is kinda overrated. To a certain extent. 

Peyton and Brady and Brees obviously have pinpoint accuracy on basically any read on the field. 

Guys like Brett Favre and Big Ben aren’t what I would consider an accurate quarterback, but they can make plays period. That’s mostly what it boils down to, can you make a play when it matters? And just like pitching in baseball when a quarterback has extremely high velocity you’re bound to miss your spots sometimes. Question about Allen is are we trying to groom Jamarcus Russel or Jay Cutler kinda velocity quarterbacks or are we grooming a Favre or Ben kinda prospect. Footwork and arm angle can always be modified to possibly help/hurt accuracy but I do believe guys like brees and manning are just born with the gift not progressed into it. 

[jethro_tull]

From what I understand passing accuracy with time to use proper footwork - example in a well protected pocket- can be improved.  Passing accuracy while on the run and under pressure is more of a have it or don't kind of thing.  

Arm strength, arm talent, poise under pressure, work ethic and leadership are all valuable QB qualities that you must be born with.  Me personally I'll take all of those traits along with bad accuracy under pressure any day of the week.  

[bigK14094]

Easier to fix than a tendency to brain cramp  (JP Losman)

[bills11]

Accuracy can be improved depending on the reason for the innacuracy . EJ Manuel couldn't improve his accuracy because his entire mechanics were unnatural from his throwing motion to footwork . Josh Allen has fluid throwing mechanics and footwork that can be improved it's the small details that make a big difference. Just look at Aaron Rodgers in college vs NFL ..Tedford overcoached Rodgers changed his mechanics his accuracy suffered ...in the NFL mcarthy had him go back to how he threw naturally in highschool .

[thebandit27]

Yes.

 

See Josh McCown, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, and Carson Palmer with their significant improvement from college to pros.

 

Especially McCown. He was a career 51% passer in college; he went 67% for the season in 2017.

Edited August 12, 2018 by thebandit27

[Andy1]

Go watch the "Every throw from JA" in the Panthers game again. At which point in the video clip is his throw unacceptably inaccurate? On one play it looked like a possible miscommunication with him and Ray Ray. Other than that, I don't see it. I see more WOW plays than poor plays. 

 

In the end, like Rc2 said, its about making plays. It looks to me like he definitely can do that. We'll see in the future.  

[hondo in seattle]

A couple thoughts...

 

First, some QBs are really good at finding the open guy.  Other QBs are really good at threading the needle or throwing a receiver open.  Either ways gets you a completion.   Ideally, a NFL QB can do both - find the open guy and/or thread the needle - but not all actually can. 

 

Second, inaccuracy has different causes.  If Allen is just genetically inferior to Brees et al (worse hand-eye coordination or whatever), it can't be fixed.  But if his inconsistent accuracy is a function of poor biomechanics then good coaching can make a difference. 

 

In fact, some QB guru or another observed that Allen's accuracy woes are due to mechanics.  Specifically, Allen's not disciplined with his feet.  His stance varies from snap to snap.  When he's not solid in the bottom half of his body, his passes are often errant.