Josh Allen - week FIVE report card

[GG]

28 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

I'm wondering if Matt Barkley would have run the offense better.

 

 

Looking at the offensive game plan and how Allen played, there were few instances where his full athletic ability was needed.  So, Barkley would probably been the same.

 

This is the exact step that Allen needed to take to continue elevating his game.  Plays smart and within the confines of the game plan.   If he played like this last week, he doesn't get hurt and Bills walk away with a W.

[ddaryl]

B

 

He bounced back some still made a few ill advised moves. He slid better when running so it looks like the concussion woke his ass up on that part of his game. Threw the ball away instead of hero balling it. 

 

He has the warriors spirit just has to hone the game down some more.

 

In regards to how the Bills receivers react to Josh when he is scrambling. There is much need for improvement.  They  are not coming back to the QB well enough and they're bunching up with no real sense of protocol. I think this part of the Bills offense is where are biggest improvements can happen. Lots of big plays can be made with Josh srambling. We need a better "Firedrill" plan to support this part of Josh's game.

Edited October 7, 2019 by ddaryl

[Charles Romes]

To me it looks like he has stopped trying to throw people open with anticipation like he was in weeks 1-3.  He seemed to be single reading and staring down his primary a lot more rather than looking off and scanning the field. To his credit, he got away with it for the most part on Sunday because he was accurate enough and because of his arm strength.  But what I saw Sunday was not a recipe for long term success like the first half of the Giants game was.  

Edited October 7, 2019 by Charles Romes

[Mike in Horseheads]

15 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Cole was actually wide open but Knox ran right to him bringing defenders with him.  

Yeldon was also in the mess and I think he wanted to take the blame but Josh blamed himself.

[CincyBillsFan]

The bottom line is that we'll never know whether Allen was throwing to Beasley or Yeldon.  But what we do know IMO is:

 

*  The INT was NOT a terrible throw nor was it an example of hero ball.  It was an aggressive throw of the type that most of our QB's over the last 20 years would not or could not make.  IMO he should keep making those throws.

 

*  The Bills receivers need to improve their scramble drill.  It looks like a fire drill out there.  For the 2nd week in a row Knox brought his cover guys into the area Allen threw the ball to.  Both Beasley & Yeldon come to full stops while NOT looking back at Allen.  They're looking at each other.  That's not good.

 

*  There is room for big improvements here by the receivers.  A casual glance at other NFL games featuring mobile QB's shows receivers fanning out and getting open on these types of plays.  With the Bills they seldom get open and look confused.

 

*  My expectation (hope) is that after the bye we're going to start seeing big plays in these scenarios.  With the exception of Jones all the receivers on this team are either new guys or rookies.  They haven't played much together and when things break down the rookies are probably more often then not going to the wrong place.  You know like running up to Beasley to say hi during the play!

 

*  We should be excited because the odds of the players & Dabold fixing this are very good.  In fact this is part of the price you pay for totally overhauling your offensive skill positions.  It takes time for all involved to gel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

21 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

*  The INT was NOT a terrible throw nor was it an example of hero ball.  It was an aggressive throw of the type that most of our QB's over the last 20 years would not or could not make.  IMO he should keep making those throws.

 

oh how this could be read IF this pass was intended for a disliked player.

I'll leave it at that 

[GunnerBill]

27 minutes ago, CincyBillsFan said:

The bottom line is that we'll never know whether Allen was throwing to Beasley or Yeldon.  But what we do know IMO is:

 

*  The INT was NOT a terrible throw nor was it an example of hero ball.  It was an aggressive throw of the type that most of our QB's over the last 20 years would not or could not make.  IMO he should keep making those throws.

 

 

I disagree slightly. I think it was a bad throw and I think it was an example of hero ball. But it absolutely is the type of throw Josh should keep making. It is his ability in those situations that makes him special. I don't want to turn Josh into a scared game manager just because we have a great defense. I am fine with him throwing 35 times a game. He will make dumb mistakes his whole career.... Favre did and Big Ben has too.... but he can make special plays just like those two. For God's sake let's not try and coach that out of him. 

[Thurman Kelly]

C -

A big improvement from last week's F.  Threw the ball away more.  Only threw one interception (which, IMHO, was entirely on him, not the receiver).  Was largely ineffective.  Didn't complete much downfield.  Still took a big hit on a run instead of getting down.

 

If this really was the best game of his career so far, he's got a long way to go.  If Buffalo didn't have the elite defense that it does, most Bills fans would already be talking about drafting a QB next year.  That great defense has bought Allen more time to try to show he can reach the next level.  Unless he can least average a B grade over the rest of the season, it's time to look for someone else.

[Stank_Nasty]

2 minutes ago, Thurman Kelly said:

C -

A big improvement from last week's F.  Threw the ball away more.  Only threw one interception (which, IMHO, was entirely on him, not the receiver).  Was largely ineffective.  Didn't complete much downfield.  Still took a big hit on a run instead of getting down.

 

If this really was the best game of his career so far, he's got a long way to go.  If Buffalo didn't have the elite defense that it does, most Bills fans would already be talking about drafting a QB next year.  That great defense has bought Allen more time to try to show he can reach the next level.  Unless he can least average a B grade over the rest of the season, it's time to look for someone else.

this is awful

[Charles Romes]

19 minutes ago, Thurman Kelly said:

C -

A big improvement from last week's F.  Threw the ball away more.  Only threw one interception (which, IMHO, was entirely on him, not the receiver).  Was largely ineffective.  Didn't complete much downfield.  Still took a big hit on a run instead of getting down.

 

If this really was the best game of his career so far, he's got a long way to go.  If Buffalo didn't have the elite defense that it does, most Bills fans would already be talking about drafting a QB next year.  That great defense has bought Allen more time to try to show he can reach the next level.  Unless he can least average a B grade over the rest of the season, it's time to look for someone else.

 

Agree - the D’s play is preventing a lot of questions from being asked.  I like Allen and still think and hope he can become a true franchise quarterback.  He is not there yet, and as much as we all want him to get there, that day may never come.  I would rather pursue a course where we can move on from him quickly if we have to, rather than move on after 5 years like the Titans will have to do with Mariota, or the Dolphins did with Tannehill. 

[Alphadawg7]

1 hour ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Yeldon was also in the mess and I think he wanted to take the blame but Josh blamed himself.

 

Yeah after watching the play again, I think it was intended for Yeldon and he let up causing the INT.  When it happened, I didn’t even realize Yeldonwas that close and running right towards where Josh threw it.  

 

I think this INT is less on Josh and more on Yeldon.

[Mike in Horseheads]

1 minute ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Yeah after watching the play again, I think it was intended for Yeldon and he let up causing the INT.  When it happened, I didn’t even realize Yeldonwas that close and running right towards where Josh threw it.  

 

I think this INT is less on Josh and more on Yeldon.

Either way it had to be a busted play with them running each other over etc

[Thurman Kelly]

5 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

Yeah after watching the play again, I think it was intended for Yeldon and he let up causing the INT.  When it happened, I didn’t even realize Yeldonwas that close and running right towards where Josh threw it.  

 

I think this INT is less on Josh and more on Yeldon.

 

Any time that a play breaks down into a scramble the receiver's routes are either finished, or they modify them to respond to the scramble.  It's common, under those conditions, for receivers to stop/start or change route.  They are thinking on the fly.  It's hard to predict.  That's exactly why it's a bad idea to throw into the middle of coverage off of a scramble.  Too many variables.  That's why those throws result in so many picks.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Thurman Kelly

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

7 minutes ago, Charles Romes said:

 

Agree - the D’s play is preventing a lot of questions from being asked.  I like Allen and still think and hope he can become a true franchise quarterback.  He is not there yet, and as much as we all want him to get there, that day may never come.  I would rather pursue a course where we can move on from him quickly if we have to, rather than move on after 5 years like the Titans will have to do with Mariota, or the Dolphins did with Tannehill. 

Bad analogy, JA has shown more upside in his first 16 games than either of those guys. And, as was pointed out by Gunner upstream, you want him to be that swashbuckling player he is. Both those guys play so conservatively its painful to watch sometimes. If I have a chance between reigning in a fast, wild horse and trying to make a slow nag faster.....I'm going with the previous!

[billsfan1959]

On 10/7/2019 at 7:32 AM, Foxx said:

thank you for this.

 

watching the game after they showed the replay on TV, i thought it was Yeldon's fault because he stopped on the play. however after watching it from this angle and in slo-mo, i do believe he was throwing to Beaser. Yeldon pulled up because he thought that too. we have seen many times Josh throwing it low to Beaser (whether on purpose or not) and that is what was happening here because of the coverage all around him.  would have to see the All 22 to see where Allen's head is and hopefully his eyes are but just from this angle, the pick was on Allen.

 

I added the All 22 view of the interception below. I still believe he is throwing to Yeldon. When he first takes the snap he first looks to Beasley and then over to Yeldon. He then scrambles to avoid a sack, looks to Beasley again and then to Yeldon. When the ball leaves Allen's hand, the DB is almost directly behind Yeldon. If Yeldon continues running, he almost certainly would have stayed in front of the DB and be in position to make the catch.

 

I will change my mind and put the blame on neither. As I said above in another post, you have WRs trying to adjust to a QB trying to evade a sack, and a QB trying to react to the WR's adjustments. Not to mention, it involved a QB and 3 WRs who have played 5 total NFL games together. 

 

I don't think it was an ill advised pass. Allen had stopped and set up. He was interpreting the adjustment of his WR and put the ball where he thought that WR would be.

 

 

[GunnerBill]

On 10/7/2019 at 5:17 PM, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Bad analogy, JA has shown more upside in his first 16 games than either of those guys. And, as was pointed out by Gunner upstream, you want him to be that swashbuckling player he is. Both those guys play so conservatively its painful to watch sometimes. If I have a chance between reigning in a fast, wild horse and trying to make a slow nag faster.....I'm going with the previous!

 

Tannehill is a fraud. He doesn't even try and win. He just tries to stop people realising how bad he sucks. Allen is always trying to win even if at times it is ill advised. 

[Warcodered]

 

[Kelly the Dog]

14 minutes ago, billsfan1959 said:

 

I added the All 22 view of the interception below. I still believe he is throwing to Yeldon. When he first takes the snap he first looks to Beasley and then over to Yeldon. He then scrambles to avoid a sack, looks to Beasley again and then to Yeldon. When the ball leaves Allen's hand, the DB is almost directly behind Yeldon. If Yeldon continues running, he almost certainly would have stayed in front of the DB and be in position to make the catch.

 

I will change my mind and put the blame on neither. As I said above in another post, you have WRs trying to adjust to a QB trying to evade a sack, and a QB trying to react to the WR's adjustments. Not to mention, it involved a QB and 3 WRs who have played 5 total NFL games together. 

 

I don't think it was an ill advised pass. Allen had stopped and set up. He was interpreting the adjustment of his WR and put the ball where he thought that WR would be.

 

 

I think that shows it well that he was trying to hit Yelson and if anything it would have been incomplete if not a first down catch. It was also 3rd and 6. That was not at all an instance of hero ball.

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, Kelly the Dog said:

I think that shows it well that he was trying to hit Yelson and if anything it would have been incomplete if not a first down catch. It was also 3rd and 6. That was not at all an instance of hero ball.

 

See I still think it was. He has a guy who is covered at the sticks. He tries to force it in. It is the sort of hero ball I want him to play. But it is still hero ball. 

[Kelly the Dog]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

See I still think it was. He has a guy who is covered at the sticks. He tries to force it in. It is the sort of hero ball I want him to play. But it is still hero ball. 

I see where you are coming from, and I totally understand your point of you want him to do stuff like this, but "hero-ball" has a terrible connotation as being glaringly bad and completely ill-advised, and trying to win the game on one throw, and this pass to me is none of that kind of stuff. It wasn't even all that dangerous or ill-advised. If it were second or first down - MAYBE. If he is throwing against his body - FOR SURE. But he looks, sets and throws what looks to me like a very accurate ball.