Taming Josh Allen’s arm: How mechanical tweaks are setting the Bills QB up for an improved 3rd year

[Big Turk]

The science and technique behind all of this is simply mind bogglingly complex...but that is what you get at the highest level...little things done improperly that end up making big differences if not corrected.

[Warcodered]

Wait improving some of these mechanics could make him throw the ball harder...has anyone warned the WRs?

[Bruce Harper]

I have to say that I am extremely skeptical of these types of articles.  I remember almost every off season there would be some article int he New York papers about how Chad Pennington and his coaches had found some way to make his arm stronger.  It never happened, of course.

[Buffalo716]

Mechanics are a huge part of a QBs game and it's something all need to work on

 

Aaron Rodgers coming out had terrible lower body mechanics and a horrible deep ball, and plenty wondered if he would ever be able to fix that

 

and to this day when Rogers is struggling it's because he reverts back to bad mechanics

 

Joshs mechanical issues are not muscle memory that cannot be fixed. Its feet placement, and width, and not leaning on his back foot

 

Using his whole lower body as a mechanism to drive the ball instead of just his amazing arm

 

Repetition repetition repetition and a lot of these kinks will be worked out

[Don Otreply]

The key to all this information is that Josh wants to implement it. 
 

Go Bills!!!

[zonabb]

I rarely take time to read any article online, I get what I can from the radio in spurts and here, of course. But this article's first sentence exemplifies how little skill it takes these days to have a bad opinion, soaked in hyperbole of course. Instead of letting data and facts guide analysis, which should be the course taken, this guy's first sentence can only spell a piece of garbage article. So here is it:

 

Of all the quarterbacks who have come out of the NFL Draft over the last few years, none had more work to do than Josh Allen. 

 

So this guy wants me, and others I assume, to read an article about Allen with a first sentence that employs hyperbole and overstated to drum up interest. So of ALL the quarterbacks, he needs the most work? Making this idiotic statement a first year journalism student would get slayed for even worse, he makes this bold (and incorrect) statement with a temporally vague argument. "...the last few years"? Way to nail it down. 

 

So no I didn't read it because I can't lend any credence to this kind of sloppy, sophomoric, lazy, writing.  

 

This is the era we are in... overstatement and sensationalize. But all that does is undercut your credibility and show your lack of skill.

 

The sentence would be better as follows;

Of all the QBs to come out of the NFL Draft since Josh Allen's draft year, he was undoubtedly one of the QBs with the most work to do, especially given his high draft position.

 

Here's a sampling of scrubs taken just in Allen's draft year:.... tell me "none [of them] had more work to do than Allen"

 

Luke Falk (out of league)

Tanner Lee (out of the league)

Daniel Etling

Alex McGough

Logan Woodside

 

Good lord reporting and journalism is lost, destroyed by the "I am right if I yell louder than you" or have a hotter take than you. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Buffalo716]

10 minutes ago, zonabb said:

I rarely take time to read any article online, I get what I can from the radio in spurts and here, of course. But this article's first sentence exemplifies how little skill it takes these days to have a bad opinion, soaked in hyperbole of course. Instead of letting data and facts guide analysis, which should be the course taken, this guy's first sentence can only spell a piece of garbage article. So here is it:

 

Of all the quarterbacks who have come out of the NFL Draft over the last few years, none had more work to do than Josh Allen. 

 

So this guy wants me, and others I assume, to read an article about Allen with a first sentence that employs hyperbole and overstated to drum up interest. So of ALL the quarterbacks, he needs the most work? Making this idiotic statement a first year journalism student would get slayed for even worse, he makes this bold (and incorrect) statement with a temporally vague argument. "...the last few years"? Way to nail it down. 

 

So no I didn't read it because I can't lend any credence to this kind of sloppy, sophomoric, lazy, writing.  

 

This is the era we are in... overstatement and sensationalize. But all that does is undercut your credibility and show your lack of skill.

 

The sentence would be better as follows;

Of all the QBs to come out of the NFL Draft since Josh Allen's draft year, he was undoubtedly one of the QBs with the most work to do, especially given his high draft position.

 

Here's a sampling of scrubs taken just in Allen's draft year:.... tell me "none [of them] had more work to do than Allen"

 

Luke Falk (out of league)

Tanner Lee (out of the league)

Daniel Etling

Alex McGough

Logan Woodside

 

Good lord reporting and journalism is lost, destroyed by the "I am right if I yell louder than you" or have a hotter take than you. 

 

 

 

 

 

I've never been a big fan of Turner as much as other people

 

I think his work is okay, but it's nothing groundbreaking and I've never learned anything from it

 

it's basically all common knowledge that a high school coach would possess

[Foxx]

19 minutes ago, zonabb said:

I rarely take time to read any article online, I get what I can from the radio in spurts and here, of course. But this article's first sentence exemplifies how little skill it takes these days to have a bad opinion, soaked in hyperbole of course. Instead of letting data and facts guide analysis, which should be the course taken, this guy's first sentence can only spell a piece of garbage article. So here is it:

 

Of all the quarterbacks who have come out of the NFL Draft over the last few years, none had more work to do than Josh Allen. 

 

So this guy wants me, and others I assume, to read an article about Allen with a first sentence that employs hyperbole and overstated to drum up interest. So of ALL the quarterbacks, he needs the most work? Making this idiotic statement a first year journalism student would get slayed for even worse, he makes this bold (and incorrect) statement with a temporally vague argument. "...the last few years"? Way to nail it down. 

 

So no I didn't read it because I can't lend any credence to this kind of sloppy, sophomoric, lazy, writing.  

 

This is the era we are in... overstatement and sensationalize. But all that does is undercut your credibility and show your lack of skill.

 

The sentence would be better as follows;

Of all the QBs to come out of the NFL Draft since Josh Allen's draft year, he was undoubtedly one of the QBs with the most work to do, especially given his high draft position.

 

Here's a sampling of scrubs taken just in Allen's draft year:.... tell me "none [of them] had more work to do than Allen"

 

Luke Falk (out of league)

Tanner Lee (out of the league)

Daniel Etling

Alex McGough

Logan Woodside

 

Good lord reporting and journalism is lost, destroyed by the "I am right if I yell louder than you" or have a hotter take than you. 

 

 

 

 

 

listen, I am as much against ***** journalism as the most cynical consumer but this diatribe strikes me as picking pepper out of flyshit.

 

lighten up Francis.

[FLFan]

24 minutes ago, zonabb said:

I rarely take time to read any article online, I get what I can from the radio in spurts and here, of course. But this article's first sentence exemplifies how little skill it takes these days to have a bad opinion, soaked in hyperbole of course. Instead of letting data and facts guide analysis, which should be the course taken, this guy's first sentence can only spell a piece of garbage article. So here is it:

 

Of all the quarterbacks who have come out of the NFL Draft over the last few years, none had more work to do than Josh Allen. 

 

So this guy wants me, and others I assume, to read an article about Allen with a first sentence that employs hyperbole and overstated to drum up interest. So of ALL the quarterbacks, he needs the most work? Making this idiotic statement a first year journalism student would get slayed for even worse, he makes this bold (and incorrect) statement with a temporally vague argument. "...the last few years"? Way to nail it down. 

 

So no I didn't read it because I can't lend any credence to this kind of sloppy, sophomoric, lazy, writing.  

 

This is the era we are in... overstatement and sensationalize. But all that does is undercut your credibility and show your lack of skill.

 

The sentence would be better as follows;

Of all the QBs to come out of the NFL Draft since Josh Allen's draft year, he was undoubtedly one of the QBs with the most work to do, especially given his high draft position.

 

Here's a sampling of scrubs taken just in Allen's draft year:.... tell me "none [of them] had more work to do than Allen"

 

Luke Falk (out of league)

Tanner Lee (out of the league)

Daniel Etling

Alex McGough

Logan Woodside

 

Good lord reporting and journalism is lost, destroyed by the "I am right if I yell louder than you" or have a hotter take than you. 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, at least you got the last sentence right.

Edited June 18, 2020 by FLFan

[John from Riverside]

Just hit more deep balls and dont fumble and I am happy

[IDBillzFan]

2 hours ago, zonabb said:

Good lord reporting and journalism is lost, destroyed by the "I am right if I yell louder than you" or have a hotter take than you. 

 

In general, your take here is correct. And his opening sentence notwithstanding, the writer did a terrific job giving a bit of a deep dive into things Allen has to work on. I learned a lot from this piece.

 

In fact, if you DID spend more time reading online articles, you'd see how articles like this (as well as the stuff Lori used to post here) are far and away better than anything you'd find coming out of something like the Athletic where Buffalo sports are concerned. This stuff is the meat of what a Bills fan enjoys to read about their players' development, and it beats the daylights out of another "Let me write an article that also makes underhanded slaps at players, coaches and owners because they make a lot of money and I need you to pipe up $3/month so I can afford my Top Ramen."

 

Anyone can be a sports journalist. Not everyone can be good at it. Unfortunately, that doesn't keep them from letting anyone be a sports journalist.

[ganesh]

8 hours ago, Rc2catch said:

Fantastic article.. 
I don’t worry about the completion % much even though it’s harped on like crazy by a select few on here. He doesn’t check down, which we’ve seen articles about now. Couple check downs a game and his completion % would go up a ton. He’s a raw kid who absolutely loves the big plays so I’ve accepted ignoring some dump offs. 
If there is one Improvment I want to see this season it would be dumping off to singletary in space more. Allen has MVP potential and I don’t see any reasons outside of injuries he can’t jump into the Lamar/Mahomes/Wilson category in the future. 

which is kind of what they are teaching him:

* don't play hero ball

* take what the defense gives you 

* make those small changes count 

* make the big plays when you can 

 

Summary:  Play Smart and everything will come...

 

Allen has a good team around him and he needs to understand that he is not the savior of this team and doesn't have to be,   The more he calms down, the more further this team will go,

[Shaw66]

I hate to be the party pooper here, but I think this article is a lot of wind that doesn't add up to much at all.  

 

Bottom line, I think Josh Allen's future is all about his ability to read and understand defenses and make decisions.  If his mechanics never improve at all, he's still going to be one of the best throwers in the league, and if his understanding and decision making improve, as they should, he will have a great career. 

 

First of all, this guy does not have a coherent theory of what Allen has to do to "correct" his mechanics.   The article is all over the place.  At one point it quotes one expert who says mechanics start with the feet and work through the thighs, hips and body to the arm.  At another point he quotes an expert who says it's all about the head down.  Well, which is it?  At various points in the article it says his stance is too wide, his feet aren't lined up correctly, his footwork isn't right, his left arm isn't tucked.  It goes on and on.  Have you ever watched the guy throw?  He's a great thrower.  Great.  Right now he throws better than most QBs in the league.  The article makes it sound like every aspect of his throwing motion needs to be rebuilt.   It's nonsense.

 

Now, I understand that at this level, coaches work with QBs on little aspects of their mechanics.  I get it. I have no doubt they work with Allen on one thing or another, but Josh Allen is not some kind of rebuilding project. 

 

Now's when someone chimes in and says, "well, if he fixed his footwork, he'd be more accurate, and if he's more accurate he'd get more yards after catch" or my personal favorite "he'd throw more receivers open."   Please.  Just give him time to develop into a better decision maker.

 

Look at the stats.  He had an 85 passer rating.  If he completed two passes a game more for 6.7 yards per pass (that was his average last season, he'd have a 93 passer rating and he'd be 12th in league, with Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz and Aaron Rodgers and on the heels of DeShaun Watson.   He can complete two more passes a game just by understanding that checking down is the right throw.   He might complete two more passes a game just by having Stephon Diggs on the field.  When he's really learned to read defenses and made decisions, he's going to complete five more passes a game, his passer rating will be 104 and he's solidly in the top 10 in the league. 

 

 Sure, Palmer and others are working with him on mechanics, just as someone pointed out they still work with Rodgers.  And they work with Brady.  They always work on mechanics, with every quarterback.   But that work doesn't make big changes in a QB.  That work results in a better throw once in a while.  Allen came into the league a better thrower than Rodgers or Brady.  The mechanical improvements Allen will make pale in comparison to what football maturity is going to do for his game. 

[mykidsdad]

I think this could be the year. I'm so optimistic. We need to stay healthy. Fingers crossed. 

[JetsFan20]

10 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Mechanics are a huge part of a QBs game and it's something all need to work on

 

Aaron Rodgers coming out had terrible lower body mechanics and a horrible deep ball, and plenty wondered if he would ever be able to fix that

 

and to this day when Rogers is struggling it's because he reverts back to bad mechanics

 

Joshs mechanical issues are not muscle memory that cannot be fixed. Its feet placement, and width, and not leaning on his back foot

 

Using his whole lower body as a mechanism to drive the ball instead of just his amazing arm

 

Repetition repetition repetition and a lot of these kinks will be worked out

I personally think this article is a bunch of hogwash. It’s about finding away to throw to ball that works for you and being able to repeat it consistently. You wouldn’t teach a QB to throw the ball like Philip Rivers, but that’s what works for him. 
 

Its also a lot easier to fix these issues (bad footwork,etc) throwing against air or in practice. When the pressure is in your face it’s easy to revert to old habits.

[Sherlock Holmes]

13 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

Before I read.....Is this a back door Jordan Palmer thread?

?

?

 

Man, WEO you are really starting to get me hot and bothered lately

[Buffalo716]

25 minutes ago, JetsFan20 said:

I personally think this article is a bunch of hogwash. It’s about finding away to throw to ball that works for you and being able to repeat it consistently. You wouldn’t teach a QB to throw the ball like Philip Rivers, but that’s what works for him. 
 

Its also a lot easier to fix these issues (bad footwork,etc) throwing against air or in practice. When the pressure is in your face it’s easy to revert to old habits.

I think I said the same thing in my post.

Aaron Rodgers in high stress and pressure reverts back to bad mechanics

 

And even though Phillip Rivers doesn't have the greatest throwing motion he does have great footwork in the pocket. So it works for him and he's just talented

 

But yeah the article is nothing special

Edited June 19, 2020 by Buffalo716

[BillsFan17]

15 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Decent article.

 

Everybody knows Allen has a lot to on with footwork, not really a secret. He has had a wide base and inconsistent feet since college. You see that alot with QBs with big arms because they never needed great lower body mechanics to get the ball where they wanted it to go. It was pure talent

 

And Pat Mahomes honestly had worse footwork then Allen coming out, he just got a year on the bench to work on it while Allen was thrown to the fire

 

And I wouldn't even call it a dumpster fire anymore, he improved alot last season

 

When he's on his mechanics are sound, when he's off , so are his mechanics

There was so much more to the article than just fixing his footwork.

[Chandler#81]

14 hours ago, Bruce Harper said:

I have to say that I am extremely skeptical of these types of articles.  I remember almost every off season there would be some article int he New York papers about how Chad Pennington and his coaches had found some way to make his arm stronger.  It never happened, of course.

Chad Pennington? Seriously? The time frame between Josh & Chad is longer than Chad and Johnny U -and he’s been dead for 2 decades. So much about assessing human throwing mechanics have improved that your reference equates to caveman/modern man.

12 hours ago, zonabb said:

I rarely take time to read any article online, I get what I can from the radio in spurts and here, of course. But this article's first sentence exemplifies how little skill it takes these days to have a bad opinion, soaked in hyperbole of course. Instead of letting data and facts guide analysis, which should be the course taken, this guy's first sentence can only spell a piece of garbage article. So here is it:

Of all the quarterbacks who have come out of the NFL Draft over the last few years, none had more work to do than Josh Allen. 

Here's a sampling of scrubs taken just in Allen's draft year:.... tell me "none [of them] had more work to do than Allen"

Luke Falk (out of league)

Tanner Lee (out of the league)

Daniel Etling

Alex McGough

Logan Woodside

 

Good lord reporting and journalism is lost, destroyed by the "I am right if I yell louder than you" or have a hotter take than you. 

Amateur? Sure, but you missed a very insightful article from all the experts whose perspective were on display here.

18 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Not unexpected given his “project” status coming out of college. He was far from a finished product and was going to face a lot of “tweaking” early in his career. His intelligence and work ethic made that appear doable... it is interesting to watch. 

 

17 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

His ceiling is so high. He has many holy ***** moments.... good and bad. He has to curb the ones that make us say that for negative reasons,  but the flip side is special. He’s certainly a must-see player ... never boring. The best sign for me is that he appears dedicated to his craft and a very bright guy. This will help him achieve his potential. 

Thank you, once again @YoloinOhio. Whenever I see a ‘Yolo Stamp of Approval’ on an article, I take the time to read it and am always glad I did.

I'm gonna put you in for raise with the Boss. It’ll be in the mail right after the mods get theirs!?

[thebandit27]

5 hours ago, JetsFan20 said:

I personally think this article is a bunch of hogwash. It’s about finding away to throw to ball that works for you and being able to repeat it consistently. You wouldn’t teach a QB to throw the ball like Philip Rivers, but that’s what works for him. 
 

Its also a lot easier to fix these issues (bad footwork,etc) throwing against air or in practice. When the pressure is in your face it’s easy to revert to old habits.

We have identified our “kind soul”.