This game showcased Allen's development

[Big Turk]

58 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

OP, I agree with everything you said.

 

if I had one small regret/complaint, I would have loved to see JA connect on that one bomb to Davis. He has yet to make that completion all year. Would have been awesome to see.

 

He completed that pass to Brown to ice the Dolphin game

[fergie's ire]

11 minutes ago, H2o said:

Last night was the prime example of Josh's development. Up until this game, even through this year, if Josh comes out flat he had stayed flat for the entire game. See the Tennessee and KC games for example. Josh came out flat in both of those, we had some miscues, and he could just never seem to get rolling. Last night, against a top tier NFL defense, he came out flat then proceeded to get rolling in the 2nd half. At one point he completed 11 straight passes in the 2nd stanza. It's beautiful to watch after all of these years, a legitimate franchise QB in action wearing a Bills uni. 

Yes, I remember someone in the in-game thread commenting that it seems as if when Josh Allen misses high early, it's a sign that he's going to have a bad game.  But in this game, his early struggles did not predict his late game performance.

[Meatloaf63]

26 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Protection got better.  They doubled DT since Watt was being handled one on one by Williams.

Did you notice if they shortened any routes or did Allen just settle down after getting a little more time and getting comfortable?

[Billsfan1972]

1 hour ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

OP, I agree with everything you said.

 

if I had one small regret/complaint, I would have loved to see JA connect on that one bomb to Davis. He has yet to make that completion all year. Would have been awesome to see.

I sort of am disappointed that he just seems off on those passes.  Rolling out he is capable of throwing it on a dime 40 downfield, but a staright bomb just doesn't seem to be there at this point (vs. Mahomes & Rodgers).  

 

But yes seeing the adjustments he made were great, but I thought he seemed a little bothered by the weather (& the pressure) early on.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Billsfan1972

[bigK14094]

1 hour ago, fergie's ire said:

Yeah, in its own way, I thought this was one of Allen's most impressive performances.  Even when things weren't going well, he seemed in control and totally took control in the second half.  It wasn't just the 3rd quarter.  The drive for the field goal was huge...and when the Steelers finally had some success against our D, the offense managed to keep the ball away from them.  Collinsworth made a comment about Josh seeming to be in control and it being Brady-esque.  I hate to besmirch Allen with that comparison...and yet it seems apt.

 

We now know that Josh has the head to go along with his great physical gifts.  The Bills have a generational talent at QB right now.  Of course, Diggs is the best we have seen in a long time as well, and that goes hand in hand.

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, oldmanfan said:

Very good analysis.  The Steelers d (and the Bills D for that matter) played great in the first half.  It was good to see the young QB not get down on himself, and for him and the coaches to make the necessary adjustments in the second half.  I said a couple years ago that Josh had the same issue many if not all young QBs have, that the game has to slow down for  the young QB to make the right reads and such.  The game has slowed down considerably for Josh this year.

A lot of that credit should also go to coach McDermott.  His patience with Josh and constant encouragement has really paid off.

[oldmanfan]

5 minutes ago, ganesh said:

A lot of that credit should also go to coach McDermott.  His patience with Josh and constant encouragement has really paid off.

absolutely

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

OP, I agree with everything you said.

 

if I had one small regret/complaint, I would have loved to see JA connect on that one bomb to Davis. He has yet to make that completion all year. Would have been awesome to see.

 

Josh was hit as he threw on that one, but I think his intent was to put it where Gabe could run under it anyway, and Gabe didn't quite have the gears.  I kind of hope this off season Gabe Davis might be able to work at House of Speed or some similar establishment and get just a bit faster.  A little bit of extra speed would help him a lot. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

If his arm doesn't get hit on that early pick hes got 300+ yards 3 tds 0 ints...looked like Beasley was wide open down the sideline.  He also drew a nice pi on a deep ball that doesn't show up on the stat sheet

[Nuncha]

Coaching staff made nice adjustments at half - kudos to them as well.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Azucho98

[Scorp83]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Allen figured it out. 

Totally couldn't agree more! I've been absent off the message boards & even social media... just sitting back enjoying it. I don't know if it's the drought that's still weighing on me... but I'm just sitting here like:

 

"Ok... when is someone going to remove the blinders & say gotcha Bills fans..." this season is soooo unreal...😄😄

 

I can't believe how much Josh has came along... I can't believe how great Jordan Palmer is in helping develop Josh in the offseason! I can't believe how lock step McBean are together! I can't believe, I'm not panicking watching Bills games... 

This literally is taking me back to the 8 year old kid watching the bickering Bills turn the corner. 

The Bills are getting so much tv time, so much coverage... I'm having a hard time trying to absorb it all! 

 

Yes Josh has figured it out, this coaching staff has figured it out, Dabol has figured it out.... the Pegula's has figured this thing out!!!

 

Now we just need 10,000 fans for playoffs games... cause it's just not fair that finally our team is good & most of us can't enjoy it! Most teams are letting 10-15,000 fans in the stadium...yet we can't...that blows! 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Scorp83
Typo

[ganesh]

15 minutes ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

If his arm doesn't get hit on that early pick hes got 300+ yards 3 tds 0 ints...looked like Beasley was wide open down the sideline.  He also drew a nice pi on a deep ball that doesn't show up on the stat sheet

and he almost had another long pass to Diggs that was overthrown

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, fergie's ire said:

Yes, I remember someone in the in-game thread commenting that it seems as if when Josh Allen misses high early, it's a sign that he's going to have a bad game.  But in this game, his early struggles did not predict his late game performance.

 

Why he's missing matters.  If it's because guys are tipping his passes or in his face as he throws so he can't follow through, get the guys out of his face and he's fine but that doesn't always happen.

 

If it's because of nerves, he usually settles down after he takes a few licks (that doesn't seem to be as big of a problem this year). 

 

If it's because he's playing through an injury and his technique is off, we're kinda hosed.

[Saxum]

1 hour ago, Meatloaf63 said:

Did you notice if they shortened any routes or did Allen just settle down after getting a little more time and getting comfortable?

 

Not a Baldy level evaluator (will be glad to watch it when it comes out) the offense kept changing focus to force Pittsburgh to react in 2nd half.  Bills offense would switch between short, intermediate and long (even if there was no catches) to force them to defend entire field with good outlets for Allen to throw to on blitzing.   If they concentrated on WRs the RBs would gnash them getting LBs to get in each others' way.

 

He has not broke down game yet but here is where you look:

https://www.nfl.com/videos/channel/baldy-s-breakdowns-vc

[Meatloaf63]

2 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Not a Baldy level evaluator (will be glad to watch it when it comes out) the offense kept changing focus to force Pittsburgh to react in 2nd half.  Bills offense would switch between short, intermediate and long (even if there was no catches) to force them to defend entire field with good outlets for Allen to throw to on blitzing.   If they concentrated on WRs the RBs would gnash them getting LBs to get in each others' way.

 

He has not broke down game yet but here is where you look:

https://www.nfl.com/videos/channel/baldy-s-breakdowns-vc

Thanks, appreciate it👍

[Greg S]

Even Jets fans are quite complimentary of Allen. Its killing them of course but they cant deny the facts. Here is latest thread of Allen and Darnold.

 

 

https://forums.jetnation.com/topic/156626-josh-allen-evolving-while-darnold-regresses/

[Saxum]

18 minutes ago, Greg S said:

Even Jets fans are quite complimentary of Allen. Its killing them of course but they cant deny the facts. Here is latest thread of Allen and Darnold.

 

 

https://forums.jetnation.com/topic/156626-josh-allen-evolving-while-darnold-regresses/

 

Thanks. Here is a great quote.

Quote

Allen was in some sort of bodycast for 3 games this season and still looked better than Darnold. Of course, I've had bowel movements that have played better QB than Darnold has this season..

 

Darnold's career CAN BE salvaged but he needs to get as far away from NYC as possible.  He will need to serve as a backup QB on a team with a good offense team to be salvaged.  

[starrymessenger]

Great thread and some very astute posters. I guess I'm supposed to hate them but after having suffered for decades as a Bills fan I feel bad for them and for Darnold. I hope he can revive his career elsewhere. And I'm absolutely fine with them getting TL. I would welcome a great player like that in the Division even if it makes our lives more challenging. It would make for many memorable moments and bring out the best in Allen and the Bills. Back to the good old days before Brady and NE dominated the Division.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

He was too tense early on. It was amazing - you could see it in his eyes and it persisted through the entire first half.  He relaxed as the game went on.

We have to remember he is still young and has played in only a handful of meaningful games.  

 

He played really well from FG drive right up until the first and goal at the 1.  No idea what happened on the next three plays but they were all bad throws.   Overall he played well enough to win and was dominant at times.

 

Agree with other posters - still needs to learn to put some air under the ball on those deep shots.  If that is his only long term weakness, I can live with it.  It is a dink and dunk league and if he is safe with the ball and keeps his completion % up he will be fine.  

[starrymessenger]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

He was too tense early on. It was amazing - you could see it in his eyes and it persisted through the entire first half.  He relaxed as the game went on.

We have to remember he is still young and has played in only a handful of meaningful games.  

 

He played really well from FG drive right up until the first and goal at the 1.  No idea what happened on the next three plays but they were all bad throws.   Overall he played well enough to win and was dominant at times.

 

Agree with other posters - still needs to learn to put some air under the ball on those deep shots.  If that is his only long term weakness, I can live with it.  It is a dink and dunk league and if he is safe with the ball and keeps his completion % up he will be fine.  

 

I remember a close up shot of Trent Edwards warming up on the sidelines before a Cleveland game. I was sure I saw fear in his eyes and he went on to have a disastrous outing. Yesterday I also had a good look at Allen's eyes pre game. I saw a guy who was totally juiced but I saw no fear. My concern was whether he was too hyped and whether he would settle down. It took a while but he came back down to earth and eventually went to work. He was also facing a top tier D of course.

I have absolutely no worries about his long ball. He has started to master the cerebral aspects of playing the position and greatly improved his short/intermediate range accuracy. If you were putting together a to do list, the long ball would be at the bottom in order of importance but he will now get onto it. A few technical tweeks, better timing with his receivers on go routes and his otherworldly physical ability will soon take care of this. Without doubt. He will then truly be the complete package and confirmed as an elite NFL QB.