This game showcased Allen's development

[Bleedingreennc]

11 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Josh's box score last night won't impress anyone, but if you watched the game, you could not walk away without seeing what a complete QB Allen has become. 

 

In the first half there were Steelers' defenders all over Allen. He never looked panicked or flustered.  He didn't just take off and run as the first sign of pressure.  He hung in there and continued to try and push the ball down the field.  He had a pick but it was when his arm was hit during the throw.  The end zone view of that play shows what Allen saw, Beasley had gotten behind the secondary and was streaking down the sideline.  Allen is playing with so much composure this year.  The pocket can be a mosh pit and he is still hanging in there making good calls.  He's not seeing ghosts, tucking and running, or playing Hero Ball.  What a difference.

 

We watched the Bills' offense struggle to find a rhythm the entire first half.  The same thing happened last week.  Allen didn't let that affect him.  He continued to battle.  How many times in the past 20 years have we seen the Bills start a game poorly and it just snowballs?  Not anymore.  Sometimes we get off to a fast start, sometimes it's a slow start like last night, but Allen doesn't let it get in his head, he keeps grinding, and eventually things start to click and he starts moving the ball.  I also think it's fair to say that he has exorcised the team's 3rd quarter demons.  Josh has the mental toughness that you need to be a great QB.  It never seems like the Bills are out of a game anymore.  

 

Josh is now manipulating defenses with his eyes and pump fakes and consistently finds the open man.  How many times have you heard the announcers call out Allen for missing a wide open receiver somewhere?  It just doesn't happen.  This is two weeks in a row where he has helped get Gabe Davis open for a 20 yard TD with a pump fake to slow the secondary for just a split second to allow Davis to get to behind them and into the corner of the end zone.  He is looking off safeties and he doesn't get fooled by coverages.  He is executing the offense like a real franchise QB.

 

This was only the second game this season when Allen had a completion percentage of less than 60%.  Watching the Bills' offense struggle in the first half I didn't feel like it was because Allen was having accuracy issues.  In the second half when the protection scheme was adjusted and Daboll shifted to shorter receiving routes and more of a rhythm passing attack to get the ball out of Allen's hands quickly,  Allen and Diggs just took over the game.  Allen just doesn't hit his receivers, he hits them in stride, leading them with the ball and allowing them to pick up YAC.  That's a whole new level of accuracy from Allen.  He isn't just getting the ball inside of the receiver's catch radius, he is putting it exactly where it needs to be to maximize the run after catch.

 

Lastly, his leadership skills are incredible.  Josh Allen is not hot and cold, jumping up and down with joy and then pouting five minutes later on the bench.  He doesn't throw hand grenades during press conferences.  He deflects all praise to his teammates and coaches and takes all the blame on himself when anything goes wrong.  Even when it's not his fault.  Even though this team's success is all about him, you never get the sense that Josh is full of himself.  When asked about his game Allen always starts with what he needs to improve upon, not what he did well.   Josh Allen has the temperament to be a franchise QB, unlike a mercurial QB from Cleveland.  Sorry Skip Bayless, you common, ignorant, jerk.

 

I think this team can beat the Chiefs.  If we played the Chiefs 10 times I think it would be a 6/4 result.  Not sure who has the 6 and who has the 4.  The bottom line is that Josh Allen is playing at a level that puts the Bills in position to go to a Super Bowl this year.  At the beginning of the season the prevailing opinion was that the Bills would go as far as Josh Allen could take them.  Fourteen weeks into the season and the Bills are sitting at 10-3 after playing a much harder schedule than last season, and are a Hail Mary away from being 11-2 and competing for the Conference bye.

 

Josh Allen has developed into an elite NFL QB and talk of a Buffalo Bills Super Bowl is neither unrealistic nor premature.

 

 

 

Coaching, coaching, coaching! You guys hit a homerun with your staff! I am envious of you guys, but also glad that things are shaping up with the other teams in the AFCE. I just hope the Jets can get back to being competitive and the Pats sit in last place for many years!

[starrymessenger]

9 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

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. 

 

Would be nice but it's not happening. He just doesn't have that extra gear. He can play on the outside because he's not slow by any means once he gets untracked but mostly because of his ball skills. His bread and butter will be at intermediate depth, including over the middle. He knows that and has said so himself. Regardless he's going to be a good player, he's just not taking the top off a defence. Eventually a replacement for JB will have to be found IMO.