BruceVilanch Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 The biggest thing I saw last night was Josh manipulating the LBs, he hit Cole with a slant early in the game, and then later in the game he had Cole running the same route, pump faked the first zone window and hit him in the second. No chance he does that last year or possibly even this September. Dude is progressing at an incredible rate.
Logic Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 (edited) I've always liked Peter King, formerly author of the weekly Monday Morning Quarterback article for Sports Illustrated, and now writing Football Morning in America for NBC Sports. This week's column leads off with a big section about the Bills. I'll post a segment from it, but there's a whole lot more, and I suggest giving it a read.https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/12/21/buffalo-bills-afc-east-nfl-week-15-fmia-peter-king/ A couple weeks ago, after practice, the two longest-tenured Buffalo Bills sat in the locker room, suitably spaced out, discussing what seemed impossible. Long-snapper Reid Ferguson, on the Bills practice squad when Sean McDermott was named coach in January 2017, told defensive end Jerry Hughes, the only active player left on the roster from that day, that they were the only pre-McDermotts left. “Impossible!” Hughes said. “No way!” Way. Ferguson and Hughes started naming names. The relative old-timers—defensive tackle Kyle Williams, kicker Steven Hauschka, punter Colton Schmidt—all gone. They brought up player after player in the locker room, but none was there before 2017. Just two of the 79 active, practice-squad and IR players on the 2020 Bills were in this locker room four years earlier. Two! “We sat there 15 minutes,” Hughes told me Saturday night, “and thinking about it just blew my mind. We really are the Last of the Mohicans.”Another way to look at it: Buffalo is an expansion team with a star quarterback and some great personnel decisions made by GM Brandon Beane and McDermott. On Saturday in Denver, the Bills finally summited Mount Belichick, the mountain this franchise has been climbing through seven separate coaching administrations since New England and coach Bill Belichick began division dominance in 2001. The 48-19 obliteration of the outmanned Broncos in Denver on Saturday broke the Patriots’ stranglehold on the division (11 straight East titles, and 16 of the last 17) and gave the remade Bills their first AFC division title in a quarter-century. Think of it this way: The last time the Bills won the AFC East, in 1995, most of us didn’t use email. Edited December 21, 2020 by Logic 4
HappyDays Posted December 21, 2020 Author Posted December 21, 2020 3 minutes ago, BruceVilanch said: he hit Cole with a slant early in the game, and then later in the game he had Cole running the same route, pump faked the first zone window and hit him in the second. You can see those plays broken down here: Imagine being Josey Jewell. There's nothing you can do because whatever window you defend Allen will just throw it the other window. That has to be so frustrating for a defender when you play it exactly right and still lose. And Allen has plays like that multiple times in every game. 4
BigDingus Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 That's pretty crazy to think about... I only wish they could've been the ones to take down Brady & Belichick while they were still together, but oh well. On another note, my 9 year old self was using email in 1995! 😁 3
dollars 2 donuts Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 (edited) I want this to be the Bills first Super Bowl season in 27 years. Can we now run through all the tired bull**** about what the price of gas was in 1993, or what was the top song? Edited December 21, 2020 by dollars 2 donuts 1
BruceVilanch Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 10 minutes ago, HappyDays said: You can see those plays broken down here: Imagine being Josey Jewell. There's nothing you can do because whatever window you defend Allen will just throw it the other window. That has to be so frustrating for a defender when you play it exactly right and still lose. And Allen has plays like that multiple times in every game. My fiance is a huge seahawks fan and loves Russell wilson, but Saturday we were watching the game and that kummerow throw was the one that got her to finally admit Josh can make throws that Russell can't. She still says she would rather have Russell but the gap is closing 1
BigBuff423 Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 What strikes me about this interview is that Josh regularly references the hard work he puts in, to showcase his dedication and that he's committed to continuing to be the best version of himself he can become, but also how everyone works toward the same goal. It's almost as if he gives us a peek at his chip on his shoulder, and then quickly throws a cloak over it as he praises his teammates and Daboll. I love the confidence, and yet the humility to realize he can't do it alone and won't accomplish anything without the contributions of everyone else, from WRs, to RBs, to TEs, to coaches to trainers, etc. I love how he says he plays to prove himself right, not everyone else wrong....it's a different perspective with a common theme: demonstrate the ability by winning and nothing else will matter. I really appreciate how he puts King on his heels by that first question about what he said about Josh coming out of college and to Josh's credit when King called him "raw", Josh admitted it was fair. Most of us have never disagreed with, in fact often championed, the term of "raw" but have only taken issue with those pundits that determined before he ever played a game he would be terrible. Or even more that refused to accept that Josh could and would get better. Josh has shown remarkable improvement and as he said it took "a small army" to make him better. Let's hope Allen stays confident yet humble and continues to build the team chemistry. #BillsMafia
Chandler#81 Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Gugny said: Is it me, or does Allen never give Jordan Palmer public credit for his improvements? rouse much, rabbler?
Don Otreply Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, matter2003 said: Why is it that of all the QBs that work with Palmer in the offseason, Allen is the only one who has shown this type of skyrocketing growth?? Just shows how much harder Allen is willing to work than some of the others...there is working hard and then there is becoming obsessed...Allen is obsessed... It’s his cognitive talent and obsessive drive to be the best, and as it has been said, it’s happening so damn fast, week to week even. the guys a freakin machine! Go Bills!!! Edited December 21, 2020 by Don Otreply
Gugny Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 20 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: rouse much, rabbler? Not this time!! My question was a serious one. I'm misunderstood, once again!! 1
Bleedbuffaloblue Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 Great article. Thanks for posting. A lot of interesting information after the Bills section. Good read.
somnus00 Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 3 hours ago, matter2003 said: I don't think we even realize just how far and how fast Allen is improving on a near weekly basis...what is talked about in that article is clearly exceptionally high football IQ(no...not a reference to the poster), understanding what the defense is trying to do in certain situations, how to best attack it, speaking up and the coaches believing in him to the point they call the play he asks for and then he goes out and executes it to perfection including looking off the safety to hold him before coming back and throwing a laser to the area of the field that he knows will be vacated and his guy will be running wide open to. That is next level QB'ing. That is like Aaron Rodgers type stuff. It is just stunning not only how fast Allen has reached this level from where he was at but just how much further he can go. Just like when he draws them Offside with his cadence and then tries to throw deep like Rodgers does on a free play...either try and get a free completion or a DPI and get a 40 yard penalty instead of a 5 yard one...next level. Coverages that caused Allen issues earlier in the year like against Tennessee and KC he is now shredding when the 49ers and Broncos attempted them. Allen has progressed to this point so fast and from so far away it's hard not to just be giddy to think about the possibilities for the next 10 or 15 years. Absolutely! We really can see him improving week to week. As much as I'm blown away by his arm, it's his ability to adjust and be coached that impresses me the most.
Big Turk Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Mat68 said: I dont think Josh Allen gets the credit he deserves for improving Josh Allen. You can take a horse to water, sort of speak. He trains beside Darnold. He plays for an offensive Guru who was fired from that position multiple times. Allen top 2 targets Buffalo was mocked for over paying Beasley. Laughed at for over paying for Diggs. I mean Diggs wasnt that productive wih Cousins. Now no Thelian good luck. My point is great players and Qbs make people around them better. Jordan Palmer and Tony Romo fixed Allens motion. Daboll is a Qb whisperer. Beasly is the best slot guy in the league. Diggs is one of the best wrs. The common denominator with all these is Allen. Allen put the work in and he is balling. This is the issue I take when people trash Daboll as an OC from his other stops. He literally was on 4 teams that might have been in the top 20 worst skill position players of all time. They were all time bad. When your best QB out of the 4 teams to work with is Brady Quinn that says a lot...of bad things. I mean it's not like he took over a team that had tons of talent on offense and drove it into the ground the way Rex did with our D. He took over teams that had terrible players on it and did the best he could with crap to work with. So it's like saying a doctor sucks at saving patients lives when all of the ones being brought in are on the brink of death...there is only so much you can do no matter how good you are. 2
BuffaninSarasota Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 4 hours ago, Buftex said: To paraphrase Don Draper "I pay you...that is your credit" fantastic reference to the one of the best characters from one of the best series ........thank you
Mat68 Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 9 minutes ago, matter2003 said: This is the issue I take when people trash Daboll as an OC from his other stops. He literally was on 4 teams that might have been in the top 20 worst skill position players of all time. They were all time bad. When your best QB out of the 4 teams to work with is Brady Quinn that says a lot...of bad things. I mean it's not like he took over a team that had tons of talent on offense and drove it into the ground the way Rex did with our D. He took over teams that had terrible players on it and did the best he could with crap to work with. So it's like saying a doctor sucks at saving patients lives when all of the ones being brought in are on the brink of death...there is only so much you can do no matter how good you are. Im not trashing him. He obviously is doing a good job. He also isnt Vince Lombardi or Bill Walsh reinventing offensive football. When speaking of Allen's success everyone names "so and so" as the reason. All im saying Allen is the reason hes successful. He has help most first rd qbs have at their dispossal. Giving all the credit to other people imo is slighting Allen as a player.
Hapless Bills Fan Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 4 hours ago, Gugny said: Is it me, or does Allen never give Jordan Palmer public credit for his improvements? It's you.
Gugny Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 7 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: It's you. I still think that during the regular season, I don't recall him mentioning Palmer .. only those on the Bills staff. During the offseason, yes ... I do remember him talking about Palmer quite a bit.
Rubes Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 The thing that I really like about Allen's game now is that we're not seeing the same crazy Josh we would see when teams could rattle him with blitzes and pressure, like the Texans game from last year. We saw a little bit of it early this year as well, but not much, and over the last 8-9 games, basically none of it. Most QBs fold under heavy pressure, but with Josh it would bring out the wild and crazy disaster plays. Teams knew if they could blitz him and get pressure on him, he'd start freaking out and all sorts of wild ***** would happen. But what we're seeing now is a couple of things: a more calm, composed Josh, one who doesn't spaz out when the heat comes, and a Josh who can recognize blitzes and coverages and calmly make teams pay, either with his arm or his feet. His improvement in accuracy is phenomenal, but IMO this is the improvement we really needed to see if he was going to make that huge leap to elite status.
JMF2006 Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 5 hours ago, Big Blitz said: I'd rather us say very little about what we're doing, what Josh is thinking, and just stick to the platitudes. Knowing Josh, one day I wouldn't be surprised if he's asked if he thinks he's arrived or if he can be even better and he responds with "I never stop never stopping." Every interview shouldn't be an Oscar Acceptance speech where we thank everyone for our successes the same way we don't blame anyone for the failures. Our he could just say " How Do Like Me Now" I would be cool with that
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