Josh Allen is looking a lot more like the 2019 version

[CincyBillsFan]

9 hours ago, newcam2012 said:

I'm concerned because the issues he had pre draft and his rookie season are apparent again. He isn't seeing the field, very inaccurate, seems to have lost confidence, and his foot work is poor. Not sure how as a fan it's not concerning? How can anyone not be thinking last season might be an anomaly? It's pretty rare that franchise Qbs have  several poor games in a row. He hasn't played well since the Indy game. Its the "big elephant" in the room that no one wants to honestly confront. 

 

I guess I'm an old fart who has seen everything in my life as a Bills fan.  And it's not concerning when I've only seen it for 2 games.  And even in these two games Allen has shown flashes of his 2020 self.  Were you concerned during that run last year where the Bills only scored 16, 17 & 18 points and Allen looked pretty average at best?  And this coming right after 4 games in which Allen couldn't be stopped.

 

Go back and look at the Bills awesome run from 1988 - 1993.  There are games where Kelly, Thomas & Reed could barely move the football.  We all remember the point and yardage machine that was the K-Gun when it was firing on 8 cylinders but in reality they had 5 to 6 offensive clunkers a season during that run.  It comes with the game.

 

 

 

 

 

[BuffaloBills1998]

51 minutes ago, nucci said:

Come on....that's a big reach there...one WR....... The Rams have a different QB who sat the entire preseason and seem fine...

Yeah and that QB in LA has an offensive line where as the line here is mediocre at best. 

[Sugar High JA17]

15 hours ago, Southern_Bills said:

It's week 2, team is 1-1 and even not at full speed still the best team in the division. Calm down, it's a long year.

 

Turn on some tape of JP Losman then send Allen a thank you note.

You're wrong, he should Turn on some tape of JP Losman & learn how to throw a deep ball... give some underated Lee Evans all day too!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

16 minutes ago, buffaloboyinATL said:

Last year, it seemed like Allen and Beasley read eachothers minds and Allen knew where he would be if he needed an outlet.  I am not seeing that yet.  I attribute it to getting used to the new receiver in the room, but maybe that is not it.  But as of right now, I am not worried, I believe what I saw last year was real, and they will all be on the same page soon.  <fingers crossed>

 

You're "on" to something here IMO.  The Bills put enough on tape last season (and their opponents put enough on tape) that part of the Bills juggernaut offense has been "solved".  DCs have been watching tape of the Colts and the Ravens and the Chiefs and now will watch the Steelers, and have figured out 1) how to confuse the mind-meld between Josh and Beasley about what he's gonna do 2) how to bracket the Bills option receivers and take them away

 

Toss in that our OL (which we believed to be at least as good, if not better with Feliciano and Ford healthy) has been struggling to provide enough protection for the deep routes to develop, and that Daboll seems systematically slow to adjust, and you've got a recipe for a slow offensive start. 

 

Think a QB should be able to look just as sharp without a pocket as with one?  Look at Mahomes in the SB vs the AFCCG.  I wish I had all-22 but my impression is that Allen is floating balls he should zip because he's trying to avoid deflections, which easily can become picks.  Now he needs to figure out timing, that he can't get the throws there as quickly by floating as by rifling it in there and he needs to speed up his decision if he slows down his throw.

 

We had a bit of a problem with being "solved" after a fast start last season, and we figured it out.

 

In the meantime, being on the "giving" end of a 35-0 filleting is not a bad place to be

[MPL]

37 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

You're "on" to something here IMO.  The Bills put enough on tape last season (and their opponents put enough on tape) that part of the Bills juggernaut offense has been "solved".  DCs have been watching tape of the Colts and the Ravens and the Chiefs and now will watch the Steelers, and have figured out 1) how to confuse the mind-meld between Josh and Beasley about what he's gonna do 2) how to bracket the Bills option receivers and take them away

 

Toss in that our OL (which we believed to be at least as good, if not better with Feliciano and Ford healthy) has been struggling to provide enough protection for the deep routes to develop, and that Daboll seems systematically slow to adjust, and you've got a recipe for a slow offensive start. 

 

Think a QB should be able to look just as sharp without a pocket as with one?  Look at Mahomes in the SB vs the AFCCG.  I wish I had all-22 but my impression is that Allen is floating balls he should zip because he's trying to avoid deflections, which easily can become picks.  Now he needs to figure out timing, that he can't get the throws there as quickly by floating as by rifling it in there and he needs to speed up his decision if he slows down his throw.

 

We had a bit of a problem with being "solved" after a fast start last season, and we figured it out.

This is a reasonable take. 

Josh Allen and Matt Barkley shredded the Dolphins in week 17 last year—a game in which Miami needed to make the playoffs. That was Miami's last game of the season and they had to sit with that all Spring and all Summer.

I'm pretty confident that Flores spent a ton of time this offseason figuring out how to slow down the Bills passing attack. Considering that the Bills are the team to beat in the division now, and had won 5 straight against Miami, I'd be willing to bet that figuring out Buffalo's offense was the top priority for Miami this offseason. Their secondary played their asses off yesterday—I give them credit. They shut our passing game down... and we still flat-out embarrassed them on their home turf. 

Now, against Pittsburgh in week 1? To me, this seems like a matchup thing. It happens in sports. Most teams, for whatever reason, have another team that just gives them problems. The Steelers just matchup very well against our offense, and it's been this way going back to 2019. Statistically speaking, Josh played his best game against the Steelers this year (highest yardage total, highest completion percentage, and highest passer rating). 

Now, to be fair, there is clearly something not clicking with the passing game right now. Is it concerning? A little bit. Josh seems to not be getting the ball out his quickly, he hasn't looked as comfortable in the pocket, and he seems like he's got happy feet a little bit. Is it all on Josh? I don't know. What about the receivers? In the first month of last season, our wideouts were running wide open on crossing patterns. Josh was playing pitch and catch. This year, it seems like every single throw is tightly contested. Are our receivers getting jammed at the line and not getting in and out of their breaks well? Did Pittsburgh and Miami both do a fantastic job of disguising coverages? 

I'm not making excuses for the offense. I'm not making excuses for Josh. I want to see more. I want to see him play better. I want to see him completing passes somewhere between 65% and 70%. I hope they figure it out. 

Josh is going to miss throws. He is going to have games where for one reason or another, he's just not as sharp. He's also going to make plays and throws that that no one else can make, and he's going to have games where he just lights it up. That IS who Josh is. 

Now, if you're looking for someone to blame for his slow start this year—blame me. I bought a Josh Allen jersey in the offseason and I drafted him in a fantasy league. I'm fairly confident that's the reason for his struggles. 
 

Edited September 20, 2021 by MPL

[Jauronimo]

Does Allen have a case of the twisties?

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, MPL said:

Considering that the Bills are the team to beat in the Conference now…
 

Huh? 😱

[NewEra]

15 hours ago, Warcodered said:

 

That’s exactly what happened.  Not sure why howard wouldn’t have come back towards Diggs once he fell.  He just stood there like the play was over.  

[MPL]

2 minutes ago, BTB said:

Huh? 😱

Ah, sorry... division.

[PayDaBill$]

Defensive Coordinators have our OC pegged as well as JA’s tendencies. There’s a lot of film out there.

Plus  o line has been a little leaky & JA has had happy feet on more than several occasions.

 

We’ll need a few new wrinkles and change up looks.

Edited September 20, 2021 by PayDaBill$

[Rigotz]

This is a crazy thought, but stay with me.

Maybe, just maybe, it's only the first two games of the season and the Bills have played against two top 10 defenses.

 

After next week, when the Bills play another top 5 defense, the sky will not be falling. The defenses are just really good.

[nucci]

20 minutes ago, PayDaBill$ said:

Defensive Coordinators have our OC pegged as well as JA’s tendencies. There’s a lot of film out there.

Plus  o line has been a little leaky & JA has had happy feet on more than several occasions.

 

We’ll need a few new wrinkles and change up looks.

run a little more and throw to the TE

[Billever76]

The starting offense had little time together in the preseason amd they will get better as the season wears on....im concerned about our oline in pass protection the most.....they have been below average and if not for how mobile allen is they would be even worse looking

[CountDorkula]

6 minutes ago, Billever76 said:

The starting offense had little time together in the preseason amd they will get better as the season wears on....im concerned about our oline in pass protection the most.....they have been below average and if not for how mobile allen is they would be even worse looking

These are all Excuses, as has been pointed out in this thread already.

 

Allen needs to get his head out of his ass and play like a 40 million dollar QB.

 

There are no excuses, he got paid to be elite, he needs to be elite. 

 

[Motor26]

7 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

These are all Excuses, as has been pointed out in this thread already.

 

Allen needs to get his head out of his ass and play like a 40 million dollar QB.

 

There are no excuses, he got paid to be elite, he needs to be elite. 

 

 

What if he has numbers similar to 2019 but the team wins the Super Bowl? Would that be considered elite play?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, MPL said:

This is a reasonable take. 

Josh Allen and Matt Barkley shredded the Dolphins in week 17 last year—a game in which Miami needed to make the playoffs. That was Miami's last game of the season and they had to sit with that all Spring and all Summer.

I'm pretty confident that Flores spent a ton of time this offseason figuring out how to slow down the Bills passing attack. Considering that the Bills are the team to beat in the division now, and had won 5 straight against Miami, I'd be willing to bet that figuring out Buffalo's offense was the top priority for Miami this offseason. Their secondary played their asses off yesterday—I give them credit. They shut our passing game down... and we still flat-out embarrassed them on their home turf. 

Now, against Pittsburgh in week 1? To me, this seems like a matchup thing. It happens in sports. Most teams, for whatever reason, have another team that just gives them problems. The Steelers just matchup very well against our offense, and it's been this way going back to 2019. Statistically speaking, Josh played his best game against the Steelers this year (highest yardage total, highest completion percentage, and highest passer rating). 

 

A little ambiguous, but I think you mean "best game of the 3 he's played against the Steelers" not "best game of his overall career"?

 

The Steelers are a matchup nightmare for us because of Cam Hayward, TJ Watt, Alualua, and Tuitt/Ingram.  Josh Allen quotes his college coach saying, "Football is a man whupping man game".  Bluntly put, their front 4 on DL can whup our 5 on OL and twice a day with Dawkins sub-par. 

Be that as it may, we'd beaten the Steelers solidly our last 2 games, since McD took over as coach.  Don't think for a minute that a "Man's Man" like Tomlin has forgotten the days when he was the star WR at William and Mary and "McNasty" was the punk walk-on CB who taped up his wrists and "went at him" in practice.  And especially last year, we punked their offense.

 

I'm equally confident that Tomlin and Butler "took it personally" and spent a lot of time this offseason figuring out how to decode and defend the Bills passing attack.

 

That's pretty much what McDermott means when he tells the team, and the press, that we have a "target" on us now and we aren't going to "sneak up" on anyone.  As soon as the schedule came out (for teams outside our division), I think it's a safe bet that other teams circled us on their calendar and the coaches and DCs put in extra time in the film room over the summer, trying to figure out how to take us apart. 

 

I'm sure you're right that it was a highest priority for Flores though, given that 1)we embarrassed him in the Season Finale, with the backups playing for half the game 2) if Miami wants to take a step and win the division, we're in their way

 

1 hour ago, MPL said:

Now, to be fair, there is clearly something not clicking with the passing game right now. Is it concerning? A little bit. Josh seems to not be getting the ball out his quickly, he hasn't looked as comfortable in the pocket, and he seems like he's got happy feet a little bit. Is it all on Josh? I don't know. What about the receivers? In the first month of last season, our wideouts were running wide open on crossing patterns. Josh was playing pitch and catch. This year, it seems like every single throw is tightly contested. Are our receivers getting jammed at the line and not getting in and out of their breaks well? Did Pittsburgh and Miami both do a fantastic job of disguising coverages? 

 

Yes, the passing game being "off" is a big concern.  I think there are a number of factors.  Part of your answer is above - DC's spent the summer decoding our offense and figuring out how to take it away, helped by some of what the 3 playoff teams we faced did effectively.  I'm sure Daboll also spent the summer trying to figure out how to counter that, but "everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth"; part of the answer is that I think Daboll's answers have depended upon protection our OL has not been able to deliver, and also on Josh being willing and able to take the quick stuff that's there instead of looking for the "kill shot".

 

I think they'll sort it out, and it won't look as it did last year, but it will look better.

 

1 hour ago, MPL said:

I'm not making excuses for the offense. I'm not making excuses for Josh. I want to see more. I want to see him play better. I want to see him completing passes somewhere between 65% and 70%. I hope they figure it out. 

 

Some folks like to complain that "criticism" isn't allowed here, but I think it's at least equally true that people watching film and trying to figure out what's going on in the cause of hoping the Bills can fix it, get disparaged and dismissed as "making excuses"

 

[Bangarang]

10 minutes ago, Motor26 said:

 

What if he has numbers similar to 2019 but the team wins the Super Bowl? Would that be considered elite play?

 No, it wouldn’t. Did you think Josh was an elite QB in 2019? If we win the SB with that kind of QB play then it’s because the defense carried us there.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Bangarang

[Motor26]

3 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

 No, it wouldn’t. 

 

Tough crowd.

[Bangarang]

Just now, Motor26 said:

 

Tough crowd.

So you’re saying Josh was an elite QB in 2019? 

[CountDorkula]

15 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Some folks like to complain that "criticism" isn't allowed here, but I think it's at least equally true that people watching film and trying to figure out what's going on in the cause of hoping the Bills can fix it, get disparaged and dismissed as "making excuses"

 

That would be fine if someone said that, but its not that and its every excuse that I've heard for years with {Insert QB}.

 

First it was no weapons (Check) that's done. thats been fixed. 

 

Now its:

No preseason

O line issues

OCs fault

New WRs

 

 

Allen just got the largest guaranteed contract in the history of the sport, like it or not its his show he needs to perform above it all.

He has failed to do that through 2 games this year.

 

He needs to be better, end of story. 

 

The Bills beat very few teams outside of Miami/Jets/Jags without the defense playing at an elite level, if that's the output they are going to have