jrober38

D His situational awareness is horrible. He still struggles with the basics. There are splash plays, but ultimately 19 points, 1 TD, another QB rating below 70 and multiple fumbles (1 lost) aren't good enough.

Our defense is elite. Houston's isn't. If we had Watson instead of Allen we win by more than 30.

There's no reason Allen can't be a star. His highlight reel is amazing. Unfortunately, most of what happens in between the highlights isn't anywhere close to good enough. Week in and week out he makes the hard throws look easy and the easy ones look hard. He's two full years into his career, and we still have a guy who can't complete passes to open receivers when they're uncovered (see 3rd down on their 45 yard line when he threw the ball at Williams feet when any pickup of yardage would have presented an opportunity to kick a field goal).

Pound for pound their QB is a hell of a lot better than ours.

Allen's lack of situational awareness is staggering. How many times has he taken a sack or grounded the ball knocking us out of field goal range this year? 5? Maybe 6 times? His football IQ is incredibly low. Lateraling the ball with over a minute left, searching for a field goal was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen from a QB.

Watson is a star. Allen is still a liability. Switch the QBs and we win by 30+.

This. Our QBs lack of situational awareness is staggering at times. The number of times he's taken sacks or grounded the ball on the cusp of field goal range is truly mind boggling. His inability to execute the basics is shocking for a player who can make such spectacular plays from time to time.

Can't describe the feeling right now. This game looked won with roughly 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Somehow we crapped the bed completely. Our offense was yet again useless for most of the game. Our QB struggled with the basics and showed an extreme lack of awareness in crucial situations. The defenses wilted late, although Watson was simply spectacular. He put his team on his shoulders and willed them to victory.

Yardage isn't the be all end all. It's how efficient you are when you pass. Look at the rankings in QB Rating for the teams in the playoffs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 19, 24. The Bills were the clear outlier here.

Shocking how many people don't seem to watch anyone but the Bills play football.

???

I don't think he's raw so much as he lacked opportunity and reps. He played in a college offense with DK Metcalf (52 rec, 819 yards, 6 TDs this year) and AJ Brown (48 rec, 927 yards, 7 TDs this year). He didn't get a lot of looks, and thus didn't have many reps catching the ball. I don't think it was because he's raw. He's actually been very productive for a rookie tight end. He has produced at the same level as TJ Hockenson who was the #8 pick in the draft.

Dawson Knox is going to be a monster next season. He's open all the time which is incredibly rare for a tight ends. Most rely on their hands and ability to box out to create separation, and he's just open by a good step most of the time. The rest seemed obvious. Allen makes the hard look really easy and the easy look really hard. He leaves huge plays on the field pretty much every week and you can't get away with missed scoring opportunities against top opposition. Our run game was exposed. Seemed similar to when Philly ran it down our throats.

Allen continues to make the hard throws look easy, and the easy throws look hard. At some point that will need to change if we want to start beating good teams. His decision making is much better, but his execution is still lacking consistency.

Sure, but we haven't actually beat anyone good. Being in games is great. We need to start winning some of them. The premise we've got nothing to prove is silly.

My biggest issue with McDermott is he so clearly takes his foot off the gas once we get a lead. I get that he's a defensive guy, and he trusts his D, but our play calling is clearly different when we have a lead in the second half.

Yes. Absolutely rest everyone. Give them a week off to freshen up.

This seems like a cop out. We obviously have a ton left to prove, like if we can beat any good NFL teams. At the end of the season, Tennessee might be the only team with a winning record we will have beat, and we did it against Mariota in a game their kicker missed three kicks.

I don't see how a different route tree would result in an increase in his drops by 500%. I do think you're onto something saying Josh sometimes throws the ball harder than he needs to. Very interesting data. I think this was the Brown's game. Last offensive play of the game, Allen threw up a 50/50 ball to Brown down the right sideline and Beasley was wide open in the left flat for a first down. I think Beasley needs to accept that he has a young QB who is going to make mistakes. He's not getting any younger and it might be hard to be patient, but working with Josh on how they can collectively improve seems like the best option for everyone involved.

I honestly think Mike Tomlin should win Coach of the Year. What's he's done there to keep that team in the thick of the playoff hunt, with their 2nd and 3rd string QBs, and Connor and Juju banged up a lot of the year has been incredible.

If we beat the Pats it's a no brainer. Obviously you play everyone.

I suspect it's a McDermott thing. I mean Pittsburgh was literally playing their 3rd stringer, and he was much more aggressive than our QB. It was a disaster, but it still shows how we constantly have the training wheels on Allen and it's getting a bit ridiculous. He usually plays his best in the 4th quarter in tight games or when we're behind and they have to open things up. These next two games mean next to nothing. If we keep trying to win games 17-14, we'll know for sure that it's a McDermott thing and the odds of ever changing it will be slim to none. If there was ever a time to be aggressive, it's the next two weeks.

Yes. If we lose to New England and are locked into the #5 seed, give the guys a week off to rest up. Also, giving the Jets a win they don't want and a much worse draft pick would be great!!!

I doubt you read a single word I wrote.

Allen gets at least another year, but the play calling and their attempt at hiding our passing game is a concern. Either they don't trust the QB, or they are playing a conservative playing style you don't see from many top NFL teams. Overall the ESPN take is too harsh. Allen has talent, and he can make the hard throws look easy, but his lack of consistency is a concern and he really needs to improve his deep ball which is among the worst in the league. Hopefully he takes a big step forward next year. I assume he'll have more weapons to work with then and if our passing game isn't at least average by NFL standards we probably have a real problem on our hands.