transplantbillsfan

Did you watch the 2016 home opener? It happened twice in that one game Regardless, this is encouraging... and I think the team rallying behind him is the most encouraging part of all of it.

I think with the confidence you've seen in Allen from the likes of Tre White and Shady and then the entire offense running onto the field excitedly chest bumping Allen after that 70 yard TD to Proehl. If the team sees Allen as the best option clearly, I think McDermott is going to be hard-pressed to keep him on the bench.

Definitively wanted out? Really... that's news.

And it's as much a part of the evaluation process as OTAs were and Training Camp and Preseason will be... and those will be just practice, too. And before anyone says "well, preseason is where we'll really find out," I think we should all just remember who the preseason star of 2015 was. Training Camp is likely going to be the most meaningful indication of where Allen is and where he will be Week 1. And that doesn't mean the start of Training Camp, because the 1st day or 2 or 3 he's almost certainly going to ride more with the 3s than the 1s--at least, according to McDermott right now--but as we progress, we'll learn a lot more. The fact that Allen has pretty clearly been steadily progressing and has been given a little more responsibility throughout progressively and has pretty obviously already started earning the trust and confidence of his teammates is a pretty big deal. Nothing guarantees anything, but Allen looking good and progressively better through OTAs and Minicamp is a helluva lot better than him sucking throughout.

Okay, so here's what I think is going on: McDermott's "plan" is and has been to have McCarron start and let Allen watch. But it's a "plan" only, I believe, in the sense that it's something he can count on. When you set low/realistic expectations, anything beyond is cherry. Sure, he can't count on Allen being ready because it's still so early in the process of evaluating him. But plans change. I really think he and Dabol are going to have some seriously long talks over the next 6 weeks about how to maximize Allen's development while managing to protect him as a rookie starting QB because as cryptic as McDermott can be, I think he can see that Allen's ahead of the anticipated curve and that the rest of the team can see that, as well.

Oh... it's early... and Allen seems all poised to take the reins this Summer. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.wkbw.com/2617781973/7-observations-from-2018-buffalo-bills-minicamp-day-two.html 1) Josh Allen has his best day yet- After watching four practices of Josh Allen with the whole team, I wrote on Tuesday that he has mainly given up and down performances to this point. However, on Wednesday, he had his best day yet without surrendering a throw that makes you utter, 'Well, what was that?' Allen took one set of first-team reps, just as he did on Tuesday, and opened it up by throwing a dart of a touchdown to Jeremy Kerley. He continued in working with the third-team offense the remainder of the day by continuing to show his clear ability throwing the ball that's just a cut above everything else the Bills have on their roster at the position. Now the one thing I did notice him do a couple of times was trying to get away with making a play with only his arm while sacrificing his footwork. There are times where he won't have a chance to set his feet and make a throw during a game, but in these specific instances he had the time to do so, and it cost him an incompletion. However, that was about as much as you could say in a negative light for Allen's practice on Wednesday, and the Bills have to be happy with the progress that he's made already in this short time.

It's happening folks... it's happening Seems like working up from 3rd string isn't so insurmountable, after all. Anyone out there still really think Allen has only a 5-10% chance of becoming the starting QB week one?

Doubt it

Hey Shady... remember what SDS said... Don't be a high maintenance poster!!!

It's a great problem to have 2 starting caliber QBs... I just don't know how much McCarron really fits the bill there.

And so it begins

Did we not win or lose that game essentially because of Taylor "elevating" at critical moments trailing late in the 4th quarter? But... ya know... STATS!!!!

Titans & Texans games in 2015. Shoulda been the Seahawks and 2nd Dolphin game of 2016 except for monumental team/coaching/ref failures. Bucs game of 2017. Not never. He just doesn't do it often, just like a ton of other QBs. Let's hope Allen does it often

Whaaaaaaaa????? You mean you don't like Lucy reruns?!?!?

I think this is a pretty profound statement if he's sincere, considering the occasional Franchise QB perspective people had of both Tannehill and Cutler for a long time... Oh I can't resist... hey BringBackOrton... remember this: I agree... do you see an "around the NFL" forum in TBD? I don't. But I wholeheartedly agree with you that this thread should be stowed away in that forum and that that forum should exist.

Well gee... ya don't say Shady... why I've never seen you beat a dead horse with you're beat a dead horse awards before

Herein lies the 3 years of argument over Tyrod Taylor. Very few QBs in the NFL truly "elevate" their teams in the way you're describing. Brady, Brees, Rodgers and Big Ben are probably the only ones who do it with any consistency. Most NFL starting QBs need their NFL offensive teammates to be consistently playing to an NFL starting level. (And I'll disregard the negative connotations of the word "mediocre" you used for Taylor and accept it for it's literal meaning--that Taylor was a middle of the road QB, which is precisely what he was for 3 years) That wasn't what happened in 2017 for the Buffalo Bills, with the exception of Shady, of course. So OBD is taking the approach of swinging for the fences with Allen, hoping he turns into the Brady/Brees/Rodgers/Big Ben of tomorrow. It's a gamble, but while the risk is there, the reward is very high. That approach is the reason Tyrod is gone.

Yep... our weapons in 2017 absolutely sucked... and I thought our weapons in 2016 sucked... but damn, we had backup talent almost across the board to throw to. WRs and weapons in 2015 pretty good WRs and weapons in 2016 not so good, probably below average to awful at least half the year WRs and weapons in 2017 below average to awful the whole year What'd we say about Taylor regressing from 2015-2017... wait...

He was being virtually 100% of the offense for those 3 quarters, just like he continued to be for the 4th quarter, gaining 190+ yards and passing for a TD behind an offensive line that couldn't block and passing to the likes of Deonte Thompson, Nick O'leary, Say Jones, Logan Thomas, and Jordan Matthews.

Yes, the 17 years without playoffs was a very frustrating time in Buffalo. But Tyrod gave us a few exciting years at the end of that frustrating time and then helped lead us out of the darkness and into light, ending the longest playoff drought in sports. Taylor is no Franchise QB, but he's the best we had in Buffalo for 17+ years. So go get 'em in Cleveland Tyrod... hope you're more appreciated there

Just an absolutely stupid post

I still think Allen will eventually win it, but good thing McCarron is looking good https://www.google.com/amp/s/billswire.usatoday.com/2018/06/07/buffalo-bills-josh-allen-sean-mcdermott-first-team/amp/ Sean McDermott open to giving Josh Allen first-team reps: 'It's a fluid situation' This may lead one to believe that McDermott feels as though a veteran quarterback will give the Bills the best chance to win in 2018. It could also mean that he won’t be afraid to start Allen in the 2018 season if he’s ahead of the curve. The coach further explained that Allen is not going to be fast-tracked, stating that there’s a plan in regard to Allen’s development. “It’s early in our process here. We’ve got a plan and we’ve got to stick with it,” McDermott said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t listen and keep our to the ground and our eyes peeled for what’s going on and then adjust accordingly. That’s important. But the important part right now is that we develop a strong foundation and that’s what we’re doing.”

Well this'd make a helluva lotta sense considering his familiarity with Dabol and how much the offense we're supposedly going to run relies on WR/TE/RB knowledge.

Oh holy hell... did you legitimately just brag about ignoring me and then directly quote me in the same post?! Shady, you're too funny. I'm so glad your rep is so high