Kelly the Dog

Josh missed Foster early on what would have been maybe a 30 yarder. Foster made a really nice play and very nearly broke it on the final drive. I really thought they should have thrown a few more deep balls to him just to make the Dolphins think it can happen on any play. He should always be playing because he's the only one that gets open deep and he's consistent at it. The combination of having a guy able to run fly patterns and beat you combined with Allen able to scramble for 135 yards on pass plays (I don't recall one called run except for the short yardage sneak) is a LETHAL combination and very hard to defend without leaving huge chunks of the field open for other receivers.

There are only a few QBs in the league that could have gotten in the position to make that throw. And you're right. It went 60 something yards while he was still rolling left. He didn't even really stop and set and throw. It was ridiculous.

I did. I think you're ignoring the difficulty of the pass. He threw it rolling left after scrambling wildly across his body 55 yards in the air. Clay flat out said he stumbled, which is his fault. There was no one near him. He didn't have to change direction he was already coming back for the ball before he stumbled. He also had it right in his hands, two hands, and he dropped it. A lunging catch like that for an NFL player with no one near him is not an extremely hard catch. He said he flat dropped it.

You seem to be the only person out of about 50 who have commented on it to take your position so I feel comfortable in mine.

Almost half a mile.

Good post. I'd love to know the real issue on that play but again, to me, it wasn't really a "read" play. Neither Zay nor Josh nor McD intimated that Josh made the wrong pre or post snap read. It was more of a situation that the middle of the endzone was completely abandoned so Zay kept running to it. Josh saw him wide open behind him too and they haven't played enough together to know that Zay will break off the route. It wasn't a zone versus man read play to me, although so many are. The Dolphins completely blew the coverage. Josh probably thought this is just an easy score. I was always a proponent of playing him right away all season, regardless of the lumps he will take, and precisely because of your accurate criticism. I think it's almost impossible to learn that stuff on the sidelines and through film. You need experience, especially a guy like him. Next year he will be way ahead of the game because he played this year, IMO. But who ever thought he would be?

I agree with all of that. I guess my point is the "accuracy" issue is going to be found in those swing passes and deep balls you mentioned. I don't think anyone anywhere expects him to be a surgical passer. I don't think he has a huge accuracy problem myself, but a lot do.

But that is not at all the point of all this. No one expects perfection. There seems to be two schools of thought on this board and all across the NFL. Josh Allen has a ton of talent, he is either going to be a franchise guy OR his inaccuracy will keep him from being a franchise guy. There really doesn't seem to be any other choice. Watching that play made me worry slightly more that he really may have an issue. He had all day, he looked right at the WR, it was 3rd and 6, and it was an easy TD. And he missed it by two yards. An easy throw. You're absolutely right that one play is not going to change yours or anyone's opinion on whether or not he will be the man. But to me, I was thinking, *****! He's got to make that throw. That is the one thing that will keep him from being great. And later on I learn that it was a perfect throw not a horrible one. So my worry, which is ongoing and fluid, was significantly lessened. Those are touchdowns. Those arent regular nominal plays. Those plays need to be made. I agree with that. I very much doubt, however, if Zay did exactly what he was supposed to, run to the middle of the endzone, that he would infer Zay blew the play and not Josh. That would be just making something up out of whole cloth and Zay would hate him for it. Not to mention that Zay said the same thing as McD.

This is where I am. He clearly knows how to coach defense. His game and clock management is awful. It's downright scary that he thought Peterman could play, the team could succeed on offense with these linemen and these receivers, it took him 25 games to realize that speed works in the NFL. His offensive coaching hires have been atrocious, although second OC Daboll gets another year to prove his worthiness. The worst thing, however, may be that for such a stickler for Eagles scouts and discipline, Rex's teams were more disciplined than these guys are. It's a worry. He may very well be a coordinator, like hundreds before him, who is very good at his job but HC and all it entails is too big for him. We need to give him next year though. I'm 50-50 on him succeeding. There is a lot to like and an equal amount that is very suspect.

Depends. African or European?

Rumor is that McD wants Nathan Peterman to come back and start.

I think it was the first drive of the third quarter. 3rd and 5 or 6 from around the 15. Zay goes over the middle in the end zone and he is WIDE OPEN. The pass is a yard or two behind him and he lunges back for it but had no chance. Josh had time in the pocket and it looked like he just misfired badly on a play that was a sure TD. Then they kicked a FG. But after the game the players and coaches said he threw it where Zay was supposed to stop. Zay kept running because the middle of the end zone was wide open.

It seems to me from what the coaches and players were saying that it was only a couple yard issue, and that Josh threw it right where it was supposed to, which was about two yards behind where Zay was.

Yup. "Drops" is a stupid stat IMO, simply because what one person considers a drop, the next considers it a bad pass or would have been a great catch he just missed it.

Right. But to me, if this was in a Detroit Green Bay game where I have no dog in the hunt, and saw that play live, and then heard everything the coach and two players said about it, I would have blamed the QB originally for missing an easy wide open TD, and then later, blamed the WR a little more than the QB for cutting off a designed pattern, because the QB expected him to follow the pattern. It wasn't a "read" route.

Like I said just above, from what the guys as well as McD said and inferred (McD implied in his PC that Zay was supposed to sit), it was not a if there is man coverage you continue, and if it is zone you sit play. It was a specific you sit play. Josh didn't misread the coverage and should have known Zay was going to continue, Zay only continued because there was this enormous opening. Josh said he should have known Zay was going to break off the pattern, NOT that the pattern called for continuing against man and sitting against zone.

I didn't really from what I have been hearing. It wasn't because it was man coverage that he kept running, it was because he saw this huge expanse in the middle of the endzone. Josh said he should have known he was going to keep going because no one was there, NOT because it was a if there is a man D you do keep going and if it is a zone D you sit.

But there was really no one on him. In theory, you're right. But he was wide open. He didn't really have to go to the huge middle, he didn't have to avoid anyone. And again, it wasn't a if they do this we do that pattern, it was a straight pattern he broke off.

I don't really think what they said was the exact opposite. They were both being diplomatic and careful not to shove the other under the bus. They both implied that the pattern was designed to sit but Zay saw the wide open endzone and continued to the open space. Josh just said I should have known he was going to do that so it's my fault. Zay said I should have sat like the play was designed to and it would have been a good pass and TD. I think they both saw it the exact same way after the fact but were taking responsibility.

And had the nice pass overturned that would have been first and goal at the five. Granted, it would have been a terrific catch, and I think the refs made the right call, but it was a very good back shoulder throw.

I know but he was being diplomatic. And if you read between the lines of what he said, he did infer that the play was designed for Zay to sit on the pattern. He blamed himself for not recognizing that Zay was going to break off the pattern.

It would have taken Brady 15 minutes to cover the ground that Josh did on that play.

Great quarterbacks miss easy throws a couple times every game, like Ben just missed that easy TD. Bills fans for the most part don't seem to know this.

It really was. The highlight reel of that scramble on 4th and 11 on the road capping off a 90 yard two minute drive with no timeouts would have been insane. It's why we can't have nice things.

Great point, bandit.