https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2791525-nfl-preseason-roundup-josh-allen-looks-more-like-treasure-than-trash#slide10
I love how performance is manipulated by the writers, and eaten up by fans reading content. Let's look at the comparison between Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield in this article alone. I'll start by saying that I really like both, and believe they will be successful NFL quarterbacks. I'd like to follow that up with the fact that the media DOES NOT want Josh Allen to have success, not in the slightest. He will always be framed as a guy with a big arm, who is athletic, but not accurate enough to be a good quarterback.
Josh played with the 3rd unit against the Panthers in week 1 of the preseason. He finished that game 9/19 for 116 yards and 1 touchdown. While the 9/19 isn't fantastic, he did some impressive things during that game, considering he was running for his life behind the Bills 3rd string offensive line. He made 2 very poor throws, 2 that were overthrown on deep routes, he had 3-4 balls that were clearly dropped by the receiver and then a handful that were incomplete on purpose. Again, he was 9/19 that is the stat line, but given the circumstances it was an impressive performance.
Now the article above states it was an up and down performance for Josh, and I completely disagree. According to Mr. Davenport Josh Allen's performance was up and down, while media darling Baker Mayfield's performance this week was framed in a much different way, despite having an eerily similar narrative. Let's review how Mr. Davenport frames Baker Mayfield's performance tonight.
"At first glance, it might look like Mayfield took a step backward after having the best exhibition debut of any of this year's first-round rookies under center. He barely completed over 50 percent of his 13 pass attempts for just 75 yards against Buffalo.
To be fair, it wasn't as good a performance as he posted against the New York Giants. But it also wasn't as bad as that stat line.
Playing with reserve offensive linemen, for the most part, who showed why they aren't starting, Mayfield was consistently harassed by Buffalo pass-rushers. But rather than get happy feet or make a poor decision that resulted in a turnover, Mayfield hung in the pocket and made throws."
Let's also look at how he frames Josh Allen's performance last week.
"First came an up-and-down preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers in which both Allen's big right arm and his lack of accuracy were on display."
Baker Mayfield gets the glass half-full treatment, while Josh Allen gets the glass half-empty treatment. The narrative will always be that Allen is inconsistent, and until he becomes a top-tier quarterback it will stay that way. His college career is not all that different from Carson Wentz, the only difference is that Carson played for the Alabama of the FCS, with teams that dominated the competition on a daily basis, so much so that Carson Wentz missed 8 games as a redshirt senior and the team still managed to go 8-0 with a freshman quarterback leading the team. Now, Carson Wentz is an MVP caliber quarterback, but he was on an outstanding team and his numbers are eerily similar to Josh Allen. Josh played against elevated competition at Wyoming on a team that was nowhere near as talented as NDSU. Josh Allen catches some undue flack from the media for no reason, Wentz was another media darling despite being an FCS quarterback on a dominant team. Wentz definitely elevated that team's level of play, but they could still function without him. At Wyoming, Allen definitely elevated his team, but they couldn't live without him. https://mwwire.com/2018/01/21/nfl-draft-josh-allen-carson-wenz/
The media is going to force feed fans information that is twisted and altered in order to create the narrative they want. I highly suggest fans start educating themselves on their topic of interest by going to numerous sources, rather than just click a headline, listen to ESPN or click on a boxscore and assume it is a fact. I just want an unbiased opinion on how these guys are doing, I am so tired of media personalities and their inflated egos. They're not talent evaluators, their job is to report facts. Give me the facts and have constructive conversations around sports, athletes and their performance.
I think you're missing the point. All I was doing was comparing how Mayfield's performance last night was painted in a positive light, while a similar performance for Allen last week was shown in a negative light. Don't lump me in here with "everyone else". I don't need anyone to agree with me, I was trying to raise discussion about the portrayal of the players and how fans and media alike react to that. P.S. I do work in talent evaluation LOL.
