WideNine

That if the raw skill is there, and the desire to improve upon them, then players can be coached up. The echo chamber of numbers and stats can become insulated from reality and the nuances of any subject and can be taken too far when projecting. Numbers and stats are good tools to help diagnose where a player's skills are at and where they need to improve. But they are not a good tool to project how a young player with skills will develop when placed in the right system. It begs a system that evolves and captures trends sans bias. Take evaluations of analysts with a grain of salt and listen closely to those given from individuals with position expertise, especially those who have played the position. They will capture numerous details that are lost on most of us. QBs that worked with Allen noted he was scary accurate hitting a spot when not moving or resetting - this tells you he is not inaccurate by nature, but loses accuracy when moving and resetting. If approached objectively you are not starting with an inaccurate QB but one whose mechanical issues moving and resetting are driving the loss of accuracy. Fix those and you can leverage the natural accuracy he possesses. He had no touch - a deeper look found a raw prospect who was not reading defenses or throwing with anticipation to where his receiver was going to be; rather, he was waiting for guys to break open then firing the ball with plenty of sauce to beat the coverage. This was addressed through coaching to understand and read defenses and knowing where his receivers were going to be, and knowing where the ball needs to be, and trusting he will not throw an INT. Along the same lines, he appears to have gotten some good coaching on mechanics as well from successful veteran QBs that has helped him take some off heat off his throws and lead his targets with more catchable balls. He can still throw on a rope when needed. Hard to separate all of these because they all work together to improve results in the passing game. Most of all, be patient and qualify statements when it comes to something dynamic and multifaceted like player development.

Twain - I loved that quote and often shared it with my son Me - Son you will never be wiser than me. My boy - why do you say that? Me - Because I have more years on earth and more experience than you. My son - By that rationale, I will never be wiser than you. Me - Bingo! He has gotten better at "adulting" over the years, but not quite ready to concede the race yet.

I know McD is taking some heat for the defense, but he may want to think of it as a great example of he and his defensive staff taking their own medicine. He preaches growth mindset thru competition and they are getting a healthy dose of that scheme and matchup-wise where McVay exposed weaknesses in our defense. Much like the way NE forced teams to mold their defenses in a way that gave them a chance to stop them. The same way McVay is going to force a rethink of how we use the defensive pieces we have to be effective against what they brought against us because if it worked against us we will see it again. Not all teams will be able to execute it at the same level, but they will still try - it is a copy-cat league. Iron sharpens iron and the Bills defense will grow from this experience and they may end up needing some pieces who knows, but competition makes you push yourself to get better that includes the coaching staff.

I and others have speculated about the Spain situation and I thought that perhaps he has not put in the work in the offseason.... That does not jive with this article back in August, so... not sure what the deal with the Bills coaching staff and Spain is other than he has been getting bumped because there are guys executing at a higher level. I do have to backtrack on my work ethic comments and theories, sounds like Spain works his tail off - can't take that away from the man. https://billswire.usatoday.com/2020/08/11/bufflalo-bills-quinton-spain-mr-undrated-perfect-fit-josh-allen/

This has not been unusual for this team as I think injuries and play on the field has made finding the right mix and being able to stick with it difficult. I do believe that an offensive line gets better when they play with the same guys longer, but they were moving Ford around last season trying to find the right fit for his skills, and they had injuries at RT and then to Feliciano. I like Ford at RG next to Dawkins and Winters has been a pleasant surprise, we just need Feliciano. I thought Spain was solid if not spectacular last year, but can only assume he did not put in the work in the off season and they were not willing to wait for him to play himself into game shape. Only speculation and McD keeps a tight lid on those things. They will get to their best front 5 and then keep our fingers crossed that they can stay healthy and build some chemistry.

Honestly, I welcome anything that reduces the amount of flags being thrown. As long as it is applied somewhat equally to all teams and does not harm player safety. Maybe it is just me, but I have watched the game for years and have watched it gradually become less and less enjoyable as more and more rules were introduced and the game flow was interrupted over and over again with officiating. Flags on interior linemen, barely a thing a decade or two ago, but you would see them regularly wiping out a huge run away from the infraction or a long gainer when you know your QB would have easily still gotten the pass off. One could probably call a technical hold on an interior lineman on just about every play if you looked for it. Every big play instead of celebrating we were all bracing for the inevitable "flag on the play"...no we did not get an 18 yard scamper we are going back 5 yards...... They were killing the game I love and making it damn near unwatchable at times with the stifling amount of flags getting tossed. Then in the post season with the better officiating squads there seemed to be an unspoken rule to let the players play - sort of like hockey. I don't have numbers to back that up, but it feels like there are less flags in the post season than in the regular season and those games have a continuity and are usually easier to get into - unless it is a lopsided blowout. Well, the flip side of this theory is that the media can finally pin something to Allen's "miraculous" breakout playing QB this season other than the impossible idea that he works tirelessly to improve his craft 😈

Was kind of wondering when you were going to make an appearance.

I bookmarked one back in 2018 just for this occasion that said any team that drafted Josh Allen was incompetent. Doubled down on that assessment and said if you like Christian Hackenberg you'll love Josh Allen....then added this scouting report of Hackenberg. Man they were piling on...glad for Josh, glad for this team. Playing some great football, and still room to grow.

There is the holding is fine against Hughes factor. Did note the Rams all-pro LT basically trying to push Jerry's chin strap up his nose. Valid point.

I have not seen the results translated on the field, but there could be other reasons.. and he was playing injured last season and he toughed it out but it showed - had offseason surgery for groin. I don't think he has played at his best and I think that is fair, but I am hopeful he will get back to form, particularly his old ability to change direction and chase plays down. Was really looking forward to how Addison on the other side would open things up for him. Not sure how ESPN generates this magic quadrant assessment (yet) and maybe he is generating more pocket pressure than I am noting. Will make point to watch more closely and take look at all-22. If I'm wrong then awesome. One less worry about our defensive line.

Shocker... good thing that manure-hauling truck has a reverse gear. Shift and grind those gears into "anomaly" and gun it backwards PFF because you were wrong, wrong, wrong and so blinded by your numbers you could not objectively watch a player's play on the field, or acknowledge the actual ongoing development. What does Experimenter-Expectancy Effect mean? What does Confirmation-Bias mean? Look'em up PFF, they are relevant to the kind of articles you wrote regarding Allen. If Josh Allen succeeds, the Bills will have outsmarted basically all regular humans and the entirety of math itself If this works, then stats really are for losers, I guess. By Jason Kirk Take that loser.... will there ever be a rock big enough for this guy to crawl under???

I don't think I have gotten any demerits unless I did not notice, so not a ton of experience in this area and the site runs well. Been visiting TBD since the D&C days and it has matured to the best Bills fan site out there so have to tip my virtual hat in appreciation of the effort that went into that and the continued commitment to improving it. There is my overt pitch to bank some leniency the next time I screw up. I have been on other boards where it just turns into a troll and flame-fest, throw in a bit of the "Lord of the Flies" analogy for the more popular trolls and there's your online ecosystem. Whatever you and your current mods are doing it is working for the most part to keep the site inviting and the topics interesting so I would just advocate tweaking things vs any major changes. Maybe something that helps two posters who are obviously having a pissing contest to take it offline to a chat room... that is about all I can think of at the moment. That is more of an annoyance in a topic string of posts than anything that offends me. Not sure if this would tie into your points system. A bit off topic, but I did notice a lot of similar posts popping up around the Bills defense so a better means of combining these types of similar discussions into a pinned topic rather than having mods warn folks that it is already being discussed elsewhere... not sure if that is feasible or too much heavy lifting for the mods. Having volunteered my own services for some community and local sports sites where I live I can relate to not wanting to over commit to every whim.

They drafted Marquis "Holywood" Brown I think to be that guy, not sure if he will ever get to that level. I loved Brown's shifty-ness and he does have another serious gear when it comes to RAC, but I thought his hands were suspect and in IMO he would disappear in big games. You want that #1 guy to be the kind of player that can be your go-to, who rises to the occasion, excels in adversity, who can enforce his will on the opposing team; you see that quality in Diggs that forces teams to say "we cannot cover this guy 1:1" when they roll the tape. I don't believe draft assessments are the end of the story, but they often are right in regards to where a player is at and what that player will need to change to take the next step in the pros. I agree with you that the Ravens still need that clear #1 receiver.

The Ravens defense usually keeps games much closer so Lamar can be more effective. He is not putting a ton of points on the board, but keeps drives alive, extends plays, and can pull out the wins. He has 5 passing TDs this year and 3 of them came against a struggling Brown's team in their first game. By comparison Allen has 10 TDs against arguably better passing defenses. Last night the Raven's defense was simply outclassed and that meant that Lamar and their offense had to play at the level of "air" Mahomes and the Chiefs and that is not going to happen - not sure if that will ever be the Ravens style as they emphasize setting up the pass with runs and read-option runs, but heck the Rams emphasize runs and jet option sweeps to open up their passing game and took our D to the woodshed and rolled up points on us in a hurry so whose to say how Baltimore's offense will evolve. They have some young talent at receiver, but are going to have to used them more effectively. Folks know that I am an advocate of developing players even in this win-now, plug-them-in fresh out of college league. Some players produce quickly, some take more time. Giving up on a player who is committed to working and showing improvements is a mistake. Patience is a hard thing in a league that is driven by FA, but hopefully that approach that the Bills have taken pays some loyalty dividends down the road. Now Allen and Mahomes .....slinging the rock all over the field, that should be a very fun game for those who do not like defensive struggles. I do not mind a game that is a defensive chess match, but can understand watching Allen the past few weeks why an open game with lots of scoring and slinging the ball downfield where the defenses may as well be cardboard cutouts is so fun for folks to watch.

I was not complaining about the progress McBeane has made, probably reading too much into it but don't think you are saying that is how I came across.... Just saying that it has been a drought at that position for too long, and I am extremely pleased that Dabs and Beane have actively worked to address it both in FA and via the draft. With Dabs having worked with NE's offense and exclusively as NE TEs coach from 2014-16 and seen how valuable they were to Brady and NE's game I am sure influenced those priorities.

I appreciate the opinions and recognize that I could easily be wrong, but one bad game does not wipe out the progress and accomplishments Jackson has made in this league. Is he ready to go toe-to-toe with Mahomes? No he is not, but the kid works hard and is willing to adapt so I think folks should tap the breaks. Don't want us to be guilty of the same bias folks have with Allen where they are waiting for one bad game to pile on. I do think Allen is ahead of Lamar just in regards to reading defenses and being able to spread the ball around and push it downfield from the pocket. I don't fault Roman for emphasizing Lamar's running ability while working to improve the areas where his game is weaker. It is the smart win-now approach. I don't think we have seen Lamar's ceiling.

Star took a lot of heat last year, but if you watched the all-22 after games you would have seen what the coaches were seeing and that was a DT that could anchor and not give up lot of ground. He drew a lot of attention and double-teams and made the players around him better. Now there are folks that wanted to see a penetrating nose kind of tackle, but in McDs 4-man front that emphasizes lane discipline I don't think he is looking for a hero who will take himself out of his gap with a swim move, just a player doing his 1/11th. They miss him. All that being said, this team and Oliver would get a face-lift if they could find an impact big-bodied DT who could not only hold his ground, but push the pocket. The best Frazier could say is that they would trust in their rotation to get it done...what else can he say? I have been harsh with our defense, but in all honesty most of them are busting their hump. They are close, a few tweaks and better players and they could turn the corner.

Thanks Virgil - always appreciate your thoughts about the games. Understand taking a while to find your happy place... I was still buzzing last night and not hard to put my finger on it. I really did not overthink the PI call near the end as the Rams got more than their fair share of calls, it was illegal contact so the refs screwed that up, but either way we would have gotten a fresh set of downs close to the end zone. Allen got us down there with some amazing tosses and still had to get us in the EZ and the Rams D choked plain and simple. Not a good look for them to whine about it. I had a feeling that it was going to be a last possession wins kind of game. But the collapse of the D losing that lead and it just felt like deja vu, like why can't my Bills just put a damn game away. Allen took it upon himself and apparently several of the sports world talking heads seem to think Allen did not do enough by giving his defense a 25 point cushion early in the 3rd, like he was somehow responsible for protecting the lead? Seriously? Does Allen have to score 40 points to keep the defense from pissing it away? So yeah, I was angry. I like that we were scoring fast, but our defense was gassed and we may have wanted to really start to milk the clock late in the 3rd and early in the 4th and mix in more runs when it was clear the Rams hurry, up-temp offense was beating our defense like a tired rented mule so I guess there are things Daboll can do scheme-wise and Allen can execute better to help these guys limp through the rest of the games. Up next another big-bodied run-team. I don't know if the Raiders can keep up with our offense, but I think our best bet is to just have our offense go balls to the wall the whole game and don't look back till the fat lady packs up and takes the bus home. Go Bills!

Still like Hock, but he is on a bad team with a QB who struggles spreading the ball around. I liked the guy the Jags picked as well so I am going to take a peek to see how he is doing. OK, yikes - the Bills dodged a bullet on that one as the Jags traded ahead of us to pick up Josh Oiiver who had some of the best hands out of the bunch, but is on his second straight IR season. Tore hamstring year one and broke a bone in his foot this year during practice. Tough breaks and not uncommon for TEs to get dinged as we have experienced on the Bills. They are big guys that move and cut like WRs have to block in a scrum of bodies, and defensive players almost always cut them at or below the knees to make stops because they are big dudes. Hock was injured pretty early last year so who's to say whether either is a bad pick or what they could have done on this Bills team. Fant has looked good too, was not a bad year for TEs, so I can understand Beane's philosophy of waiting for gems to fall as he did this year with a draft deep in WRs and grabbing Davis. That being said, as we saw in the Rams game and have seen from NE over the decades, having quality TEs who can get open and catch changes the math. Look no further than Allen 3 TDs to TEs this past game (2 to Kroft and one to Smith). Scoring TEs have been the missing ingredient in Bills offenses for far too long.

I feel like Knox is plenty motivated, but he needs more consistency catching the ball and maintaining possession after that. He could be quite a weapon down the road because he does have some wheels and gets up field in a hurry, but all that means nothing if you are not securing the catch first. After that, it is just the same thing they are preaching to Allen about ball security. 5-point hold on the ball and two hands on the ball when in traffic or being tackled, etc...

Yeah... I used to think of NJ as Mordor with the sun blocked out for weeks and some of the more industrial smells. Often felt that folks in Jersey were tough like cockroaches, there could be a nuclear disaster and they would probably head to work and be happy there was not as much traffic. To be fair, there were some nice areas up north Morristown and on the Western border towns along the Delaware and it is hard to believe that Princeton is a part of the same state as it is a really beautiful town with all the old growth trees.

Grew up in WNY, lived in Jersey too for 10 years...neither is close to the cold and misery of a MN winter.

I think this is accurate - I do believe that is technically sound as the holding kept Davis from being in position to catch the ball rendering the ball "not catchable", but this crew pulled some head-scratchers during the game and the Rams were the beneficiaries of plenty of them. Could have sworn I saw a delay of game too that was not called, then the very next play the Rams had to call a timeout with 1 sec on the clock or they were going to push their luck twice. Was not exactly the "A" team of officials and I am not a fan of how Rivera has an echo-chamber approach to closing ranks and tweeting out the spin-cycle nonsense when it comes to his crew's mistakes. Would be much better if they just said, mistakes can happen at game speed and we will review all calls for accuracy as part of our continuous performance improvement.

I believe in making your own luck, but think about the situation that Davis finds himself in. An explosive offense with a creative OC and a gunslinger QB who can make every throw and he has not yet experienced losing on this team. We are developing a core of players that EXPECT to win, that has not been the case for a long time for this Bills franchise where we have suffered with many good players who toiled away on teams that could not sniff a playoff. Beane and McD are building something good here and this kid is in a great place to grow into a really good impact receiver in this league.