WideNine

There is some work to put in on the pre-snap reads and the short passes, but how many rookie QBs have the stones to throw a perfect swing pass to a defensive tackle, a legend and fan-favorite, with the stadium going nuts, in his last game as a Buffalo Bill without effing it up? That was a perfect swing pass, with just the right touch, and Kyle looked like a natural catching it. The needle is pointing North for this kid.

In that game Stafford did a good job of moving the chains and they also ran the ball pretty well limiting the offensive opportunities for Allen too - I could be wrong, but I felt like Detroit owned the time of possession and field position battle. Would have to go back and look at the game logs. And as you said, I think they kept Josh hemmed into the pocket and forced him into a game of quick reads to underneath options that he was not ready for yet.

Yep - we tend to have rose-colored glasses a bit about the feats of NFL heroes past. Different age and time and different skill sets, and different rules. You could still tell he was going to be a keeper in the NFL of the 80's. Marino had one heck of an offensive line as NFL free agency had not kicked in and teams could build and retain veteran players. He was not extremely mobile and played in 11 games (started 9) and was only sacked 10 times. Was a pocket passer and only scrambled for 45 yards on 28 attempts (do the math) with 5 fumbles and 2 TDs, so.... not Josh. He had one of the quickest releases I have ever seen since Allen - not really needing a full or exaggerated throwing motion to get the ball downfield. Like Allen he pushed the ball past the sticks, unlike Allen he had two all-pro receivers in Duper and Clayton. His completion % was 58.4

I don't rejoice too much when anyone gets the sack... that guy had to be working his tail off with all the practice squad and 1 year players. That being said, there were too many undisciplined penalties, and I thought Dawkins regressed a bit from his solid play last year - some of that could have been losing a veteran guard playing next to him. Richie is crazy, but knew how to play that position. McD says that each year they review the play of the coaches to see if it is an area that can be improved. I don't think they let anyone go unless they have an upgrade in their sites. Crossman's unit cost us more than a few games, if there is a more promising ST coach out there he could be next... I saw some posts seeming to indicate this has already happened. If it has, I hope they grab the ST coaches from the Jets, those guys did a good job of turning that unit around and should be available with Bowles getting canned.

And I do not think the Bills org would "easily" be a dumpster fire even if they made coaching changes. Not like dysfunctional stuff I see going on around the league. They try to run things with a plan and vision for the org - they have a timeline and expect results just as much as the fans do... it is run more like a business with oversight and reliance on advice from different areas of expertise around the league rather than some kind of bush league pet project of a disconnected and whimsical billionaire. As much as I loved what Ralph did for the Buffalo area, I think the Bills are run more professionally now and that brings stability. Stable organizations attract talent - both coaching and players.

Not to kill the moment, let us not forget this personnel move.

ESPN did a nice write up on the Bills and Josh. Said his total QBR before his injury was an abysmal 32.4, after coming back from injury it jumped to over 58 which was good for 16th best for starting QBs in the league. The Bills offense also jumped from dead last in yds/game to the top half. Considering Allen was the least experienced of the 2018 draft QB class and also considered the biggest project, I like how his game is trending.

Harry is productive, but seems SLOW when you watch their games. I am curious what his 40 will look like.

I can respect that. We can put a pin in it for now and revisit next year.

At this stage I think such comments are a bit silly. Josh Allen (even with the growing pains) out performs more than a few NFL QBs who have "stayed" in the league. The question is more is he the right QB for the Bills to get them to the next level. I can think of 3-4 teams without much effort that would give a lot to have Allen with all his "quarterbacking basics" flaws, vs what they now have behind center.

I remember this as Kelly was on his longest streak without an INT and was pissed...folks back then forgot that he was offered a linebacker scholarship from Joe Pa at Penn State before electing to play QB for Miami. Plays like that reminded them

I am not even sure any of the WRs grade out that high this year, there are a few TE's that do though.

Who would've thought, but I look around the league and it is one dumpster fire after the next... Credit the Pegulas for this at least, the Bills no longer seem to be THAT organization. Now if it can translate into serious progress next year, then even better,

Wonder how long before he starts working for McD as DC or an assistant DC

He's the real deal. I like some of our draft options this year, but not sure picking at the top 10, many are throwing Jonah Williams out there but there are some quality OT, OG, and 3 centers I like that are round 2-3 options depending what the Bills do in FA.

My guess is that Josh, with that cannon arm, has not been asked before to do too much with slants, swing/wheel, comeback, or short back-shoulder passes. Probably why Daboll stuck with those so much yesterday in a somewhat meaningless game. That, and Miami was trying to do the NE thing of keeping Josh hemmed in the pocket and giving up the underneath stuff to force Allen into quick pre-snap decisions of where to go with the ball, test his short game, and to protect against deeper throws that he has more comfort making.

The back shoulder slant? If they are in man, and that the DB is playing off our WR, and what leverage they take on the slant, and throw in that pre-snap read to check that the linebackers and safeties are not in position to jump a short route ala Edmunds, then it is money. You are probably right - there is a route for just about every situation. My sense is that Josh is a bit creative with his routes and reads.

I just assume that from the sideline to the QB room Anderson has had a positive impact on Josh's development and OBD has seen this and rewarded it. If Anderson, Barkley, and Allen have developed a good supportive chemistry, OBD is smart not to disrupt it at this stage.

There is a bunch of finger pointing at Cousins. Most felt the Vikings were on the cusp last year and Cousins was supposed to be that last expensive piece that would get them over the hump. Yet the team that had something to play for folded to the team that did not... 84 million dollar bust

The Sabres

We are not demanding, we will also accept "nearly perfect", "99 % awesome", and angels weep.

No one is giving Virgil too much of the business... ? BTW - I will miss your game recaps... till next year!

There was a linebacker inside and if the pass is in front of Jones Miami's #28 has him lined up for a de-cleater. I cannot say with certainty that Josh did not throw it where he did to give Zay a chance to avoid what would be certain destruction from a defenseless position. The linebacker should have dropped back a bit and taken away that throwing lane, but was a non-factor and took him self out of the play seeming more concerned with keeping Allen in the pocket. After that Zay did a good job of reversing the field and getting the ball over the goal line. Another earlier slant to Josh's left seemed to be right on target, but I think there was another to his right later in the game that was definitely behind, so mostly conjecture on my part with the Zay throw.

My guess is that Allen has never been asked to throw slants and so many underneath routes (ever) in his brief college QB career with coaches drooling over his arm strength, but I think that this was the plan going in today. Daball, knowing that Miami would take a page out of Belichick's game plan, knew they would focus on containing Josh after what he did to them the first time (NE did that better), take away the deep routes (playing off our receivers), and only allow the quick reads in front of coverage. I think Daboll is perfectly aware that Josh needs to work on his short game and used a somewhat meaningless game to do just that. Now they have more film and can go to work with him this offseason on pre-snap reads and improving the mechanics on those slants and the touch on those swing and wheel routes.

Must be lingering affects...