CincyBillsFan

I'm an optimist by nature but I think the Bills get their butts whipped against the Pats and that Allen has a bad day. My reasoning is simple - when was the last time the Patriots lost THREE IN A ROW in DECEMBER? I suspect Belichick will become personally involved in the defensive game plan in order to try to destroy Allen on Sunday. Giving that the Pats are facing future great QB's in Buffalo and NY he will do what is needed to try to stunt Allen's development by creating the conditions for the rookie to have a bad game. Then if you add up the Bills injuries I just don't think we can go into NE and play well. Now I hope I'm wrong because it would make this season very sweet if we went into NE and robbed them of a bye week and home field in the divisional playoffs. Even better IMO is that if the Pats lose to the Bills Sunday, it really will mean that the evil empire is collapsing and next year the Division is WIDE OPEN.

This is absolutely the correct take-away from yesterday's game. Those of us happy about Allen's passing performance are not looking at the stats but looking at the context in which Allen threw the ball. Watching him stand tall in the pocket, scan the field and make mostly accurate throws downfield answered an important question about his development. For me a couple of key questions were answered: * He can execute the short passing game. He was 8/10 out of the gate. * He can stand in the pocket and when given time pick a defense apart. He doesn't require "chaos" all around him to make a big throw downfield - he can calmly do it from the pocket in the old fashioned way.

I hope so, it would be a small price to pay.

The only reason last years playoff season was in any way good was that it ended a ridiculously long 18 year playoff drought. The fact that it took a miracle play by Andy Dalton to put the BIlls into the playoffs and then the lackluster performance by the Bills in the playoffs sort of lessened the impact if this achievement for me. After we took Allen at QB and let Tyrod go the most critical question of this season was whether Allen was the guy. I would submit that while it's not a done deal yet he does appear to be that elusive franchise QB we've been looking for since the days of Kelly. That's why this season is much more exciting for me then last season was.

You have to give credit where credit is due and the O-line pass protected very well in the 2nd half - particularly the 4th quarter.

It will with improved WR & TE play.

But given Wyoming's history prior to Allen's arrival he did produce for the Cowboys. Allen's path to the NFL has been very different then most elite level QB's. He played at a small rural HS and wasn't recruited out of HS. One of the reasons he wasn't recruited is he never attended the camps that high school kids (especially from rural areas) need to attend to BOTH improve their game and get noticed. Then he spent a year at Jr. College, played well there. He then tried to get to fbs college football by sending out a boat load of tapes see if anyone wanted him. And only Wyoming called. The bottom line is that if you compare the coaching & training Allen has received since becoming a teenage QB it is substantially less then almost every QB playing in the NFL today. The likelihood that we'll see huge improvements in his game going forward are excellent because for the first time in his life he's receiving elite level coaching/training to go along with his elite level skills. IMO this is the reason we should be optimistic about Allen.

Nice review. I look forward to reading them after the game. I would only add that for: #5 - Once the Bills surround Allen with some dangerous skill players teams that try to do what the Lions did today to shut down his running game will get torched. #10 - Funny even though Allen only ran for 16 yards they were all big plays - he got three 1st downs and a TD off his runs. This is where things get interesting next year. if the Bills can land a dominant WR and a decent TE teams are going to have a hard time game planning this offense. Do they go all out to stop Allen's runs and get carved up through the air or do they take their chances with Allen as a RB? What I want to see is 3 games in a row where Allen only rushes for a total of 50 yards then have a game where he goes for 135. That IS sustainable in the NFL. Seems to me this is becoming an increasingly irrelevant stat by the game. Today Allen showed good accuracy.

But this is where an upgrade in skill position talent is going to pay HUGE dividends for the Bills. On that drive ALL 3 passes could have and probably should have been caught. Hell, if just one of those passes is caught we have a first down and who knows what comes next. And for the record it's not making excuses for Allen to say this. We all watched the game and there's no disputing that at least one & likely two of those "incompletions" should have been caught. This is a simple problem to fix because it DOESN'T involve FIXING the QB.

The Western NY sports media is very average and I'm being kind. My sense is that a lot of them went all in on the "Allen is a bust" meme ad are having a hard time walking it back. Which when you get right down to it is pretty unprofessional.

This is a hugely important stat that doesn't show up under completion % or TD passes. It's one of those intangibles, like his leadership and over the top athleticism, that has really impressed me so far. And I would be lying if I said I knew he had it in him all along.

This might be a good move. I think BOTH Allen & Darnold benefited from their time on the bench and Lamar Jackson didn't see the field until well into the season. Only Mayfield was advanced enough to come out a play well without a break.

This is a very important observation PT5P because once we reach the point where we don't care what the other Josh is doing it means our Josh is doing just fine thank you. I think the reason folks throw this out when Allen has a good game and Rosen doesn't is that there was so much "hate" for Allen and "love" for Rosen by Bills posters on TBD around the time of the draft. It was over the top IMO. At the time I was a lurker here and not a poster but anyone who claims it wasn't happening isn't remembering things right. But Allen's play has given us confidence that we got the right Josh. Hell, I was rooting for BOTH rookie QB's yesterday because their success has nothing to do with Allen's. But at the same time I can cut folks slack who were on the Allen train in April - they took a pretty good beating on here.

This seems like an important win to me. Not because it mattered in the real world but because talking about draft positioning is all well & good but sometimes losing becomes a habit that's hard to break even after we've upgraded the teams talent. I also think it was an important win because of what it showed us about Allen. He can stand in the pocket and make great throws. He seemed more in command of the offense today then I've seen him all year. The other aspect of Allen's game that was reinforced by today's performance is that the kid doesn't get rattled easily. A couple of dropped balls might be expected to screw with the confidence of a rookie but it doesn't with this kid. In fact I get the sense that he would tell you that he needed to make a better pass rather then blame the receiver.

Exactly right. Great touch throw and great catch.

This type of play calling just blows my mind. Under the circumstances and GIVEN that you gave up an easy 3 points to go for it on 4th & 2 in the 3rd quarter, you needed to approach this last possession like you were behind.

Do you watch NFL games? Because if you did you would know that the deep pass should have been caught. The second pass absolutely should have been caught. And if the WR made a better effort to come back to the ball that 3rd pass would have been completed.

I'm sorry but anyone watching this game with an open mind knows damn well that Allen has thrown the ball GREAT today. His receivers don't give him any help at all. It is not reasonable to expect Allen to make perfect throws every time. I believe that 90% of the WR's in the league make all three of those catches on that last drive.

Two drops in a row are you kidding me! Sure, they would have been good catches but please!

In a way this is how the season has gone for this unit. It's a defenses version of check down passes being used to pad the stats. Sure not a lot of points given up but no TO's. Both times Detroit got into the Red Zone they score TD's. Giving up to many long drives that flip field position. Only 1 or 2 three & outs to generate momentum.

That's what a TE can do. The lack of production at the TE position for the Bills is unbelievable.

It is UN-freaking-acceptable that he juggled that ball. It's bad enough these guys don't make great catches but for crying out loud that was a great throw from the pocket.

And what mistakes has he been making today?

I disagree 100%. Sure they don't want to see him get killed but they're not sheltering him. They are taking what the Lions are giving them.

Allen and the offense did their job by flipping the field. Now the D has to 3 and out the Lions so the Bills can get good field position. Also, did Jones slow down on that deep pass? Judas Priest he didn't look like he was running very fast.