CincyBillsFan

I would say his game was bi-polar today which is what you see a lot from rookie QB's. On the one hand he had some poor throws and the INT's were bad throws & decisions. But on the other hand he made some terrific throws and he showed decent pocket awareness & good escapability. And while I may be beating a dead horse to death here I think the issues with his WR's & TE's go way beyond not helping him out today. The impact on a game of leaving a couple of TD's on the field and fumbling at the Pats 5 yard line were huge. Just imagine the confidence & momentum that were squandered here. how is this game different if Foster snags that pass for an 82 yard TD? Allen had an average game IMO yet with a little help from his WR's & TE's the Bills may have won this game and Allen might have busted through 300 yards and had 2 - 3 TD passes. I know it's coulda/woulda/shoulda but I'm watching all these other NFL games where TE's & WR's routinely make the plays that the Bill's guys didn't.

I really do believe that even today we saw more good things from Allen then bad things. Some folks have compared this game to the GB game. But I don't see it. Allen was much more composed in the pocket and while his 2 INT's were bad they were no where near as bad as the picks he had against the Packers. And when the Packers game ended I don't recall a half dozen big plays/TD plays being left on the field by our WR's & TE's. Unlike in GB, Allen was getting the ball to his play makers. the problem is they wern't making any plays.

This is such a true comment. Facing press coverage the WR's did not make the plays they needed to downfield. And yes, the more Allen presses the riskier his passes become. And why take the check down pass to a stable of RB's who can't break a tackle or make a defender miss? And they were BRUTAL drops. Because they occurred at critical times in the game. The McKenzie drop and Foster not finding that deep pass happened early in the game when the Bills had a chance to get out front and establish some momentum. Then at several points in the games after the D got a TO and we were moving the ball drops kept us from making it a game and recapturing momentum. Allen has improved since week 1. Sure it's an uneven process but the trajectory is clearly in the right direction.

What a complete crock from Thad Brown. It's not about excuses with most of us. We're more then willing to admit that Allen has plenty of room to improve. We also freely accept that today was an average day for him. The problem is that this sports writer IGNORES all the big plays left on the field by our under-performing WR's & TE's. He calls out the McKenzie drop as the only mistake by these guys that can't be argued? Are you kidding me! The long pass to Foster wasn't a "good deep throw" it was a great read followed by an EXCELLENT deep throw. What does an 82 yard TD pass there do for the offenses & Allen's confidence and the the outcome of this game? 82 dropped a "tough catch"? BS - that was a very catchable ball in the NFL. Sure even had his WR's & TE's made the plays today that they should have Allen would still have thrown some bad balls and he would still have a lot of work to do. He's a rookie for crying out loud. But if his skill players actually made plays today we would have had an exciting game to watch, Allen's stats would have looked a lot better and most importantly we may have beat the Pats!

I read Sal's take expecting to see a lot of Allen bashing and while it sort of went that way it's clear that he understands where the real problem lies going by these two quotes: "he is surrounded with such incompetence on offense" and then describing the rest of the offense as "the slop around him". It's true that Allen & the Bills did not seize the torch from Brady & the Patriots today. But that day is coming once we clear the deadwood out.

I think you're spot on with your analysis. I mean for those who watch the NFL on a regular basis the big plays that were left on the field by the WR's & TE's today cost us the game. When you have a rookie QB that is blowing hot & cold in the same game making a couple of these plays can make a world of difference with the rookies confidence and the outcome of the game. It's actually refreshing that the coach saw it this way.

Look other then the fact that Darnold is going to be a thorn in the sides of the Bills for years to come I don't give a damn about him. I'm glad we have Allen and it's Allen who we need to surround with talent. Darnold is going to be a very good NFL QB because in addition to his natural talent he will be given the tools to succeed. I also think Allen will be every bit his equal but I don't have the confidence that this organization will surround him with the necessary talent. I hope I'm wrong here but this is a staff that thought KB still had gas in the tank. I really worry that we'll spend a boat load of money on players who are not up to the task. For sure this current organization has not shown they are a good judge of free agent offensive talent. Again I hope with a big budget and clear needs they can step up and do the right thing in the draft & free agency. But I've got a sinking suspicion that they'll sign an over rated WR (don't you dare take Carolina's David Funchess who is one buffet line from being KB) and then draft that LSU corner back with a top 10 pick. Like I no longer compare our Josh to the other Josh I no longer compare Allen to Darnold. I've seen enough of Allen to believe he is our guy at QB so all that matters now is that the Bills get him the offensive help he needs. As for Darnold, I hope he goes into Gillette stadium and throws 4 TD's and 400 yards and beats the Pats.

Nice review. While I don't agree with everything you posted as usual it's always a thought provoking analysis. My take on Allen is that with better WR/TE play this would have been one of those rookie QB days where you say "damn he made some dumb throws and decisions but he also made a bunch of great plays". IMO Allen's 2 INT's are on him 100%. But damn, he should have at least another 125 yards passing and 2 - 3 passing TD's. That's on his "skill players" 100%. I actually feel a bit better about Allen's performance then I did while watching the game. However, it's dispiriting that we need to overhaul the entire RB, WR & TE positions. Foster is probably at best a 3rd receiver (like Beebe was which is no small thing) and there is no NFL quality starting TE currently on the roster.

Good point about Arian's. Do you think he was auditioning for the Bills head coaching job? he lavished a lot of praise on the Pegula's and the Bill's chances in the future. The sense I got from Arian's comments were that on the one hand he was frustrated with Allen but in a good way. He kept comparing Allen's play to Andrew Luck's game when he was a rookie.

The funny thing is that with a better supporting cast at WR & TE Allen would have beat them through the air. Watching the highlights I'm more convinced then I was when watching the game live (where I was throwing stuff at the TV) that this is the case. With almost any other WR/RB/TE group out there today Allen would have had a classic gunslinger type of game and the Bills probably pull off the upset. By this I mean that Allen did throw some very bad balls and 2 dumb INT's. But at the same time he threw some great balls that should have resulted in TD's. This could have been an amazing game if our skilled players had MADE SOME PLAYS!

I think Darnold could have a big game because he has a much better group of pass catching RB's, WR's & TE's. The Patriots were vulnerable today. Again at the risk of beating a dead horse Allen had at least 3 dropped TD passes and the Crooms fumble robbed the Bills of another TD. Put almost any other WR/TE group on the field with Allen today and he has 3 - 4 TD passes and it's an entirely different game. Net, while I'm sure the Hoodie will have something to say about this, Darnold may be the guy to end his mastery of rookie QB's.

The 2 INT's were very bad passes but they only led to 3 NE points. Allen also had several passes that on ALMOST ANY OTHER NFL TEAM would have resulted in TD's.

Exactly right. Allen did not play a good game and made some bad throws. Yet by my count he put the Bills in position to score 4 more TD's today: the 1st was the Sun pass to Foster; the 2nd was the jump ball on 4th & 4 to Foster; the 3rd was the great throw that went right through 82's hands at the goal line & the 4th was the fumble by Croom at the NE 5. Hell I'll throw in a 5th TD when the refs missed a blatant PI call on that pass to McKenzie in the end zone. Sure you can say I'm viewing the game through Allen tinted glasses but tell me this - if we had KC's WR's & TE's on the field today with those EXACT SAME Allen throws can you really argue that we wouldn't have had 4 more TD's?

I was trying to only call out those plays THAT NO SANE FAN could argue with. But you're right about those other 2 plays. And don't forget on the pass to McKenzie there were 2 Bills receivers right next to each other which only works on hail Mary's! Bottom line is that Bill's coaches are going to be sick at just how close they came to having an offensive explosion when they look at the film. Or put another way, if you take those EXACT same passes that Allen threw today with KC's WR's & TE's who doesn't think the kid has 3 - 4 TD passes?

Did you watch the catches Darnold's receivers made in last Saturday's game? Remember that Allen throw at the end of the half today that everyone was saying shouldn't have been thrown on 4th & 4? Well that Jet's WR who made some great catches last week would have caught that ball for a TD.

I was pessimistic going into this game and the outcome was pretty much what I expected. In fact I predicted the Pats would win 27 - 10 and that Allen would struggle against the Hoodie. Some observations from today's game: * Allen played better then his final stats will show. Sure he got some garbage yards late and he did throw a couple of bad INT's but he also made some great throws that for a variety of reasons didn't produce yards or points among them: 1) a perfect strike to McKenzie that was dropped. Would have converted a 3rd down early and who knows what happens; 2) The long ball to Foster. Bad luck about the sun but that dosen't negate a great read & throw by Allen. Should have been an 80 yard TD pass; 3) The great pass to #82 that was dropped at the goal line. Perfect placement of the ball. In the NFL you have to make that catch. 4) The pass to Crooms that ended up as a lost fumble at the Pat's 5 yard line. We likely score a TD on that drive if he doesn't fumble. By my count that's THREE TD's left on the field that should have resulted directly from Allen's play. BTW, I think his 2 INT's only cost us 3 points. Next year we make those plays. * Edmunds is taking way to much criticism. Sure he got burned today but like Allen he's a raw rookie. The Hoodie dissects rookies like this for fun at Gillette stadium. The loss of Milano was huge. Edmunds is going to make huge strides next year. Like Allen this is a learning season for him. * The Bills had NO running game today. I believe Allen had their longest run. It's tough for a rookie QB to go into NE and generate offense when their is no running game. * The Bills rush defense was very bad. For me the defenses play today was a microcosm of their season. At times they played lights out and they generated 3 big TO's. But at other times they looked soft as pudding and they didn't make the stops that might have turned the game around. This unit could use some help in the off season. I don't think it would take much to lift them from being a good defense to a great one. * NE & Brady are definitely sliding. Lost in all the complaining about Allen, Edmunds, Zay Jones, the Bills coaches and the water boy is the FACT that Brady didn't play any better then Allen in spite of having a devastating running game to fall back on, better receivers and the home crowd. To me this was the biggest surprise. Next year NE may barely reach 500.

Agreed that was a very bad pass. But at the same time Allen did not play as poorly as the stats will show.

If the Bills did anything this stupid I would be done with them forever! How can you possibly say that if the Bills score more points at home against the Dolphins with Barkley then they did on the road against NE it means that it's Allen's fault? Allen has not played a good game today but his game today has been far better then someone who can't play at a high level. Allen is the starter, he needs every snap he can get this year, especially against division opponents.

It's tough to go into NE and play well offensively when you have NO running game.

It wasn't a prevent. The Bills score there and they could have been within one score late in the 3rd - no one, but particularly the hoodies, plays prevent under those circumstances.

How does the ref NOT call holding on the pats on that 3rd down play?

Judas priest: * TWO WR's in the same place in the end zone. Come on this is the NFL NOT high school play. * 82 has to make that catch. It was a great throw. * The refs are awful. First no call on PI in the end zone then no roughing the passer. Allen is having a much better day then his stats are going to show and the Bills are hanging around. This game is not over.

That was TD pass if the NE player doesn't tackle him. Allen has thrown some good balls today - they just won't show up on the stat sheet.

Allen & the WR's haven't been on the same page today. There's a lot of work to do in the off season. As an aside I wish we would have kicked that FG at the end of the half. We'd only be down by one score now.

I agree and don't blame Foster for not making that catch. But that doesn't change the fact that it was a beautifully thrown deep pass and should have gone for an 80 yard TD. My point is that anyone saying Allen is playing poorly is ignoring that pass which if completed would have changed this game. Now to be clear Allen is not playing well but he's not playing bad either. There just are not enough weapons on this offense to take advantage of what the Pats are conceding on defense.