Josh Allen's progress

[oldmanfan]

Just now, Nextmanup said:

Remove Allen's running highlight plays--of which there have been many--and you don't have a lot leftover.  

 

Here's the thing: the running will eventually be stopped by opposing defenses and it doesn't win many games in the NFL to begin with.   

This is just absurd.  Truly absurd.  I guess you didn't watch the last series, or the rest of the game for that matter.

 

A pick into coverage, rookie mistake.  Just misses Foster on a 60 yard pass.  Misread with Jones.  Those were on him.  KB shortarms a TD, Clay gets two hands on the ball and drops it.  But those are Allen?  Please.

 

He has work to do and a ways to go.  But the distance to travel is shorter every game, and much shorter than we thought.

[MrEpsYtown]

This guy is the real deal. I honestly don't care if we win anymore games this year. I like the progress I am seeing, and to me, the rest of this season is all about learning experiences for Josh. He will certainly learn a lot from a loss like today's, that you have to make the plays when they are there. We should have blown that team out. I for one am very excited and I am happy he is the guy we got. 

[Success]

7 minutes ago, peterpan said:

He wasn't amazing.  He missed about 8-10 passes which an amazing QB would.only miss 2-3 of those.  

 

His passes that weren't perfect cost us the game.  Like the miss to wide open Zay Jones in the end zone.  And the wobbly ball to Clay.  Then there was the long bomb overthrow to Foster.  That's three missed TD passes.  17 points.  His 2nd int was a bad ball too, KB was open.  There were others too. I don't expect him to make every throw but he needs.more of those throws in the future

No running game, a poor line and a receiving corps that features mainly a 2nd year guy who was terrible last year.

 

I feel like fans here need to watch other games.  Granted. I watch too many - but there aren’t a lot of QBs hitting nearly every pass, every game.

[34-78-83]

21 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Today was the first game all season where I believed the Bill's best chance to win this game was to put the ball in Allen's hands.  Forget the final score, today was a great day to be a Buffalo Bills fan.

Its cliche maybe but lately it feels like some point in 1986 (Maybe the opener even vs. NYJ) with Kelly. You didn't know how good he was going to be but you knew he was always going to be in the mix, seen as a threat by opponents and be able to keep you in games.

Edited December 3, 2018 by 34-78-83

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Josh Allen on the  throw in the end to clay...  roughly....   I didn’t like how it came out of my hand, I missed him 

 

Maybe I’m  starting to see what they see

 

BTw Theilen makes that catch with his eyes closed 

Edited December 3, 2018 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[cgg716]

3 hours ago, RalphWilson'sNewWar said:

Allen’s success won’t START

until the running STOPS.

 

its fools good.

dont fall for it.

 

he gets the BOTD because he is a Rookie.

 

but his true success won’t START until the running STOPS.

The league is moving towards size and mobility at QB. Brady and Rivers and Brees remain old age exceptions to that rule, but pure pocket passing is dying, the game is shifting. As he gets better weapons his running will become less frequent, but it shouldn’t stop

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

16 minutes ago, billspro said:

 

Completely disagree, his running is a weapon. He should use it, especially his first three years in the league. His passing will continue to develop and surpass his running in time.

 

His running IS a weapon.  I agree.  But it’s not being purposefully weaponzied.  His running is more of a parachute/fail-safe device.

 

these are scrambled on busted plays, not designed read option or QB Sneaks.

 

His runs today were the result of the offense failing to execute the designed playcall of a pass.

 

Now we need to see the tape to figure out why the passing plays aren’t being executed?

 

- QB not properly identifying the defense pre-snap?

- QB getting confused by defense?

- Offensive Line breakdowns?

- Wide Receiver lack of talent?

- Combination?

 

these next four games I would prefer he experiment more with his arm than worries about beating the jets 16-13.

[cgg716]

26 minutes ago, peterpan said:

He wasn't amazing.  He missed about 8-10 passes which an amazing QB would.only miss 2-3 of those.  

 

His passes that weren't perfect cost us the game.  Like the miss to wide open Zay Jones in the end zone.  And the wobbly ball to Clay.  Then there was the long bomb overthrow to Foster.  That's three missed TD passes.  17 points.  His 2nd int was a bad ball too, KB was open.  There were others too. I don't expect him to make every throw but he needs.more of those throws in the future

KB wasn’t open, he got undercut, beat to his spot. Zay was likely a miscommunication. He missed Foster. And hit Clay in the hands with a throw very few can make. He will be just fine 

[CincyBillsFan]

Some thoughts on Allen today:

 

*  The runs are a part of his game and IMO he should keep doing it.  Do people appreciate the acceleration Allen shows as he takes off?  And he showed good sense in sliding time after time.  The truth is Allen is more likely to get killed in the pocket then running for 20 yards.  He is channeling Cam Newton in this part of his game and that's a good thing. 

 

*  His passing game is improving in every facet.  He's scanning the field, checking down on his reads and his throws for the most part were accurate today.  The throw to Demarco showed great touch and the 1st TD pass was a stupendous throw. 

 

*  He drove us down the field and put us in a position to win the game.  The throw to Clay on 4th down wasn't his best pass but it was good enough.  As Loften said it was like Clay's feet came out from under him as he seemed to get a late start coming back to the ball.  And for the record there are a number of TE's in this league who make that catch.  BTW, do people realize how far Allen threw that pass after running around eluding tacklers for 75 yards? 

 

*  Sure Allen made mistakes and he has a lot of things to work on.  But today was an example of a day where his play should cause Bills fans to be optimistic about the future.  Every week this guy is looking more and more like the real deal. 

1 minute ago, cgg716 said:

KB wasn’t open, he got undercut, beat to his spot. Zay was likely a miscommunication. He missed Foster. And hit Clay in the hands with a throw very few can make. He will be just fine 

 

That's what I thought to.  For a big body guy he sure does get muscled off the ball a lot. 

 

Remember in the first half on that 3rd & 17 in which Allen threw laser to KB 1 yard short of the first and he couldn't push his way past a DB that outweighed by 50 pounds? 

[bills11]

3 hours ago, PearlHowardman said:

 

Why do 7 out of 10 posters here admit that Josh Allen has a accuracy problem but then turn around and say how great Josh Allen is?  I don't get it.

 

Accuracy isn't something that you teach.

 

 

 

actually it depends what causes the inaccuracy...if its mechanical/footwork based then yes it can be improved. Ej manuel could never improve because he flat out cant throw a pigskin...Allen has mechanical issues he doesnt know yet how to keep his mechanics together when under duress which is something you can learn with repetitions if you watch him when the pocket is clean vs when theres chaos his mechanics are completely different...baker had that already coming in its a difference..josh can certainly improve his accuracy though which is the point im making because his base mechanics are clean its just getting them correct..hes already throwing more accurate passes then beginning of the year its not always about numbers.

[HappyDays]

1 hour ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Today was the first game all season where I believed the Bill's best chance to win this game was to put the ball in Allen's hands.

 

No doubt. We should have stopped bothering to run the ball. Unless I'm forgetting something we only got one 1st down on a Shady or Ivory run. We had 415 total yards of offense and Allen accounted for 366 of them. He was literally 90% of our whole offense today, constantly just putting the team on his back and making things happen on his own.

[Seventeen]

2 hours ago, Mojo44 said:

Wrong. Accuracy, at least from the pocket, is an absolutely trainable psycho motor skill. Do some research. Google it for crying out loud! This is one of the biggest myths about quarterbacks that accuracy, at least from the pocket, cannot be trained and improved.It most definitely can.

 

Allen was 18-33 with probably 5 throwaways. Couple of bad throws but I'll take it for a rook.

[JohnC]

12 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Yeah, take away what was wildly successful and it wasn’t that good. Allen played a great game. 

 

It it was interesting though. My brother was a college QB and we almost always see things the same way. I came away today with a ton of optimism.  He did not.  Allen has a lot of development ahead of him but we should feel great about the progress. 

What many critics are not recognizing is that he is playing on an offense whose OL and running game is less than sub par. With a better running game there will be a lot less pressure on him. His play action passes would certainly be more effective with a more balanced offense. 

 

It's a mistake to judge his play with a snap shot lens. The more accurate way to evaluate him should be grounded on the issue of whether he is getting better.  Is his recognition, accuracy and comfort in the pocket getting better.? I would say yes.  Whether the Bills win or lose the most important thing is that Allen is getting the playing time that will accelerate his development. Because he has gone through the trials and tribulations of on field experience his off season preparation should be enhanced. I'm stoked about him!

[Kirby Jackson]

5 minutes ago, JohnC said:

What many critics are not recognizing is that he is playing on an offense whose OL and running game is less than sub par. With a better running game there will be a lot less pressure on him. His play action passes would certainly be more effective with a more balanced offense. 

 

It's a mistake to judge his play with a snap shot lens. The more accurate way to evaluate him should be grounded on the issue of whether he is getting better.  Is his recognition, accuracy and comfort in the pocket getting better.? I would say yes.  Whether the Bills win or lose the most important thing is that Allen is getting the playing time that will accelerate his development. Because he has gone through the trials and tribulations of on field experience his off season preparation should be enhanced. I'm stoked about him!

Oh, I agree with you. It gives me pause though that my brother’s much more refined eye feels differently. I called him as soon as the game ended thinking that we would be sharing the same optimism. He sees things that I don’t. I see the plays that he makes and he see the ones that he misses. I’m certainly encouraged, just thought it was interesting.

[Bookie Man]

The kid took a step in the right direction throwing the ball today. 171 in the 2nd half. Yes he left some plays out there, but we all pretty much knew his season was going to have a lot of ups and downs. He was/is one of the rawest prospects to be drafted where he was. But also had an upside that you don't see very often. I feel like he is getting more comfortable as a passer. I'd like to see him take the 5-7 yard pass play rather than tuck it and run. But I also understand that rookie qb's trust their legs more than their eyes. Improvement is good. Already excited to see him next season, hopefully with an improved OL and some proper skill players.

[PaattMaann]

After yesterday...for the first time it looked like we hit on this guy. He has shown flashes before, but he dominated this game. And he did it with very limited and underwhelming offensive support.

 

A couple bag throws:

- threw behind zay jones who was wide open in the end zone for a TD

- just overthrew Foster deep for a TD 

- Missed Foster on the sideline by leading him a bit too much

- The INT on Kelvin Benjamin throw 

 

Two should have been TDs and those hurt. The INT was a terribly lazy route and a bad throw right to the DB. 

 

For a guy with less than half a season of starts under his belt, and who is a project QB, man did he look impressive both running and throwing. Both TDs to Zay were darts, one of which he extended the play with his legs but still kept his eyes up the field to hit him. Pass on the final drive to Foster was his second look and an absolute laser through defenders. 

 

Most of his runs did not seem like he bailed too early which was real good to see. We will see what the All 22 shows but man did he have a heck of a day. And if Clay catches his underthrown ball (I am in the camp of, if it touches your hands you need to catch it) the narrative is only how amazing he played. Real good game.

 

Color me encouraged, cant wait for this final month to see how he grows. 

[JoshAllenHasBigHands]

12 hours ago, peterpan said:

He wasn't amazing.  He missed about 8-10 passes which an amazing QB would.only miss 2-3 of those.  

 

His passes that weren't perfect cost us the game.  Like the miss to wide open Zay Jones in the end zone.  And the wobbly ball to Clay.  Then there was the long bomb overthrow to Foster.  That's three missed TD passes.  17 points.  His 2nd int was a bad ball too, KB was open.  There were others too. I don't expect him to make every throw but he needs.more of those throws in the future

 

Your take on these four throws is pessimistic and the "worst case" interpretation of each.   

 

Zay in the endzone- Zay was supposed to sit in the soft spot of the zone.  He didn't.  Regardless of fault, it was a misunderstanding, not a miss. It happens. 

 

Wobbly ball to Clay- it was catchable.  Throw could have been better, but it was Clay that dropped the ball.  

 

The deep pall- they are low percentage throws for a reason.  Hard to pin that on a QB

 

Interception- it happens.  He needs more touch on the ball for sure.  But he is a rookie, that happens.  

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[formerlyofCtown]

On 12/2/2018 at 5:07 PM, Bangarang said:

He’s a mixed bag still. It will be much easier to get a good feel for his progress once we get some more weapons around him and strengthen the o-line

Yes, because improving with less weapons doesnt say as much as improving with more weapons???

I think I'm more impressed by a QB who is able to be productive with less.  Now as far as team developement goes we need more weapons to win Championships.

 

Now if what you mean is in order for you to see the stats increase he needs more weapons then I get it.  But stats dont win games.

[Bangarang]

11 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

Yes, because improving with less weapons doesnt say as much as improving with more weapons???

I think I'm more impressed by a QB who is able to be productive with less.  Now as far as team developement goes we need more weapons to win Championships.

 

Now if what you mean is in order for you to see the stats increase he needs more weapons then I get it.  But stats dont win games.

 

Do you find it easy to see how Allen is progressing with his ability to read defenses or see the field when he’s either running for his life because the o-line can’t pass block or his receivers aren’t getting separation? Better players and more time in the pocket allows us to see his progression in critical areas. We won’t get to see that with what we currently have.

[John from Riverside]

2 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

 

Do you find it easy to see how Allen is progressing with his ability to read defenses or see the field when he’s either running for his life because the o-line can’t pass block or his receivers aren’t getting separation? Better players and more time in the pocket allows us to see his progression in critical areas. We won’t get to see that with what we currently have.

I dont get it....are you trying to give yourself a excuse to not watch the rest of the games this season?   This is all we got.....

[formerlyofCtown]

9 minutes ago, Bangarang said:

 

Do you find it easy to see how Allen is progressing with his ability to read defenses or see the field when he’s either running for his life because the o-line can’t pass block or his receivers aren’t getting separation? Better players and more time in the pocket allows us to see his progression in critical areas. We won’t get to see that with what we currently have.

I think the way he is handling those situations is very important.  I want to see how he is in a fire not a hottub.

 

I think we are seeing him elevate the play around him on both sides of the ball and if you dont think thats important then you only need to look at our QBs since Kelly (with the exception being Flutie).

Edited December 4, 2018 by formerlyofCtown

[Bangarang]

23 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

I think the way he is handling those situations is very important.  I want to see how he is in a fire not a hottub.

 

A QB consistently running for his life is not what you want to see. Sure it’s exciting to see him make great throws on the run but it’s not how you have a consistently good offense.

 

Quote

 

I think we are seeing him elevate the play around him on both sides of the ball and if you dont think thats important then you only need to look at our QBs since Kelly (with the exception being Flutie).

 

Why would you amquestion if I think that’s important? It’s obviously something you’d want to see out of your QB.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Bangarang

[formerlyofCtown]

1 minute ago, Bangarang said:

 

A QB consistently running for his life is not what you want to see. Sure it’s exciting to see him make great throws on the run but it’s not how you have a consistently good offense.

 

 

Why would you assume I don’t think that’s important?

I would prefer to see a better Oline.  But what im getting at is how he has performed under the circumstances tells me he is legit and he will develope to his top potential.  True strength is found in adversity my friend.  If he didnt perform under the circumstances I wouldnt hold it against him.  What youre really talking about is overall team developement.  Case in point you said "its not how you have a consistently good offense" and I agree but, this thread isnt about the developement of the offense.  Its about Josh Allens developement and its happening in spite of a less than ideal supporting cast.  I get it youre a stats guy.  You have to see stats to recognise developement.  Robert Woods performance was no surprise to me.  I recognised how good he was while here.  I also wasnt worried about Zay or Lawson.

[Bangarang]

12 minutes ago, formerlyofCtown said:

I would prefer to see a better Oline.  But what im getting at is how he has performed under the circumstances tells me he is legit and he will develope to his top potential.  

 

Maybe. Maybe not.

 

Quote

True strength is found in adversity my friend.  If he didnt perform under the circumstances I wouldnt hold it against him.  What youre really talking about is overall team developement.

 

No, I’m not.

 

Quote

 Case in point you said "its not how you have a consistently good offense" and I agree but, this thread isnt about the developement of the offense.  Its about Josh Allens developement and its happening in spite of a less than ideal supporting cast.  

 

Allen having more talent around him so he can develop is how you have a consistently good offense. This is about Allen. I really don’t get what you’re arguing here. I’m saying we need to put more talent around him so he can continue to progress.

 

Quote

I get it youre a stats guy.  You have to see stats to recognise developement.  Robert Woods performance was no surprise to me.  I recognised how good he was while here.  I also wasnt worried about Zay or Lawson.

 

I appreciate stats and think they serve a purpose but not once have I mentioned stats in this thread so I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make here.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Bangarang

[formerlyofCtown]

1 hour ago, Bangarang said:

 

Maybe. Maybe not.

 

 

No, I’m not.

 

 

Allen having more talent around him so he can develop is how you have a consistently good offense. This is about Allen. I really don’t get what you’re arguing here. I’m saying we need to put more talent around him so he can continue to progress.

 

 

I appreciate stats and think they serve a purpose but not once have I mentioned stats in this thread so I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make here.

If you quote it all together it will make more sense to you.

[Logic]

It is easy to see the progress Allen has made this season.

Any notion that he "won't progress unless/until he stops running", or that he hasn't progressed a bunch ALREADY, is false in my opinion.

First, let me get this out of the way: He has a long way to go and a lot of areas of needed improvement before he's where he needs to be. Nobody better accuse me of being an Allen apologist. My post history shows that I was firmly in the "anyone but Allen" camp leading up to the draft.

That having been said, Allen has progressed in key areas as the season has gone on, particularly since he came back from injury. He's going through his reads faster, setting his protections and IDing defenses better, audibling into run plays when the box is light, leading his receivers better, throwing with better anticipation and touch, displaying more fearlessness when making tight window throws, trusting his receivers better, throwing short passes and screens more accurately, and showing improved pocket presence and poise. That's a TON of improvement across just 7 games. It also appears that the mid-season month on the bench did him wonders.

Long way to go, as I said, but he has shown tremendous progress.

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Logic

[Victory Formation]

7 minutes ago, Logic said:

It is easy to see the progress Allen has made this season.

Any notion that he "won't progress unless/until he stops running", or that he hasn't progressed a bunch ALREADY, is false in my opinion.

First, let me get this out of the way: He has a long way to go and a lot of areas of needed improvement before he's where he needs to be. Nobody better accuse me of being an Allen apologist. My post history shows that I was firmly in the "anyone but Allen" camp leading up to the draft.

That having been said, Allen has progressed in key areas as the season has gone on, particularly since he came back from injury. He's going through his reads faster, setting his protections and IDing defenses better, audibling into run plays when the box is light, leading his receivers better, throwing with better anticipation and touch, displaying more fearlessness when making tight window throws, trusting his receivers better, throwing short passes and screens more accurately, and showing improved pocket presence and poise. That's a TON of improvement across just 7 games. It also appears that the mid-season month on the bench did him wonders.

Long way to go, as I said, but he has shown tremendous progress.

 

Allen makes plays few can make. Allen just needs to master the short attack. He's gotten a lot better there but some of it is roster/personnel. When your RB gets dropped like a sack of potatoes every time you throw to him? Yeah, you look a lot worse than you are. If you were to upgrade that OL and gave him 2-3 backs he can throw to he'll look like the GOAT. Allen is so gifted he always goes for the difficult throw, there needs to be more balance. Sometimes you need to take the easy 5yds. Too bad there isn't a RB on the roster that can do that for him.

[2003Contenders]

In addition to his physical attributes that have been well on display, I love his intangibles as well.

 

You can see the way the veteran players around him respond to his leadership and contagious positive attitude. I guarantee the way in which he accepted the blame for the last pass of the game falling incomplete did not go unnoticed in the locker room.

 

I would not be surprised to see Clay (or even KB) step up this week and makes some plays for the team.

 

 

[Commish]

Chad Pennington on 1 Bills Live had the following thought: Allen's next step is to learn to be a three dimensional thrower, that is, learning to put arc on the ball to get it over a defender that's immediately between the QB and his receiver. 

[26CornerBlitz]

5 minutes ago, Roch-A-Bill said:

Chad Pennington on 1 Bills Live had the following thought: Allen's next step is to learn to be a three dimensional thrower, that is, learning to put arc on the ball to get it over a defender that's immediately between the QB and his receiver. 

 

This missed throw to Foster is an example of what he was referring to.

 

 

[Magox]

2 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

 

This missed throw to Foster is an example of what he was referring to.

 

 

 

That was his most inaccurate pass of the game.

[jrober38]

I don't think Allen has shown much progress as a passer from the pocket. He's essentially the same now as he was at the beginning of the season.

 

I do however think he's shown progress on the mental side of the game in terms of how he approaches things.  Allen has quickly figured out that he's at the top of the food chain in the NFL.

 

He's bigger, stronger, and faster than the guys assigned with stopping him. At the beginning of the season, I think he was a bit timid, and didn't realize what he could do physically. Now I feel like he's figured out that he can outrun linemen and linebackers, and as a result he's most comfortable freelancing, running around, buying time, waiting for guys to get open for huge plays. This has been a big change in his attitude. 

 

What he's doing has been increasingly effective because he's such a gifted athlete. He thrives operating in chaos where DBs are asked to cover his receivers for 4+ seconds and he's excellent at throwing on the run. This progress has mostly been a result of a changed mentality by Allen.

 

As a pocket passer, I don't think there's been a lot of improvement. He still misses throws from time to time and struggles a lot when asked to throw with touch over defenders. He's got a cannon, but rarely connects on deep balls that require touch. If he can improve on these throws, he should wind up being pretty good.

 

The key is that he needs to improve from the pocket. Allen isn't going to be 23 years old with a fresh body and 4.6 speed forever. After the hits start to pile up, he'll slow down a bit, and he won't be able to buy the time he's currently able to buy outside the pocket. At that point he'll need to have figured out how to operate efficiently from the pocket or he'll be sunk as an NFL QB. 

Edited December 4, 2018 by jrober38

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[VW82]

20 minutes ago, Magox said:

 

That was his most inaccurate pass of the game.

 

That wasn't close to being his most inaccurate pass. The INT, the one hopper to KB, and the floater along the sideline that sailed way long (and was called back by penalty) were more of the OMG WTF variety. This one was just a regular bad pass. Lots of QBs miss that one. 

Edited December 4, 2018 by VW82

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[Bangarang]

9 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I dont get it....are you trying to give yourself a excuse to not watch the rest of the games this season?   This is all we got.....

 

No, all I’m saying is that it will be easier to see how he’s progressing in certain areas when we has better protection and better receivers to throw to...

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

6 hours ago, jrober38 said:

I don't think Allen has shown much progress as a passer from the pocket. He's essentially the same now as he was at the beginning of the season.

 

I do however think he's shown progress on the mental side of the game in terms of how he approaches things.  Allen has quickly figured out that he's at the top of the food chain in the NFL.

 

He's bigger, stronger, and faster than the guys assigned with stopping him. At the beginning of the season, I think he was a bit timid, and didn't realize what he could do physically. Now I feel like he's figured out that he can outrun linemen and linebackers, and as a result he's most comfortable freelancing, running around, buying time, waiting for guys to get open for huge plays. This has been a big change in his attitude. 

 

What he's doing has been increasingly effective because he's such a gifted athlete. He thrives operating in chaos where DBs are asked to cover his receivers for 4+ seconds and he's excellent at throwing on the run. This progress has mostly been a result of a changed mentality by Allen.

 

As a pocket passer, I don't think there's been a lot of improvement. He still misses throws from time to time and struggles a lot when asked to throw with touch over defenders. He's got a cannon, but rarely connects on deep balls that require touch. If he can improve on these throws, he should wind up being pretty good.

 

The key is that he needs to improve from the pocket. Allen isn't going to be 23 years old with a fresh body and 4.6 speed forever. After the hits start to pile up, he'll slow down a bit, and he won't be able to buy the time he's currently able to buy outside the pocket. At that point he'll need to have figured out how to operate efficiently from the pocket or he'll be sunk as an NFL QB. 

 

Hopefully this doesn’t upset fans, but your entire breakdown just brought back how I used to recall Jake Locker.

6 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Respect Pennington's opinion. 

 

Very intelligent guy. Thought he was going to be very good for a long time until his rotator cuff issues. 

 

I liked how Pennington summed it up way better than I did.

 

”De-Athletle” Josh.  It will help you grow from being a good player into a good quarterback.

 

thats all the peopel who say Allen needs to run less were trying to say

[26CornerBlitz]

 

Subscription Required for Full Access:

 

Of the five quarterbacks selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Allen was seen as the biggest project. Unlike many of his fellow draftees, Allen didn’t play Power Five competition regularly and when he did, he didn’t play well. In three games versus Power Five schools, Allen registered one touchdown and eight interceptions and a 50 percent completion rate.

 

When it came to the nuances of the QB position, Allen had a long way to go, but there were times in college where his athleticism or rocket arm took over. In the 21-17 loss to the Dolphins, that version of Allen rose up, this time against NFL level competition. Allen accounted for 88 percent of the Bills offense, a unit that ranks 31st in Football Outsiders DVOA efficiency metric.

 

Allen’s 54.5 percent completion rate in the Miami game is not going to win over box score scouts, but the numbers don’t reflect the growth that people who watched his college film and the game on Sunday have seen.

 

Early in the game, there were several opportunities for Allen to simply take what the defense gave him, but for whatever reason, he chose to either scramble or throw it away. This is a common problem with Allen because he does look to get chunk plays by trusting his arm.

 

On 2nd and 12 late in the first quarter, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll dials up a basic concept known as a ‘Shallow cross.’ It’s a concept Allen struggled with the first half of the season and one that I covered in early October. The down and distance should put Allen in the mindset that he needs to get the ball out to either WR Zay Jones or TE Charles Clay to at least set up a manageable 3rd down. Clay is running a hook route right over the ball and Jones is running the crossing route. Allen is reading the linebacker level. If they gain depth with the hook route, then the cross by Jones is wide open. That is exactly what happens, but Allen fails to get rid of it. He does face pressure as Jeremiah Sirles gets driven into his lap, but the rookie QB needed to do one of two things. Either get rid of it as soon as he hits the top of his drop or keep his base, slide to his right and get it to Jones. A lot of Allen’s issues can be traced back to how he transfers his weight when manipulating the pocket or during a throw. You can see him take a slight step to his left as his back foot hit, so now he is not in a position to smoothly slide or deliver an accurate ball. He is nearly forced to escape the pocket, but no harm done with the nine-yard gain.