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Q&A with Brian Daboll (The Athletic)


YoloinOhio

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https://theathletic.com/826000/2019/02/19/year-end-qa-with-brian-daboll-bills-oc-on-josh-allens-development-and-building-an-offensive-identity-in-2019/

subscription needed - here’s a few excerpts 

The 2018 season, Daboll’s first as an NFL offensive coordinator since 2012, was filled with obstacles. During training camp, he juggled the development of first-round rookie quarterback Josh Allen with the task of preparing the rest of the Buffalo Bills’ offense for opening day. Throughout the season, Daboll had four starting quarterbacks, while 10 wide receivers caught a pass and the offensive line was in flux in front of an aging LeSean McCoy.



So while Daboll was coaching a few short miles away from the West Seneca neighborhood in which he grew up, the return home was no respite. Sitting at the Bills’ facility on a February afternoon, Daboll reflected on the ups and downs his offense dealt with in 2018, the play of the rookie quarterback and what he expects entering an offseason certain to produce personnel changes.

What aspects of Josh’s game did you see improve most over the course of the season?

Everything. You get here in the spring and you get a playbook that looks like this (big). You have to do a good job as a coach of taking stuff out and making sure they understand the boulders and then working on the pebbles as you keep on going. But just his confidence, his ability to change plays at the line of scrimmage, his leadership, his physical fundamentals, footwork, drop mechanics, throwing mechanics, his read progressions, his decision-making. That’s what you hope to get is to improve every week. You don’t want ups and downs, you want steady progression. That’s not always the case. But he did a really good job of improving week in and week out. Some games were better than others. Playing the quarterback position, you’re charged with making everybody around you better. At the same time, everybody has to do their job so you can do your job effectively, too. He has a good mindset. He’s a young, smart player that tries to improve every week. He’s a good guy to work with.

At what point did you feel comfortable letting him adjust plays at the line of scrimmage?

It was pretty early on. We put a lot on the guys in that room. They have to be able to run the offense effectively. They’re out on the field. It’s not like we can call the defensive coordinator and say, “Hey can you play this on this play?” Their ability to adjust and sometimes it’s going to be a play and the clock is running down. It’s not always going to be where he’s sitting at the line of scrimmage on every single play having to do something like that. It’s his answers to bad things where we know we have absolutely no chance. He’s a young player, but he’s a smart player.

How did he handle recognizing the pressure defenses were bringing and adjusting the protection before the snap?

That’s not easy for any quarterback. There’s a lot of studying that needs to take place before you get into the game. There are certain little indicators that we can pick up during the week that are obviously beneficial. Josh’s understanding, his study habits, the way he goes about his business for a young player, his vision on the defense is good. Still, we need to get it better. Whether it was moving the line one direction or bringing it back or adding another guy to it, he’s had a pretty good understanding of that from the get-go.

He’s now out of the building until the spring. So much is out of your control as a coach. What do you hope he’s doing in his time away?

It starts with the whole evaluation process, starting with Brandon, Joe, the guys in the personnel department, of doing their due diligence on guys and not just how they are in the building but how they are outside the building. With all of our guys at this time of year, you take a few weeks off and hope you’re back at it working out. The inability to meet and go through things, that’s just the nature of the rules that we’re given. You would love to have a guy year round as much as you can, but that’s the world we live in.

Edited by YoloinOhio
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24 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

Thanks Yolo.   About the rules mentioned in the last paragraph.  Can Josh call Daboll or stop into the facility whenever she wants during the offseason, or is he forbidden from reaching out? 

 

 

this might help:

 

http://a.espncdn.com/nfl/columns/clayton_john/1550442.html

 

bottomline summary: yes there are strict rules - but the nice thing about the change to stricter rules is that it makes it easier for the players to stay in shape and also avoid injuries. 

Edited by IgotBILLStopay
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