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How Bills adjustments in second half of 2018 set Allen up to unleash his potential


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https://www.cover1.net/buffalo-bills-josh-allen-potential-nfl-draft/

While his overall numbers were pedestrian, the change the offense underwent from his first six weeks of the season to the last six was glaring. As we all know, there was much more youth and speed added into the lineup post-Allen’s injury, but no one has really gone in-depth into why the team made those changes or how they changed how Allen was defended by the Bills’ opponents. That is, until now. So with the help of SportsInfo Solutions (SIS), I want to break down how teams defended Allen and the Bills’ offense differently pre- and post-injury, and show you why they made those changes and what it means going forward.

 

This is why the Bills moved WR type from big target/catch radius to speed 

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This is hopefully going to be much different this year ...

 



Per PFF, Allen was under pressure on 43.4% of his dropbacks in 2018; that was the second most behind Houston’s Deshaun Watson. Eleven of Allen’s 28 sacks surrendered occurred in 2.5 seconds or less, which was the fifth-most among all QBs. Nine out of those 11 sacks under 2.5 seconds took place in the first six weeks of the season. So the free agent pickups and drafting of guys like Mitch Morse, Ty Nsekhe, Quinton Spain, Spencer Long, and Cody Ford, just to name a few, should help relieve some of the duress Allen was under last year.

The upgrades along the offensive line and running back talent should jumpstart the run game if defenses want to play as many two-high looks as they did to end the 2018 season. Sadly, the Bills’ rushing yards per attempt dropped from 3.4 in the first six weeks to 3.0 from weeks 12-17. This is likely due to the shuffling of offensive linemen, specifically adding Wyatt Teller from week 10 on and going from Russell Bodine at center for most of the season to Ryan Groy — perhaps the worst run blocker of them all — from week 12 on. John Miller was another hog who was in and out of the lineup late last season. Overall, the offensive line was one of the worst units in recent memory.

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What a great article!  Forcing those safeties to play deep is going to open up the run game too.  Daboll is about to open up a can of whoop a**.  Love that we have coaches who recognize what skills our QB has and adjusts to those strengths. Brown, Foster and Zay are going to make sure those safeties stay deep.  Will also open things up for TEs and RBs underneath.  I see an evil genius at work here.

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It just feels like they spent last year figuring out the secret sauce and are now ready for business... Run the dang ball all day long, wait till they slip into cover 1, hit em with the speed. 

 

As a single back safety, what do you even attempt to do when you see John Brown on one side and Robert Foster on the other? Find a priest? 

 

 

The best part of this article is that it shows that we adapted mid season and found success.... You know how rare that's been for the Bills since i've been a fan? I don't know if it's ever happened... They changed philosophy and made it work. I love it. 

 

I might be a homer, but I feel like we're going to win 11 games this year........... Call me crazy, and probably i am, but i feel it in my bones. 

Edited by whatdrought
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.."in game adjustments" has been a critically lacking component for years IMO......pretty sure one of Moo's clubs set a team record for scoring on the opening drive....and then the opposition would adjust and smoke us in the 2nd half.....was on the road with the game on the radio listening to Dopey Dickie Jauron's club with Spent Trent at the helm....out to a quick 14-0 lead versus the Pats.......back in the car 45 minutes later and it's Pats 21-14......pretty damn debilitating to watch wounded dawgs have no answers....

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Outstanding review! It was clear early last year that the big "catch radius, non speed" guys just were not getting it done. Frankly it was the worst group I've ever seen in my time watching the Bills. Glad the FO and HC adjusted. Looking forward to 2019 with new play toys to work with.

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5 minutes ago, BubbaT said:

Outstanding review! It was clear early last year that the big "catch radius, non speed" guys just were not getting it done. Frankly it was the worst group I've ever seen in my time watching the Bills. Glad the FO and HC adjusted. Looking forward to 2019 with new play toys to work with.

 

hopefully the "TBD fire everyone date" has been postponed....until Monday at least........

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32 minutes ago, whatdrought said:

It just feels like they spent last year figuring out the secret sauce and are now ready for business... Run the dang ball all day long, wait till they slip into cover 1, hit em with the speed. 

 

As a single back safety, what do you even attempt to do when you see John Brown on one side and Robert Foster on the other? Find a priest? 

 

 

The best part of this article is that it shows that we adapted mid season and found success.... You know how rare that's been for the Bills since i've been a fan? I don't know if it's ever happened... They changed philosophy and made it work. I love it. 

 

I might be a homer, but I feel like we're going to win 11 games this year........... Call me crazy, and probably i am, but i feel it in my bones. 

 

That is a GREAT comment!!!  I gotta be guessing they won't be playing cover one too much....AND I ain't gonna call ya crazy.  I really feel in my 30+ years of fandom that the Bills are making it back to the glory days of the early 90's......GO BILLS!!!!!

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29 minutes ago, BubbaT said:

Outstanding review! It was clear early last year that the big "catch radius, non speed" guys just were not getting it done. Frankly it was the worst group I've ever seen in my time watching the Bills. Glad the FO and HC adjusted. Looking forward to 2019 with new play toys to work with.

If KB could catch it would have been slightly more successful, but as of now our only guy like that is Duke Williams. We will see if he can earn a roster spot. 

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This is really shaping up to be an offense that can hit you at every level.

 

1. Deep Throws

  • We all know how dangerous Josh's arm was with Foster as the deep threat last year.  
  • Add a speedier speedster with better route running in Brown and our deep game has to be respected.

2. Underneath Throws

  • This was not a strength last year, but I believe will be a point of emphasis through the off-season
  • Adding Beasley who can gain separation underneath from the slot, Josh has a safety valve

3. Running Game

  • Our RB running game was non-existent last year
  • With the improvements on the offensive line, our running game has to be better
  • I think Gore is the short-yardage and goal-line RB and will do a great job
  • Does Shady re-emerge with running lanes and two safeties forced to play deep?  

4. QB Scramble

  • Josh runs like Adrian Peterson
  • I don't want to see a lot of designed QB runs - just enough to force the defense to prepare for one more look
  • Josh's best runs came when the play broke down and Josh took the yards that were available

In summary, the defenses that we face need two safeties to defend the big play, leaving 7 in the box to defend against the run, short routes by the TE and slot receiver and devote a spy to allen who can break a big run if nothing is open.  With Josh's arm and WR speed, the defense has to defend the entire field.  This will be an offense built upon taking whatever the defense gives us, because they can't defend everything.  

 

For the pessimists out there (i know you get uncomfortable when sleep through the night), there are some elements to Josh's game to need to develop...

 

1. Diagnosing the Defense

  • Taking what the Defense gives means that you have to know what you're being given
  • Pre and Post-snap reads will be critical

2.  Red Zone Offense

  • The windows get tighter, so Josh need to throw with anticipation and fit the ball into smaller windows

Overall I'm more excited about Bill's football than I have been in 20 years.  Let's just start the season already.

 

Edited by Forward Progress
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2 hours ago, Seasons1992 said:

May I say something? 

 

I LOVE watching Josh Allen play. Run it, throw it, I don't care. Just move the ball forward. I've been waiting for 23 years for this.........

Yeah. He's great. I get the same vibe watching him play as I got from Favre. Not to compare him to Favre right now in terms of ability, but his demeanour, the way he obviously loves being out there with the guys. He could be playing down the park with a bunch of friends.

 

I really think Allen will soon be one of the favourite players of a lot of other team's fans, or the neutrals out there. The improvisation plays a big part in that too. People can't get enough of QBs who think on their feet and keep trying to make something happen on every play. 

1 hour ago, whatdrought said:

It just feels like they spent last year figuring out the secret sauce and are now ready for business... Run the dang ball all day long, wait till they slip into cover 1, hit em with the speed. 

 

As a single back safety, what do you even attempt to do when you see John Brown on one side and Robert Foster on the other? Find a priest? 

 

 

The best part of this article is that it shows that we adapted mid season and found success.... You know how rare that's been for the Bills since i've been a fan? I don't know if it's ever happened... They changed philosophy and made it work. I love it. 

 

I might be a homer, but I feel like we're going to win 11 games this year........... Call me crazy, and probably i am, but i feel it in my bones. 

I don't think it's crazy. I'm usually very conservative when picking my win totals for the season and even I had us down for 11 this year. The tail end is really tough, but if they get a head of steam and don't suffer too many injuries it looks totally doable on paper.

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17 minutes ago, RobbRiddick said:

Yeah. He's great. I get the same vibe watching him play as I got from Favre. Not to compare him to Favre right now in terms of ability, but his demeanour, the way he obviously loves being out there with the guys. He could be playing down the park with a bunch of friends.

 

 

 

I feel this way too.  When I first started watching football (before becoming a Bill's fan), Favre was my favorite player.  He had this child-like enthusiasm for the game and deep rooted desire to win.  I see the same traits in Josh and couldn't be happier to have him as our QB.

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