elijah Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Between Big Ben being out for the season and seeing someone on the board say that Josh Allen was a top 3 QB in the AFC, it got me thinking where does Josh rank in the AFC? Being that six teams make the playoffs, being a top six quarterback is what is ringing important to me (in this moment, obviously you’ll want better as his career goes on). After ranking the quarterback’s, I find Josh sitting just outside of the top 6, and that’s even with a little Buffalo bias in ranking them. TIER ONE - Elite 1. Mahomes, 2. Brady TIER TWO - Franchise Starters 3. Rivers, 4. Baker, 5. Watson TIER THREE - Jury’s Out 6. Lamar, 7. Josh, 8. Dalton, 9. Carr, 10. Mariota, 11. Darnold, 12. Flacco TIER FOUR - ??? 13. Brissett, 14. Minshew, 15. Rudolph, 16. Rosen The five in the top two tiers are undeniably better than Josh Allen right now. As per the year’s end, who knows, a poor year from Baker and Watson and real progression from Josh could slide him ahead of them two. But to call him a top five quarterback in the AFC isn’t much more than crazy talk right now. But the real question, is it reasonable to rank Josh above the quarterback’s that I have him above? Would you put him above Lamar Jackson? There’s arguments to be made to put Derek Carr and Andy Dalton above Josh Allen, but with his first two performances this year Josh is making himself a case. While he’s not making pin-point, Drew Brees level throws, Josh has taken a major step forward in his passing game and that shouldn’t be debated. There’s some off-target throws like the deep pass to Brown and the across endzone throw to Zay Jones, but there’s also incredible throws like the two dimes that he made on the run. He had a rough game against the Jets with his turnovers, but I’ve albeit attributed that too bad ball luck. He was leading drives in those games and he was throwing with much improved short accuracy. The balls aren’t perfect, but he’s doing a great job of putting them within the receivers catch radius and at the end of the day that’s all you need to do. It goes much much further than that too. One thing that he’s had since returning from the injury last year is his composure and control of the game. He’s been a baller if nothing else. He goes into the game determined to win and often times it seems he’s playing his best ball in the fourth quarter. Then you’ve got to consider the fact that the athleticism too his game no longer seems to be sporadic. Last year Allen would run too early against the pressure or just look too run before keeping his eyes downfield. This year it really seems like he’s taken care of his athleticism and is only running when necessary. His pocket movement has been phenomenal, and he has kept his eyes downfield looking to make plays. The checkdowns are a huge improvement from last year. I find myself murmuring good play under my breath multiple times a game when no one’s open and Josh simply throws it out of bounds or at his receivers feet instead of making a bonehead decision - which he still does by the way, the ill-fated passes are still a part of his game even though he is making progress. With the upgrade in talent around Allen and his progression, I think by the end of the year you may be able to easily call him a top six quarterback in the AFC, but where do you have him at right now? 2 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 I'd almost move Watson into Elite (given his weak OL and continued production); and put Baker in Tier 3. Baker has another bad game tonight, and I'm moving JA and Lamar ahead of him. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR8 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 What makes me sick is #1 and #5 on your list are the guys we passed on to get the picks to get Allen the following year... 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 what the heck, why not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 1 minute ago, MR8 said: What makes me sick is #1 and #5 on your list are the guys we passed on to get the picks to get Allen the following year... What if Allen turns out just as good? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetermansRedemption Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 2 minutes ago, RyanC883 said: I'd almost move Watson into Elite (given his weak OL and continued production); and put Baker in Tier 3. Baker has another bad game tonight, and I'm moving JA and Lamar ahead of him. Was going to post exactly this. Baker should be in the same tier as Jackson and Allen. I would also argue that Rivers is close to dropping a tier as well. Really I would leave Watson in tier two alone and bust Rivers and Baker down a tier. I wouldn’t take Rivers over many in that tier right now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 I'm not ready to go there yet. His mental game is certainly growing but not to the level of guys like Dalton, Carr and Flacco who have many more games under their belt. While he's ahead of those guys physically at this stage of their career, we haven't seen enough of how Josh reacts when playing under duress against a good, playoff-level defense. The Pats game will be huge for that... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetermansRedemption Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, MR8 said: What makes me sick is #1 and #5 on your list are the guys we passed on to get the picks to get Allen the following year... Watson was Whaley’s guy, if he stayed and made the pick. Whaley was “in love” with Watson. This is why I think Whaley was simply not allowed to pick a QB in that draft. They obviously knew he was being fired and wanted that decision in the hands of the new front office. Mahomes was never, ever the guy. If you want to play that game then you would need to have replaced the entire front office a year earlier. The real comparison, therefore, is Allen vs Watson. Watson is definitely ahead now. But he is no where near out of reach. I have a suspicion Allen in year 3 could be just as good as Watson in year 3. Edited September 16, 2019 by Bills2ref Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 He's certainly trending up but obviously we need to see him keep going. I want to see him win this weekend and then play well against the pats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Slightly off-topic, but has it been announced that Big Ben's surgery is "Tommy John Surgery" ??? That is a 2 year recovery, which probably means Big Ben has played his last game in the NFL. That is deserving of its own thread. This season is starting to shape up. Miami and the Jets look like 4 automatic wins this year. Pittsburgh is usually a strong competitor but that game is now going to be a LOT easier.... Just now, aristocrat said: He's certainly trending up but obviously we need to see him keep going. I want to see him win this weekend and then play well against the pats. I agree with this. I think we have just beaten a pair of 5 win teams. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Looks like top 3 to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 4 minutes ago, RyanC883 said: I'd almost move Watson into Elite (given his weak OL and continued production); and put Baker in Tier 3. Baker has another bad game tonight, and I'm moving JA and Lamar ahead of him. I’m on board with Baker and Watson moves. Rivers really is also an elite QB. Mahomes seems elite, but does he need to show it a little longer before he’s ahead of a HoF’er and next to the GOAT. Flacco looked pretty good too and might work his way back into tier2 as should Carr. Intereting topic. Josh May be able to reach elite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 12 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: Slightly off-topic, but has it been announced that Big Ben's surgery is "Tommy John Surgery" ??? That is a 2 year recovery, which probably means Big Ben has played his last game in the NFL. That is deserving of its own thread. This season is starting to shape up. Miami and the Jets look like 4 automatic wins this year. Pittsburgh is usually a strong competitor but that game is now going to be a LOT easier.... have never looked at a visit to Miami as an easy win. ever 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 4 minutes ago, Lurker said: I'm not ready to go there yet. His mental game is certainly growing but not to the level of guys like Dalton, Carr and Flacco who have many more games under their belt. While he's ahead of those guys physically at this stage of their career, we haven't seen enough of how Josh reacts when playing under duress against a good, playoff-level defense. The Pats game will be huge for that... The Pats game is going to be just absolutely huge, particularly if we beat the Bengals, which I think we will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinky finger Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Your tiers bring to tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan1959 Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 (edited) 1 minute ago, row_33 said: have never looked at a visit to Miami as an easy win. ever It will be this year. They're 0 for 2 at home and have been outscored 102-10. They are deliberately tanking and look to be a solid contender to go 0-16. Edited September 16, 2019 by Nextmanup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclepete Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Watson has been more impressive than Baker so far in their careers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, MR8 said: What makes me sick is #1 and #5 on your list are the guys we passed on to get the picks to get Allen the following year... Josh has the potential to be better than Watson. And regarding Mahomes....well.... Bills missed him but so did a third of the league. Write off to bad fortune and a lame duck GM. Edited September 16, 2019 by Over 29 years of fanhood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solomon Grundy Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 9 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said: What if Allen turns out just as good? We’d all have a Merry Christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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