Josh Allen - week FIVE report card

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

59 minutes ago, stevestojan said:

Yikes. These are some high grades. 

 

I think C - C+ range is fair. 

 

Josh was far from the problem tonight.

 

Zero run game. Pretty sure about half is incompletions in the first half were drops including the INT. As good as Diggs was most this game he at least had two drops himself. Penalties galore by every offensive personnel not numbered 17. The costly pick second half pick when we were in scoring range drops his grade at least an entire letter grade alone. So looking at around a B before the pick which I think was fair considering everyone else playing with their heads up their butts. 

 

Also, a little more confirmation on Allen having a C - C+ type game, just look at his QBR vs. passer rating. His passer rating of 77 would suggest a D level game. But when you factor in game circumstances his  QBR was 69 which is above average. 

 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

Yeah I was actually very confident that he'd bring us back if the defense could get them off the field... he was denied a chance. But part of that is the interception he threw. I don't think it would have made a difference, it was still 3rd down that probably wouldn't have converted either way, but he can't make that mistake.

 

Even three their would have been big which i think they were in range for. And of course, the huge return wouldn't have happened either. 

 

The other thing I noticed about tonight's game vs the first four games is that it was  lot more dink and dunk. Probably a combination of Brown being out and what the Titans were doing defensively. They got two weeks to study film after all. That fourth quarter TD drive took way too much time off the clock but that was the offense we were utilizing tonight.

[HappyDays]

3 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

The other thing I noticed about tonight's game vs the first four games is that it was  lot more dink and dunk. Probably a combination of Brown being out and what the Titans were doing defensively. They got two weeks to study film after all. That fourth quarter TD drive took way too much time off the clock but that was the offense we were utilizing tonight.

 

Well we shouldn't let the defense dictate what we do that easily. It's always tough without having all-22 footage because I don't know what went wrong. Were downfield routes not getting open? Were we not calling them? Did Allen miss open receivers? On the game winning TD drive against the Rams we needed to hit a bunch of down field passes and score a quick TD and we did it, even though I'm sure they were trying to take those routes away. So I know we are capable of doing it. For some reason it didn't click this week. It will be interesting to see what the film shows. My initial take based on broadcast footage is that our game plan was all wrong.

[SCBills]

13 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

C+

He missed some throws but as others have mentioned Andre set the tone for tonight. I counted 4-5 drops. Everyone seemed off tonight. And I'm sure the nonsensical week of "who we play" factored in. I was concerned that there were moments when Josh seem to lose some poise. Obviously Smoke is more valuable then we thought. He will bounce back but I'm terrified that our D is so bad it may not matter.

Could just be an avalanche of all going on with this game that caused the offense to be out of sorts, and they were... everybody just seemed off.... but I’m drafting a burner early in the draft if what I saw with no Brown was any kind of cause and effect.  
 

This didn’t look like the explosive offense that can score from anywhere that I’ve seen Weeks 1-4.  

[WideNine]

Allen was off most of the game....he was zipping passes with little touch behind receivers, he was pressing and impatient when the Titans took away the deep stuff and made him dink and dunk down the field. To be successful with that, Allen needed to be sharp and patient, and the Bills offense as a whole needed to play sharp; They were a hot mess of penalties.

 

Allen - solid C this game. He regressed in some ways and I think he knows that this is the blue print that teams are going to use against him. Forcing the patience and consistent execution of a game played behind the sticks, when the deep zones are well defended. To be fair, this also forces the Bills offense as a whole to prove they can execute play after play without shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers.

 

Diggs was a beast. Beasley was not too shabby either.

 

I know it is not exactly true, but I always feel that Knox has one good catch, and then one crucial missed catch. I am leaning more towards giving Kroft the starting slot on the depth chart, he has been a more reliable target for Allen when he has been the featured TE. Let Knox work with the jugs machine for a few weeks.

Edited October 14, 2020 by WideNine

[VW82]

C- 

 

It would've been lower if not for some incredible passes that helped make up for the fact that like one third of his throws were off target. Some of them like the first INT were bad ball placement but a lot of them were just off. He wasn't seeing the field well either. This looked at lot more like last year's Josh than what we saw through the first four weeks.

[PromoTheRobot]

Tough grades, sheesh. Allen had one bad INT and maybe two passes off target. He also made some amazing throws. B at worst. Allen was literally the only player who didn't stink tonight.

Edited October 14, 2020 by PromoTheRobot

[BigDingus]

I'd say a C+ would be generous.

That's not to say he won't rebound, but today was not an above average game...not unless we're grading him on a 2019 scale.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

10 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

I'd say a C+ would be generous.

That's not to say he won't rebound, but today was not an above average game...not unless we're grading him on a 2019 scale.

 

QBR would suggest it was an above average game at 69. Heck, even a good game. We can poo poo QBR (though i think it is a good stat,) but I think it has meaning with this game because it re-affirms what most of us saw with our own two eyes. Lot's of drops by the receivers and penalties putting us behind the eight ball. 

[John from Riverside]

I am going with C plus

 

The first int was not his fault at all......it totally hit Roberts in the hands and he popped it up.....very Zay Jones like

 

The second Int was all Josh.....a strange through

 

Hardly ran at all which is an effective weapon for him

 

 

[VW82]

7 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

QBR would suggest it was an above average game at 69. Heck, even a good game. We can poo poo QBR (though i think it is a good stat,) but I think it has meaning with this game because it re-affirms what most of us saw with our own two eyes. Lot's of drops by the receivers and penalties putting us behind the eight ball. 

 

There were definitely some drops today, including the first INT, but Josh wasn't doing his receivers any favors with his ball placement. Diggs also made an incredible one-handed save along the sidelines that probably should've been incomplete.

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, WideNine said:

Allen was off most of the game....he was zipping passes with little touch behind receivers, he was pressing and impatient when the Titans took away the deep stuff and make him dink and dunk down the field. To be successful with that, Allen needed to be sharp and patient, and the Bills offense as a whole needed to play sharp; They were a hot mess of penalties.

 

Allen - solid C this game. He regressed in some ways and I think he knows that this is the blue print that teams are going to use against him. Forcing the patience and consistent execution of a game played behind the sticks, when the deep zones are well defended. To be fair, this also forces the Bills offense as a whole to prove they can execute play after play without shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers.

 

Diggs was a beast. Beasley was not too shabby either.

 

I know it is not exactly true, but I always feel that Knox has one good catch, and then one crucial missed catch. I am leaning more towards giving Kroft the starting slot on the depth chart, he has been a more reliable target for Allen when he has been the featured TE. Let Knox work with the jugs machine for a few weeks.

100 balls out of the jugs will not help Knox. You can either catch or you can't.  He'll eventually be released. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

6 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

 

Hardly ran at all which is an effective weapon for him

 

 

And had negative rushing yards last week. He really hasn't run at all this year since the Jets game. I am fine with it as long as it doesn't get coached out of him and he still uses it at the right times.

[Bills_Canada]

You'd basically never see the top 5 QBs in the league make that throw on the 2nd pick. But I got a feeling Josh Allen is kicking himself right now for that one and will do better next week.

 

The loss sucks, but I think Josh and the whole team will bring a prove it mentality next week, making it real competitive. If we won this week I think we'd have seen a softer bills team next week. So its not all bad

[Nextmanup]

3 hours ago, TwistofFate said:

c+

If not worse; a B- is generous IMO.

 

He was old Josh tonight, i.e., not good enough.

 

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Well.... Deep breath. If I'm grading based on how I've graded all season that was a D performance. 

 

He had some accuracy issues and turnovers. I felt like it was an average performance but the turnover knocked him down from a C. Just like his good games, turnovers always key. 

 

Let's have a strong bounce back week vs Chiefs. 

Edited October 14, 2020 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Trogdor]

People handle Allen with such kid gloves here lol. He absolutely has something to do with that first interception, he rocketed a pass behind the receiver. He knows, we all know, that Roberts is bad, but he still plays a part in that. I thought he was still better than last year, but he stopped throwing with touch. Many of his passes were back to being fastballs with little to no placement. He also just looked scattered early like he needed to force things in the first quarter. 

2 hours ago, John from Riverside said:

I am going with C plus

 

The first int was not his fault at all......it totally hit Roberts in the hands and he popped it up.....very Zay Jones like

 

The second Int was all Josh.....a strange through

 

Hardly ran at all which is an effective weapon for him

 

 

He has a fumbling problem, so less is better. Showing them he still can keeps them honest.

[Doc Brown]

C-.  My grades are harsher now because I judge him on a higher standard now.  He was very good on 3rd down and made some impressive throws.  His 2nd interception was awful.  He tried to force it too much on Diggs and ignored an open Beasley on a few of those plays.  However, the lack of a running game, drops, and a defense who couldn't get off the field were much bigger problems.

6 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

People handle Allen with such kid gloves here lol. He absolutely has something to do with that first interception, he rocketed a pass behind the receiver. He knows, we all know, that Roberts is bad, but he still plays a part in that. I thought he was still better than last year, but he stopped throwing with touch. Many of his passes were back to being fastballs with little to no placement. He also just looked scattered early like he needed to force things in the first quarter. 

He has a fumbling problem, so less is better. Showing them he still can keeps them honest.

It hit him between the numbers and bounced off his chest.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Doc Brown

[Dablitzkrieg]

I give him a C- for being cross-eyed on a bunch of throws, rarely running, and not taking any deep shots at all.

[bmur66]

Allen looked like his high school girlfriend just dumped him. Not himself at all. Every pass he threw had a vapor trail and no touch. But he will bounce back.

[No_Matter_What]

5 hours ago, CincyBillsFan said:

A B- is a fair grade.

 

He had a lot more great throws then bad ones.  Keep in mind that with our terrible running game (how many times did we LOSE yardage on a run?) and all to frequent false starts Allen faced and converted a lot of 3rd & longs.  And every one of those conversions was an awesome throw.

 

And Allen did take what was given him.  True he forced a couple but that seemed more a reaction to the sense that the game was slipping away as our D couldn't stop them.

 

And lets not forget the horrible field position.  The Bills started drives at the 10, 9, 2 & 10 yard lines.  As others have said if this is Allen's new floor then we're in for 10 - 12 years of awesome QBing from this guy.

 

 

 

I think this is spot on. It seems to me that people overstate his bad throws today. There were some, but not that many as some make it sound, and he made lots of amazing plays. Drops didn't help either.

 

Without INT I'd say it was probably B+, maybe even A-. That INT was really bad however, and it takes his grade one down.

 

And exactly as you say, we had really bad field positions all day.

 

I coultn't agree more with bolded. If this is the floor, we are definitely set at QB (which we obviously are).

[Billsfan1972]

Again watch every QB in this league and you'll see plenty of bad passes.

 

However Allen did not play well, but it was probably a B.

 

The Bills Offense had the ball twice in the second Half (a terrible int and a TD drive).  That was it.  The Defense made Tannehill look like a HoF QB.

 

Everything seemed off and it also seems that Allen is trying too hard to stay in the pocket and so few runs.  How come Ryan (Tannehill or Fitz) now seem more dangerous running then Allen?

 

Bad drops, some passes just a little off and may also have been some bad reads.

 

However he also made some incredible throws too. 

 

Yep they missed Brown.

 

BTW love a bad game where he throws for 265 yards & 2 tds..... 

[GunnerBill]

6 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

Well we shouldn't let the defense dictate what we do that easily. It's always tough without having all-22 footage because I don't know what went wrong. Were downfield routes not getting open? Were we not calling them? Did Allen miss open receivers? On the game winning TD drive against the Rams we needed to hit a bunch of down field passes and score a quick TD and we did it, even though I'm sure they were trying to take those routes away. So I know we are capable of doing it. For some reason it didn't click this week. It will be interesting to see what the film shows. My initial take based on broadcast footage is that our game plan was all wrong.

 

I don't think it was a great gameplan. I think they are a bit concerned about the run game and thought tonight was a chance to "get it going" and as such they didn't really get the offense going early. Equally looked in the first half (again from the broadcast angle) like Tennessee were confusing Josh a bit with their coverages. I felt he held the ball longer scanning the field and was a bit late on a number of the throws. Combination of  Josh just not quite being as special as he has been through 4 weeks, a bad offensive gameplan and a good Tennessee defensive plan IMO.

[Billsfan1972]

17 minutes ago, Gene1973 said:

How can not playing well grade out as a B???

265 2 TD's, one bad Int 63% completion %.....  Add to that long fields and only 2 possessions the second half.

 

BTW when it comes to grades today, everything is inflated......😜

[John from Riverside]

6 hours ago, Trogdor said:

People handle Allen with such kid gloves here lol. He absolutely has something to do with that first interception, he rocketed a pass behind the receiver. He knows, we all know, that Roberts is bad, but he still plays a part in that. I thought he was still better than last year, but he stopped throwing with touch. Many of his passes were back to being fastballs with little to no placement. He also just looked scattered early like he needed to force things in the first quarter. 

He has a fumbling problem, so less is better. Showing them he still can keeps them honest.

The pass hit the receive square in the hands......

[teef]

i'm in that C- range.  he wasn't good.  no pinning the loss on josh, but he wasn't good.

[Bangarang]

C- is fair. I said it in the game thread but yesterday was the first time in a long time where once the ball left Josh’s hand I had no idea if it was going to be a good or bad throw.

[Max Fischer]

I'm giving him a B-

• The first interception was not his fault
• There were numerous drops (two by Diggs)
• I saw only two bad throws: the second interception and one to the side line where he didn't set his feet and it bounced short.
• His worst drives were the two three-and-outs started inside the 10 yard line. He seemed to really miss Brown in these series. After first series he directed a nice scoring drive.  The rest of the drives were well done (I'm still perplexed at what led to second interception).
• Third down conversions were very well done

 

• So many team mental mistake penalties. How many false starts?
• I thought they did a poor job adjusting to TEN taking away 10+ yard passes, and should have taken the dink and dunk sooner. 

 

Edited October 14, 2020 by Max Fischer

[starrymessenger]

As for his grade in the game I guess I’d give him a B-/C+ type deal. The second pick was awful especially because Davis had a step or two on the DB so a missed opportunity. A couple more throws were off target (notably one again to an open Davis on a slant) and things only seemed to get worse rather than better as the game went on. A couple more throws could have resulted in picks. There were also a number of really bad drops however. And for whatever reason he didn’t get much help from the run game the (too) little they turned to it (gameplan/playcalls?). And his stat line wasn’t terrible, especially since one of the picks was on the receiver.

Game grades aside I was quite pleased with his performance because it actually continued to confirm to me that his spectacular improvement this year is probably legit. The throw to Yeldon for six and the TD throw to Davis that was called back for a penalty that in no way affected the play are big boy throws that some NFL QBs just dont make because you need all of field vision, anticipation and arm strength to do it. One of the CBS crew members made I thought a good point that Allen is beginning to see the field and anticipate the action the way Mahomes does coupled with the athleticism that they share that enables them for example, to roll out to their left and throw a laser across their body to a receiver breaking in the opposite direction. 

I was expecting Allen to improve this year but frankly I’m amazed by his progress. Like all teams the Bills have their warts but the evidence is to my mind fairly clear that Allen is definitely a franchise guy and on his way to being one of the best. So be happy.

Edited October 14, 2020 by starrymessenger

[dave mcbride]

48 minutes ago, John from Riverside said:

The pass hit the receive square in the hands......

I am a huge Josh fan, and simply love him. But that first INT was not the best throw. Yeah, it should have been caught, but any time you ratchet up the difficulty you run the risk of something like that happening. It happened later in the game too on a pass to Gabe. Finally, he threw a pass to Diggs on the right side in the first half that was simply terrible and could have been picked if not for a nice defensive play by Diggs. He's not going to be great every game, and this just happened to be one of them.

[Trogdor]

On 10/14/2020 at 10:51 AM, John from Riverside said:

The pass hit the receive square in the hands......

The pass was fast and behind him. Even in the hands that's not easy. Is the receiver at fault...yes, but so is Josh for the poor placement. 

[947]

There were 5 drops in the game, and if I remember correctly, every one of them would've been a 1st down. The Roberts' INT & subsequent freeby Titans' TD started a snowball effect that couldn't be stopped, you could feel the wind coming out of the sails. If Roberts catches that ball for a 1st down, it's a totally different game.

[starrymessenger]

Allen has worked on throwing a more receiver friendly ball with less pace on it in those situations that call for that. But in most cases the ball will continue to get to where it's going pretty quickly. Receivers have to be ready for that and get used to it. Brown, Diggs, Beasley are top shelf NFL receivers and we've seen that they can now definitely handle Josh's throws. Roberts is not a starting caliber receiver and he's also less accustomed to catching Allen's passes. The ball was slightly behind Roberts but an NFL receiver is without doubt expected to make that play. I'm sure Roberts would agree. 

[C.Biscuit97]

It was definitely his worst game of the year and he was off.  That said, it would have been arguably his best game of the last 2 years.  There are still some things that make me nervous but he’s such a better passer than he has been.  I’m encouraged even after the loss. 
 

he also is a tremendous leader.