How does Josh work on his nerves...?

[billspro]

1 hour ago, BullBuchanan said:

Josh really didn't play very well, at least not to the standard he set his year, all of the post season. That said, and as one of the biggest former Allen haters in Bills fandom, give the kid a break. It's not his fault he's not Mahomes. Allen made a historic leap that no QB has ever come close to this year. If he only gets marginally better from here on out, it'll be good enough to get it done at some point. You're asking way too much from someone that already gave us more than we deserved.

I honestly think if you switch the QBs the score is about the same. Kelce and Hill were unbelievable. They had better offensive play calling, protection, and talent. That was the difference in the game. 

26 minutes ago, loveorhatembillsfan4life said:

Using the word choke is way to harsh and ignoring every other area of the Team last night.

 

Those points have already been discussed.

 

Josh has things to work on. He pressed at times. He even said as much. Did his play single handedly  lose this game for us no. Could he

have won it for us-no. 

 

We are not there yet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard not to press when you have no help from your running game and you have to watch you defence get gashed. 

[appoo]

13 minutes ago, london_bills said:

By his own admission and the coaches admission he shouldn't need to take the whole game on his shoulders constantly. I think by taking some checkdowns when the other big stuff isn't there he's a more dangerous QB. Do not remove the good stuff, just be more patient. 

 

The 'maturity' they are always talking about is making yourself less predictable so you don't have obvious weaknesses. The opponent is thinking 'he won't take the stuff we are giving him and will become impatient'. Belichek was goading him earlier in the season and he didn't take the bait. How many times has mcdermott says 'he needs to take what the defense is giving him.'?

 

I think where I disagree with you is that 'in general he made good decisions.' based on what I'm saying I can't really agree with that. He made good decisions in regards to not turning it over for the most part. 

 

Daboll runs a similar system to NE. Brady takes alot of those checkdowns if he's in there. There were other problems no doubt, just pointing out where I thought Allen could of been better under pressure by playing more patiently. 

 

By checking down more it forces people to come up. A fast playmaker would help too. 

 

The Bills didn't have a problem sustaining drives, which is evidence that check downs weren't a problem. You don't score in the RZ with checkdowns, and the RZ was where the problem. There, it's about route running to create holes and running the football. Neither of which the Bills were very successful, neither of which are on Josh Allen.

[Mango]

1 hour ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

I'm just waiting for the All-22 to show me what big throw that was available that he missed. 

 

Missed checkdowns yes, always chooses to scramble right, holds the ball too long trying to make plays. 

 

But watching that game, I don't know who was open, maybe they should have shortened the routes more, or use McKenzie more?

 

I think we should always be using McKenzie more. I think he could be much better than sort of the gimmicky role we consistently use him as. 

[Figster]

10 minutes ago, billspro said:

I honestly think if you switch the QBs the score is about the same. Kelce and Hill were unbelievable. They had better offensive play calling, protection, and talent. That was the difference in the game. 

It’s hard not to press when you have no help from your running game and you have to watch you defence get gashed. 

Wich seemed odd considering Yeldon appeared up for the task IMO. They just didn't call his number enough

[Straight Hucklebuck]

8 minutes ago, Figster said:

Wich seemed odd considering Yeldon appeared up for the task IMO. They just didn't call his number enough

He always has appeared that way, especially last year when the Bills kept handing it off to Gore for 3 yards per carry. 

 

He fumbled that first preseason game and it seems like he has been in that doghouse since. 

 

Singletary certainly doesn't do anything better than Yeldon, and Moss is a slow plodder mostly and this staff loves him because he's Tolbert, Ivory, Gore all over again. 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

10 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

I think we should always be using McKenzie more. I think he could be much better than sort of the gimmicky role we consistently use him as. 

 

Well, if we're going to use injuries as the reason our WRs couldn't separate, then I don't understand why we couldn't keep our 4-wide and 5-wide looks and substitute in McKenzie in Davis' place? 

 

Instead it was 3-wide with Knox, with Yeldon. I don't see either of those two as a better option for touches than McKenzie. 

 

After he 3-touchdown game against Miami, Daboll and this Coaching Staff virtually eliminated McKenzie from the playbook. 

[Figster]

1 minute ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

He always has appeared that way, especially last year when the Bills kept handing it off to Gore for 3 yards per carry. 

 

He fumbled that first preseason game and it seems like he has been in that doghouse since. 

 

Singletary certainly doesn't do anything better than Yeldon, and Moss is a slow plodder mostly and this staff loves him because he's Tolbert, Ivory, Gore all over again. 

Yeldons big, good hands and fits well in the Bills O as an all purpose back IMO.

 

Best hands of the group IMO

[Process]

2 hours ago, teef said:

josh is the major reason the bills were in the afc championship game yesterday.  

Josh is the ONLY reason the bills were in the AFC championship game yesterday. You put an average QB, say Dalton, on this team and we don't even make the playoffs. 

 

We are similar to the Packers in that a top QB was able to carry the team to the championship games, but the lack of talent elsewhere, and bad coaching, got exposed against the best.

[HOUSE]

Nerves are calmed through experience and confidence

 

It won't even be an issue next year....

[Straight Hucklebuck]

1 minute ago, Process said:

Josh is the ONLY reason the bills were in the AFC championship game yesterday. You put an average QB, say Dalton, on this team and we don't even make the playoffs. 

 

We are similar to the Packers in that a top QB was able to carry the team to the championship games, but the lack of talent elsewhere, and bad coaching, got exposed against the best.

Towards the end, we started to look like the Steelers with a better QB. 

[UKBillFan]

3 minutes ago, Process said:

Josh is the ONLY reason the bills were in the AFC championship game yesterday. You put an average QB, say Dalton, on this team and we don't even make the playoffs. 

 

We are similar to the Packers in that a top QB was able to carry the team to the championship games, but the lack of talent elsewhere, and bad coaching, got exposed against the best.

 

Or, in the Packers case, the Bucs. 😀

 

I do think Josh had nerves yesterday and why shouldn't he? As already alluded to earlier in the thread, look what happened to Brady and Rodgers yesterday - two Quarterbacks with far more experience than Josh at the play offs. One threw three picks, the other failed miserably to take advantage and threw two of his own.

 

If he shows signs of this if/when we next make the play offs then maybe something deeper needs to be considered but my question is was anyone trying to help him yesterday? The offense was horrific and the coaching dire - we've expected Josh to pull us through time and time again and eventually that was never going to be enough. At this stage my fear for next season isn't Josh but other parts of the team.

[Figster]

5 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

The consistent riding of the bench of Yeldon was head scratching. He’s not good but he’s probably the best overall RB on the roster which says a lot about the waste of 3rd round picks on RBs we’ve been stacking up these past couple drafts. 

Fan of Yeldon from his days with Alabama. I agree with the wasted draft picks on the RB position. Not saying an elte back wouldn't be nice. Moss for the most part is an unknown still that did show some promise before injury.

 

C J Yeldons a FA after the season so we may never find out how good he could have been in the Daboll O.  

[Boxcar]

2 hours ago, Crayola64 said:

Is there anything to back up he doesn’t perform in big games?  He has done great in the 4th quarter when losing, won two playoff games this year, great in prime time, plenty of comebacks and game winning drives.

 

losing against the best team in the league in the afc championship means he doesn’t perform in big games?  

He almost threw 4 INTs yesterday. He overthrew a lot. He made bad decisions. He took 3 really bad plays (almost 4 that set the Bills back like 20 yards each.

 

I love Josh, but he was not regular season Allen yesterday. Clearly the moment got to him, and that's ok as long as he can overcome it.

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

WR's need to get open and catch the ball. That's one way. Coaches really didn't do him any favors this game. Mckenzie or Stills should have been out there also. 2 hobbled WR's didn't help. 

 

Taking 20 yard sacks is all on Josh though, that stuff needs to stop. 

[Figster]

1 minute ago, Boxcar said:

He almost threw 4 INTs yesterday. He overthrew a lot. He made bad decisions. He took 3 really bad plays (almost 4 that set the Bills back like 20 yards each.

 

I love Josh, but he was not regular season Allen yesterday. Clearly the moment got to him, and that's ok as long as he can overcome it.

 

The moment in combination with family concerns IMO

[Buffalo_Stampede]

15 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

The consistent riding of the bench of Yeldon was head scratching. He’s not good but he’s probably the best overall RB on the roster which says a lot about the waste of 3rd round picks on RBs we’ve been stacking up these past couple drafts. 

It showed me how much we lack at the running back position. I'm not for spending high cap on RBs but we need someone that can make plays. Singletary for whatever reason lost some of that over the offseason. Last year whenever he touched the ball he was electric. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

5 minutes ago, Boxcar said:

He almost threw 4 INTs yesterday. He overthrew a lot. He made bad decisions. He took 3 really bad plays (almost 4 that set the Bills back like 20 yards each.

 

I love Josh, but he was not regular season Allen yesterday. Clearly the moment got to him, and that's ok as long as he can overcome it.

 

He was off but I have to wait and see the 22 film because I really didn't see anything open other than a few underneath routes. 

 

Now the question I had was that the Chiefs plan, to make Josh dink and dunk? Josh was slow to hit anything underneath this game. He was doing so well at that part of his game the 2nd half of the season. Something the Chiefs do to hide their coverage really gives Josh problems. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

I want to say after his rookie year there was a post about the Bills looking for a sports psychologist so they most likely already see that he gets too hyper or nervous or whatever happens.  He gets the same look I do when my social anxiety kicks in and my brain shuts down. 

[Big Blitz]

Mahomes first AFC title game in 2019. 

 

Watkins had 115 yards on 4 catches.  Chiefs got 2 4th quarter TDs bc their D was very good for 3 quarters and kept them in the game.  

 

They were down 17-7 going into the 4th quarter where Mahomes threw 2 of his TDs and the Chiefs scored 24 pts to force OT.

 

This game was in KC.  And yes I know NE D was very very good that year, this is really just to add a little perspective. 

 

Until that 4th quarter the Chiefs O was manhandled and hasn't been since then.   

[teef]

23 minutes ago, Process said:

Josh is the ONLY reason the bills were in the AFC championship game yesterday. You put an average QB, say Dalton, on this team and we don't even make the playoffs. 

 

We are similar to the Packers in that a top QB was able to carry the team to the championship games, but the lack of talent elsewhere, and bad coaching, got exposed against the best.

completely agree.  this team is good, but not good enough yet.  

[Boxcar]

11 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

Moss and Motor are just two examples of a bad use of resources with a 3rd round pick and Yeldon is a perfect example as to why. 
 

There’s literally no drop off from Moss/Motor to Yeldon and he’s actually shown more out of the backfield then both. 

I get the disdain for Singletary, but Moss was good this year. He averaged over 4 yards per carry and was improving as the year went on. He's a great Gus Edwards-type of back. It sure would be nice to have a guy who can just explode through gaps, though.

 

[Casey D]

The defense was a complete sieve.  The pressure the defense put on the offense to score almost every drive was significant.  It was a team loss, as our D was no match for their O, and their D played well.  Putting any of that on "nerves" is absurd.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

3 hours ago, Adamb412 said:

Josh had a great season no doubt about it, but when the big game comes he choked.  I feel like Josh's mentality is more of Alex Zverev and not that of Djokovic (Tennis Fans).  When the "No tomorrow" situation comes, he DOESNT leave it all on the field. We squeaked by the colts, without johnson INT vs the ravens, we would of scored ten points total.  Unacceptable. This is my big concern.  How does someone work on nerves? I was joking with my dad during the game last night he needs to take a shot of whiskey to calm the nerves, but obviously the dude does not have ice water in his veins which is something a QB needs.  So what are the solutions? Sports Phych? Yoga? 

 

OP, you're an idiot. 

 

Had to be said.

If your theory is correct OP, why didn't he choke against the Colts in a tight game where the defense didn't show up? Or why didn't he choke in a tight windy game against the Ravens? Were those not big games?

[B-Large]

My impression is the Bills were more than glad to sit back and let Josh do just about everything... he’s been superb, and I think that tendency just kind of becomes default... to take the next step, other guys need to step up and shine... 

 

I haven’t seen a defense like that since the Seahawks Legion of Boom 2013 or Broncos No Fly Zone 2015.... 

 

Josh reminded of Manning in 2013 SB... awesome offense that was absolutely stonewalled and beat up.... it wasn’t that bad, but it was close.

 

Every time I watched that pocket collapse almost instantly in the middle, I thought Josh had no chance.

 

Daboll sure didn’t make Josh’s life easier...  

 

nerves.... sheesh 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by B-Large

[Figster]

6 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

OP, you're an idiot. 

 

Had to be said.

If your theory is correct OP, why didn't he choke against the Colts in a tight game where the defense didn't show up? Or why didn't he choke in a tight windy game against the Ravens? Were those not big games?

I agree, with the exception of calling OP an idiot

 

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

8 minutes ago, Casey D said:

The defense was a complete sieve.  The pressure the defense put on the offense to score almost every drive was significant.  It was a team loss, as our D was no match for their O, and their D played well.  Putting any of that on "nerves" is absurd.

Terrible game plan on defense. I'm not sure how they could think playing soft against the Chiefs would work. You have to be physical with any good offense. Get in their face. 

[maryland-bills-fan]

A few tokes on the sidelines should do it.

 

[london_bills]

42 minutes ago, appoo said:

 

The Bills didn't have a problem sustaining drives, which is evidence that check downs weren't a problem. You don't score in the RZ with checkdowns, and the RZ was where the problem. There, it's about route running to create holes and running the football. Neither of which the Bills were very successful, neither of which are on Josh Allen.

OK. Fair enough. Can more checkdowns not open up more big plays?

Against the texans and this game, Allen hasn't been his very best and as others have said still appears nervous (or whatever word applies.) Im looking at what could of improved his performance in line with other times he's played really well. Yes, I understand that check downs don't apply in the RZ. I have never really took issue with the offensive play calling before but have been frustrated with that of late as I think this plays into a predictability that KC seemed to think of our offence yesterday. Limited use of yeldon has been concerning, I was disappointed to see him inactive much of the season then he's suddenly part of the action in the biggest game of the season. 

[Victory Formation]

Josh Allen essentially is our team. Outside of Allen there is nothing. No run game, no defense, no offense. People forget that Mahomes has an All Pro team around him, as does Brady.

[JMF2006]

Yoga...it will be good for his flexibility too

 

Like when defenders like Bosa try to twist him into a pretzel  

[appoo]

40 minutes ago, london_bills said:

OK. Fair enough. Can more checkdowns not open up more big plays?

Against the texans and this game, Allen hasn't been his very best and as others have said still appears nervous (or whatever word applies.) Im looking at what could of improved his performance in line with other times he's played really well. Yes, I understand that check downs don't apply in the RZ. I have never really took issue with the offensive play calling before but have been frustrated with that of late as I think this plays into a predictability that KC seemed to think of our offence yesterday. Limited use of yeldon has been concerning, I was disappointed to see him inactive much of the season then he's suddenly part of the action in the biggest game of the season. 

 

The issue I'm having with your proposal is that if there's list of 10 problems with the Bills in that game, then Josh Allen is 9 the lowest ranked, just ahead of our kicking game, which was superb.

 

And to be honest, the problems he did have - which was basically holding the ball too long, trying to find plays that just weren't there deep - were partly caused by problems #1 - 8. The had no chance of slowing down the Chiefs, his WRs were badly struggling, and his running game mostly non-existent. That in turn put more pressure on Allen to make plays.

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

This was far from Josh's best game, but he really wasn't bad given the circumstances.

 

He had a few bad throws when he tried to force the ball into tight coverage (which were reasonable risks given the performance of our defense).  

 

At what point in the game do you think he was playing "nervous" ? At worst I think Josh was trying too hard and reverting to hero ball, but again, that was called for given the circumstances (Bills couldn't run the ball, WR not getting open, terrible O-line work, and the defense couldn't stop anyone). 

 

Do you think there's a single QB on the planet that would've won the game for the Bills had they started in Allen's spot? I don't 

[CincyBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Big Blitz said:

Mahomes first AFC title game in 2019. 

 

Watkins had 115 yards on 4 catches.  Chiefs got 2 4th quarter TDs bc their D was very good for 3 quarters and kept them in the game.  

 

They were down 17-7 going into the 4th quarter where Mahomes threw 2 of his TDs and the Chiefs scored 24 pts to force OT.

 

This game was in KC.  And yes I know NE D was very very good that year, this is really just to add a little perspective. 

 

Until that 4th quarter the Chiefs O was manhandled and hasn't been since then.   

 

How quickly people forget the past.  Mahomes in his first AFC championship game was clearly overwhelmed for the first 3 quarters of that game.  The Chiefs were shut out in the first half for crying out loud. After 3 quarters KC had only scored 7 points.

 

The stat line between Allen & Mahomes wasn't all that different either.  And note how Mahomes was sacked 4 times for minus 46 yards.  That's over 11 yards per sack.  Looks like Patrick ran backwards some to.

 

As time goes on and the sting of this loss fades we'll appreciate that Allen played okay for his first AFC championship game.  The Bills were beat by a better team.  It's really that simple.  Like in 1988, this Bills team had to experience a deep playoff run in order to make Super Bowl runs. It has and now on to next year.