Josh Allen knows it's time to start playing with ruthless efficiency

[HipKat]

Josh Allen sat on a stool in front of his locker after Monday’s game with a green towel draped over his head for a good eight minutes while many of his teammates talked to reporters.

The Buffalo Bills’ quarterback took the loss hard. The sun came up Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Allen met with media. He didn’t look defeated, as he did after the game Monday night. He said all the right things. He acknowledged his poor performance against the New York Jets without figuratively lashing himself with a whip. You don’t want that from your franchise quarterback. He needs to play with the unshakable self-belief of a brain surgeon.

“Obviously, got to play smarter football,” Allen said of his play. “I thought our team did a lot of good things, don’t want to take away from that. The grand scheme of things, it’s one game and we’re not going to let it turn into two.”

Allen’s three interceptions against the Jets all were forced, in one way or another. How does he avoid his tendency to try to do too much?

“Internally, just understanding the game, understanding situations and making that a point of emphasis on game day,” Allen said. “I let it get away from me this last game and again, I’m not going to let it affect me going forward. As a quarterback in this league, the best ones are able to kind of put this behind them, but take away lessons from it and not let it affect how they play the next game in a negative way. So, again, try to use it to my advantage and learn from it. It’s not the first time I’ve thrown three. And, you know, barring how long I play in this league, hopefully it’s a long time, it might not be the last I ever throw three.”

So here we are, one game into Year Six of Allen’s Bills career:

Allen is one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL, but can he play with the ruthless efficiency of a great quarterback for a full season? That’s an open question.

Allen can play with great efficiency. We’ve seen it. And not just on occasion. And not just in the 2021 playoffs. We’ve seen it a bunch. But coming on the heels of the second half of last season, Allen needs to get a better handle on his turnovers.

He knows it.

“It’s the double-edged sword of I get away with it a lot of times, and sometimes I don’t,” he said. “And sometimes it hurts us. So just know when and where to do it, and when not to do it. That’s a learning process that takes a long time. And Year Six in this league, I should know better when to do that.”

Bingo.

“Now I gotta go out there and I gotta prove that.”

Thank you.

Let’s review the CliffsNotes of Allen’s development the past few years. Stefon Diggs joins the team in 2020, and under the tutelage of Brian Daboll, Allen goes Supernova. The Bills saw a ton of man coverage from defenses, and Allen & Co. destroyed it.

In 2021, to oversimplify, defenses evolved. They said we’re tired of giving up giant plays to these superfreaks. We’re going to play more shell coverages – two deep, four deep and quarter-quarter-half (Cover 6). Force them to be patient.

Both Allen and Patrick Mahomes struggled with it at times, while still putting up great numbers. It came together for Allen in the Week 15 rout at New England, and then Allen played two of the greatest playoff games in NFL history.

Allen and the Bills looked great the first half of 2022. Then, the quick passing attack struggled down the stretch. Defenses overplayed Diggs, and the Bills didn’t have a good secondary option. The run game wasn’t potent enough, a hindered Gabe Davis wasn’t getting open and the slot position was a weakness. Ken Dorsey diversified, got a little more pop in the run game, at times, but couldn’t solve the secondary receiving situation.

Hence, the drafting of Dalton Kincaid, the bolstering of the interior of the O-line and changes at receiver. The Bills’ offense is an ever-evolving animal, just like every offense in the NFL.

Allen’s interception rate has gone from 13th best in 2020 to 17th in 2021 to tied for 23rd in 2022. The Bills don’t need Allen to be in the top 10 in interception-avoidance. You live with some interceptions because of all the incredible plays he can make. But you can’t have him in the bottom 10.

To repeat: Allen can play with patience and efficiency. He did it masterfully in the regular-season wins at Kansas City in 2021 and 2022. He did it great in the win at New England on Dec. 1, even amid the possession-passing struggles. I chart these things. He was 19 of 23 on passes inside of 10 yards from the line of scrimmage that day.

“Josh is extremely resilient,” coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “We’ve been through this experience before in terms of having to reset after a game like that. And that’s what I expect them to do fully.”

Allen knows he has to put the mute button on YOLO Josh. He said he had a “good talk” with McDermott about it.

“You’ll know when you need to try to take over the game ... but that’s probably later in the game,” Allen said McDermott told him.

Good advice. Let’s see him embrace it.

“A lot to learn from and excited to get back out on the field and kind of wash that taste out of the mouth,” Allen said.

[daryls61]

Does he though?  We shall see.

[theAteam]

Wish he knew that before the game.

[TonyasTaters]

I am starting to question if Josh is coachable. This is my biggest concern.

[Victor7]

Someone mentioned on one of the many shows that perhaps Dorsey should not be in the booth. That he should be downstairs with Josh so he can talk to him straight up. Have Brady in the booth. Honestly, it sounds like a good idea. Can't hurt to try. Because McDermott doesn't have the time apparently or the sway to talk Josh out of going rogue. 

[Herodotus]

2 minutes ago, TonyasTaters said:

I am starting to question if Josh is coachable. This is my biggest concern.

He's coachable, see coming from small college and moving from raw rookie in 2018 to star in 2020-2022.  The problem is the coaching.  Scheme is only half of it.  You gotta have a coach who is a boss not a buddy.  Your boss tells you she wants 10 more loans closed a week and she has noticed so many quality errors in handling loan apps you make those corrections and learn your job.

Your buddy tells you to do 10 more cases and need to work, you go cool story bro.  He needs someone who can reel him in from time to time.  Most games he is great, but ever so often he puts his head up his ass and a good coach can greatly limit that.

[Down and Out]

49 minutes ago, Herodotus said:

He's coachable, see coming from small college and moving from raw rookie in 2018 to star in 2020-2022.  The problem is the coaching.  Scheme is only half of it.  You gotta have a coach who is a boss not a buddy.  Your boss tells you she wants 10 more loans closed a week and she has noticed so many quality errors in handling loan apps you make those corrections and learn your job.

Your buddy tells you to do 10 more cases and need to work, you go cool story bro.  He needs someone who can reel him in from time to time.  Most games he is great, but ever so often he puts his head up his ass and a good coach can greatly limit that.

A lot of the onus is on Allen here, but the coach and team have to be cognizant of not going to far with the sideline antics.  Maybe was concussed as some have stated.  I view that as a failure of leadership to miss diagnose it.

[Thurmal]

Blah, blah, blah...they've been telling him from Day One to limit the hero ball and avoid taking a ton of unnecessary hits, and he has never stopped either. Even with Daboll. It is what it is. We just gotta hope he'll go on a tear like he did in the 2021 playoffs again. And that it will coincide, again, during the postseason. We'll see.

[thinwhiteduke]

This is like the man version of a Woman watching soap operas lol.

This is pure fiction.

He gets paid millions to do what he did 3 days ago.

 

[JS12]

2 hours ago, Herodotus said:

He's coachable, see coming from small college and moving from raw rookie in 2018 to star in 2020-2022.  The problem is the coaching.  Scheme is only half of it.  You gotta have a coach who is a boss not a buddy.  Your boss tells you she wants 10 more loans closed a week and she has noticed so many quality errors in handling loan apps you make those corrections and learn your job.

Your buddy tells you to do 10 more cases and need to work, you go cool story bro.  He needs someone who can reel him in from time to time.  Most games he is great, but ever so often he puts his head up his ass and a good coach can greatly limit that.

Exactly. We need a Belichick type of coach.

[BertSquirtgum]

3 hours ago, thinwhiteduke said:

This is like the man version of a Woman watching soap operas lol.

This is pure fiction.

He gets paid millions to do what he did 3 days ago.

 

Prove it or stfu

[nealpellecchia@yahoo]

10 hours ago, HipKat said:

Josh Allen sat on a stool in front of his locker after Monday’s game with a green towel draped over his head for a good eight minutes while many of his teammates talked to reporters.

The Buffalo Bills’ quarterback took the loss hard. The sun came up Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Allen met with media. He didn’t look defeated, as he did after the game Monday night. He said all the right things. He acknowledged his poor performance against the New York Jets without figuratively lashing himself with a whip. You don’t want that from your franchise quarterback. He needs to play with the unshakable self-belief of a brain surgeon.

“Obviously, got to play smarter football,” Allen said of his play. “I thought our team did a lot of good things, don’t want to take away from that. The grand scheme of things, it’s one game and we’re not going to let it turn into two.”

Allen’s three interceptions against the Jets all were forced, in one way or another. How does he avoid his tendency to try to do too much?

“Internally, just understanding the game, understanding situations and making that a point of emphasis on game day,” Allen said. “I let it get away from me this last game and again, I’m not going to let it affect me going forward. As a quarterback in this league, the best ones are able to kind of put this behind them, but take away lessons from it and not let it affect how they play the next game in a negative way. So, again, try to use it to my advantage and learn from it. It’s not the first time I’ve thrown three. And, you know, barring how long I play in this league, hopefully it’s a long time, it might not be the last I ever throw three.”

So here we are, one game into Year Six of Allen’s Bills career:

Allen is one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL, but can he play with the ruthless efficiency of a great quarterback for a full season? That’s an open question.

Allen can play with great efficiency. We’ve seen it. And not just on occasion. And not just in the 2021 playoffs. We’ve seen it a bunch. But coming on the heels of the second half of last season, Allen needs to get a better handle on his turnovers.

He knows it.

“It’s the double-edged sword of I get away with it a lot of times, and sometimes I don’t,” he said. “And sometimes it hurts us. So just know when and where to do it, and when not to do it. That’s a learning process that takes a long time. And Year Six in this league, I should know better when to do that.”

Bingo.

“Now I gotta go out there and I gotta prove that.”

Thank you.

Let’s review the CliffsNotes of Allen’s development the past few years. Stefon Diggs joins the team in 2020, and under the tutelage of Brian Daboll, Allen goes Supernova. The Bills saw a ton of man coverage from defenses, and Allen & Co. destroyed it.

In 2021, to oversimplify, defenses evolved. They said we’re tired of giving up giant plays to these superfreaks. We’re going to play more shell coverages – two deep, four deep and quarter-quarter-half (Cover 6). Force them to be patient.

Both Allen and Patrick Mahomes struggled with it at times, while still putting up great numbers. It came together for Allen in the Week 15 rout at New England, and then Allen played two of the greatest playoff games in NFL history.

Allen and the Bills looked great the first half of 2022. Then, the quick passing attack struggled down the stretch. Defenses overplayed Diggs, and the Bills didn’t have a good secondary option. The run game wasn’t potent enough, a hindered Gabe Davis wasn’t getting open and the slot position was a weakness. Ken Dorsey diversified, got a little more pop in the run game, at times, but couldn’t solve the secondary receiving situation.

Hence, the drafting of Dalton Kincaid, the bolstering of the interior of the O-line and changes at receiver. The Bills’ offense is an ever-evolving animal, just like every offense in the NFL.

Allen’s interception rate has gone from 13th best in 2020 to 17th in 2021 to tied for 23rd in 2022. The Bills don’t need Allen to be in the top 10 in interception-avoidance. You live with some interceptions because of all the incredible plays he can make. But you can’t have him in the bottom 10.

To repeat: Allen can play with patience and efficiency. He did it masterfully in the regular-season wins at Kansas City in 2021 and 2022. He did it great in the win at New England on Dec. 1, even amid the possession-passing struggles. I chart these things. He was 19 of 23 on passes inside of 10 yards from the line of scrimmage that day.

“Josh is extremely resilient,” coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday. “We’ve been through this experience before in terms of having to reset after a game like that. And that’s what I expect them to do fully.”

Allen knows he has to put the mute button on YOLO Josh. He said he had a “good talk” with McDermott about it.

“You’ll know when you need to try to take over the game ... but that’s probably later in the game,” Allen said McDermott told him.

Good advice. Let’s see him embrace it.

“A lot to learn from and excited to get back out on the field and kind of wash that taste out of the mouth,” Allen said.

Doing too much is doing nothing.. it's not with the plan. 

[Flan]

I am beginning to think Josh had a concussion during the game.

 

[thinwhiteduke]

1 hour ago, BertSquirtgum said:

Prove it or stfu

Come on Bert. You're smarter than most here.

Watch the game again. That's the proof.Another guy here already said it.

These jocks aren't you.Theyve thrown the ball a million times . Caught it a million etc.

No one makes mistakes like that all at once. Prove it? It's adult common sense. I don't think like a child in 1975 watching a game anymore. 

He had guys open underneath all night. He's not a dumb ass Bills fan. He didn't panic. He didn't not see the open guys. 

Think about it. Him, Burrows, Mahomes, all lost on opening weekend. Rodgers goes down but Jets still win on 9/11.

 It's week one of the nfl drama series. 

3 ints to the same guy? He does his own butt fumble in Jets stadium?

Too perfect! Too perfect!

And....Rodgers went down. Live betting is legal all over the country.

Everyone bet on Buffalo at that point.

It's like the scene in trading Places.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HipKat]

6 hours ago, Thurmal said:

Blah, blah, blah...they've been telling him from Day One to limit the hero ball and avoid taking a ton of unnecessary hits, and he has never stopped either. Even with Daboll. It is what it is. We just gotta hope he'll go on a tear like he did in the 2021 playoffs again. And that it will coincide, again, during the postseason. We'll see.

How can he stop when the line can't protect him?

[nealpellecchia@yahoo]

7 hours ago, Victor7 said:

Someone mentioned on one of the many shows that perhaps Dorsey should not be in the booth. That he should be downstairs with Josh so he can talk to him straight up. Have Brady in the booth. Honestly, it sounds like a good idea. Can't hurt to try. Because McDermott doesn't have the time apparently or the sway to talk Josh out of going rogue. 

Dermott is getting as old as josh..

[nealpellecchia@yahoo]

They took away diggs, we had no answer for that and we lost. What about the new TE? He sat on his stool like Sonny liston and quit. Flinging the ball down there anyway.

[thinwhiteduke]

He didn't know this a week ago?

[SackMan518]

Show us... and bring us a QB Whisperer so he stops doing the same dumb mistakes every season. He leads in fumbles/interceptions currently and makes him look better than Dak Prescott. That's bad.

[thinwhiteduke]

3 hours ago, thinwhiteduke said:

Come on Bert. You're smarter than most here.

Watch the game again. That's the proof.Another guy here already said it.

These jocks aren't you.Theyve thrown the ball a million times . Caught it a million etc.

No one makes mistakes like that all at once. Prove it? It's adult common sense. I don't think like a child in 1975 watching a game anymore. 

He had guys open underneath all night. He's not a dumb ass Bills fan. He didn't panic. He didn't not see the open guys. 

Think about it. Him, Burrows, Mahomes, all lost on opening weekend. Rodgers goes down but Jets still win on 9/11.

 It's week one of the nfl drama series. 

3 ints to the same guy? He does his own butt fumble in Jets stadium?

Too perfect! Too perfect!

And....Rodgers went down. Live betting is legal all over the country.

Everyone bet on Buffalo at that point.

It's like the scene in trading Places.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my more brilliant posts. I refuse to let it get lost in the shuffle. Especially the last line.

[Thurmal]

2 hours ago, HipKat said:

How can he stop when the line can't protect him?

That's a great point. The line has been so shaky for so long, that I'm afraid he's starting to see ghosts back there. Even the toughest QBs on earth don’t want to get drilled all the time.

[StraightJ]

I don't deny the line conditioning might have him scrambling a bit early, even with an improved line which I suspect regardless of how much they gel will take more blame than deserved.   I want to avoid the seeing ghosts phrase though, maybe just because the first time I heard it it rubbed me the wrong way...and/or as I pointed out in the shoutbox Josh seeing open field ahead but not seeing a solid non-apparition who blind-sided him as he crossed the OL. 

(I think that phrase could also be seen as formist, and used against folks like young linebacker Baylon Spector)

For folks set on ripping OCKD, an example to consider was the INT to a double covered Big Game Gabe, which if I recall correctly was drawn up to have one of our TEs(Kincaid?) open underneath.   Sometimes it seems like people make proclamations and generally not budge, so I don't expect such examples(or how Dorsey got Diggs not covered by Gardner on about 80% of the plays last season, IIRC) to change their minds.  Recall the game HK claimed that thug **don was going to have a career high in sacks.  Wasn't that the same game that not only nothing like that occurred, but Dorsey was praised for running the ball down defensive GOAT BB's throat with him being powerless to stop it? 

FWIW, after reading about a dozen posts in the original blame game thread, it was none other than @seandelevan whom I had begun writing a long post as being only person (at least up until then) who got it.  I did add that if his good pal @daryls61 was still online, he'd likely agree and they could bury their differences and unite in anti-Allen hate and organize a jersey burning orgy complete with pagan rituals....possibly waiting to the autumnal equinox when allegedly the veil is thinnest between this and less perceived areas of reality(most here, myself included more than I like, are ignorant of what small % of reality we perceive....which to an extent can be shown scientifically).  

Come on, how many have a difficult time seeing Sean(and maybe daryls, all of them) performing a pagan ritual involving blood?  :)       (on a more serious note, others whom I wont name, openly idolize some well-known for things like blood rituals and blood hatred.  It's generally helpful not to remain unaware of such things)

[StraightJ]

All of that said, my original post Monday night was IIRC going to end with saying Sean being correct is the best news out of all the things I saw listed, as it was the most easily correctable.  Even last season with Josh not being "on" for quite a stretch(and injured, and all the other injuries), they still finished 13-3.   Folks are free to give up on the team at any time, but the truth is even a truthful(non WWF) version of Khrushchev pounding the table is unlikely to get any of these fantasy demands fulfilled.  I'd ask what percentage of demands have been granted in the past, but if not zero I'd wager it's relatively close. 

If @miamibillsnut is correct about no concussion(and I have no reason to just dismiss him), it still does not discount what I think I saw in those eyes, but certainly not limited to them in my observation.    Go Bills.

[StraightJ]

21 hours ago, Victor7 said:

Someone mentioned on one of the many shows that perhaps Dorsey should not be in the booth. That he should be downstairs with Josh so he can talk to him straight up. Have Brady in the booth. Honestly, it sounds like a good idea. Can't hurt to try. Because McDermott doesn't have the time apparently or the sway to talk Josh out of going rogue. 

That actually sounds like it might be a good idea....(actually while typing that with the intention of also saying it was something more easily actionable and not fluff masquerading as hate, I recalled the following)  In the past I saw written, not sure how serious it was, that it was good having him off the field because he is so demonstrative.  I wish a had a link handy because it made the point much better than my vague memory can right now.  Either way, I still stick with my original intent of praising this reply because it certainly is one of the more easier to test suggestions that doesn't require much of a long term commitment.

[StraightJ]

And a short post about JFA17 that I may have mentioned before:  He was still working with Jordan Palmer in the offseason.  And if you "fans" cared to listen(I guess JP also made a show about Josh in his series on QBs mentioned on this interview, which I am not referring to), Palmer said his clients continue to work with him throughout the season. 

Unless I am not recalling that correctly, I think that is significant.  Having someone like that still analyzing Josh and the plays as the season goes along, having a shoulder of his stature to lean on is of worth in my opinion.  I know from reading numerous posts and shouts that not only were folks unaware of this, they were actually ignorant(yes, now I am using that word with intent) of the fact he was working with Palmer or doing anything, from all the comments about his commercials,etc, which I joked would come if he had a bad opener(I was not hoping to be right....).

The interview was pretty decent....talked about backing up his brother and though never wanting to take over for him, being that one guy who could give him the raw feedback others might not.  (Is Barkley being gone contributing to the lack of that?  I mean it's one game, but figured it's still worth considering).