Buffalo Bills 2019-2020

[Eleven]

2 hours ago, WildCard said:

That is one goofy-looking personal aesthetic.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

32 minutes ago, Eleven said:

That is one goofy-looking personal aesthetic.

I think the hair on his head and chin are beautiful, but how does he manage to squeeze a helmet onto that hair, eh?

Edited September 3, 2019 by New Scotland (NS)

[shrader]

1 hour ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

I think the hair on his head and chin are beautiful, but how does he manage to squeeze a helmet onto that hair, eh?

They keep looking for better helmets to prevent concussions, but all it takes is crazy hair.

[Randall Flagg]

Cool article on the exact Seahawks/Wilson topic: https://presnapreads.com/the-seahawks-offense-enhances-russell-wilsons-skill-set/

@That Aud Smell it speaks to some of the questions you asked

[That Aud Smell]

Yo, @Randall Flagg - my thanks. Very interesting read. In sum, the author posits:

”Any argument for overhauling the passing game and putting more responsibility on Wilson’s shoulders ignores that he has excelled in the current style of scheme and struggled outside of it.”

[LGR4GM]

I just, don't care about Seattle enough. It was a fun article to read. 

[That Aud Smell]

^

I can identify with not caring (or knowing) enough about SEA to really, really care about how that team uses Russell Wilson.

But it is interesting, as a Bills fan, to take a deep-ish dive into a team that schemes to be run-heavy and feature a QB with a somewhat limited (but powerful) skill set.

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

^

I can identify with not caring (or knowing) enough about SEA to really, really care about how that team uses Russell Wilson.

But it is interesting, as a Bills fan, to take a deep-ish dive into a team that schemes to be run-heavy and feature a QB with a somewhat limited (but powerful) skill set.

Let's talk about what the Bills did to help Allen. Allen we know has a cannon of an arm. The problem he exhibits most is inaccuracy. So what did the Bills do to help that? They got 2 TE and Beasley to help. Beasley is probably the best slot receiver in the NFL. Sweeney and Knox are good prospects with size and hands. I look forward to seeing them used more. This gives Allen the most valuable thing for him, reliable check down throws. That was really missing last year. He is also looks slightly better with his accuracy in the preseason. He still isn't great but it might be enough. I think it is important to recognize your QB's weaknesses and then try to bolster positions to help those. I am also glad they brought in a new offensive line. Should help Allen a lot. 

[That Aud Smell]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Let's talk about what the Bills did to help Allen. Allen we know has a cannon of an arm. The problem he exhibits most is inaccuracy. So what did the Bills do to help that? They got 2 TE and Beasley to help. Beasley is probably the best slot receiver in the NFL. Sweeney and Knox are good prospects with size and hands. I look forward to seeing them used more. This gives Allen the most valuable thing for him, reliable check down throws. That was really missing last year. He is also looks slightly better with his accuracy in the preseason. He still isn't great but it might be enough. I think it is important to recognize your QB's weaknesses and then try to bolster positions to help those. I am also glad they brought in a new offensive line. Should help Allen a lot. 

Yep. I think (think) the Bills are smart enough to play to Allen's strengths, and avoid his weaknesses. There are only a small handful of QBs like Luck, P. Manning, Brady, Brees, etc. Allen is never going to be in the mold of any of them. I'm hoping to see some sort of evolution of Cam Newton.

[LGR4GM]

I don't want them to avoid his weaknesses per say. I want them to work on them and provide support (Beasley) when they can. 

[That Aud Smell]

36 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I don't want them to avoid his weaknesses per say. I want them to work on them and provide support (Beasley) when they can. 

Hmm. I agree with this, to a point.

Generally speaking, I buy into the theory that it's a far better management practice to focus on featuring (and developing) a person's strengths than it is to devote a lot of energy trying to shore up weaknesses. The latter is generally a fool's errand.

Now, I'm not sure if Allen is naturally strong or weak at throwing the kinds of routes that Beasley will, can run. My point is simply that, from all indications, Allen's never going to be known for pinpoint accuracy. Shoot. He may at best top out at being a top-of-the-bottom-third for overall QB accuracy. Just identify and play to his strengths is all I'm asking.

[sabills]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

Hmm. I agree with this, to a point.

Generally speaking, I buy into the theory that it's a far better management practice to focus on featuring (and developing) a person's strengths than it is to devote a lot of energy trying to shore up weaknesses. The latter is generally a fool's errand.

Now, I'm not sure if Allen is naturally strong or weak at throwing the kinds of routes that Beasley will, can run. My point is simply that, from all indications, Allen's never going to be known for pinpoint accuracy. Shoot. He may at best top out at being a top-of-the-bottom-third for overall QB accuracy. Just identify and play to his strengths is all I'm asking.

I'm sure its been brought up in this thread before, but I saw some tweet a while back about how the Bills can optimize Allen by throwing it deeper. He's never going to be a West Coast, short out route sort of QB, he's not accurate enough. But he has that huge arm, and at long range he's about on par with other QB's for accuracy. So if you're going to be inaccurate, you might as well be inaccurate further down the field where the gain from a hit makes up for the misses.

[Randall Flagg]

Things like that article are making me LOVE football again. It's such an interesting sport that I really know so little about. I encourage anyone who enjoyed the dive to watch Brett Kollmann's youtube channel.

[darksabre]

12 minutes ago, sabills said:

I'm sure its been brought up in this thread before, but I saw some tweet a while back about how the Bills can optimize Allen by throwing it deeper. He's never going to be a West Coast, short out route sort of QB, he's not accurate enough. But he has that huge arm, and at long range he's about on par with other QB's for accuracy. So if you're going to be inaccurate, you might as well be inaccurate further down the field where the gain from a hit makes up for the misses.

This is essentially how I would use Allen. Just accept that he's a boom or bust QB and let him throw downfield a lot. Either you win games by 21 or lose games by 21. The defense is going to be on the field a lot no matter what.

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, darksabre said:

This is essentially how I would use Allen. Just accept that he's a boom or bust QB and let him throw downfield a lot. Either you win games by 21 or lose games by 21. The defense is going to be on the field a lot no matter what.

I disagree. Having a good slot receiver and good TE's will be vital to keeping defenses honest to even open those top routes. Allen's 1 preseason game (#2) was exactly what you want to see. A couple deep shots but if they aren't open, dump it off, get 5 yards, reset. 

[Randall Flagg]

31 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I disagree. Having a good slot receiver and good TE's will be vital to keeping defenses honest to even open those top routes. Allen's 1 preseason game (#2) was exactly what you want to see. A couple deep shots but if they aren't open, dump it off, get 5 yards, reset. 

The touch he showed on the one Sweeney pass versus the zip on the other one was so encouraging

[LGR4GM]

https://www.buffalobills.com/video/josh-allen-s-laser-throw-hits-tommy-sweeney-up-the-seam-for-25-yards

[LGR4GM]

On a sidenote... watching these highlights compared to last year, our offensive line was total garbage. Allen has seconds longer and an real pocket to step into. 

 

[That Aud Smell]

50 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

The touch he showed on the one Sweeney pass versus the zip on the other one was so encouraging

And touch is perhaps distinct from accuracy. Interesting to note, in any case.

42 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

On a sidenote... watching these highlights compared to last year, our offensive line was total garbage. Allen has seconds longer and an real pocket to step into. 

Comparing preseason action to regular season play is perilous. But I think the line play has to be improved.

[LGR4GM]

21 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

And touch is perhaps distinct from accuracy. Interesting to note, in any case.

Comparing preseason action to regular season play is perilous. But I think the line play has to be improved.

I was comparing preseason 2018 to preseason 2019. We played the panthers in both. 

[sabills]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I disagree. Having a good slot receiver and good TE's will be vital to keeping defenses honest to even open those top routes. Allen's 1 preseason game (#2) was exactly what you want to see. A couple deep shots but if they aren't open, dump it off, get 5 yards, reset. 

I agree with this in principle, I just don't think Allen has the ability to do that well enough. Watching him throw 5 yard curl passes into the knees of receivers consistently last year disabused me of that idea. O lines and better receivers are great, but they don't make Allen a better passer.

[Randall Flagg]

The Raiders are fining Antonio Brown (for at least the second time in the last few weeks) for not showing up to mandatory team practices/walkthroughs and he's complaining about the fines on twitter or instagram or something

[darksabre]

They're going to end up doing something crazy like trading him to the Pats.

[sabills]

23 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

The Raiders are fining Antonio Brown (for at least the second time in the last few weeks) for not showing up to mandatory team practices/walkthroughs and he's complaining about the fines on twitter or instagram or something

couldn't happen to a better team

[WildCard]

AB is a great player, top 5 WR of all time, but man is he a headache. A big part of me is happy we didn't land him honestly