2019: The Year of Josh Allen
2019: The Year of Josh Allen
Note: This article is about the Buffalo Bills Quarterback. I have no doubt Josh Allen, the linebacker, will tear it up this year but unless he joins the Bills, I won’t be covering him much.
This is Josh Allen’s 2018 Season stat-line:
12 Games Played-160 completions on 320 attempts for a 52.8 completion percentage-2,074 yards-10 touchdowns-12 interceptions-67.9 Quarterback rating.
At first glance, this is a rather mediocre stat line. He’s thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, completed only 52.8 percent of his passes and threw for less than 200 yards a game. 200 yards a game is seen as not only manageable in the NFL but also expected. So with this said, why do we give Josh Allen a pass for putting up these kinds of numbers? Because the numbers lie when it comes to Josh Allen.
Keep in mind that the plan was to keep Allen on the bench and work on him until the coaching staff felt he was ready but when Nathan Peterman crashed and burned, that plan fell to the forefront. Allen did well in some games, meaning that he got the job done by securing the win. In the NFL, the only stat that truly matters is the W in the Win/Loss column.
His injury against the Texans was devastating but at least it gave him the opportunity to learn from the likes of Derek Anderson. Everyone noticed a change in Josh Allen when he came back. He seemed surer of himself and more ready to evolve into the Quarterback the Bills believe he can be.
Before I continue any further, it needs to be said that Allen does need some work in areas. His accuracy needs to improve and I think it will be better once this season starts. The decisions he makes will improve with constant exposure to NFL defenses but I do like what I see. I love the athleticism, I love the arm strength and I love the fact that Allen appears to offer the Bills stability at the QB position.
I said last week that the Bills need help on both the line and the receiving corps and this will also help in the development of Josh Allen. Sometimes, the receiver needs to bail the QB out but Allen appears to be making connections with some of Buffalo’s receiver’s, especially Robert Foster. Allen won’t be able to do it all by himself, no matter his running ability.
In keeping with his running ability, the Bills now have two back-to-back quarterbacks who can run. Hopefully, things work out with Allen better than they did with Tyrod, otherwise the fact that this team traded away Patrick Mahomes further pains this great city. Will Josh Allen ever reach the level of Pat Mahomes?
Well…Consider this, he’s the first player in Bills history to lead the team in both passing and rushing in the same game. There are just a handful of players in NFL History who can claim that notion and Allen is the only player in Bills history with such an honor. He’s the first QB in history to have three straight 90 plus yard rushing games.
Should Allen’s accuracy improve and should he continue to develop chemistry with the Bills receivers, Allen could torch the league. The games in which Allen struggled were those in which the running lanes broke down, forcing Allen to look for tough throws. The games in which Allen had trouble last year were games in which defenses could take advantage of Buffalo’s poor receiving corps.
As I said, this continues to be improving but what should I look for from Allen in year two? I think he can lead, I think he can win. I think he can lead the charge and I think he might even make a Pro Bowl. I know Shannon Sharpe, you said on Undisputed that Josh Allen’s a Quarterback and he’s supposed to throw the ball but when Kelvin Benjamin is leading your receiving corps, that’s not going to put fear into the heart of any defense.
You need to win any way you can. Josh Allen did that.
Allen turned it on when he came back from injury. I feel he can turn it up again. The Bills know where they need work this offseason and putting a squad around Josh Allen, especially one that he can grow into, that’s the mission. There’s a lot of potential with Josh Allen but I feel Buffalo needs to be patient. The growing pains will be here for a while longer but oh how sweet the reward will be if things go right.
So let’s walk into 2019 with some cautious optimism. I don’t expect the Bills to win the AFC East or anything but I do think they’ll be a tad more competitive than they were last year. Should Allen’s progression continue this way, the Bills will make it back to the playoffs. With the kind of defense they have and Josh Allen’s penchant for managing wins, who knows what can happen for the Bills.
Skies the limit.
-By: Thomas P. Braun Jr.