Oftentimes, a quarterback’s ability to realize his full potential is directly correlated to his coaches’ ability to successfully leverage it.
Perhaps the most prominent example in recent years is Jared Goff. As a rookie, with Jeff Fisher as his head coach, the 2016 first overall pick looked like he was heading towards bust territory. Goff lost all seven of his starts with his 63.6 quarterback rating ranking him 33rd among quarterbacks who attempted at least 200 passes.
Then came a coaching change with Sean McVay replacing Fisher. Almost overnight, Goff went from a signal caller who appeared in over his head to one capable of leading his Los Angeles Rams to the postseason. Combined with the team killing it in free agency this off-season, suddenly they’re a trendy Super Bowl pick out of the NFC.
Obviously, rookie quarterbacks aren’t expected to step right in and turn a team into a contender. Some are ready to take the reins earlier than others. But having competent coaching helps. And it appears Josh Allen has that with the Buffalo Bills coaching staff.
Prominent Media Pundits Praising Buffalo Bills Coaching Staff for Work With Josh Allen
Week-by-Week Improvement
Allen made his debut in the second half of Buffalo’s preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. Right off the bat, he showcased his above-average arm strength with a bomb down the left-hand side of the field. Though Robert Foster caught the ball, he did so out of bounds so it resulted in an incompletion. Still, the ease with which Allen tossed a deep ball certainly had fans at New Era Field buzzing.
But overall, his performance in game one of the preseason didn’t allay one of the biggest concerns scouts have about him: namely, his accuracy. Allen finished with a 56.2 percent completion percentage in college, the lowest among the five quarterbacks taken in the first round of this year’s draft. In his first-ever NFL game, he completed fewer than half of his attempted passes against players buried on the Panthers depth chart.
A week later, against the Cleveland Browns, Allen took a more prominent role. He eventually functioned as the backup, replacing A.J. McCarron beginning in the second quarter. To say he showed marked improvement from the previous game might be an understatement. The Bills first possession with him behind center was a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. It culminated with him throwing a touchdown pass to Rod Streater.
“They Have Completely Cleaned Him Up”
His accuracy numbers also hinted at significant improvement. For the second straight week, he completed nine passes. But just four resulted in incompletions, giving him a completion percentage of over 69 percent. That, along with him putting together a sustained drive, has many prominent observers taking notice.
On Monday’s edition of “The Herd” radio program, Colin Cowherd described Allen as essentially the biggest upside surprise among the first round picks so far. In particular, he noted that Buffalo’s coaches have done a fantastic job ironing out his weaknesses.
“You gotta give Buffalo’s coaching staff some credit here,” Cowherd stated. “(Allen) had crappy mechanics in college. I’ve watched him now play twice. They have completely cleaned him up. And he looks like he could be, give him time now, but he throws the ball with real accuracy. (He) always threw it with zip. Now he’s an accurate thrower (with just) a couple months with this coaching staff.”
Talent Plus Habits
Another media pundit who’s effused praise on this Bills coaching staff is Louis Riddick. Riddick played six seasons in the NFL during the 1990s and also has extensive experience as a front office executive. He’s now part of ESPN’s NFL coverage including their daily show NFL Live. During the show on Monday, Riddick referred to the first episode of “Embedded,” a series of Facebook-based videos the Bills are producing.
Head coach Sean McDermott is, not surprisingly, prominently featured. And it’s his authenticity as well as his expectations of excellence through hard work that blew Riddick away.
“(McDermott) is a guy who’s all about effort, he’s a guy who’s all about doing it the hard way, coming up the hard way,” Riddick emphasized. “So what he said: talent plus habits, he wants to be a part of; talent with no habits, he doesn’t want to be a part of that. That’s what he’s all about.”
The Ingredients for Quarterbacking Success Are in Place
It’s those characteristics that bode well for Allen’s career. Having coaches who demand 100 percent effort and meticulous attention to detail in preparation for game days can do nothing but benefit him and the team as a whole. In just one season, those qualities helped end one of the more dubious playoff droughts in the history of North American sports.
The latest chapter in the Josh Allen era gets written on Sunday when he makes his first career start against the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s significant in that the third preseason game is about as close as you can get to a regular season dress rehearsal. Allen will be doing battle with the Bengals defensive ones for a good portion of the game. How he performs will ostensibly play a part in whether or not McDermott’s comfortable enough to make him the Week One starter.
But long-term, the blueprint for his success at this level is there. He has an offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll who’s a year removed from a national title with Alabama. And his head coach has proven his commitment to inculcating habits which breed success. All of it should make Bills fans excited about the future.
