Will teams learn from Josh Allen success? (fascinating read)
Jan 14, 2021 9:24:27 GMT -6
Whisky Beer Bob likes this
Post by JABF on Jan 14, 2021 9:24:27 GMT -6
With the Bears still trying to fix the QB woes here, I found this article fascinating. Josh Allen was the 3rd QB taken in the draft. I'm thinking the Bears may be in a similar position and have to pick a 3rd or 4th QB in this draft. I can't post the entire article, but here's a snippet. Follow the link to read the entire article.
LINK
Will N.F.L. Teams Learn the Right Lessons From Josh Allen’s Success?
The Buffalo Bills quarterback made an astonishing developmental jump in his third season that could provide a valuable map — or an untenable comparison — for teams trying to replicate it.
The not-so-sudden success of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will spawn many imitators around the N.F.L. But like plagiarists copy-and-pasting their term papers from Wikipedia, the league’s copycats are likely to get the facts right but miss the main idea.
Allen’s ascendence is one of the biggest story lines of the 2020 season. He was practically a caricature of a gifted but bumbling rookie as the Buffalo Bills’ first-round draft pick in 2018 (seventh over all). He improved modestly last season, though he still looked too often like a team mascot on inline skates firing a T-shirt cannon.
But he blossomed this season, throwing for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns, running for eight touchdowns, earning a Pro Bowl berth and leading the Bills to a 13-3 regular-season record and last week’s playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the franchise’s first playoff win since the 1995 season.
Gradual, broad-based development like Allen’s is surprisingly rare: Most young quarterbacks either exhibit immediate potential (like Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs or Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Bills face on Saturday night in a divisional round playoff game) or stagger through long seasons of few ups and many downs (like any Jets quarterback of the last 44 years). So N.F.L. coaches and general managers are sure to try to swipe whatever alchemist’s stone transformed Allen from a turnover dispensary into a Most Valuable Player Award candidate.
Unfortunately, the league is likely to learn all the wrong lessons from Allen’s success, starting when teams search for the “next Josh Allen” in future drafts.
Many N.F.L. decision makers covet height and arm strength to a fault when evaluating young passers. Some would draft a quarterback whose passes land in the coaches’ parking lot as long as he is over 6-foot-5 and cracks a few windshields. A few would draft a baseball pitching machine on stilts if it somehow looked them in the eye and offered a firm handshake.
Will N.F.L. Teams Learn the Right Lessons From Josh Allen’s Success?
The Buffalo Bills quarterback made an astonishing developmental jump in his third season that could provide a valuable map — or an untenable comparison — for teams trying to replicate it.
The not-so-sudden success of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will spawn many imitators around the N.F.L. But like plagiarists copy-and-pasting their term papers from Wikipedia, the league’s copycats are likely to get the facts right but miss the main idea.
Allen’s ascendence is one of the biggest story lines of the 2020 season. He was practically a caricature of a gifted but bumbling rookie as the Buffalo Bills’ first-round draft pick in 2018 (seventh over all). He improved modestly last season, though he still looked too often like a team mascot on inline skates firing a T-shirt cannon.
But he blossomed this season, throwing for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns, running for eight touchdowns, earning a Pro Bowl berth and leading the Bills to a 13-3 regular-season record and last week’s playoff victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the franchise’s first playoff win since the 1995 season.
Gradual, broad-based development like Allen’s is surprisingly rare: Most young quarterbacks either exhibit immediate potential (like Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs or Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, whom the Bills face on Saturday night in a divisional round playoff game) or stagger through long seasons of few ups and many downs (like any Jets quarterback of the last 44 years). So N.F.L. coaches and general managers are sure to try to swipe whatever alchemist’s stone transformed Allen from a turnover dispensary into a Most Valuable Player Award candidate.
Unfortunately, the league is likely to learn all the wrong lessons from Allen’s success, starting when teams search for the “next Josh Allen” in future drafts.
Many N.F.L. decision makers covet height and arm strength to a fault when evaluating young passers. Some would draft a quarterback whose passes land in the coaches’ parking lot as long as he is over 6-foot-5 and cracks a few windshields. A few would draft a baseball pitching machine on stilts if it somehow looked them in the eye and offered a firm handshake.