Bills’ Josh Allen is taking something off the “fastball,” and seeing fast results

There’s a big difference in the Bills’ Josh Allen this year from last, and the year before that, and it really showed on one throw in their victory at Miami.

Midway through the first quarter he had Cole Beasley on a crossing route in that intermediate range, 20 or 25 yards downfield, working against man coverage. Allen threw the ball probably 35 yards in the air and if he wanted to he could really rip that thing out there, but this one had some touch on it.

Allen threw it to a spot and Beasley was able to adjust and change the trajectory on his route. He initially was headed to the sideline and ended up cranking it up the field, getting about seven yards off line, and because Allen put some touch on that ball he could do that.

The defender had no idea, Beasley did a good job keeping him on his hip and Allen dropped it right in there for a nice gain.

Allen had another throw on Sunday, a 5-yard quick out from the slot to Stefon Diggs against tight man-to-man coverage, and the ball bounced right off Diggs’ hand, his left hand, just as he turned his head around.

Watching the coach’s film or the All-22, there are only a couple of seconds there to see what happens after a play, but Diggs instantly grabbed his left hand with his right hand like, “Is it still attached to my wrist?”

So, yes, that fastball, it’s still there.

Allen’s growth as a passer

But the really cool thing Allen has done in these first two games is show that he’s learned how to take something off the ball, to throw to spots, and that pass to Beasley is a perfect illustration of his growth as a passer.

It’s a big reason why Allen has completed 71.7% and 68.6% of his passes in victories over the Jets and Miami, and had the first 400-yard passing game of his career the week after his first 300-yard passing game.

We don’t usually see guys who complete 40% or 50% of their passes in college go to the NFL and complete 70%. Usually a guy that’s 50% in college is 40% in the NFL and he plays two years and that’s it.

A lot of coaches have tried to make that work with different quarterbacks and it never does, so for Allen that’s a really cool thing.

It’s a credit to the coaching staff. It’s a credit to Allen, working on it.

You have to really push the envelope of anticipation in practice to get there. I talked to my brother Derek a lot about this, as well. You have to throw the ball super early, almost uncomfortably early. You have to throw it to a spot to develop that touch and that feel.

Arm strength is still vitally important – you can’t throw lollipops up there in the NFL. Allen has it, as does Derek. They have the ability to put their back foot in the ground and crank up a 100-mph fastball. They can get it in there when they need to, and it’s nice to have that because if you’re a little bit late or you’re not sure what the coverage is, if the guy comes out of his route a little early or a little differently than expected, you always have that heater.

The upside to uncomfortable practice

But that touch, it’s not something you wake up and just have in the game. Allen has definitely pushed the envelope of uncomfortable practice, throwing it early, throwing it to spots and working with the receivers so that they know that’s what’s going to happen, as well.

The result is not having to be perfect with a throw. Beasley, he’s running a crossing route, man to man coverage, the defender is a yard behind him. Allen throws it early, he throws it out there and now the receiver can work with his timing to the ball, keep the defensive back on his hip and then he decides where the ball comes in. A good wide receiver will slow down, speed up, and come to the ball right at the moment of contact where they’ll catch it away from the defensive back.

If you throw a fastball every time, then that’s where it’s going. That’s it. There’s no time for the receiver to adjust. You can’t be as consistent.

Taking something off gives you more room for error, and he’s definitely starting to learn that, which is nice because teams are going to challenge him to make those throws.

They’ll see the one that he misses by 10 yards and think, ‘He’s not going to hit that throw consistently, so we’re going to challenge him. We’ll play man to man. We’ll make him make tight window throws.’

But he has had some personality on his throws. He doesn’t always have to use the fastball – I think he got stuck doing that a little bit last year.

He has looked good, and they have a nice football team there in Buffalo. They have a chance to do something.

Going back to the ‘D’ in fantasy

Tampa Bay racked up some points on defense last week, so we’re going with another good match up with Indianapolis playing the New York Jets. The Colts looked good against Minnesota. They have good team speed. Darius Leonard is flying to the ball, and their front is playing really well. It’s only two games, but the Colts are leading the NFL in yards allowed by a big margin (97 yards per game) and should be able to rack up some sacks and turnovers in that match up.