By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills have settled the questions surrounding the quarterback position once and for all.
Well, kind of.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott announced on Monday that he saw enough from rookie quarterback Josh Allen in Week 2 during a 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers to move forward with him this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and beyond.
“We’re going to go with Josh. I thought he did some good things, and he’s a young quarterback. Each game we expect him to get a little bit better and grow. So, that’s where we are as a football team and that’s where we are as an organization right now,” McDermott said.
As a follow-up, the coach was asked if Allen starting will be a “week-to-week” situation. McDermott said it won’t be. Allen’s his guy.
“I don’t plan on [week-to-week] being the case,” McDermott said.
Following Sunday’s game, Allen told reporters that he essentially felt exactly like many would’ve thought about his showing. He looked like a rookie.
“I felt comfortable for the most part. There’s some things that [Los Angeles] did that we didn’t see on film, and I didn’t see on film. But that’s being a rookie. That’s the part of it,” Allen said. “I have to be better with the pass protection. I have to be better with getting the ball out quicker. Ultimately, taking care of the football. Two interceptions, they were just two plays that I could’ve changed. The one that I was trying to throw to [RB Marcus Murphy], I was held up, and I should’ve just taken a sack or thrown it away. The one to [TE Jason Croom], he was running over the top, and I just made a bad ball. I should’ve allowed him to run under it, but I put it out in front of him and didn’t put enough air on it. That was all my bad.”
Along with McDermott, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll also spoke on Monday and discussed what he saw from Allen during his first career start.
“I thought he did some good things. Obviously, the speed of the game in his first career start. He went through that in the third week of the preseason, so I thought that did help him in his preparation process. He made a lot of good reads, did a lot of good things with his feet, made some loose plays, made some big plays for us. Again, the speed of it, the tempo, eye control, the footwork, fundamentals, those are all things we have to continue to harp and work on and at each week. He’s a good, young pro and we’re looking forward to getting him better each week,” Daboll said.
In terms of places to improve, Daboll pointed out the obvious areas – Allen’s two interceptions – but the OC also defended his offensive line while giving a little memo to the rookie. Daboll wants Allen to get rid of the ball.
“More than half of those sacks aren’t the offensive line. We can do a good job with setting the table, getting things set to where we need to get them set to. Those guys have protected inside out for the most part in pass protection. There have been some free runners that you guys have seen. It’s not all on the line, no question about it,” Daboll said.
Of course, Daboll wasn’t angry; he was the understanding of Allen’s position. He’s a rookie playing the most important, complex job, perhaps in all of sports. It’s not going to happen overnight. Daboll realizes it, and while there could be some excitement towards Allen being named the full-time starter going forward over Nathan Peterman by the fan base, but they too must recognize the same truth.