By Brad Belber / Billswire.usatoday.com
Former NFL quarterback and current NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms is expecting big things from Josh Allen in his sophomore season. Simms, who has been a fan of Allen from the beginning, talked to WIVB-TV during last week’s NFL Combine and explained why he sees a continued upward trajectory for the Bills’ quarterback.
“Year one is a crash course. It’s ‘holy cow’ I was just in college now I’m preparing for the combine and I’m drafted and learning a new offense. You feel like you never get to take a deep breath. The next thing is the details the intricacies of how to play the position. When to take a chance, when to throw the ball away, when to scramble and when to hang in there an extra few seconds,” Simms said.
“But the big thing is being able to digest Brian Daboll’s offense. That’s where I look at it and go he’s going to make leaps and bounds. Daboll will be able to put more and more on the plate for him because he’ll have a better understanding of what he can and can’t handle and I’d really be shocked if Josh Allen doesn’t kick some butt this year,” Simms added.
Unlike last season, where Allen had to worry about going through the draft process, moving to a new city, getting to know new teammates/coaches as well as splitting reps in OTA’s with AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman and training camp, all while trying to win the job and learn the basics of the offense. This year, the task at hand is much simpler, at least in comparison.
As Simms pointed out, Allen can spend the entire offseason working on continuing to learn the offense he is already familiar with, while also continuing to improve his mechanics. An advantage he has over fellow rookie QB’s like Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen, who will be learning new offenses all over again. A reason many preach consistency when it comes to a coaching staff.
While some players run into “sophomore slumps,” all signs point to Josh Allen continuing to improve under his current conditions. If the Bills are able to sign key free agents, given having the third-most cap space entering the season and draft wisely, Allen could be in a much better situation, in year two.
If that all comes to fruition, seeing Allen “kick some butt,” as Simms put it, would certainly be realistic.