The deep ball will always be the sexy pass in the NFL. Double that excitement level when you’ve got a guy throwing passes who once was tossing the ball 80 yards at his pro day at the University of Wyoming.
Of course, we’re referencing Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Sometimes his passes on those deep shots were errant last year. Heck, it was pretty often those passes were off target, and he’s certainly been working on that this offseason. But more and more, we’re hearing about different aspects of his game he’s looking to better in 2020. The lastest insight came from wide receiver Cole Beasley.
Heading into their second year together, Beasley said on Tuesday from Bills training camp that there’s a lot of improvement in Allen’s game he’s seen so far. Specifically, Beasley mentioned one type of throw that Allen’s improved upon from last season to now. It’s an important one, too.
“Josh, he finally got a full year under his belt last year. He’s playing more confident than ever, Beasley said via video conference. “He’s making throws [now] that he wouldn’t have even tried to attempt last year. He’s starting to throw guys open a bit.”
Throwing wide receivers open is an elite trait that separates quarterbacks from the middle of the pack. That and no-look throws like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. But throwing guys open is something the Bills will eagerly love seeing from Allen.
Earlier in training camp, Allen discussed his own progressions from 2019 to this season as well. In doing so, he also, like Beasley, didn’t mention the deep ball. Instead, Allen was focusing on smarter throws, kind of like the ones Beasley referenced.
“Making better decisions, especially on the early downs and not putting us in situations in third-and-long,” Allen said.
Like many others throughout the Bills locker room, Beasley as referenced the team’s current continuity in 2020 as another building block helping the overall improvement of Buffalo’s offense… As opposed to a year ago when he and many others had only just recently signed on the dotted line with the Bills. The foundation is already there.
“We had a lot of new guys last year that we added to the team. So we were really trying to build that chemistry last year, and now we’ve got a year under our belt… we’ve added a few pieces, but, just being together, we’ve been a tight-knit group, so… I mean it’s really just having a year under our belt together. We had success last year, but we know every year is a new year and we’ve got to come to work, but everybody is more comfortable with everybody who’s out there,” Beasley said.
But in a way, Allen taking this route instead of just refining his long ball could be the smarter way to handle Allen’s growth as an NFL QB. Think about it… if he starts completing more throws at all levels of the field, that could open things up all over the place for Allen and the entire Bills offense next season.
[lawrence-related id=68545,68535,68533,68504]