Josh vs. Sam again
For the first time in a long time we’re going to see Allen against Sam Darnold under center for the Bills and Jets, respectively. Remember, it’s been pretty much a year since that’s happened. When Buffalo and New York concluded the regular season a year ago, it was Darnold against… Matt Barkley. The Bills played their backups that day with nothing to gain in the postseason race.
In the case of both guys, Allen has had the better overall successes in the NFL since the two were first-round picks in 2018. However, both of their upcoming seasons are huge. Entering the third year of their respective careers, both fan bases want their QB to take a step forward. But both Allen and Darnold will need help from the new faces around them to get to the desired levels of fans.
First, Allen has Diggs. We’ve already discussed how he’s an elite player, so he should take Allen to the next level, right? For Darnold, it’s all about this new-look offensive. The guys blocking for him a year ago were beat up and not very good.
Because Week 17 last year wasn’t actually Allen going head-to-head with Darnold, these two are pretty much 1-1 against each other so far in their careers.
The O-line shuffle
Congratulations to Sean McDermott! He did it. His team made it all the way to the season opener without letting the Jets know who’s going to start on the right side of the offensive line. Of course, once the Bills offense lines up on the field one time, the entire NFL knows their depth chart, but hey, the mystery will remain for one more day.
But on a more serious note, we’re not sure what’s going on in terms of the right side of Buffalo’s O-line. Heavy speculation points to right tackle Cody Ford moving over to right guard to fill in for the injured Jon Feliciano. What’s that mean at right tackle? Probably either Ty Nsekhe or Daryl Williams. Just one more day until we find out these answers.
This week, the Bills unveiled their depth chart and didn’t name a starter or depth at all at either right guard or tackle. Instead, we got a listing of “Cody Ford/ Ty Nsekhe/ Daryl Williams” at right tackle while right guard has “Cody Ford/ Daryl Williams/ Brian Winters.”
The Jets won’t know what’s coming with this 4D chess from the Bills.
OK, that was my last dig. Promise.