The Buffalo Bills quarterback competition is underway and the rookie of the group is getting his fair shot at the starting job.
Josh Allen as the starting quarterback was a polarizing topic for Buffalo Bills fans before training camp began.
The arguments will only get more heated now that camp is underway and Josh Allen is getting some time with the first-team offense.
Josh Allen now getting work with the starting offense against starting defense.
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) July 28, 2018
That is the most factual tweet about Allen you will find on Twitter. Some will be positive, but more often than not, the negative will stick out the most.
Rodak tweeted two observations on Josh Allen from today's #Bills practice. The negative tweet has received nearly 10 times more retweets (& counting) than the positive one. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/djl7HLJyqo
— Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) July 27, 2018
This won’t change until Allen starts winning games, if he ever does.
For now, let’s focus on the fact he is even getting time with the first-team offense this early in camp. I see no problem with it.
The Bills obviously have Allen on the roster as the quarterback of the future. Or at least that is the plan. We know that at some point in time he is going to be given the chance to start after being taken with the No. 7 overall pick.
Giving him first-team reps now is a great way to let him learn the offense with players of a starting caliber. It also allows Sean McDermott to see where Allen is at. The worst thing to do would be to only allow him to take third-team reps. If Allen lights it up with the third-team in a preseason game while AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman struggle with the better talent, McDermott may be swayed in his decision making.
This is exactly what the Cleveland Browns did last year with DeShone Kizer. The key in all of this is to not follow any Browns model.
Giving all three quarterbacks some time with the first-team offense early in camp makes this a fair competition and one that allows the coaching staff to see who is truly the best with the unit that will be on the field Week 1.
Fans must keep in mind that Allen getting these early reps doesn’t mean he is the starter. So there is no need to tweet hot takes every time he throws an incomplete pass on video. It’s not like all his completed passes are being tweeted out. But negativity sells, I suppose.