Jim Kelly continues to be a gift that keeps on giving for the Buffalo Bills.
Despite being retired and healthy, Jim Kelly hasn’t walked away from the Buffalo Bills. Nor has he walked away from their quarterback position. The Bills piqued his interested when they drafted quarterback Josh Allen at No. 7 overall in 2018. When they met at last year’s rookie mini-camp, Kelly returned with a rave review to BuffaloBills.com, saying;
"I like what I saw. — What I probably like about Josh probably more than anything is how after a play, if he saw something, he talks to the players. He was talking to everybody. And for a young guy to come in here and have communication with the receivers, with their linemen, talking to them after a play discussing what went on, that’s what you want."
After Allen’s rookie season, Kelly remained impressed. As he told The Buffalo News;
"I think he’s the real deal. He needs the quarterback coach, the offensive coordinator to get in his mind. I have already talked to him and told him we need to sit down this offseason. — I need to tell him some things that I saw that he was not doing that he needs to make sure are instilled in his mind, that I don’t know if he’s been told."
It’s inevitable to see the parallels between Allen and Kelly. Allen was the highest drafted quarterback by the franchise since the selection of Kelly at No. 14 overall 1983. A big-bodied gunslinger in his days, Kelly was able to return Buffalo to prominence. His younger counterpart Allen fits that mold to a tee, but with an unearthly strong-arm and an abundance of athleticism.
Kelly chimed in on that athletic ability in the same interview, agreeing that Allen possesses more.
"I wish I had his athletic ability. I mean, early on my career I wasn’t bad, but I was never like that."
Allen had the rookie season most expected out of him. His rawness showed, and so did his aggressiveness, but his athleticism and arm shined. In 12 appearances (11 starts), the 6-foot-5 Wyoming product passed for 2,074 yards, ten touchdowns, and 12 interceptions on a 52.8% completion rate.
Despite his shoddy passing numbers, Allen passed the eye test. His strong arm wowed, but his development was particularly impressive. He was a different quarterback at the end of the season compared to the beginning. The game appeared to have slowed down for Allen; throughout the season, his composure in the pocket and a better understanding of NFL defenses progressed.
Many could say Allen’s numbers were dragged down by the team around him. The defense was stout in 2018, but the offensive line, running game, and pass-catchers struggled mightily to help him. So much so that his 631 rushing yards led the team. In 2019, that won’t have to be the case as GM Brandon Beane upgraded every position on offense in the off-season.
Along with an upgraded offense, Allen could surely benefit from a few pointers from a Hall of Fame signal-caller; and that’s what he’s getting. At Kelly’s Monday celebrity golf tournament, he talked with The Buffalo News and told them about how he’s helping Allen development.
"I’ve been sitting in some meetings with the offense, me and Coach Daboll went through a lot. They’ve downloaded ‘video] all of our four Super Bowl seasons to see what we’ve done. And Josh loves some of the plays that we ran. So we’re going to be, of course, implementing some of those."
There are two key things to digest from this quote: Kelly says “we’re” when talking about implementing plays, and they’re watching the film from the 1990-93 Super Bowl stretch. Though unlikely, the first may hint at a coaching title or at the minimum, influence on the offense. The second may be more interesting because it means they are studying the famed K-Gun offense.
As most of you know, the K-Gun offense was a hurry-up attack the Bills and Kelly thrived under Marv Levy in the early ’90s. The quick nature of the offense proved to be a defensive nightmare, and it ranks amongst the best attacks in NFL history. From 1990 to ’93, under the K-Gun, the Bills had a top-three offense every season. However, as of 2019, it’s considered to be outdated.
Defenses learned to adapt to the hurry-up offense by getting lighter and rangier with nickel, dime, and quarter sub-packages. But Allen, Kelly, and Daboll probably aren’t looking to implement the offense as a whole; instead, they may look to add principals of it to the young shot-callers game.
Allen should be able to take away a lot from studying the K-Gun. In its heyday, the offense demanded a quarterback that can read the field and make all offensive adjustments on the fly. Both are needed in today’s NFL more than ever.
Both of the mentioned traits also areas that need improvement for Allen. In turn, Kelly’s astute understanding of each may be a focal point to the film reviews with his strong-armed protégé.
Kelly also mentioned that they would be implementing some plays from that offense to the Daboll’s playbook. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Many of the vertical route concepts Kelly feasted with back in the day could do the same for Allen. Their set of plays used to get down the field in a hurry may also be replicated in modern two-minute offense packages.
The tight end group may benefit from K-Gun plays or concepts. The offense was built around an athletic, move tight end; specifically the hyper-fast Keith McKeller. Recent additions Tyler Kroft, Dawson Knox, and the returning Jason Croom all fit that athletic mold.
However, whether or not the K-Gun will be utilized or if Allen thrives from the mentorship is unknown. But it never hurts to learn from an all-time great.