Mental errors are something that can be devastating for a team, especially in crucial situations during a game. The Buffalo Bills have had their fair share of mental mistakes that have cost them big games throughout their history. Whether it is causing a penalty, fumbling the football, or even having too many men on the field like they did in Week 10 against the Denver Broncos that ultimately shot down their chance at winning that game.
The room for errors to be made and corrected is training camp, when nothing counts. It is all about getting in the right form and knowing various situations that can be thrown at you in a real game situation. A lot of mental mistakes occur on the line either right before or right after the ball is snapped. Whether it be a false start or illegal motion, those kinds of mistakes are a drive killer. The one that is even worse is when the center and quarterback are not on the same page when it comes to the snap.
With Mitch Morse out of Buffalo, Connor McGovern is moving over from guard to center this season. While McGovern has the experience protecting Allen, it is a whole new ball game between the duo because they now need to be on the same page for the snap. This includes knowing the cadence, the speed of the snap, and even recognizing the defensive schemes to help protect Allen.
According to Thad Brown, since the start of training camp, McGovern and and Allen have had issues at the start of the snap whether it be a fumbled exchange or a shotgun snap that was too low for Allen. Luckily it is early on to where this issue can be fixed, but it needs to be corrected immediately.
Fumbled snap between McGovern and Josh. There’s been a snap issue every day so far. Either with a shotgun snap too low or a fumbled exchange.#Bills
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) July 29, 2024
There is no room for mental mistakes at the snap
If there is one area that the Bills have to be perfect on offense, it is the snap exchange. It’s literally how the play starts and develops. If McGovern and Allen cannot get on the same page throughout training camp, there might be a chance for rookie center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger to get some looks with the starters. He was dominant at Georgia in the middle of the offensive line and he would be able to bring a quality pass protection for Allen.