When Josh Allen was first selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 2018 NFL Draft, I was not disappointed but also unsure if this was the right choice. As someone who lives in Boise and follows Boise State football very closely, I was well aware of the talents of Josh Allen. He played against Boise State twice, beating them once and the second time was unimpressive.
In his first preseason with the Bills, I recall Buffalo was inside the ten yard line, the pocket was collapsing, and he maneuvered beautifully in the pocket and fired a shot to the back of the endzone for six. The next play that impressed me was early in his rookie year against the Minnesota Vikings and he scrambled for a ten-yard rushing touchdown. I saw the heart on that play and again when he jumped over Anthony Barr, a linebacker in that same game. I was sold then and became the biggest supporter of Josh Allen.
For the last couple of seasons I've called Allen the best quarterback in the league and have been his number one guy coming to his defense anytime said someone said anything different. He should have won the league MVP in 2020. I still believe he's the most physically gifted quarterback in the NFL now and ever. There has never been a quarterback in the history of this game that could do what Josh Allen does.
Unfortunately, I can no longer sit here in good conscience and claim that he's the best quarterback in NFL. Don't get me wrong, he's still the most gifted but he's not fulfilling those gifts to there fullest potential. The one thing that separates him from Mahomes and others is the decision making.
Josh Allen got bored in Week 1 vs #Jets pic.twitter.com/ACxrxD7mq6
— Pierre Kingpin (@Pierre_Kingpin) September 12, 2023
My first point here is stop blaming Ken Dorsey. This is not a Dorsey issue, nor is it a Coach McD issue. It's a Josh Allen problem and I promise you everyone of those coaches are constantly beating it into Allen's head to take care of the ball, yet he does not. There is a narrative out there that somehow Daboll was able to "reign" josh in and "control" him. Guess what, Allen has never had a season with less than 18 turnovers in a given season. That's more than a turnover every single game.
This whole idea that Ken Dorsey is the problem is absurd. I recall fans calling for Daboll's firing before he left and now fans are saying the same for Dorsey. You may not agree with a particular play call but at the end of the day, the players have to execute the play called and if they do that, the play will be successful. Josh Allen does not always properly execute the plays.
Here’s a breakdown of Josh Allen’s night by the insightful @danorlovsky7 :pic.twitter.com/9akrt2DXxv
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) September 12, 2023
What about the playoffs? Well, let's take a look at that. Allen has played in eight career playoff games in his career. In those games, he has thrown four interceptions and seven fumbles. Again, more than one turnover every game. These regular season and playoff numbers include only lost fumbles, I didn't even mention the total fumbles.
Look, I love our guy Josh Allen. He's QB1 in all our hearts because of the heart that he shows on the field and his uber competitive nature, which I hate to say but reminds me of the competitive edge that Tom Brady brought to the game. He's done some great things for the community and a number of charities. He's just a down to earth dude that we all want to just hang out with a drink a cold one. But these turnovers have to stop.
"What we saw last night was a travesty. And it's something that Josh Allen has done throughout his whole career is turn the football over. ... Not only the turnovers, but just the reckless abandon of his body. ... When is the smoke gonna go towards Josh Allen?"
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 12, 2023
😳 @damienwoody pic.twitter.com/pm8Kcp77Fp
It's simply amazing how hard Allen worked over the offeseasons throughout his career to improve his mechanics and drastically increase his accuracy, yet all these years and he stil can't avoid the bad decisions that lead to fumbles, which also includes getting out of bounds or sliding, rather than trying to dive for the first down marker that's six yards away still.
Lastly, I'm tired of hearing fans this week telling other fans that we shouldn't worry about this or that we are overreacting after just the first week of the NFL season. I just laid out exactly why we are worried and why this isn't an overreaction. It's a reaction to five-plus years of history and evidence that this is an issue. The worry is that every time this happens, Josh says something along the lines of this one is on me, I have to be better. Yet, it continues to happen year after year.
Look, if this is simply who Allen is and it's never go to change, ok that's fine. I'm ok with having this generations Brett Favre but we as fans are going to have to learn to live with and accept that about Josh and stop blaming the coaches or other players.