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Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll deserves a ton of credit for what he did with quarterback Josh Allen, whose inaccuracy and general cruelty were seen as huge hits against him when the Bills traded to take him seventh in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The light shines for Allen in 3rd grade. In addition to becoming the first player in NFL history with at least 4,500 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns in one season, Allen – a “low-key” MVP – has guided the Bills on the edge of the Super Bowl. They travel to Kansas City this weekend to take on the defending champions Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
And on this week’s edition of Yahoo Sports’ original web series “Check the Tape,” I asked Daboll about one area where Allen killed him this season – countering the blitz. In the video above, I used a few examples from the Bills’ 17-3 win over Baltimore to illustrate how.
Allen’s growth in this area cannot be understated. In 2019, his passer rating under pressure was 61.4 – 23rd in the league – according to Pro Football Focus. In 2018, it was only 47.4 – 36th in the league.
This season, Allen’s passer rating under pressure has skyrocketed to 81.3, good for ninth place in the league. That’s not a small sample size because only Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks has been under more pressure than Allen this season, and only Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers has thrown more yards against the pressure.
Much of the reason for the improvement has to do with Allen’s commitment to improve. He worked hard to clean his mechanics, which improved his accuracy. And he loves football, so I’m not surprised that he’s improved.
However, the Bills also backed Allen by giving him another big receiver for Stefon Diggs, who had a crazy season (127 catches). And Daboll, a longtime NFL assistant who has made the head coach buzz during this cycle, also deserves credit for that. Daboll has been Allen’s offensive coordinator since he was in the NFL and has designed an attack with built-in receiver aim adjustments that allow for quick counters under pressure.
“Brian did a really good job,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told me. “He’s an important member of our staff and these two have an important relationship and a critical relationship and it’s a good relationship. They probably spend more time together than any player or coach in our building and that’s essential for the job at hand – they have a great rapport.
“Brian did a really good job helping Josh develop on and off the pitch and see the game as a quarterback in his third year, who is trending in that upper direction must see the game.
We dig deeper into all of this in the video, which I hope you’ll watch. Daboll explains the general philosophy for countering the blitz with a special quarterback (which he noted that the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes is also good).
I’m also looking at how the Chiefs could generate pressure on Allen without a blitz, which could be the key to Sunday’s game.
The video will give you a better understanding of how the architect of one of the league’s best offenses – a man partly responsible for the rise of one of the game’s biggest young QBs – does it.
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