Football with Josh Allen and the Others
I know of a team that can win because they have Josh Allen and hasn’t won despite having Josh Allen. The inability of the Buffalo Bills to reach that championship game is unfairly yet inevitably linked to the last person in the universe who’s responsible. Noting Allen hasn’t advanced is like blame Kate Winslet for the Titanic sinking. Unlike several Bills, she wasn’t a real passenger.
Allen did enough in the same sense fans picnicking in the parking lot have sipped some ale. Not everyone who’s technically on the same team can make that claim. We’ve had ample time to mentally scowl at wide receivers who dropped quite catchable passes, defenders who didn’t tackle despite it being kind of key to the job description, and a kicker who better be spending the offseason re-learning how to aim. I can say things the quarterback can’t.
Bills finally caught up with this whole passing trend. Like rock and roll, it’s here to stay. The quarterback’s prominence is unavoidable no matter one’s opinion on the percentage the position consumes. Vince Lombardi lamenting that this one player category’s significance is a factual matter even if some wish there were a way to alter the imbalance. The weighted importance is good news if you have Josh Allen.
There’s no use in condemning how the game is played by sides of 10 plus one. Be glad if you’ve got a player who skews results even further. Teddy Pendergrass deserved to be billed as the leader even though he played for the Blue Notes. All teams can do is make use of the way the game is designed. The Bills have only done so for a fraction of the team’s existence. It sure was considerate of them to increase the joyousness of the present by deploying quarterbacks who struggled to hold a football for so long. You’re supposed to grip the laces?
The Allen era makes up for all those seasons where other fans had to check who the Bills acquired to vainly attempt filling the post. Taking snaps only technically makes one a quarterback. Some previous vacancy-fillers should produce films about their stories because of their improbability.
You may have heard Allen is skilled enough at a particular game that he makes a comfortable living playing it. Please keep watching if you want your hero to keep profiting off his most notable talent. The selfless obligation helps pay his bills. If you’re unacquainted with his uncommon talents, many social media platforms feature video clips that only look doctored.
A singular threat features multiple aspects. Take away his targets and he’ll deem himself the carrier. Prioritizing whatever option is best at that moment is a judgment call made by prudent captains. Jean-Luc Picard will do so out of habit in a few hundred years.
Allen is already the best Bills quarterback ever, and it’s not particularly close. Accounting for phases changes nothing. Playing in a pass-happy time just means the numbers are even more in his favor. As with every other evaluation of his impact, the best case is watching him play.
I have just been alerted about this squad’s lack of Super Bowl appearances, much less the high score in at least one of them. The inability to will winning all singlehandedly finally brings us to the position’s limitations. If it were possible, Josh would’ve done it.
There’s no way to speak too highly about everyone’s best friend. The only person with more is Andrew W.K. Routinely referring to him by his first name is a common habit amongst his BFF crew. The familiarity reflects the politely introverted personality of the classmate who never gave a memorable answer.
The incumbent is the biggest difference between the Bills and Sabres. The side wearing skates trails in a distant second. The football division would be lagging if they drafted the other Josh. Today’s sports scene may seem challenging, but imagine being jealous of the all-time playoff outcasts.
Frustration serves as the other notable parallel with the ice-based team. Every hockey legend who never won it all while with Buffalo knows how he’s feeling. That’s not even to mention Bob McAdoo. Allen’s unique take in revolutionizing the game brings to mind Dominik Hasek’s uncommonly awesome career without the weird and aggravating playoff lapses.
It’s not to alarm everyone, but this often seemingly cursed club will never get a chance like this again. You know what? Go ahead and be alarmed. Going to red alert may create useful pressure needed to halt squandering. It sure doesn’t feel as if this franchise is dedicated to fulfilling the dreams of Buffalonians and what’s now several generations of their ancestors. Terry Pegula’s indifference is palpable unless he’s bilking taxpayers.
Everyone seeks a partner who gets them. Ken Dorsey got dumped because he didn’t grasp his other half’s dark sense of humor or learn how he likes his coffee. Replacing the immediate coaching supervisor might not reconcile enough. Fans remain worried that Sean McDermott still doesn’t really get his guy. His decisions feel like watching a Wes Anderson movie with your parents and trying to explain the quirkiness. The French Dispatch is not as accessible as Wheel of Fortune.
Why feel urgency now just because Allen had yet another birthday last month? Drafting wide receivers in the first, second, and third rounds should’ve been the first, second, and third priorities. They dissented by instead opting for nothing with the initial chance.
An unbearably obvious need somehow hasn’t been prioritized. Adding Dalton Kincaid was a nice start of a process that must continue at this draft. Tight end has become a slightly bigger receiver. The Bills are still forgetting focus on traditional deep threats.
There’s been a step up in getting crushed. We experience the difference between annual disappointment at missing the tournament and annual disappointment at falling short during it. Going .500 in the playoffs means making it five times, which is a monumental shift for a franchise that’s up to 23 of them.
It’s not that the organization has failed to win it all but rather that they’re perpetual contenders because of him. Allen meets the true definition of the most valuable player. Improvising while making rational choices is football at its best if everyone connected the Bills would like to not waste the best hope they’ll ever have.
