ORCHARD PARK — “Put the ball down” has replaced “Trust the process” at One Bills Drive.
It’s still a cliche, one implemented by new Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady. But it might be an applicable one to quarterback Josh Allen.
Allen usually has an offseason project, an area of his game he wants to improve before the next season. Last year it was film study — something he likely does every year — but this year’s task is a bit different.
Monday, following the first day the team was allowed on the field for organized team activities (OTAs), Allen admitted he struggled with his mechanics early last season. Allen has worked on mechanics diligently throughout his NFL career, but Biometrek founder Chris Hess — who uses 16 cameras to generate a 3D digital blueprint of all his throws — visited after practices more than any other point in his career.
This year he wants to worry less about throwing motions and mechanical movements during games and more about making plays.
“I’m trying to be less — I wouldn’t say less extensive in that part — but maybe to an extent not worrying about throwing and worrying more about playing football,” Allen said. “Understanding where my eyes and my feet are.”
Allen insisted he wasn’t overthinking during games. And new Bills quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree was surprised at how quickly Allen got to his check-downs when primary routes weren’t available.
That has been a progressing element to his game since Brady began calling plays midway through 2023. As the Bills have transitioned to run-after-catch passing attack, Allen’s air yards per attempt have plummeted.
Before Brady’s first full season calling plays in 2024, Allen had never finished outside the top 10 in the category. He finished 14th with 8.3 yards per attempt — 1.1 yards fewer than 2022 — in 2024 and 26th last season with a career-low 7.1.
A trade-off for Buffalo’s evaporating downfield passing attack is fewer turnovers. Allen had 16 combined interceptions the last two seasons, compared to averaging nearly 16 the previous three years, including 18 in 2023 alone.
And so Allen has swapped passing up easy throws to force balls into tight windows downfield for occasionally moving through reads too quickly and missing a potential big play to get an easy underneath throw.
“All we care about is he making the right read at the right time and he’s going through his progressions,” Brady said. “… If we’re finding completions, if we’re moving the football, I’m never going to be upset about that. … When he’s playing in a rhythm and he’s finding completions, good things are going to happen.”
Allen’s approach might come from being a new father, watching his coach of eight years get shoved out the door or six playoff losses without a Super Bowl, many of them coming in unthinkable flameouts.
“The want to win will never change. The why I want to do it has,” Allen said. “Why I want to do it is to show my family, to show my daughter how hard you have to work to accomplish something so great. And as long as I play this game, that’s going to be my mindset.”
Brady’s vision for Allen isn’t much different than his new team slogan. He first used it during his introductory press conference in January. In some ways it seemed to be a direct shot at his predecessor, Sean McDermott.
McDermott went from being one of the NFL’s most aggressive defensive coaches to being one of the most passive in the postseason. And that started to seep into the regular season. He talked frequently about finding an identity during the season, but it was always hard to pinpoint what that might be.
The Bills were often too respectful to opponents. Not during interviews, but during games. The Bills were reactive and allowed opponents to dictate the pace of the game, no matter what their record was.
Brady has quickly made it known that he wants to be aggressive and to have an identity they don’t stray from regardless of the team on the opposite sideline. So, no matter the opponent, location or conditions, Brady wants to put the ball down and play.
“I think guys either dwell on failure too long or they live in their past successes too long,” Brady said. “It’s kind of a competitive mindset or stamina that we’re building right now. We really don’t care what just happened. You completed a pass, let’s go put the ball down again and let’s go do the next one.”