Josh Allen? Regressing?
It’s hard to imagine that happening, but it’s always possible and Bleacher Report is the first to consider that could happen for the Buffalo Bills in 2022.
B/R named one player on every NFL team with potential to disappoint next season. For the Bills, Allen was their pick and it comes as a surprise following his breakout over the past two years.
First, here’s how B/R came to that conclusion:
The Buffalo Bills offense, which is built around quarterback Josh Allen, could regress following the departure of former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who took the New York Giants’ head-coaching job in January.
Going into 2022, the Bills have a first-time offensive play-caller in Ken Dorsey. He served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator over the last three years. With a hint of optimism, Allen shared a realistic outlook of the offense as he talked to reporters last month.
“And, again, it’s going to be a learning process for [Dorsey] as well,” Allen said. “We’re humans. We’re not perfect. We’re not expecting each other to be perfect. But as long as we’re on the same page, which I think we are and we’ll continue to grow with it, I think we’ll be just fine.”
The Bills may not start the season red-hot on offense. If they don’t, Dorsey and Allen will have to iron out some wrinkles to match the production rate of last year’s unit, which ranked third in scoring and fifth in yards.
Allen could have a decent year, though his development may plateau as the offense goes through changes. If he regresses like Ryan Tannehill after the Tennessee Titans lost offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to the Falcons last offseason, Bills fans can forget a shot at the Super Bowl.
While there is some reason for concern after Daboll was named the New York Giants head coach, B/R overlooks one particularly important thing Daboll couldn’t take with him: Allen’s confidence.
Having Daboll as his offensive coordinator for most of his NFL career helped Allen. However, only Allen can go out there and execute.
Even if there is a little bit of a learning curve or bumps in the road with Dorsey now calling the plays, there’s no reason to believe Allen would significantly hamper Buffalo’s Super Bowl ambitions.
In fact, Allen might soon be approaching the territory of a quarterback that calls his own plays at the line. Dorsey would still play a part in such a scenario, but Allen deserves that level of trust, especially if it helps the team.
But to B/R’s point, a lot of pressure is riding on Allen in 2022.
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