Josh Allen is a top-2 quarterback in the NFL. Every team in the league would love to have him under center, except for probably that team down in Kansas City.
Still, there's always room for improvement. In a guest spot on Buffalo Plus, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky pointed to an area that he would like to see Allen improve in.
Josh Allen needs to embrace "boring" brand of football
We know that Allen is a playmaker, and he wants the ball in his hand when it matters most. He's more than willing to tuck and run, or to make the splash throw. In playoff games, Allen averaged 56.3 rushing yards per game, compared to 38.4 in regular season games.
According to Orlovsky, however, Allen taking the leap might have more to do with trying to do less.
"Is [Allen] really willing to constantly buy into, even as you get into the games, the third and fourth quarters, the boring brand of football, because teams are going to demand that. Are you going to be okay handing the ball off in RPOs, that sometimes you sit there and go, "Well, Josh, don't pull that and throw it, because we want you to hand this off. Like, that's not fun. For a dynamic player. It's just not. It's boring for those guys. And the mental challenge that he's going to go through with all that stuff. And now with the pieces that they have, is he going to be willing to kind of play that, a plus point guard," Orlovsky said.
Orlovsky compared Allen to an experience he had with Matthew Stafford in Detroit
Orlovsky played with a quarterback with elite arm talent and a gunslinger mentality in Detroit when he was the backup to Matthew Stafford. According to Orlovsky, there are similarities in the two that are capable of more than most.
"It's hard for guys like that though. I mean, I learned this in a way when I was with Matthew Stafford, and Matthew is such a tremendous physical talent. Watching tape, I always go back to a very specific play – we're watching tape against the Cardinals and he tries to force this deep like 20 to 22 yard corner route in between a safety and a corner, and he moved in the pocket and he throws it perfect," Orlovsky said. "And I'm like 'bro, it's first down, and the [running] back in the flat is six yards wide open. Why won't you just throw that?' and he looked at me, and he said "well, you can, but you can't throw that one.' It's hard for those guys that are crazy talented because they always think 'I can make the throws that everybody else can't,' and that's kind of what I'm saying. The boring stuff is like 'are you willing to do and make the throws and plays like every quarterback in the league can make, even though you can make plays that no one else can?"
Maybe it comes down to trust for Allen. Is he willing to trust the scheme and the plan in place, instead of having to take it into his own hands? Allen leaning on his new playmakers, like standout rookie Keon Coleman , second-year breakout candidate Dalton Kincaid , and veteran chess piece Curtis Samuel , will go a long way.
Related: Buffalo Bills starter feels like he's letting Josh Allen down by not reaching elite status
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