Bills’ Josh Allen Admits That His Playing Style Needs To Change For The Better

Josh Allen, who will be 27 in a few months, is aware of this and has acknowledged that as he begins his sixth NFL season, he’ll probably have to tone down his hard-charging playing style.

Bills’ Josh Allen Admits That His Playing Style Needs To Change For The Better

“I’ve always had the mindset of, I’ve been a football player first and a quarterback second,” Allen said during a news conference to kick off Buffalo’s offseason training activities. “At some point that is going to have to switch. When that point is, I don’t know. I guess I’ll let my body tell me.

“It sounds crazy, but I’m getting older,” Allen continued. “I know I can’t continue to do this. I know when I’m using my youth, I feel like I can, but over the course of my career I’m going to have to learn to adapt and change.”

Allen also clarified that the emotion was not a management directive and had originated internally.

Two-time Pro Bowler Allen, 26, entered each of the previous two seasons as a widely-predicted front-runner for the AP Most Valuable Player honour. With 84 touchdowns scored in the previous two seasons combined, Allen has been one of the league’s most dangerous players while not being able to win that particular individual honour. On the other side, though, Allen has also made 36 mistakes over that time, mostly as a result of rash passes pressed into small windows or overextending himself when carrying the ball.

Similar to Buffalo, it had been one of the top bettings favourites to win the Super Bowl going into each of the previous two seasons.

“I do want to be the smartest quarterback with the football in my hands,” Allen said. “I don’t want to put the football in harm’s way because I know how detrimental that is to our team with the interceptions and the fumbles.”

After a season on the field that was “pretty draining, physically, emotionally, mentally,” Allen said he concentrated on obtaining “a lot of rest, a lot of mental recovery” over the summer. With a 13-3 record at the end of the season, the Bills won the AFC East and secured the second seed in the league. They lost to the rival Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs and had to endure the cardiac arrest that safety Damar Hamlin suffered during a January game.

In his career, Allen has started 76 of the 77 games he has appeared in and has completed 62.7% of his throws for 18,397 yards with 138 touchdowns against 60 interceptions. He has also run the ball 546 times — including a career-high 124 last season — for 3,087 yards, with 38 rushing scores.

 

FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE- 

NFL: A New Study Shows Grass Is Safer Than Turf