During his rookie offseason, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was just trying to grasp the reins. A year later, the signal-caller will have the chance to yank the harness more to his liking.
When he's not joining the parade of QBs slugging barley pops, Allen is putting his head together with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to take better stock of what plays the Bills should run in 2019.
"Last year, I don't think I did enough, with everything going on -- first year in the NFL and a lot of people pulling you in different directions," Allen said, via the team's official website. "This year, I sat down with 'Dabs' (Daboll) and went over what I like, what I didn't like. And he's trusting me in that mindset. If there's a play that he wants to call, and I don't like it, he's not going to call it. So, it's developing that trust."
Allen entered his rookie season a raw quarterback, and while he struggled with accuracy for stretches, displayed enough improvement down the stretch to suggest a Year 2 leap is in the cards in 2019.
With a full offseason slate to help build an offense, Allen hopes to trash the perception that he's a run-first quarterback. The 23-year-old is also taking on a leadership role with a new cast of wideouts.
"Communicating with receivers -- what depth we want them to run the route, when they should turn their eyes, the type of body language they give me and where I need to put the ball," Allen says. "It's the open communication we're having right now that's really good."
Allen taking greater ownership over the offense is a natural progression for young quarterbacks, but a necessary step in the process of becoming a true franchise signal-caller.
