Bills
Bills QB Josh Allen‘s recent slump has some people buzzing in NFL circles, with theories ranging from his elbow being a bigger problem than he and the team are letting on to this just being a part of who Allen is as a gunslinging passer. But others think the absence of former OC Brian Daboll, now the head coach for the Giants and leading the charge for coach of the year, is the biggest detriment to Allen right now.
“I think he misses Daboll,” said one evaluator to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post. “I definitely think that’s part of it. Look at what he’s done with [Giants QB Daniel] Jones, cutting down on the bad throws and easy picks. He has a knack for that.”
Another AFC GM added to La Canfora that Daboll just had a knack for pulling the best out of Allen while reining in his worst impulses.
“I don’t think you can overestimate what Daboll meant to his development. Not just on game day but through the week,” he said.
Dolphins
When talking about how he’s constructed the Dolphins’ offense, HC Mike McDaniel had high praise for several coaches he’s worked with throughout his career, including former NFL HC Mike Shanahan, 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan, and former Texans HC Gary Kubiak.
“It didn’t take me long to realize how unique and special some of the guys that I was fortunate enough to work with, how unique and special they were at their craft,” McDaniel said, via Adam Beasley of ProFootballNetwork. “So starting with coach Shanahan, then to Gary Kubiak and then to Kyle Shanahan; those three people probably kind of established what I see preparing for an opponent, what that looks like. And within that vision, I’m also very aware and have seen the best outputs are collective.”
McDaniel explained that they must have a sound plan for every player instead of plugging people into pre-determined roles.
“There’s no shortcut to a game plan that’s really up to the standard of your players, in my opinion,” McDaniel said. “You don’t just make stuff up. You don’t just ‘Hey, what if we put this guy here?’ If your game plan is sound and tied together and complete — I tell the staff all the time — there should be a ‘why’ attached to every single thing that you’re doing. That’s every alignment, every motion, and that’s kind of the way we approach it and the way that the staff has really, really come together and understanding that there is a why, a reason for every little nuance, every variable.”
Dolphins WR River Cracraft believes McDaniel has “evolved” his system to a high level since joining the organization from San Francisco.
“Every coach has their own way of installing plays,” said Cracraft. “The difference that Mike brings is not necessarily the generalized scheme but his way of developing the offense. I think every coach that comes from the system that Mike has come from has evolved it in some sort of way. I think the way Mike has evolved his offense has worked really well. I’m excited to see him continue to evolve it and see where it goes.”
Patriots
Patriots WR Jacobi Meyers suffered a shoulder injury during Thursday’s loss to the Vikings. Meyers did return to the game and doesn’t think it will prevent him from playing moving forward.
“Sore,” Meyers said, via Chris Mason of MassLive.com. “I’ll be alright though. . . . It started to feel better as the game went on.”
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