Josh Allen: “I’m Not Going To Be Captain Checkdown”
I have to admit that I have a soft spot for Josh Allen. Say whatever you want about Allen but he puts his nuts on the table every game and lets it go. This is not snoozefest Andy Dalton or Kirk Cousins. Allen can make every splash throw on the field.
Recently, Pro Football Focus published an article about which quarterback check the ball down and opt for the short passing game. Allen basically refuses to check the ball down. Over the past two years, Allen threw just 20 checkdowns on 880 attempts. That means the Bills signal caller is checking it down 2.3 percent of the time which is the lowest mark in the league.
An even crazier stat that was provided illustrates how insane it is. Allen basically refuses to give up on plays on third down. On third down situations, Allen has thrown just one checkdown on 245 third-down attempts (0.4 percent).
Naturally, someone asked Allen what he thought about it. You have to love the response:
“I’m not going to be Captain Checkdown,” Allen said Thursday, via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “I’m going to continue to play the game the way I love it.”
I love that answer. Let that puppy fly young blood. That’s probably great news for Stefon Diggs. Josh Allen is going to give Diggs chances to win deep balls down the field. Diggs might be a better fantasy play than I initially had in mind. More so than anything, Allen just needs to be more accurate down the field. If that happens, look out. The Bills are clear favorites in the division if Allen takes a big step forward.
