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 , 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, . "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.
