09-18 Josh Allen
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen addresses the media on Wednesday ahead of Monday night's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Highmark Stadium. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)
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00:00What do you see with the Jacksonville defense,
00:02watching them on tape?
00:04Obviously, the team has only allowed three touchdowns
00:05in two games.
00:06Yeah, I think statistically the best defense in the league
00:09right now.
00:11They're front seven.
00:14They get after it.
00:15And they've got two really supreme edge rushers.
00:18I'd even go out and say three.
00:21The last couple of times we've played them,
00:23they've gotten the best of us.
00:24So taking that into account, and obviously a new
00:26de-coordinator there.
00:27But they're flying around.
00:28They're playing real solid together defense.
00:32Got guys with a lot of motor.
00:33And they don't let up.
00:35So we're going to have our hands full.
00:36But good week of practice.
00:38And put our best foot forward out there Monday night.
00:41Going up against Josh Allen on the other side of the ball,
00:43what makes him such a challenging defender
00:45to go against?
00:46Yeah, big, strong, fast.
00:48Anytime you get a DN that's like that, they present problems.
00:51But again, I think the motor that he has,
00:54he doesn't let up.
00:56He finds ways to continue to get to the quarterback.
00:58He's done that over the last few years.
01:00He's one of, like I said, one of the premier edge rushers
01:03in the league because of it.
01:04And we've got to be aware of him at all times.
01:08You guys have attempted the second fewest passes
01:11so far this season.
01:12Does that feel weird?
01:15I mean, I think given our situation this last week,
01:19when we're running it as well as we are,
01:22and you get the ball kind of in really good field position
01:25throughout the entire game, that's just kind of the game
01:28it's going to be, I don't know if I'd say weird.
01:30I think it feels pretty good.
01:31And being able to hand the ball off to James and Ray Ray
01:35and let them go do some work.
01:37And our offensive line is opening some holes from them.
01:39They're running it really hard.
01:40And we're having some success doing it.
01:42So if it's working, keep calling it.
01:44And I know that it's going to present itself
01:47in the pass game.
01:48We're going to have our opportunities.
01:49And we've got to go make them.
01:50First primetime game of the year.
01:52How excited are you to play under the lights
01:54and in front of Bill's Mafia on a Monday night?
01:56Very excited.
01:57Very excited.
01:59Bill's Mafia, they live for games like this.
02:02So hopefully we have them in the building.
02:04And they're as loud as can be, making as much noise
02:07when the opposing team is on offense.
02:09And hopefully they're quiet when we're on offense.
02:13But best fans in the league.
02:16Chip and Jordan Boyer going back several seasons.
02:19A lot different, though, this time around.
02:21Mitch Morris is a guy that literally you
02:23spend hours and hours and months and years with.
02:25What's it going to be like seeing Mitch again?
02:27Well, I'd say Mitch and Gabe, right?
02:29Like two guys that I've spent a lot of time
02:31with over the last few years here.
02:33Two guys that mean a lot to me, not just football-wise,
02:37but off the field-wise.
02:37I consider them real, real close friends.
02:41And there's a lot of conversations
02:43that we've had over the years that I wouldn't take back
02:45and I wouldn't trade for anything.
02:46They've been brothers to me.
02:48And I hope they feel the same way about me.
02:50I just got so much love and respect and support
02:53and anything you could think of for both of those guys.
02:57And they meant a lot to me on the field, too.
03:01It takes a lot to win in this league.
03:03And they were two huge contributors
03:06over the last several years that I've been here.
03:09A big reason of why we won so many games.
03:11So it'll be good to see both of them.
03:13How weird was it seeing Jordan in a Dolphins uniform?
03:16And then how weird might it be to see them
03:17in a Jags uniform?
03:19Yeah, I mean, I think defense is a little different.
03:22Because even at practice, we're wearing different colored
03:24jerseys all the time.
03:26And you're competing against them.
03:27But offensive guys, you're always on the same side.
03:31You're always competing with each other,
03:32not against each other.
03:33And it was very weird to see Poe in those colors.
03:38And it'll be weird to see our other two compadres
03:41over there in different colors.
03:42So yeah.
03:45What do you think about the challenge for you
03:46as a quarterback when the defense plays man,
03:50but only rushes four?
03:52They did a fair amount against man.
03:54Yeah, I mean, it makes life pretty tough back there
03:58as a quarterback, especially with the group that they have.
04:00If they can consistently get to the quarterback
04:02and only bring four and have seven guys,
04:06whether it be in man or zone coverage,
04:08that's a defense you've got to be scared of,
04:10is when they don't have to pressure to get quarterback
04:13hits and sacks and force you off your spots.
04:17Which they've shown to do.
04:18So again, protection game, we have
04:21to understand what's going on, where their guys are at,
04:24and making sure we're blocking it correctly.
04:25And again, when they do bring pressure,
04:27making sure that we understand what they're bringing
04:30and try to execute as well as we can.
04:33Of earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors last week
04:37and then James getting the offensive not this week,
04:40what does that say about this team
04:42that you're able to get those honors so early in the season?
04:46Yeah, I mean, I think it shows how hard we've
04:49been working throughout training camp and just
04:51a team that's been ready to go over the first couple of weeks.
04:56But over the course of my seven-year career so far,
04:58the first two weeks, they're important.
05:00But in the grand scheme of things, it's two weeks, right?
05:03So whether we're 2-0, 0-2, 1-1, there's
05:0715 games still left to be played and then
05:09no more bigger than the one that's in front of us
05:11right now, Monday night.
05:13But happy for those guys for getting some credit
05:15that they deserve.
05:16But if you ask them, they'd probably
05:17say they don't care much about it as well.
05:19I think the NL game script has played a lot into it so far.
05:22But are you at the point where you're going into your third
05:24game now, do you need to start figuring out
05:26ways to get the ball to your receivers downfield?
05:30I mean, I think, again, when we have opportunities,
05:33we'll try to hit on those and try
05:35to execute as well as possible.
05:37But at this moment right now, if teams want to continue,
05:40and I think over the course of the league
05:41right now, what defenses are doing,
05:44playing a lot of two-eye shell and running
05:47is in high demand right now for an offensive side
05:49of the football.
05:50It helps you do a lot of different things.
05:52So as we continue to run the ball effectively,
05:56we'll have more opportunities to hit downfield.
05:58As a quarterback, is that frustrating?
06:00Because there was a time, even a couple of years ago,
06:02where every quarterback was throwing the 300 yards a week.
06:06Is it, as a quarterback, a little bit frustrating?
06:08Yeah, I mean, if you're focused on stats and what's going on,
06:10it's frustrating.
06:12But in terms of winning football games, it's not.
06:15It's just whatever helps us score and move the ball
06:18and score when it matters.
06:20So that's all we're caring about right now.
06:22Josh, you talked about the way it
06:23is now in the beginning of this season for offenses.
06:26It seems like you guys were sort of trending that way even
06:29last year.
06:29Did you and the coaches, do you see this trend in the league
06:33where teams are going to play a certain way
06:36and you have to be able to respond with a run game
06:38and a short passing game?
06:39Absolutely.
06:40I think, again, as teams get smaller,
06:43defenses get smaller to combat speed on the field
06:47and spread offenses.
06:49Again, that's when you start seeing some bigger backs
06:52go down there and start bruising again.
06:54So it's the evolution and cycle of football
06:57that we've seen over the last however many years,
07:00where you get big and then the offense gets fast
07:03and defense gets small and fast and the offense
07:05gets big again.
07:06So it's kind of a cool evolution to be a part of
07:09and to see unfolding as I'm playing in it.
07:13So yeah, it's cool.
07:15Out of curiosity, have you gone downtown
07:17to see the giant poster of you, Niagara Square, there?
07:20What have you made of just, I'm sure maybe you've seen pictures
07:23on social media then.
07:24What have you made just kind of seeing
07:26your face on top of one of the bigger buildings downtown?
07:29Yeah, I have not seen it yet.
07:31And actually was unaware of it going up.
07:33I was as surprised as everybody else.
07:36Some good memes coming from that photo.
07:38And it's very cool.
07:42Sitting here is now a 28-year-old man,
07:45but the six, seven-year-old kid that is me
07:49is going crazy right now because it's such an honor.
07:52And it's just really cool to have the respect from whoever
07:55did that.
07:56And hopefully people like it.
07:59If not, they can take it down.
08:01It doesn't bother me.
08:02I don't like looking at myself anyways.
08:04But I don't know if it's serving any inspiration to anybody
08:08down there, any kids.
08:09And just knowing that, again, small town, farm kid,
08:14no offer out of high school, one offer, University of Wyoming
08:19can end up there.
08:20Maybe it can inspire someone else to do it as well.
08:22What would you say your biggest growth
08:24has been in terms of the evolution of the police
08:26campus?
08:28Yeah, I mean, I think as I go on with seven years now,
08:36seeing what basically every team's doing and going back
08:40even three or four years ago, you
08:42could watch all the film that you wanted
08:44against any opponent.
08:45But as soon as teams were to play us,
08:47they played it differently.
08:48And just understanding what that is
08:50and what teams try to do to throw us off our balance
08:55and trying to adjust.
08:57But now I think all teams are kind of doing something
08:59similar.
09:00I feel like I haven't seen anything new
09:04over the last couple of years.
09:05And obviously, there's going to be wrinkles and flares here
09:07or there.
09:07But I feel like I've seen most of it so far.
09:09Until I haven't, right?
09:10I can say that.
09:11And this week, they're going to throw something
09:13completely different at us.
09:15But there's only, even going back
09:17to when Coach Dable was here my first year,
09:19the defense can play two things.
09:20They can play manner zone.
09:22And I'm trying to keep it as simplistic as possible.
09:25And I've kind of utilized that approach since I've been here.
09:29And I'll keep doing that.
09:32Non-football question.
09:33But I was curious, when did you start playing Catan?
09:35And how do you think it became such a big thing at camp
09:38for you guys to play?
09:39Yeah, I think going back to the 2020 season,
09:43obviously, a lot of meetings on Zoom that year.
09:48A lot of time in between meetings.
09:49So guys, whether it was via online or in-person
09:54playing, and more so for bragging rights than anything.
09:58And we all know each other's tendencies now.
10:00And it's a fun game to kind of clear your mind.
10:03And we play it in camp.
10:05We've kind of gotten away from it during the season
10:07right now, just being busy.
10:09But I'm sure it'll pick back up soon.
10:12Oh, it's me.
10:13Me or Dawson's going to say everyone teams up against him.
10:17But I think I've got them.
10:18I am in the Lord of Catan throughout training camp.
10:20So it's an honor.
10:23Thank you, guys.