NFL football teams live and die by the play of their quarterback. It's the modern NFL, where absurd rules are protecting the most expensive asset on the field. Having a competent, reliable quarterback can be the difference between a three-win team and a playoff contender.
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For the Buffalo Bills, a team coming off an AFC Wild Card berth in 2017, they're teetering on the edge of irrelevance. The roster is sub-par, their star running back LeSean McCoy remains embattled in a lawsuit over allegedly planning a home invasion, and worst of all, they don't have a legitimate quarterback. The clock is ticking to get this right, and the time to start their first-round pick has apparently arrived.
During his press conference on Wednesday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott took the podium and answered the first question about his quarterback situation with three simple words: "Josh will start."
"It's the right move for our team," McDermott added.
Josh Allen played college football for the University of Wyoming Cowboys. The strong armed, 6-foot-4 quarterback was considered to be a project coming into the NFL, but Buffalo is left with no choice but to throw the 22-year-old to the wolves and baptize him into the NFL the hard way.
"Each day (Josh) gets more and more reps, more and more chances to be around what we're doing in this system and NFL football. It's all just part of the overall process, the growth process, that you go through. You know, just acclimating oneself to life in the NFL, and then life under center. It's all part of the development." — Sean McDermott
Buffalo traded proven-starter Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns for a third-round draft pick in the offseason, anticipating former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron to man the ship. Then, Buffalo traded him for a fifth-round pick to the Oakland Raiders.
Now, after watching former University of Pittsburgh quarterback Nathan Peterman go down in flames, losing 47-3 to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, Buffalo is moving onto their seventh-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
For reference, here are the stats from Peterman's first five NFL games:
** Stats from NFL.com
Things can't really get much worse, right?
When Buffalo prematurely throws rookie quarterback Josh Allen on the field, he could very well lose any chance he has to build confidence and be a long-term NFL talent. Allen completed only 54.5 percent of his passes during this preseason and was very turnover prone at Wyoming — he threw 21 interceptions in 26 collegiate games.
The 22-year-old quarterback needs time to develop, but Buffalo's front office has completely botched this situation and is left with no other choice.
Josh Allen will make his first career start at home Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, whose defense is loaded with Pro Bowl talent.
The rookie is going to gain experience, no doubt, but this could really get ugly in a hurry.
