Josh Allen said after the Bills’ win over the Rams on Monday night that he was “fighting mechanically some stuff right now,” and that line has sparked a pretty specific question: what, exactly, is he working through?
Allen expanded a little on Wednesday at UC Irvine, where he’s set for a planned session with QB coach Chris Hess while Buffalo stays in California.
“I think it’s every quarterback fights throughout the year. It could be as simple as one thing.
Chris Hess is from this area. We had this on the books regardless.
But it’s really good to have him out here, and maybe learn a thing or two, and try to find a way to tweak something and feel good.”
From there, the read becomes more observational than definitive. The guess here is that Allen’s issue has centered on his release point occasionally dropping too low, almost into sidearm territory.
That hasn’t shown up on every throw, but there have been several early-season plays where his arm angle looked lower than usual. One came against the Lions on a deep shot to Khalil Shakir.
Another showed up in Week 3 against the Chargers on an incomplete downfield throw to Keon Coleman that had a much clearer sidearm look. Then there was the Patriots play on the Joshua Palmer drop, where the ball came out well behind the receiver and Allen’s lower slot was hard to miss.
That doesn’t mean a lower release is automatically a problem for Allen. He can still drive the ball from that angle, and the Week 1 touchdown to Palmer against the Texans is a good example of that.
Still, the more natural version of Allen’s motion has typically been more three-quarters, with the ball coming out at the top of - or above - his helmet. That was more visible after halftime against the Rams, and it also showed up on the short over-the-middle completion to Shakir in overtime.
There are obvious variables that can affect a quarterback’s release point: pressure, movement in the pocket, scrambling, throwing on the run, the distance of the throw, and the kind of touch the play demands. Sidearm can also help a quarterback get the ball out faster.
But for a thrower like Allen, a lower slot may not create the same transfer of energy as a higher one. It can also affect ball placement and timing, especially if it’s not the motion he naturally repeats best.
One throw that stands out in this discussion is Allen’s touchdown to Jake Kumerow in Denver in 2020, the one he said was the hardest he’s ever thrown. On that play, the release looked much closer to over-the-top.
A useful clue, if the arm itself is hard to track, is the head: when the head dips right before release, that usually points to the more downhill three-quarters or over-the-top motion. When it doesn’t, the release tends to be more sidearm.
That’s the best read here: Allen is likely trying to keep his release point higher for both velocity and accuracy. And if the question is where he looks best, it’s probably when that release stays up.
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