Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills left for Pittsburgh on Wednesday to get ready for Thursday’s joint practice with the Steelers. Buffalo will then stay in Pittsburgh to play its second preseason game on Saturday against the Steelers.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen says going up against the Steelers in practice will certainly be different.
"It’s different players that you’re going against, and we know these guys. We’ve played them quite a few times in the last few years," said Allen following Tuesday's practice in Orchard Park. "They’ve got one of the greatest coaches of all-time (Mike Tomlin), and some really special players on defense. It’s good to go up and practice against them to gauge where you’re at."
The Bills don’t play the Steelers this season, so Allen will talk to some of their defensive players about how they play them. Some might be surprised by that.
"We don’t play them in the regular season, so we’re more apt to share a little bit of secrets," Allen admitted.
"I get with some of the guys on their defense and just picking their brains. I remember Luke Kuechly being out there [when we had a joint practice with the Carolina Panthers], and we fooled him on one thing. He came up to me and was like, 'What are you doing there? How am I supposed to guard that?' So him being able to ask me questions and me getting to ask him questions, they’ve got some guys I think I’m familiar with that I can talk to and pick their brains."
A lot has been made about this past Saturday’s preseason loss to the Chicago Bears. Many have talked about falling well short of the standard the Bills set.
"We have to have urgency in this building, there’s no doubt about it. Guys are feeling that urgency now," Allen said. "But going back and looking at it on film, it wasn’t all bad. But our standard shouldn’t be conditioned by the result of what’s going on. We have to uphold what we do, and that’s playoff caliber. That’s what coach McDermott has talked about in this building the last eight years, and we have to uphold that."
If the team is going to play to that standard, it’s going to take more than the coaches talking about it. Many veteran leaders are no longer with this team, but Allen says there are others on the team now.
"It’s going to take guys that are going to step up and fill those types of roles, guys that may not even know it yet, that just naturally transition into being a leader in their room," he said. "I’m excited to see who steps up in those spots, and who can be a vocal guy and fill those roles."
There were times against the Bears that the Bills ran plays they wanted to see in game action. It wasn’t always trying to get the first down. Allen says they need to do that.
"Doing things the right way is the most important thing, but understanding, keeping the main thing, and that’s winning football games when they matter and just understanding what the preseason is for," Allen noted. "There’s a lot of reps where we’re trying to see if we can run this play and just seeing how we stack up to different teams."
For Monday's practice, Allen was the only quarterback in practice, which meant he took all the reps. The Bills quarterback says he wasn’t tired at all after practice.
"I was excited. I wanted to keep going," he said. "I haven't been able to throw that much in a long time.
"I got into a little rhythm, a little groove, and it’s what I love doing the most, throwing the football. I got to do that a lot and it was cool."
Bills head coach Sean McDermott hasn’t said whether Allen will play in Saturday's preseason matchup with the Steelers.
