Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) - The Bills wrapped up their spring workouts last week with mandatory minicamp. It was a time for Josh Allen to learn Joe Brady as a head coach and new offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. Allen thinks the spring went well for the team,
"We competed at a very high level, guys were flying around, we did a good job of connecting. A couple of the things that Joe had wanted for this OTA period to be is connect, compete, condition and then come out here and have a lot of fun and play some football.
Allen got his first reps in a practice setting with new wide receiver D.J. Moore. Allen said it's been moving forward,
"Still working on it, still working on it with everybody, there's just different nuances that some guys have in their body language. He's (Moore) as smooth of a football player that I've ever been around and he works extremely hard and it's fun to be out there with him."
The players know Brady, but they also are seeing a different side of him now that he's a head coach. Allen said,
"I'm no stranger to coach and to have the familiarity I do with him and to bounce different ideas off of him, he's still our play caller, so that's not going to change, but his wants or emotions during practice have changed a little bit because he's got to root for both sides now which is awesome to see, he's going out there he's cheering our defense on, he's cheering our offense on and he just wants us to go out there and compete as hard as we can."
Carmichael may not be calling the plays, but the new offensive coordinator will have a huge hand in the game plans. Allen likes what he's seen so far,
"It's a lot of meeting time, and that's what the OTAs are for as well, you're reinstalling the playbook. It may be the same type of playbook that I've been in in the last eight years, but a lot of different nuances this year and he brings a lot of knowledge from his previous stops in the league to talk through different concepts and defenses in how he sees it and conveys it to us and we're lucky to have him."
Throughout the years, Allen has a good sense of what he needs to do in the offseason to make himself a better quarterback. This past spring was no different,
"Similar routine, spent a little more time on the body working out and continuing to hone in on the mechanics side of things. I feel like I'm in a good spot right now, but can still be better, so I'm going to continue to find ways I can do that.
"Having a baby now I'm sticking around the house a little bit more and trying to balance being a dad and going out there and getting my work done."
Allen is entering season No. 9, but he doesn't put much into a number,
"A lot of hard work, but I don't think about it too much because it still feels like I'm in year three or four, so the time does fly by and I'm just trying to enjoy every moment of it."
The Bills will open training camp at St. John-Fisher on July 29 with an 8:30 am practice.
Allen said he's been improving his chemistry with new receiver D.J. Moore.
Allen said he's been improving his chemistry with new receiver D.J. Moore.
