It’s noticeable how much different of a quarterback Josh Allen has been since Brian Daboll left Buffalo to become Giants head coach in 2022 – and it got so bad that earlier this week, the Bills fired Daboll’s replacement, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, after 1 ½ seasons.
But if you ask Shaun Morash, at least, Buffalo’s fall to .500 isn’t all Allen and the offense’s fault…
“Josh Allen started turning the ball over too much last year, but he still had his moments without Daboll,” Shaun said, “and the difference between last year and this year is that aside from opening night, their season spiraled the moment they lost their two best playmakers on defense. I think people don't understand because it's all about Allen in Buffalo and the offense might be broken, but last year, the Bills had so many big plays made by Matt Milano and Tredavious White on defense, and once they went down in the Jacksonville game, they’ve struggled; their defense no longer bails them out with field position and big plays to set up the Bills offense. So that offense was partially broken, but it is no longer being helped by the defense.”
Evan doesn’t necessarily agree, pointing to the Denver loss as an example of Allen’s issues, and that he’s now leading the league in interceptions – even as Shaun said it was Buffalo’s D that collapsed late in the loss.
Noted, but that gave Evan an idea: why not, if you’re the Giants, trade what is likely a Top 3 pick to Buffalo this offseason to get Allen?
“Overall, this is still an offense that's not the same as it was a year and a half ago, and that's why,” Evan said. “I know on the surface trading a 27-year-old franchise quarterback who has won as many games as he's won in the regular season feels crazy, but when you really start to think about it, especially the return of replacing him by drafting a Top 2 quarterback, and you look at the fact that you’re probably not just firing your head coach, you're also gonna probably have to trade Stefon Diggs?”
“Shaun makes an interesting point, it’s just a little bit off,” Tiki replied. “Matt Milano is the core of Buffalo's defense but you look at their secondary – Tredavious White was bad a year ago an is trending downward, and Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde are getting old. The team is aging out, and that’s why I said two years ago this was their windo, and it was short, on purpose, and it was because their defense was healthy.”
That said…
“The biggest thing is not Matt Milano or the defense, it's Josh Allen trying to be a hero, doing things that would have been filtered out in previous years, that are not filtered out anymore,” Tiki said.
Evan, Jets fan, has convinced himself that Josh Allen coming to New York would be an upgrade for both the Bills (in getting Caleb Williams or Drake Maye) and the Giants (who get Allen reunited with his OC), and the pieces are coming together.
“They play the Jets on Sunday, a team they struggle with, and have a very difficult schedule – and the other part of this is perfect storm is the Giants have Daboll and Joe Schoen and may be destined to have a top pick in this draft,” Evan said. “And so, the storm is rising, that when this season is over and the Buffalo Bills are a disaster, and everyone in Orchard Park has turned on their once-loved quarterback, and Sean McDermott's been fired and the Bills are thinking of blowing the thing up, and the Giants are sitting there with the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick…this inevitable storm will lead to the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants making a mega, mega trade.
Here’s the weird part, perhaps: Tiki Barber LOVES that idea?
“If you can trade that pick to get your quarterback who has a relationship with Brian Daboll already, who was an MVP candidate and advancing towards being one of the best quarterbacks in the last decade, you absolutely go make that upgrade,” Tiki said.